I stroked Hannah’s hair as we relaxed in the bubble bath together. I could understand her unwillingness to talk about what we were doing with the FBI to take down The Auction House. It was an idealistic feat, and there was no guarantee that we would come out of it unscathed. I would let Hannah relax tonight and hopefully talk to her about everything tomorrow after calling work to let them know I’d be away for three more days.

"I’m getting pruny," Hannah said, and I chuckled. "I think we’ve soaked long enough."

"I’ll call down for dinner," I said as Hannah let the water drain and we climbed out of the tub. We toweled ourselves dry and both slipped into the bathrobes that were hanging up for us. We wouldn’t be going out anywhere tonight for sure. Hannah climbed into bed and turned on the TV.

"I’ll be in the next room if you need me," I told her.

"Don’t be away too long," she said. "I don’t want to watch TV alone."

"I won’t," I promised her with a wink. I went into the main room and grabbed my laptop before plopping down onto the sofa. I ordered us both room service, cheeseburgers and fries as my wife requested, before checking emails. The company certainly ran like a smooth engine while I was away, but being in the office had its perks. Employees liked it when they could just come up to my office and chat or ask questions about accounts and company investments. I didn’t foresee any issues with me being gone for a few more days. Everyone knew that I was on my honeymoon, and they tended to hold off contacting me directly. I did answer a couple of innocuous emails, but I wasn’t going to make it a habit for the next three days while I was still on my honeymoon vacation.

There was a knock at the door as room service arrived. I answered, taking the cart and tipping the delivery staff member. Rolling the cart into the bedroom, I made it a point to uncover our dishes with an exciting flair that made Hannah smile.

"Two cheeseburgers with toppings and condiments on the side," I announced as I took Hannah’s tray of food to her. "Seasoned fries and strawberry cheesecake for dessert." I leaned over and kissed Hannah before grabbing my own tray and joining her on the bed. She had already added her toppings to her burger and was taking a bite, moaning in delight.

"Good?" I asked, and she nodded. I added my toppings and gave it a try.

"This is exactly what I needed," Hannah said before taking a bite of a french fry.

"Not bad," I admitted. "Plus, I’m starving since we skipped lunch." We ate for a moment in silence as I realized that cartoons were on the TV screen. I stopped eating and raised an eyebrow at Hannah.

"Cartoons?" I asked her. Hannah chuckled between bites of food.

"Don’t judge me, Roman," she said. "I do have an inner child that needs attention every once in a while."

"That’s fair," I said, returning my attention to my food. "We have two options for the theater tomorrow," I said. "Folklore and historical music presentation, or a ballet. Your choice."

Hannah thought for a moment. "Can we see both?" she asked me.

I laughed. "One starts at 7:30 in the evening and the other starts at 8," I told her. "Two different theaters."

"I’ll have to go with the ballet then," she said. "What will we do during the day?"

I shrugged. "Maybe a museum or two, or some shopping," I said. "There are a few nice shopping malls, and I am not opposed to spoiling my wife." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Hannah stole a fry from my plate and ate it with a smile. "You’re doing an excellent job of that," she said, and we laughed together. When we were done eating, I gathered our empty plates and left the cart outside our door before joining Hannah to channel surf. Eventually she fell asleep in my arms, and I took some time to research museums and other attractions that Marcus and Ed had suggested before I too went to sleep.

The next morning, I was up before Hannah, and I quietly made my way to the main room to place the phone call to work. My secretary answered.

"Good morning," I said to her. "I know that I had planned on being back today, but my wife and I took a detour for some family matters," I lied. "So I’ll be out for three more days."

"I was hoping that you were just enjoying your honeymoon so much that you decided to stay in the Bahamas," my secretary said. "I hope everything is alright."

"Fine," I said. "My cousin has had known stalker issues, so I’m helping her deal with a new one before it gets out of hand."

"That’s unfortunate," the woman said. "I’m glad your cousin has you to help her out. We’ll see you when you get back, and congratulations to you and your wife."

I thanked her and hung up the phone. When I turned around to go back into the bedroom, Hannah was leaning in the doorway, arm crossed, watching me.

"You’re up," I said. "Did I wake you?"

"No," Hannah said. "I just got up to find you when I woke up and you weren’t there." I went to her and pulled her into an embrace.

"Sleep well?" I asked her.

"For the most part," she said. "If you exclude the nightmare that I had about being followed by a guard from The Auction House."

I gazed down into her green eyes. "Hannah, I’m so sorry," I said. "This is already causing you stress."

"Are you not stressed at all?" she asked me.

"I am," I said, "I truly am, but I’m also ready to see that place go down." Hannah broke our embrace and sighed as she made her way to the bathroom. I followed her. "You did a brave thing by agreeing to help the FBI agents," I said. "We should talk about it, Hannah." She unpacked her toothbrush and toothpaste, prepping it for use.

"You already know how I feel about what that contract says, Roman," Hannah said before she began brushing her teeth. I leaned against the counter beside her.

"I know, it’s an awful contract for an illegal operation," I said to her, "but if we don’t take the chance to do what’s right, then who will? Don’t you want to see your father pay for what he did?" Hannah glanced at me while she brushed her teeth, then she spit out the toothpaste and wiped her mouth with a damp washcloth. Her green gaze met mine.

"Of course, I want him put away, Roman," she said to me. "But even though my father sold me to that place, I’m with you, and to be honest, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me."

I took Hannah’s face gently in my hands and kissed her forehead before meeting her gaze again. "I’m not proud of what I did," I said. "I wish we had met another way, and I know you do too, but I’m glad we’re together. Those other women deserve a chance, too."

"You’re right, Roman," she said. "They do, and I know that; I’m just afraid other innocent people will get hurt as well, including us." I embraced her again and she laid her head on my chest.

"All we can do is be as safe as possible," I said. "We’ll get the bodyguards, and we’ll do everything that the FBI agents tell us to do. That’s all we can do."

We were silent for a moment before Hannah gazed up at me. "I’m going to worry, Roman," she said. "Every time you leave to go to work, any time I haven’t heard from Lori or Lauren or my brothers I’m going to think the worst."

"It’s natural," I said. "I sure as hell will worry about you, too, but we can’t let the fear control us. We take risks every day just leaving home or riding in the car."

"Those risks aren’t the same as having a thug beat you to death," Hannah said.

"That’s what the bodyguards are for," I told her. "You said yourself that you took on a guard at The Auction House. You’re tough."

Hannah smirked. "A lot of good it did me," she said, "but you’re right, I kicked his ass." She gave me a small smile and I kissed her. It was only meant to be a short kiss, but we clung to each other, deepening the kiss, using each other to release the tensions we were holding inside. We slipped our bathrobes off and I carried my wife to bed, making love to her gently and passionately. I wanted her to know through my touch that I cared for her deeply. Through our physical union, I wanted Hannah to know that we were connected and that I wouldn’t have it any other way.