Page 21 of His Juliet

I nodded and turned to leave, but Matteo stopped me.

“You’d tell me if something was going on? I know last night was hard.” His words came out stilted.

I snorted. “Are we going to talk about our feelings now?”

He flipped me off with a smirk. “Sofiya’s been on me about emotions and shit.”

“I’m fine. I got my revenge on the bastards.”

But as I walked out of the office, I once again had the sensation of revenge not being enough.

11

ROMEO

I stared at my phone,my finger hovering above Juliet’s name. I was back in my apartment after going to the port. We hadn’t found anything, but several hours of crouching behind shipping containers meant my back was fucking screaming at me, reminding me I wasn’t a young man anymore.

I flopped back on the couch, staring at her name on my screen as if it would conjure her. Only a few hours had passed since I’d been with Juliet, but I was already having withdrawals.

I kept thinking about her. The way she let out a little snort when she laughed. The soft curves of her body. The way she’d leaned in to comfort me that first night when I admitted what I’d never said out loud about needing my father’s forgiveness.

We had been so close to kissing before we were interrupted. Maybe that was the problem. I hadn’t had the chance to get her out of my system.

The moment I had the thought, I felt sick. Juliet was already in my system and I didn’t want to fuck her out of it. I wanted to keep her close and treasure and spoil her. The realization that I wanted more with her left me stunned. Had I ever had this feeling? My excitement was immediately crushed under an ice-cold wave of reality. Juliet wasn’t part of my world. She wouldn’t understand the darkness I lived in, and I wouldn’t drag her into it.

I threw my phone on the couch with a groan. I should let her live her life and move on with mine, but I didn’t know if I was strong enough for that.

Maybe we could be friends. That way, I could make sure she was taken care of while still keeping enough of a distance to ensure her safety.

Speaking of taking care of her, I had something else I needed to do. I hopped off the couch, ignoring how my knees creaked, and headed to Sienna’s apartment. I nodded at Dante, her guard posted in the hallway, and knocked on her door.

Seconds passed and my impatience grew. She finally opened the door with crossed arms and raised eyebrows.

“You know it’s past midnight. I could have been sleeping.”

I rolled my eyes. We were all night owls in this building. “You know you’ll be up for at least two more hours.”

She grumbled, but stepped aside to let me in.

“I need a favor.”

“Surprise, surprise,” Sienna said.

I followed her into the kitchen where a plate of cookies was waiting next to her boiling kettle. Sleeping my ass.

She caught me looking at them and rolled her eyes. “Onecookie, okay? I swear my brother ate almost all of them earlier. I barely managed to sneak these away.”

Sofiya was an amazing baker, and we all fought like rabid creatures to get our hands on as many treats as we could.

I grabbed two chocolate chip cookies, and she scowled. “Not the behavior of a man who wants a favor.”

I grinned. Needling Sienna was fun. I may have been an only child, but she was like a sister to me.

She poured us cups of tea and then fixed me with a stare. “Okay, what is this favor you need in the middle of the night?”

“Can you see information about specific businesses managed by Empire Properties?”

She scrunched her nose. “That is literally the last thing I thought you’d say. You’re interested in the legitimate side of things now?”

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