Page 82 of The Hideout

“D-did you—” Cara’s eyes widened. “Did you do that?”

“What?” Juliet didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at that accusation. “No, I did not!”

“Then who the hell did?” Cara stepped closer to Juliet, poking her head around the bar and trying to catch a glimpse of Paige.

“It’s not for me to tell. But Paige is okay. She’ll be okay.” Juliet knocked back the whiskey she held for Paige, motioning for another. “Sorry, can you refill that, and I’ll have another, too. Something tells me I’m going to need it.”

Cara refilled the glass and filled another, clearing her throat as she pushed them towards Juliet.

“Are you okay out here while I check on Paige?”

“Oh, sure. Yeah, I’ll be fine. Quiet night anyway.”

Juliet noted Cara’s shaking hand where it rested on the bar. She’d probably had the fright of her life when Paige flung herself from her seat. “Pour yourself one of those, too. And again, I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. Check on Paige. She needs you.”

Chapter 25

POINTLESS

Paige watched Juliet from the other side of the kitchen, the air still thick with uncertainty. It didn’t matter that Paige had spent the night at the bar with Juliet; everything still felt off compared to the days before she left for Kent.

They’d decided not to have the talk back at the bar. Paige was too shaken up, and Juliet hadn’t wanted any interruptions. So, here they were…staring one another down with a huge distance between them.

“Are you sure you want to do this now, Paige? It’s one in the morning, and you should be resting.”

“I…want to do it now. I’m not sleeping anyway so what does it matter?” Paige hadn’t settled once since she had left Liverpool. Mostly because she was in pain but also because she didn’t seem to be able to sleep alone. She’d become so used to having Juliet’s arms around her in the night, being alone felt not only miserable but unfamiliar.

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

Paige stepped around the island and moved towards the whiskey Juliet kept out on a side table. She took two glasses and filled them, turning back and handing one to Juliet. “Who is Henry?”

Juliet stared down at the whiskey. “I told you who he was. An old client.”

“If we’re doing this, I need the truth. You’re the only person in my life that I trust, so please, be honest with me.”

Juliet nodded, smiling weakly. “Join me on the couch?”

Paige followed, itching to reach out and take Juliet’s hand. But she didn’t. She wasn’t sure where they stood with one another yet. Paige had spent the afternoon and early evening making some decisions based on the last twenty-four hours—that call—and by the end of this night, she hoped to be on far better terms with Juliet.

“Henry is an old client. That’s true. But he’s been under the impression that he owes me for many years. Ten, to be exact.”

“For what? Getting him off an assault charge or something?”

Juliet scoffed lightly. “No, but I can see why you’d think that.”

Paige watched Juliet expectantly. She wanted the entire truth. If this was ever going to work, they had to be open.

“I’ve known Henry since I was seventeen. We went to school together a million years ago, and we always kept in touch. Twenty years ago, I got a call from him. He needed representation.”

“What did he do?”

“He was mixed up with the wrong people. His sister’s ex-husband, to be precise. Keira was his world. They’d lost their parents when they were kids, and he protected her fiercely. Always had. Anyway, long story short…Keira fell in love with one of the bosses in the criminal underworld. Drug dealer for most of Europe. She was young and naive. We all thought she couldn’t see past the fancy watches and expensive cars he bought her.”

“I’ve never understood people like that. People who know what their partner is getting up to, the pain they’re causing by dealing drugs, but living off the money.”

“At one time, I agreed. But everything wasn’t as it seemed. He was abusive. He threatened to kill her if she left. And trust me, he would have in a split second. In the grand scheme of things, it seemed easier to stay and play the happy housewife than risk her life.”

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