Page 164 of Dark Romeo

“I do not have the luxury of reallocating uniforms to stop a bloodbath between criminals when I have innocent people who need their attention more.”

Tears stung my eyes. My father— my own father—was going to let Roman die, a man I knew was good, because of all the bad ones. “One unit. Give me one.”

“I’ll send a unit there later to pick up the pieces of whoever is left.”

My stomach coiled into a tight spring of resolve. Screw him. He might not send anyone to help. But I wasn’t going to stand by and let this injustice happen. “Fine. Then I’m going in there by myself.”

“Julianna, don’t you?—”

I slammed down the phone, a prickly heat underneath my skin like a rash. I couldn’t believe it. My own father.

I turned to Mercutio, who was staring at me in despair. He wouldn’t have been able to hear what my father said, but he would have gotten the gist of it based on my reaction. “We’re fucked, aren’t we?”

It wasn’t over until it was over. “I have an idea, but it might get bloody.”

Something passed between us. I saw the deep love he had for Roman mirrored on his face. And I knew that we were both prepared to die for him.

Mercutio nodded.

I grabbed my car keys. “Let’s go.”

ESPINOZA

____________

Something rang out in Espinoza’s car, a soft musical tone. He frowned as he accelerated through a green light. That was not his ringtone. It wasn’t his phone ringing.

It sounded like it was coming from his passenger seat. Espo wondered for the moment whether he should stop the car and find it.

He could do it when he got to Desiree’s apartment. He didn’t want to keep her waiting. She’d sent a rather racy detailed message of what she wanted to do to him. The ringing had stopped anyway, silence filling up the car.

Too silent.

For a second the dull hollowness in his chest had a chance to step out into the fore. Desiree was beautiful, but she wasn’t really someone he could talk to. Not like Lacey. Smart, funny Lacey, who was so easy to make blush. Smart, funny Lacey, who would run if she knew the past he kept buried.

The phone started ringing again, cutting through his thoughts. He frowned. Whoever dropped their phone in his car must be desperate to get it back. Espo sighed and pulled over to the side of the road. What was the bet this was some girl’s phone she’d deliberately “dropped” in his car to make sure he called her again? It wasn’t the first time one of them had done something like that.

You’re such a cynic, Espo.

He got out of his car and walked around to the passenger’s side. It had begun to ring again when he grasped the slim phone that had fallen down the side of the seat.

It was Julianna’s phone. There was the small chip along the back where she dropped it that time at a crime scene, almost hitting the corpse on the head. She must have dropped it again tonight when he was taking her home.

He turned the screen over and was surprised to see the caller was “Dad”.

The chief.

Espinoza hit answer.

“Don’t you dare go after them yourself,” the familiar voice roared from the speaker.

“Chief?” Espo asked.

There was a pause. “Espinoza?”

“Julianna dropped her phone in my car.”

The chief swore. “Espinoza, you’ve got to stop her. I called her back on her home phone, but she didn’t answer.” The desperation in his voice tugged at Espo. He’d never heard the chief sound like this.

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