Page 159 of His Juliet

I tightened my hold on her, crushing her to my chest. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever felt, thinking I’d never get to talk to you again and knowing I was the one who had failed you.”

“What are you talking about? You didn’t fail me,” she said fiercely. “You rescued me.”

“You should have been safe here.” The Albanians—or more specifically, Arta—had exploited a weakness in the New York City power grid to disable the alarm systems in our apartment building. Franco and Sienna had already made changes to ensure no one could do it again, and Matteo hired a private company to audit our security. But I was still on edge. I had exposed Juliet to danger by bringing her into my world. What use was I if I couldn’t protect her?

“I had to accept a long time ago that the world is never completely safe. And that some risks are worth it.” She cupped my face, meeting my gaze intently. “The only reason I’m even remotely functional right now is because of you. Because when I woke up from the dead, yours was the face I saw.”

“Angel,” I said, my voice broken with emotion. “I will always find you.”

She leaned in and her lips met mine, sweet and soft. I cupped the back of her head, tilting it back to give me better access as I deepened the kiss.

I sank into the feeling of Juliet—the weight of her on my lap, the soft little noises she made, the sweetness of her mouth. The part of me that shattered when I found out she was gone began to mend.

76

JULIET

Someone was screaming.

The second I had the thought, the scream cut off. Gasping breaths filled the air, and I realizedIwas the source of the sound.

As I slowly came back to my body, I heard him.Romeo.

“I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

His body curled around mine, and he slowly stroked his hand up and down my back. I clung to him, pressing my face into the crook of his neck.

“Sorry,” I whispered.

I felt horrible for interrupting his sleep. Both lamps on the bedside tables cast a glow around the room. Romeo refused to let me turn them off, insisting he could sleep perfectly fine with them on. Maybe that was true, but he certainly wasn’t sleeping through my screams.

His grip on me tightened. “Don’t apologize. Never to me.”

The intensity in his tone raised a lump in my throat. “I’ll stop apologizing once you stop feeling guilty about what happened.”

“Juliet…”

“No, just listen. You can’t control everything. Sometimes, bad things happen. The difference is that this time, I had someone to save me.” I curled my fingers in his hair. He needed another trim soon.

“If what happened to you wasn’t my fault, then what happened to Breanna wasn’t your fault,” Romeo said. “You can’t control everything, either.”

For the first time since I found out Breanna had taken her life, some of my shame loosened its grip. Blaming myself was a way of maintaining the illusion that I could have changed the situation when there was nothing I could have done. While it was a tragic pill to swallow, maybe it was the way for me to move forward.

“I’ll try to let go of my guilt if you do, too,” I said. “I love you, baby. I don’t want you carrying this around.”

His lips brushed my forehead. “I’ll try. Promise.”

Calm surrounded us as we held each other close. Even with my persistent nightmares, there was something special about being awake with him in the middle of the night.

“Want to tell me about the dream?” He cupped the back of my head, gently massaging my scalp.

“It was just the same. Being stuck in the dark alone.”

“Never again. Never.” He scowled. “I wish I could accompany you into your nightmares and fight off the darkness.”

I pressed my smile to his throat. How was it that I could be sucked into my trauma and be happy at the same time? The nightmares, panic attacks, agoraphobia, and urges to cut had all returned, but I wasn’t alone in coping with them… and maybe that meant I wouldn’t drown again.

I kissed his throat and worked my way down to his shoulder and across his collarbone. He smelled so good, like leather and salt and my strawberry body wash.

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