Page 60 of Forbidden Romeo

I take a sip of my coffee as I scan the cars passing by. No familiar license plates.

Aimee has already proven she is willing to do anything to keep her sister safe, even at the cost of her own life and well-being. I wouldn’t put it past her to try and shield her from their past.

I mentally do the math—Roisin would have been about sixteen when they left for LA. Old enough to remember, then. Odd. Although, she is training to be an actor. Maybe she’s just better than the rest of us at pretending it isn’t real.

Actor.

She’s at Julliard.

The idea is still forming in my brain as I hit the call button on my phone.

“Jack Duffy, how the devil are you, my boy?” Douglas Jones’ booming British accent sounds down the receiver only a few moments later.

“I thought you might be too famous to answer my calls these days,” I immediately quip back.

“Did you not hear my Oscar’s speech? You got name-checked.”

“Aye,” I reply, unable to keep the smirk off my face at the memory. “It was kind of you to mention me before your wife and all.”

“Ex-wife now, I’m afraid.”

“Pity. She was flirting with me, you know.”

Douglas lets out a low chortle. “I’ve missed you, my boy. What can I do for you?”

I get straight to the point. “Are you still lecturing at Julliard?”

“When I can,” he replies, the question of why evident in his voice.

“I need one of your students in witness protection.”

There’s a moment of silence as Douglas processes this. I’m not the kind of person who cashes in favors like this, and Douglas knows that as well as anyone. If it were anyone else making the request, I imagine he’d deny them. His integrity as a scholar and artist is absolutely paramount to his success.

“When?” His voice finally comes through the receiver, and I let out a sigh.

“Now.”

Another pause; this time, my heart begins to race.

“Consider it done, my boy,” Douglas assures me.

I feel a sense of relief washing over me. “Thank you.”

“Campus security is tighter than Fort Knox these days, and there’s plenty of accommodation,” Douglas replies as if thinking aloud his plan of action.

“Perfect,” I reply sincerely.

“May I ask who?” Douglas’s voice holds a hint of curiosity.

I freeze.

I knew I would have to tell him, but the more people that know, the greater the risk to all of us.

“I’m going to need your absolute discretion,” I emphasize.

“You think so little of me?” Douglas responds playfully.

“Padraiccannothear a word of this,” I insist, needing him to understand the gravity of the situation.

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