Page 28 of His Juliet

She groaned. “Can’t come fast enough.”

We were watching some weird teenage vampire movie where the guy was watching the girl he was interested in while she slept.

“Do you think it’s crossing a line to put cameras inside someone’s apartment without letting them know?” I asked.

“No,” Angelo said.

“Yes,” Sofiya responded at the same time.

She scowled. “Who are we talking about here? Why do you need the cameras?”

I shrugged. “It’s just a hypothetical. But what if the cameras were there to keep her safe?”

“Her?” Sofiya perked up, no longer looking aggravated and tired. “Who isher?”

“No one,” I muttered. “Never mind.”

I met Angelo’s gaze and he lifted his chin. “You do what you need to do.”

There was a depth of understanding in his expression and it made me wonder.

“How are the girls we rescued the other day?” I kept my eyes on the bodyguard. His jaw clenched and he was suddenly engrossed in the movie.

“They’re… I don’t know, it feels wrong to say they’re okay,” Sofiya said, voice soft. “What they went through, I don’t know how you heal from that. But they’re all safe now and we’re doing everything we can to support them.”

“What happened to the woman you carried out, Angelo?”

He scowled. “She lost her leg.”

“Fuck, that sucks.”

“She didn’t deserve that,” he said gruffly.

I’d known Angelo since he was a kid. He had always been sweet and gentle, raised in a loving home with two nurturing parents. His father was in the Family as an accountant, but Angelo had been determined to be a soldier. I’d worried he was too soft for it, but he’d proven himself when he saved Matteo’s life. He’d risen through the ranks and proven himself again when he became Sofiya’s guard and defended her within an inch of his life—getting shot in the process.

I still wondered if this life made him happy.

“What’s her name?” I asked.

He glanced over at me. “Who?”

I had to hold in my smile. “The woman. What’s her name?”

“Anya.” Darkness covered his features. “Why do you want to know?”

Oh, now this was interesting. It seemed I wasn’t the only one harboring a secret… secret what? Crush?

Calling Juliet acrushdidn’t feel good enough, but could I have more with her? Could I have what Matteo and Sofiya had?

For the rest of the movie, all I could think about was how soft Juliet’s skin was, how good her hair smelled. She’d looked so perfect today. Felt so perfect.

She was perfect.

* * *

I watchedJuliet leave her apartment the following morning. She entered the bagel shop next door and left a few minutes later, bag in hand. As soon as she was out of sight, I entered her building. It was massive, with close to a hundred units. Luckily, I’d gotten Juliet’s apartment number from Sienna, who had looked way too fucking smug when she gave it to me.

Placing the cameras was easy. One pointed at her door, and I put the other by the front entrance of the building. I was tempted to put one inside her apartment, but even I knew that was crossing a line. Or was it?

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