Roman ...

I stood at the bathroom door, torn between knocking the door down to get to Hannah or just letting her have her space.

"Hannah, can I come in please?" I begged her. "I just want to talk to you and make sure you’re OK."

"I’m fine," Hannah said. Obviously a lie, but at least she was talking to me. I propped my forearm on the doorframe and rested my forehead on it, closing my eyes. Had I known that the news of getting the FBI involved would hurt Hannah, I wouldn’t have mentioned it.

I sighed heavily. "I didn’t mean to upset you, Hannah," I said through the door.

"You should just stay out of it," Hannah said from the other side of the bathroom door. "I don’t want people that we love getting hurt." She was right, but I couldn’t let it go. I couldn’t let people like Bernard Sullivan, Court Macalester, and Jared Fitzgerald get away with their disgusting fetishes and illegal human trafficking.

"I respect you, Hannah," I said, "I really do, which is why I can’t let those men get away with what they did to you and what they’re doing to those other women." There was no response.

"Sh*t," I muttered under my breath. I turned around and leaned my back against the doorframe. I felt like an a*s for making my wife angry on the last day of our honeymoon. I heard the water begin to run into the tub on the other side of the bathroom door.

"Hannah?" I called out to her.

"I just want to take a bath right now, Roman," Hannah responded to me.

"OK," I said. "I’ll be here if you want to talk when you’re done." Hannah made no response. I stepped out onto the patio, where a bucket of chilled wine sat on the table. I grabbed a glass and poured myself a drink. Pulling out my phone, I sent a text to Lauren.

’Told Hannah about the FBI contact. She’s not happy,’ I texted Lauren.

A moment later Lauren responded.

’Bad memories. Give her space,’ Lauren responded to me. I put my phone on the table and clenched my fist in frustration before relaxing it. I needed Hannah to be in my corner. I knew she cared about those other women, but I did understand her concern over the terms of the contract. If word got out that the FBI was onto The Auction House, people we loved could get hurt. I took a long drink of wine from my glass and poured myself some more. The FBI were professionals; they knew how to protect themselves and others, right? I stared out over the ocean as the sun began to set.

If Lauren said to give Hannah space, then I would give her space. Whatever she was thinking about, she had to come to a solution eventually on her own. I would wait for her to decide. As I drank my second glass of wine and started on the third, I heard the bathroom door open. I waited for Hannah to join me on the patio, but moments passed and she didn’t show up. Finishing off my third glass of wine, I poured myself another and poured a second glass for Hannah. Walking through the cabana with the two glasses of wine, I found Hannah in the main room watching TV. She glanced up at me briefly as I entered before turning her attention back to the TV show. I sat down beside her and offered her the glass of wine. She took it without saying a word.

"Want to talk?" I asked her.

"No, not now," she said. Hannah drank her wine and stared at the TV with an unreadable expression. I sighed and sipped my wine, looking at the TV but not paying any attention to the show that was playing. I hated the withdrawn silence between us, but I consoled myself with the notion that she had to come around eventually. I didn’t care if she screamed at me in tears or in anger as long as she talked to me. My stomach growled at me to indicate that it was past dinner time.

"I’m going to order us some food," I said to Hannah. She nodded, but she didn’t look at me. Instead of ordering room service, I ordered takeout from one of the local restaurants that Hannah really seemed to like. I left the cabana and met the delivery driver at the main building. When I returned with the food, Hannah was still seated in the same spot watching TV. Her wine glass was empty, so I grabbed another bottle from the minibar in the kitchen and refilled her glass with wine, placing her food next to it on the table beside her.

"Thank you, Roman," Hannah said.

"You’re more than welcome," I told her as I took a seat beside her again. We ate in silence, and when Hannah was done she stood, kissing me on the forehead.

"I’m going to bed early," she said, leaving me alone in the main room. I pulled out my laptop and began checking emails, verifying accounts and other business matters on autopilot. This was the only way I knew how to deal with the stress of Hannah not talking to me. After a couple of hours of doing more work than I should have done, since I was still technically on my honeymoon vacation even though it was the last night, I turned off the TV and went into the bedroom. Hannah was beneath the covers, facing the window, so I couldn’t tell if she was actually asleep or just lying there motionless in thought. I undressed and slipped into bed beside her, staring up at the ceiling. This would have been the perfect time to make love and hold each other as we had been doing every night since we arrived. I just wanted to reach out and pull Hannah into my embrace. Giving her space was hard to do. Eventually, I rolled over with my back to her and fell asleep.

The next morning, we began packing. I watched Hannah move around like a joyless shell of her previous self. "Did you sleep OK?" I asked her.

"Yes," she answered before entering the bathroom to grab a few things. "Did you?" she asked when she emerged from the bathroom with her items.

I thought of my empty arms that could have been filled with her body last night. "I could have slept better," I said. Hannah didn’t respond. We finished packing in silence, and I called the staff to take our luggage to the waiting car. When I climbed into the car after Hannah, I realized she hadn’t kissed me or hugged me at all since we got out of bed. Her withdrawn attitude was killing me.

"We can have breakfast on the jet," I said to her. "Unless you want to stop somewhere before our flight?"

"No, that’s fine," she said.

"I also wanted to let you know that we need to make a stop in Washington D.C. to meet with the FBI agents."

Hannah turned to face me, staring daggers into me with her green eyes. "Will there be a hotel for me to stay in?" she asked me. "I’d rather not be interrogated by FBI agents."

"Of course," I said. "I understand that. I booked us a hotel in D.C. last night."

"Thank you," Hannah said, crossing her arms and staring out the window. "I can’t believe you’re going through with it."

"My conscience won’t let me stand aside and do nothing," I said to her gently. "The same way my conscience couldn’t let you be bought by anyone but me."

Hannah met my gaze and I waited for her to call me an idiot or a dumba*s for ignoring the fact that I could be putting our innocent friends and family in danger. She took a deep breath and sighed. "You’re right," she said.

"I’m right?" I asked her in confusion.

Hannah nodded. "You bid for me, and even though we got married because of a contract, things have turned out really well, I think. Maybe it’ll turn out well for the other women because of you."

"Maybe we can get your Bernard, your father, The Auction House owner, and all those other men thrown in prison where they belong." Hannah remained reserved, but she nodded in response to what I said. I reached for her hand and she willingly intertwined her fingers with mine. "Thank you, Hannah," I said, "for believing in me."

"I’m still worried, Roman," she said, "but I won’t turn my back on you." I pulled her in close, eager to have her in my arms again. I stroked Hannah’s hair as she laid on my chest.

"I will do everything in my power to protect you and our friends and family, Hannah," I said to her. "I promise you that."

"I believe you, Roman," she said, and we rode in silence the rest of the way to the hangar where my jet was parked. Our relationship had gone from tumultuous to blissful, and I didn’t want to lose what I had with Hannah, but taking down The Auction House together would be a huge challenge for us to face.