“I don’t know if I would say friend,” Juno said, drawing the word out. He received a glare from Saint until he added, “More like brother.”
He caught Saint trying to hide his eyeroll and chuckled. Saint got behind the wheel and turned to the kids to say, “Let’s get you guys home.”
Rome
He used his key to unlock the front door to the apartment Neil and Marco were staying in. He stepped inside and closed the door. Yelling had him pulling his gun and moving to one side of the hallway. He made his way to the living room where the voices seemed to come from.
“Well fuck you very much, you piece of shit,” Marco yelled.
“Marco…” Neil tried, his voice sounding strained.
Something shattered and Rome had no doubt Marco was the one who’d thrown it. With a sigh, Rome holstered his gun and walked into the living room to find them standing at opposite ends of the room. Neither of the men acknowledged him but he knew they were aware of his presence.
“Get out,” Marco yelled and pointed toward the front door. “Pack your shit and leave.”
“Marco, calm down,” Neil said and took a step closer to him.
“No. You need to fuck off. You don’t get a fucking say in my life, Neil. You fucked that up years ago. So don’t even try with me. I know where your loyalties lie and it’s certainly not with me.”
“What’s going on?” Rome asked before either of them could yell some more.
Marco snapped his head toward Rome, his expression a mix of hurt and anger.
“He’s not here for me. His priority is the fucking cartel ‘cause he’s working. Been working the whole time,” Marco said, his voice laced with pain.
Rome reached for his gun and turned his gaze on Neil who was shaking his head.
“That’s not the whole story and you know it,” Neil said to Marco, showing more sincerity and pain than Rome had ever seen from the man before. Neil was usually a closed book. Expressionless. Untouchable. Not right then.
“I love you, Marco. I would never use—”
“You’d better be gone by the time I get back,” Marco snapped and set off toward the front door.
Rome stared after him. He wasn’t even sure what the hell he’d walked in on. He turned to Neil, his eyes narrowed.
“Did you really—”
“Of course, I didn’t.” Neil shook his head, pain clear in his gray eyes. “I would never let my job interfere with Marco’s safety. I should’ve told him earlier, but you know how he is. That fucking temper.”
Rome was only too familiar with said temper, so he got it. He didn’t like it, but he understood.
“What are you gonna do about it?”
Neil sighed heavily before saying, “Nothing. He wants me gone, so I’ll go. I can keep him safe from afar. Have for years.”
Before Rome could yell at Neil or tell him what an idiot he was, Neil turned and walked out of the room. Rome squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before following Neil into the bedroom. He glared at Neil while the man threw clothes into the small suitcase he’d put on the bed.
“Are you seriously just going to leave?”
Neil stopped, his sigh loud as he turned to Rome.
“He doesn’t want me here.”
“That’s bullshit,” Rome growled.
Neil looked at him with surprise, and, yeah, he got that because he hadn’t exactly been the most supportive of his relationship with Marco, but he’d gotten to see a part of Neil he was sure most didn’t. The part filled with heartbreak but also love for Marco. He’d seen the protective side of the man, the thing that made him believe Neil would never intentionally hurt Marco and that was enough for him.
“The years you two were together were the happiest of his life,” Rome said, even though he hated to admit it.
Neil nearly smiled but then his expression hardened. “Until they weren’t.”
Rome shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. He needs you. Even if he says otherwise.”
“Neither of us can live with the uncertainty. With being bound to something else.”
Rome’s heart squeezed painfully. That was exactly the hurdle Juno and he were going through. Juno was bound to the Kings and Rome was bound to Marco. Even if Juno said he would choose Rome over them… He could never ask that of Juno. There was only one solution and as far as he could tell, only Neil had the opportunity to actually choose it.
“Then quit,” Rome said.
“It’s not that easy, Rome,” Neil said with a shake of his head. “You don’t just up and leave the Agency.”
“Then find a way out.”
Neil was the only one who could.
“As I said; it’s not that easy.”
Rome arched a brow at Neil. “Are you saying you would do it if you could?”
Neil opened his mouth, then closed it and squeezed his eyes closed. He dropped his head forward and ran a hand through his hair.
Neil took a deep breath and turned away from Rome. His voice was low when he said, “Do you really think I haven’t thought of it? That I haven’t tried? There’s nothing I won’t do for him. Quitting would be the easiest decision I’d ever make. But it won’t matter. He blames me for his sister’s death and rightfully so.”
“You didn’t kill her,” Rome said.
“Might as well have. I’m responsible,” Neil said and turned around, meeting Rome’s gaze. “She came to me for help and because of it, she was killed.”
“That’s not why she was killed, and you know it,” Rome snapped.
Why was he defending the spook? Against the spook himself no less. Shit was weird. He hadn’t been right since he’d met Juno. Except maybe he was actually more right now than he’d ever been before. Juno had done
