Star-Crossed(107)

She taped the note on the door, and without a backward glance she left her house and her life behind, not knowing when she’d come back. Something told her she’d see Wyatt again—twins didn’t separate forever, it just didn’t seem possible to Jules, but maybe it was time they started learning how to live on their own.

“We need cash,” Jules said as she and Romeo worked at packing her Mercedes.

“We should stop at an ATM now. I got three separate accounts. How many do you have to drain?”

“I got cash, Juliet,” Romeo assured her as he tossed the gun bag into the trunk.

“No, that’s got to go in the front seat.” Jules grabbed the bag herself and headed around to the passenger side. “Easy access.”

“Are you expecting to be attacked on the road?”

“I ain’t ruling it out, and you shouldn’t either. I still think we ought to get as much cash as we can. You don’t know how long we’ll have to operate without credit cards.”

“I got plenty of cash,” Romeo said as they worked at moving his luggage over from the Ferrari parked behind her car on the long driveway. “I’ve known this could happen for a while. You think being prepared means carrying a shotgun in your truck; I think it means carrying a suitcase with half a million in it.” Jules turned to arch an eyebrow him. “Is that how much you got?”

“About that, yeah, maybe a little more. I’ve been adding to it for ten years. I save all my large bills. It’s like a hobby; one finds its way into my hand, and I stick it in the

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suitcase in my trunk.” Romeo held up his hands. “You’re always preaching about being prepared. Well, I’m prepared.”

“You’re driving ’round in a three-hundred-thousand-dollar vehicle with a suitcase filled with cash in your trunk? Do you want to get carjacked?”

“You know, funny thing about that, no one carjacks me,” Romeo said sadly as he loaded another suitcase into Jules’s trunk. “Everyone in our neighborhood knows us, and they sure as shit know my car. My brother is Nova Moretti. I could have twenty million in my trunk and it’d be safe.”

“People in Garnet don’t know Nova Moretti from Adam.”

“When was the last time a car got jacked in Garnet?”

“Good point.” Jules poked her head out from the backseat where she’d tossed her carry-on. She slipped on a thin sweater to combat the crispiness in the spring air. “Once we get on the road, we got some talking to do. If you’re carting ’round that much cash on the off chance you’ll have to run for your life, I think I deserve to know why.”

“We’ll talk,” Romeo promised her.

Jules nodded and walked around her car. Seeing that everything had been loaded, she got into the driver’s seat. Romeo came up to her open door and surprised her by leaning down and kissing her.

“I love you,” he whispered against her lips. “I’m glad you’re coming.”

“Me too,” Jules said with a soft smile. “Now let’s get out of here before Wyatt comes home.”



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Chapter Nineteen

Romeo left the keys to the Ferrari under the mat at the front door of the lake house. He couldn’t handle saying good-bye to Tino a second time, and he surely didn’t want Jules to see him come apart.

He was thinking Tino was already four shots to getting shit-faced and hadn’t noticed them pull up when he spied the crack in the curtains at the window. The small streak of light broke into the darkness, and Romeo could just picture Tino, paranoid as all hell, 9mm in hand, checking to see who it was.

Tino knew they were there, but he didn’t come out. He wasn’t up for another good-bye either, or just as likely, he didn’t want Jules to see him crying any more than Romeo did.

Even still, Romeo found himself walking up to the window. He placed his palm against the cool glass, and after a few seconds Tino’s hand pressed against the other side. They stood there for a few seconds until Romeo felt his eyes getting watery and he turned away.

He got into Jules’s car. There was a brief battle with the passenger seat as he pushed it back far enough to make room for his long legs.

“We’re good?” Jules asked softly.

“Yeah.” Romeo choked, letting his head fall back against the seat, swallowing hard against the urge to break down.

“Okay.” Jules backed up down the driveway.

Romeo let himself feel the throb inside his skull, using the concussion to distract him. Jules had upped the ache in his ribs when she jumped on him, and they hurt

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enough for breathing to be hard. He should have more than enough to distract him, but it wasn’t working.