Page 151 of His Juliet

I tucked Juliet close to my chest, murmuring as I lifted her into my arms, while Queenie kept her spot on her chest.

Matteo stood by my side when I faced Elira.

“I don’t care what deal you make with Matteo. You will only form an alliance with Juliet ifshewants it. And I will never forget that you are the one who threatened her safety. Who stood by as she almost died.”

Elira’s jaw clenched, but she didn’t argue. “I trust you’ll take care of my niece.”

“Better care than you did,” I bit out before striding towards the door where Leona was standing guard.

“Does she need anything?” she asked.

“Our doctor’s on the plane,” Matteo said. He squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll go first to clear the way in case anyone’s still alive. Dante and Niccolò will cover your back.”

We didn’t come across anyone on our way out, but as we passed the main hall, I stopped. The monster pulsed, ruthless and demanding. It wouldn’t let me leave without seeing this through.

“Matteo, take Juliet for a moment.”

The emptiness in my arms was torture, but I wouldn’t be long.

The men were exactly where we’d left them. The Albanian women sat around them, completely unbothered by the massacre. I stepped over the bodies, looking at all their faces until I found the Butcher. He was lying on the floor, arm outstretched. And beside him was…

What. The.Fuck.

I looked up at the gathered women. “There are two of them?”

I wasn’t sure they understood me until one of them nodded. “Triplets.”

I froze. “There’s a third?”

“Already dead. Long time ago.”

My mind spun. Well, this was the answer as to how the Butcher had been in New York and Albania at the same fucking time. I had a million other questions, but none of them mattered more than getting back to Juliet.

I unsheathed my knife and plunged it into the first Butcher’s chest. I dragged it all the way down to his stomach, gutting him until his innards spilled out. I stood back, taking in the bleeding mess. It wasn’t enough. My fingers tightened on the knife and I stabbed his dick through his pants. I hoped he wasn’t dead yet and could feel everything in his unconscious state.

I repeated the same on the twin before standing back and admiring my work. Blood and entrails soaked the floor. Their deaths had been too easy, too peaceful. They deserved so much worse for the suffering they’d put Juliet, and all the trafficked women, through.

I sucked in a steadying breath. The monster wasn’t close to being satisfied, but maybe that was okay. The darkness is what allowed me to stand against injustice and protect those I cared about, but it no longer held the central position in my soul. That had been usurped by my love for Juliet.

She was the one my world revolved around now.

I turned my back on the Butchers and strode away.

Towards love.

Towards life.

Towards my girl.

73

ROMEO

Juliet wokeup a few times as we reversed our journey in the van back to the plane. Every time her eyes opened, relief coursed through my limbs. But when they closed, I was consumed once more with panic.

I clutched at her wrist, the gentle pulsing of her heartbeat the only thing keeping me from losing my shit. “I swear she didn’t have a pulse when I found her. I checked.”

“I’m sure you did,” Leona said. “Some poisons can slow someone’s heart rate until they only have a very faint pulse. You couldn’t have known.”

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