Page 75 of The Hideout

“Still nothing in the stars for you then?”

If only. She’d had it…and now she was losing it. Juliet cleared her throat. “If I send you the address, can you be there soon?”

“Sure. Is it in the city? I’ll drive in now.”

“Yes. I’ll text you the address.” Juliet took her bag from the breakfast stool and scribbled a note to Paige, leaving it on the counter. “I’m leaving my place now. And Hannah?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for this. I really appreciate it.”

She felt Hannah smiling down the line. But that was Hannah, always happy even if life threw shit at her. “No problem, boss!”

Juliet ended the call and sent off the address, glancing down the hallway once more before she left her apartment. And then her phone started to vibrate in her hand as she stepped into the lift. “Henry, hi.”

“How are things this morning, Jules?”

“Paige is sleeping. I’m seething. I may be in prison by the end of the day!”

Henry sighed. “Bad, huh?”

“Are you outside?” Juliet asked, stepping out of the lift and heading for the exit. Her mind flashed back to the moment she’d met James here, her stomach turning at the mere thought of his face.

“I am. Usual spot.”

“I’m coming out now.”

Juliet had opted for jeans and a pair of Converse today, the thought of dressing up the last thing on her mind. She’d barely made it out of bed this morning, let alone picked out an outfit. As the rain pelted her, the wind howling as she rushed across the car park, the electronic gates opened, and she jogged across the street to Henry’s car.

“You couldn’t have timed that any more poorly.” Henry laughed, handing Juliet some napkins from the side of his door. “You look like a drowned rat.”

“If you say something about my appearance once more, you’ll be disappearing, my friend.”

“Talk to me. Tell me what you two need.”

“You don’t know anyone who can run a bar for me, do you?” Juliet was joking, she had a very specific kind of clientele at The Hideout, but she would be lying if she said the thought had never crossed her mind. One day off a week wasn’t what she had in mind when she’d taken early retirement.

“Dabbled in bar work myself over the years.” Henry lifted a brow, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. “Look, Jules, if you need to be at your place with Paige, the bar can take a backseat. I’m sure people would understand.”

“To be honest, the bar is the only thing that keeps me sane at the moment. I know where I stand with that place.”

“I get that.”

“So,” Juliet paused, aware that her next words could really fuck everything up. “I need you to pay a visit to the guy at this address.” She handed over a piece of paper that had James’ address written on it. “I don’t want anything too heavy, but you don’t leave that house until he agrees to a divorce.”

“And if he doesn’t agree easily?”

“Kneecaps. Nothing more.” Juliet was disappointed that she’d just said those words, but Paige was more important than anything else in her life. If James needed to be scared…beaten into giving her the divorce, he was getting off lightly. If Juliet had her way, she’d have insisted Henry end James without a second thought. But she had to think about Paige. The comeback on her. She couldn’t live with herself if something went wrong and Paige was arrested. Juliet didn’t care if she was, though. She’d take this one on the chin if it meant Paige was safe. “I mean that, Henry. Nothing more.”

“Got it. And it’ll be my pleasure.”

“You’re a good man. But now I have to go because I have a meeting at the bar. Stay here until you can get cover.”

“What about you?” Henry’s brows drew together. “You won’t have anyone watching your back.”

“At this point, I no longer care about any threats made against me. I’m about to lose everything anyway, so what does it matter?”

“What’s going on?”

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