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As if woken by some silent alarm, both men stirred, sitting up in a shockingly alert manner.
“What the hell were you two doing in my bed?” I asked.
Kieran exhaled roughly, running a hand through his vibrant blond hair. “We were protecting your body with ours. In the event guns or knives are aimed at your bed from either direction, you’d be mostly safe.”
I blinked in shock. “Oh.” It didn’t escape my notice that one of them had carried me upstairs to begin with.
“As much as I had liked the idea of getting you into bed, Romero would kill any of us for touching you—dying or not,” he said, a little sheepishly.
I couldn’t help but grin at that, but then my smile fell. Romero was lying somewhere, wounded. Possibly dying. Whatever he’d gotten himself mixed up in, I was now a part of. “Has anyone heard from him?” I asked softly.
Aaron shook his head.
My eyes filled with tears that I swallowed back. I turned, scooping up some clean clothes to change into. I headed into the bathroom and locked the door. Pushing away the images from the dream playing on repeat in my mind, I stripped and turned on the water.
I didn’t wait for it to fully heat up before stepping into the spray. Goose bumps erupted across my flesh, and I shivered. Though I desperately wanted to sate the roar of desire still coursing through my veins, I resisted.
Once my hair and skin were thoroughly washed, I stepped out and redressed.
Downstairs, all of the men sat in the living room, planning some way to get to Romero. Stirring milk into my coffee, I let my thoughts wander.
I paused. Hadn’t Romero said he’d transferred money to my account?
I pulled out my phone and accessed my banking app. When the balance lit up the screen, I stared down at the numbers, trying to fathom how that many could even fit in one line.
One million dollars was in my account.
I shook my head, took a sip of the scalding coffee, and winced. The tight set of my shoulders relaxed as the first thought came to mind: I could take it and run away. Disappear. The crime family life isn’t for me. With enough money to reinvent myself, no one would even come looking for me.
But could I honestly live without Romero? Our romance had practically given me whiplash, but it was strong, and it was mine. Ours.
I could use the money to try to find him. Private investigators could find almost anyone, right? And if Romero was a mob boss, then he had to be on someone’s radar already.
It could work…I’d just have to figure out a way to get out of the house without any of the guys seeing me.
For the rest of the day I pretended to do some schoolwork, praying to whatever god might be listening for Romero to make contact. But all was silent.
In my room in the early evening, I packed a bag and stuffed it under my bed, preparing to leave through the window after everyone was asleep. As I had suspected, Darren and Eli volunteered to be my bodyguards. It would make things trickier, but I was determined. If I got caught getting out of bed, I’d just say I had to pee.
With the three of us bundled up in the bed, Darren started to softly snore. I stared up into the darkness, focusing on the sliver of moonlight streaming through a slit between the curtains.
Eli rolled to face me, though I didn’t acknowledge him. “We’re going to find him, I promise. He’s too damn stubborn to die.”
I nodded, feeling a surge of emotion rising within me. “I miss him.”
He let out a gusty breath. “We all do. He’s been like a brother to us for many, many years. We’re not just abandoning him, I assure you.”
Before I could answer, I heard a crack.
Then my bedroom window exploded in a shower of glass.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
JULIETTA
Chaos erupted so quickly I hardly had time to register what was happening. Men in black jumpsuits and guns climbed through my window, the faint illumination from the street lights casting their faces in shadow. Shouts and bangs sounded from downstairs.
Darren grabbed me around the waist, pulling me back as Eli levelled a gun at the intruders, sending off bullet after bullet. And none of them missed.
