I told you I’d take care of him
At first I thought he was referring to planting the drugs. Then I saw the link at the bottom of the text. I clicked on it.
A fifty-six-year-old prisoner serving time for drug possession and distribution charges has been left paralyzed and brain damaged after a vicious attack. The apparently unprovoked assault occurred during exercise time Monday morning.
The prisoner suffered major internal injuries after being sodomized with an iron bar and beaten to near death. Prison officials are holding two inmates on suspicion of committing the assault, both of whom are already serving life sentences for murder convictions.
Holy fuck. I glanced at Beth, who was gazing happily out the window. She didn’t need to hear this right now.
She was happier than I’d seen her in months—too happy for me to tell her this news right now, and too happy for me to tell her the truth about how we met. The only people who knew that were myself, Scarlett, and Carlos. Telling Beth wouldn’t change the way I felt about her, or what had happened between us.
She had been through enough. I knew I could make her happy. I was going to make her happy. I could care for her better than anyone else ever could.
And maybe one day, I’d be able to share all my secrets with her.
Epilogue
Beth
“Glad to be home?” Roman came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled, turning my head to kiss his cheek.
“I am. But home is anywhere you are.”
After wrapping up the movie, we were back home in New York. Things were going really well. Roman had been just amazing. He had been my rock. There was not a thing he could do wrong. I’d been so hesitant to let another man into my heart, but he’d just refused to give up on me.
I’d kept in contact with Coop—we spoke a few times a week, and our friendship was stronger than ever. Sometimes I got the feeling that he might’ve wanted something more between us, but I was happy the way things were. Maybe I was still in love with Coop, but the love I felt for Roman was so effortless, and I just knew he would always be there for me.
Acting had been surprisingly enjoyable. Much more so than singing. I had a new manager; a middle aged woman known as the shark. As tough as she was, I felt completely at ease around her—something I’d never felt with Ivan.
Ivan. When I heard what had happened to him in prison I was happy. It seemed deserved. I never thought I’d wish harm on another human being, but that was before…I was a different person now. A stronger one. I could handle anything.
Roman
It didn’t get any better than this. I gazed down at Beth, wrapped in my arms, and smiled. I was so proud of her, and the way she had handled herself. She had even been seeing a couselor back in L.A.
I finally felt like we were moving forward. Nobody knows what the future holds so it was pointless worrying about it. I had secrets. Plenty of them. If Beth ever found out some of the things I’d kept hidden…that was something I didn’t want to think about.
Did I regret accepting Carlos’ job offer? No, because had it not been for him, I never would have met her. My only regret was not telling her the moment I started falling in love with her, because now, this had to stay buried.
She would never find out. I’d make sure of it.
Book three in the Tease series, Scandalous, will be released mid 2014
See over the page for Chapter One of Scandalous
Scandalous
Chapter One
Beth
“You sure about this?”
I nodded, my fingers entwining in his. I’d been hinting to Roman that I wanted to see his club. The way he explained it to me…sex, adventure, pushing the boundaries while you are in control. How could that not appeal to me?
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. He pulled up out the front of the entrance, where a man in a suit stood, waiting to take the car. From the outside, it looked like just another factory. Dirty and dark, it resembled something out of a horror movie. You would never suspect what took place inside.
“Does it make you aroused? Having me come here?” I asked, a smile spreading across my lips.