Page 55 of Forbidden Romeo

“J-Jack?”

Chapter Fourteen

Jack

“J-Jack?”

I breathe heavily, staring down at the man on the floor. I don’t know what came over me. As soon as I saw them advancing on Aimee, the betting man I am vanished and something else took his place. All I could see, all I could hear was the roar in my mind.

Stay away from her.

The poor fucker at my feet got it the worst. He’s bloodied up good, but there’s no way he won’t rat on me the minute he wakes up.

But right now, there are more pressing concerns.

I turn to Aimee, ready to find a quivering mess of the woman I left only a few hours ago…

…Only to find her standing there with her gun trained on my chest.

She looks torn between horror and relief.

“Aimee…” I say

“Who are you?”

Her grip on the gun tightens, her gaze locked onto me. The tension in the air is palpable as silence hangs between us.

“We can’t stay here,” I urge, my eyes darting to the unconscious man on the floor. Time is slipping away, and if we don’t get out of here soon, things are going to get messier than they already are.

Aimee’s expression contorts with a mix of disbelief, confusion, and anger.

“Who are you?” she demands again, her voice quivering with a hint of betrayal.

I take a deep breath, searching for the right words to convince her. “The Duffys are coming for you, Aimee. All of them. You think you can take them on your own?”

Her eyes flicker with conflicting emotions, torn between trusting me and doubting my intentions. I can sense her vulnerability, her fear for her own safety.

“You stay here, you’re dead too,” I assert firmly, my voice laced with urgency. “I know you don’t trust me, but right now, we need to focus on getting out of here alive.”

“How did they know where I was?”

“I don’t have time for this.” I grab my phone out of my pocket and hit Kate’s number.

She picks up at the second ring. “Talk to me.”

“Withdraw. Your three scouts were unconscious when I arrived.”

“Copy that,” she says, hanging up. The text comes through a second later.

KATE:wtf is going on

I ignore it for now, shoving the phone deep into my pocket as I approach Aimee. She still has her gun trained on me and doesn’t waver, even as I come so close that I can feel the cold metal of her gun pressed against my chest. Despite the tension and the danger, I remain steady, meeting her unwavering gaze.

“If you were going to shoot me, you would have done it already,” I say calmly.

She hesitates for a moment, her finger poised near the trigger. Then, with a defiant click, she switches off the safety. The intensity in her eyes doesn’t waver.

“Aimee,” I speak her name softly, hoping to break through her anger and mistrust.

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