Page 85 of Dark Romeo

We cordially invite you to…

The Fated Grand Opening

Midnight, Friday, August 25th

Dress code: Evening Wear & Masks

There was an address on the other side.

It was a party invitation for next Friday. Roman must have dropped it. Did he do it on purpose? Did he want me to find this? Was this his way of inviting me?

I shook myself. He just told me to stay away from him. It must have been an accident. What should I do with it? I certainly wasn’t going to return it…

I should just throw it away.

I glanced once at the boiler room door as if I expected Roman to come back for it at any moment. He did not return. I slipped the invitation into my pocket.

The next day another package arrived for me at work. A long white box just as before. No message, no note, no return address.

My stomach fluttered as I opened the lid. As I expected, I found a second perfect blood-red rose.

JULIANNA

____________

I’d been sitting at the large meeting room table in one of the offices for hours, cheap laminate chipping off the corners. Across the table I had spread out all the files we had on the entire Tyrell family and their associates. Each file was open with photos and papers fanning out across the table and stuck up across the walls, my notes in glaring red marker pen. I’d been combing through each file, memorizing each one, my stomach curdling as I read about the Tyrell family’s cold-blooded rise to power. How could Roman Tyrell grow up in such a family and yet turn out so different from them?

“Hey, Jules.” Dene, one of the tech guys, stuck his head into the meeting room, making me jump.

His eyes cast across the room and his eyebrow lifted for a second. I know what it looked like. It looked like one of those shrine rooms we always seemed to find when we busted a crazed stalker.

“I’m in the middle of a case,” I blurted out. “This is for a case.”

He let out a whistle. “Damn. I’d hate to be the one you set your sights on.”

I stabbed the lid of my pen closed. “Do you have something for me?”

His gaze snapped towards me. “Er, you’ll want to see this.”

“This better be good.”

I followed him into the tech room, where he had lined up black-and-white security footage on several large monitors. I recognized the hotel. It was the one that Roman and I had spent the night in. Oh, shit. I completely forgot about the hotel security footage. I was on that footage. The blood drained from my face. I felt like I might pass out.

“When did we get the footage from the hotel?” I asked, trying not to hyperventilate.

“Earlier today.”

“And you didn’t tell me?” I asked, my voice going high.

Dene frowned at me. “I’m telling you now.”

At that moment, Espinoza walked in and stood next to me, blocking my exit. Even if he hadn’t, I still couldn’t have run. I was frozen to the floor. I could only watch in horror as Dene rolled the footage from that Saturday night.

On screen, Roman entered the hotel lobby, unmistakable in his stature and the way he walked, commanding the attention of everyone in the space. Slung over his shoulder was me.

“Same kind of hair as Rosaline,” said Espinoza. “Pity we can’t see her face.”

“She’s got great legs,” said Dene.

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