Rosa

Chapter 53

In bed, Cristiano was already fast asleep beside Rosa.

Infuriating bastard.

Indignation burned away like an internal flame.

How could he possibly rest on a night like tonight?

Especially when her mind was so restless. Escape consumed her thoughts. Every meticulous detail needed to be analyzed before she could act.

The How.

The When.

The What Ifs.

A man like Cristiano would flatten mountains and drain the seas for the sake of his endgame. Hell, after their first meeting in Marseille, he tracked her all the way to Portugal with ease. Given enough motivation, he'd have no trouble hunting her down in London.

Unless, a devilish voice whispered in her head, he believes you to be dead.

A lifetime ago, Inès Nadir had escaped Mesrine by suicide.

Could she pull the same shit on Cristiano and get away with it?

Rosa doubted Cristiano would be as easy to fool. If she couldn't escape him as a ghost, then he'd need to be subdued another way.

By a bullet.

If necessary.

Dieu.

A shiver crawled down her spine.

She closed her eyes, seeking respite, but, much like the night before, sleep continued to evade her. Try as she might, Rosa couldn't relax her senses. Her eyelids reopened. With a wide, troubled gaze, she spent another hour watching shadows creep around the room. Her ears obsessed over the steadiness of Cristiano's deep breaths. Frowning, Rosa shifted on the mattress to face him in the dark. Moonlight spilled across his handsome features. Emotion gripped her throat.

How could such a beautiful man be so cruel?

She couldn't decide whether to kill him.

Or fuck him one last time.

Each rise of her lungs, heavy and thick with distress, now strained to draw breath. While he slept on, Rosa placed a trembling hand over his chest. It lifted and fell in a slow, rhythmic cadence. Every pulse of his heart thudded against her palm, pumping his veins with blood. Cristiano felt very much alive beneath her touch.

Full of breath.

Brimming with life.

Rosa knew numerous ways to end a man's existence: The organs which dealt the most damage when bullets ripped through them. The proper veins to slit for optimum blood loss. The exact dosage of poisonous chemicals that might turn a body into a corpse.

A grim thought captured her mind.

If Cristiano tried to stop her from escaping, would she have the heart to still his breaths forever?

To let him bleed out right before her eyes?

Fuck.

She didn't know. More than anything, Rosa resented his power over her. This innate ability of his to devastate her. Rosa prayed for the strength to choose herself as she'd as always done in the past. To save her own ass at others' expense. But, even now, Rosa knew, in her heart of hearts, she's grown too soft for her own good. The thought of walking away from Cristiano pained her. She felt bonded to him like no other. Villain though he may be, the black of his damaged soul mirrored her own, so much so that their destinies seemed too twined to sever. They were twin flames burning together in a hell of their own making. If she ever took his life, a part of herself would probably die as well.