Page 78 of His Juliet

“Romeo?” Her lower lip trembled. “Go away. I don’t want you here.”

“Oh, thank god.” I gathered her into my arms, hugging her close. If she was upset with me, that meant she was still breathing.

I looked down and realized the blood was seeping out of a series of neat cuts on her thighs. The bleeding had mostly stopped, but one cut was deeper than the others and was steadily dripping blood onto the floor. I swore and grabbed some toilet paper to press it to the cut.

“What happened, angel?”

Juliet leaned back, her head hitting the wall as she closed her eyes.

“No baby, I need you to stay awake for me.” The bleeding was thankfully slowing down. “How did this happen?”

My brain was sluggish with panic, my stomach churning with nausea.

“Why are you here?” She sounded exhausted.

“I was worried about you.” I swallowed hard as I dabbed at the cuts and kept pressure on the deepest one. “I’m sorry I told you I was out of town and so fucking sorry for what I said in the bakery. The men I was with… I couldn’t let them know that I care about you.”

“You don’t care about me.”

I gripped the back of her neck. “Don’t say that.” My voice was harsh, desperate. I rested my forehead against hers. “Please, never, ever say that, Juliet. I can’t handle it.”

Her eyes fluttered closed again. “I don’t understand what’s happening. Maybe I did actually die.”

My chest constricted and a strangled sound came out of my mouth. “You will not die. I won’t allow it.”

I looked around the tiny bathroom, trying to figure out what to do. Did she need to go to the hospital? I was conscious that with every ticking minute, the Albanians drew closer.

I messaged the apartment number to Angelo, telling him to guard us until we could leave.

My chest eased slightly once all the cuts stopped bleeding. “Let’s get you in the shower,” I murmured.

I turned on the hot water, hoping I was doing the right thing. Juliet was already mostly naked, just in her bra and underwear. I stripped off my clothes, keeping my boxers on.

“Come here.” I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her off the floor. Her arms came around my neck and a whimper slipped through her lips.

“You’re okay. We’re going to figure this out.”

The water was hot now, so I guided her into the shower. It was tiny, but that didn’t matter. I didn’t want any space between us anyway.

Juliet rested her cheek against my chest and let out a shuddering sigh. I clutched at her, gently rocking as the hot water pelted us.

“What happened?” I couldn’t think of anything that would create cuts like that except for one thing, and my mind wouldn’t let me believe it.

“I don’t want to tell you.”

I pressed my face to her hair. “Please, angel. Please tell me.” My words were raw, scraping past my throat.

“You know what happened.”

“Juliet.”

“Fine, I did it to myself, okay?” She struggled against my hold, but I just tightened my arms, nausea churning in my stomach.

“Why?”

“Because I was upset and I needed to not feel.”

I squeezed my eyes. “I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. I was so fucking proud to see you in that bakery.” I pulled back so I could cup her face and meet her gaze. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from crying. “I haven’t told you everything about me, and I should have. I work with some dangerous people and couldn’t risk them seeing you with me. None of it was true. I wanted to murder them for what they said about you.”

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