“Long story short, I continued to keep an eye on Grace, and then one night I happened to be close to her apartment when someone broke in… so I killed the guy and took Grace with me back to my place in North Woods. I did a small job, some shit happened, and we had to leave,” he tells Sophie this like it’s the most normal thing in the world, like they’re discussing the weather or something. I’m beyond shocked at his honesty and openness, but even more shocked at how Sophie reacts to his confession.
With a smile on her lips, she says, “Honestly, I’m surprised it took you this long. It shouldn’t have taken someone breaking in for you to go to her.”
There’s a tiny pause and then she turns her attention to me, “How are you doing with all of this? I can’t imagine it was easy finding out he was following you that whole time. But I knew he still loved you.”
I blink, both shocked and confused over her reaction. Is this normal for her? To hear about men dying? Is she okay with Luke’s job? She has to know, right?
“I’m… it’s a lot to take in,” I mumble.
“She’s still adjusting, things have been a little tense.” Luke rubs at the back of his neck his eyes darting to me, almost pleading with me to keep my mouth shut.
“I understand, you will get used to it though, new things take time, and with Luke by your side, it shouldn’t be too hard. I promise everything will work itself out soon enough,” Sophie tells me. Her inspirational speech doing anything but inspiring me, and only now do I question what her husband does.
Is he a hitman too?
I’m about to ask, when I hear the front door open, and the sound of two deep, male voices echo throughout the space. Sophie’s face lights up, and a big smile pulls at her lips. “You’re about to meet my husband, Roman.”
Not even a moment later do two large men walk into the room, maybe large isn’t the right word to use, huge is probably more accurate.
Luke has an athletic frame, but these two are muscle-packed giants. Think WWE wrestlers meet the mafia.
Craning my neck back I look up at them. They must be well over six feet tall and weigh at least two hundred pounds each, if not more.
“Luke, I just heard you were in town,” one of the men greets with a smile. It’s strange to see a man that I know for a fact could dish out some serious violence smile.
“Word travels fast in this family. I’m surprised Sophie didn’t know yet.”
“I was about to tell her, so you’re lucky you got here first. You know I can’t keep a secret from your sister.” The man’s eyes move to me, and I swear I’m frozen in my seat, my heart beating furiously in my chest. This giant is Sophie’s husband? “So, you must be the elusive Grace, Luke’s girl?”
“Y-yes,” I stutter awkwardly. If things couldn’t get worse, he actually takes a step closer extending out his hand for me to shake, a hand that could crush every bone in mine.
“I’m Roman, Sophie’s husband, in case you haven’t gathered that yet,” I take his hand and shake it, surprised at how gentle he squeezes it. Now that he is closer, I can see that his face, although handsome, is covered in scars. Maybe I wasn’t so wrong about the WWE?
“Nice to meet you,” I whisper.
“Nice to finally meet you too. This is my meathead of a brother, Ivan,” Roman grins, slinging a thumb over his shoulder, clearly pointing at the other giant behind him.
“Just ignore him, he’s just mad I did more pull-ups than him at the gym earlier,” Ivan speaks for the first time, and again I am shocked by how soft his voice is. It’s an enigma I can’t wrap my head around. Giants but with soft voices and hearts? It makes no sense.
“You wish,” Roman huffs.
“Well, I’ll let you guys hang out. Gotta get home to Violet, and the kiddos. Talk soon,” Ivan slaps his brother on the back and gives us all a nod before heading out, leaving the four of us alone in the room.
“So, what did I miss?” Roman asks as he sits down on the other side of Sophie. He slings his massive arm around her, and she snuggles into his side. I think it’s going to take some time for me to get used to seeing them together. Sophie looks so small and fragile next to him.
Luke gives Roman the same rundown of how I got here that he gave Sophie. Just on the tail-end, Ren decides to run back into the house, jumping on top of Roman, climbing all over him like he is a jungle gym.