Page 69 of Dark Romeo

The captain entered my father’s office and held the door open for me. This was it. Last chance to run.

A Capulet never runs from danger. A Capulet does their duty.

Running would only make things worse. And where would I go? All I could do was beg for forgiveness and hope I wasn’t fired.

I entered the office and stood just inside the room, flinching as the door clicked shut behind me. The captain sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. My father, Chief Montgomery Capulet, sat behind his large desk, his palms flat on the surface amidst small neat piles of paper, a computer and a single photo frame. The frame faced away from me but I knew what it contained: a photo of me and my mother taken two weeks before she died.

My father’s narrowed eyes caught mine, the dark look on his face growing darker. A knot developed in my throat. How many times in my life had I seen that look on his face, that heavy disapproval, that bitter disappointment, that tightly controlled anger? It took every ounce of effort not to throw myself on his desk and beg for his forgiveness. Please still love me.

A figure I only just noticed, sat in one of the chairs facing my father’s desk, turned to look at me. It was Espinoza, a similar grim look on his face. Oh God. They were all here. The only people whose professional opinion mattered to me.

I walked like I was facing the firing squad to the only spare chair, right between the captain and Espinoza. I could feel all three pairs of eyes staring at me, burning holes through my lies like fire through paper. I fell into the chair, gripping my hands together in my lap and stared at the desk. I couldn’t meet anyone’s eye. I couldn’t bear to see the disappointment. The air was heavy and hot, my neck prickling under my collar as I waited.

My father leaned forward in his large brown chair, the leather creaking mournfully under his solid build. I swallowed hard, hoping that I would somehow find the right words. Time to bite the bullet. I looked up and opened my mouth to apologize. “Dad?—”

“Where are we with Vinnie Torrito’s murder?” my father interrupted, shooting me a glare. He had a rule that I was never to call him dad or show any sign of affection at work.

I blinked. Was this what this meeting was about? Had my guilt forced me to jump to the wrong conclusions?

I realized I was still sitting in stunned silence when Espinoza spoke instead of me. “We questioned Giovanni and Roman Tyrell, as well as a few of their men. They all alibied each other out. So far we can’t find any holes in their alibis. The only thing we have is the traffic cam video showing one of their SUVs in the area during the time.”

“That’s purely circumstantial. It’s not enough.” My father growled and leaned back in his chair, the hinges protesting. “What about witnesses?”

I couldn’t believe my luck. No one had found out about Roman and me. Yet, a small voice in me whispered.

I cleared my throat and spoke up. “We’ve canvassed the area around the body dump but no one saw anything. Or at least if they did, they’re not speaking to us.”

“Any trace on the body?”

I let out an easier breath. “No trace. Whoever committed the crime was a pro and knew to clean up and wear gloves.”

“And the slug?”

“It’s not a match to anything in the system. We haven’t found the gun. Uniforms have searched all the dumpsters in a three mile radius to the body dump.”

“We won’t find the gun. Even if we do these bastards are too smart to have it lead back to anyone.” My father swore. He rarely swore in front of me. He leaned forward, his elbows on the desk, and rubbed his face with his hands. “I’m getting pressure from upstairs to stamp out gang activity, which means putting Giovanni and Roman Tyrell away. We haven’t been able to pin anything else on them. This murder is our best chance.”

“What if,” I spoke up, “what if it wasn’t the Tyrells?”

I felt all three sets of eyes focus on me, burning holes in me. I regretted my words immediately.

My father’s lips pressed together. “Don’t be stupid, Julianna. Jacob Tyrell was killed two weeks ago by the Veronesis. Now one of Veronesi’s men has turned up dead. Of course, the Tyrells were behind this kill. If they didn’t pull the trigger, then they hired the man who did. This has the potential to lead to a full-scale war. When that happens, too many innocents will get pulled into it, they always do. We cannot let this escalate. We need to find some way of pinning the Tyrells for this murder.”

I frowned. “What about Jacob Tyrell’s murder? Shouldn’t we be focusing on that case as well?”

My father stared at me. “That is not your case.”

I bit down a rise of annoyance. “If these two cases are related, it might help us to have a look at the case file for Jacob Tyrell’s murderer.”

My father shook his head. “I already have people sifting through that evidence. There’s a hell of a lot of it. Your job is to focus on putting Giovanni and Roman Tyrell away. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Espinoza and I said together.

My father directed his next comment straight at me. “Don’t disappoint me.”

My stomach tightened. “I won’t, sir.”

“Good. Now get out of here and find me something to pin on those Tyrell bastards.”

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