I try and pound away all of my thoughts, but I’m interrupted. I feel his eyes on me before I can hear his footsteps. He’s always been so quiet, but his gaze alone can penetrate Kevlar with force.
“What do you want, Jules?”
He chuckles softly behind me. “I love how you know I’m here before I even make my presence known.”
I grab the bag to stop its swaying, then turn around. “Your gawk is hot, dude. I can feel you looking at me.”
He just gives a weak shrug. “I was thinking…” He trails off.
“Well.” I plop onto the ground. “That’s a dangerous thing. Don’t hurt yourself.”
He plops with the same authority I do, then immediately winces, grabbing his ribs. “Fuck. I keep forgetting about this shit.”
I laugh off his comment, then look into his eyes. He’s such a hard person to read, but I can tell there is something he wants to say, but he’s holding back. “What is it, Jules? Say what you want.”
“I think it’s time to get Charlie out of here.”
“We are already planning that, but everything is handled now. We don’t have anything to worry about.”
He shakes his head, then stretches his legs and leans back on his elbows. “Not right this second, but I’m sure I pissed a lot of people off when I took Cat. If they come looking, I won’t hold back.”
“You don’t even know this girl. What if she isn’t who you think?”
“Teddy wasn’t who we thought, but look at how much we did for him.” He huffs. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Why?” I cross my arms.
“I told you, something strong.” He smiles.
“Something strong.” I shake my head with a grin.
He doesn’t have to explain anymore because for once I get it. He and I may not be on the same page most of the time—he likes shit his way, and I like it mine—but for this, I get it.
“Just watch yourself, okay?” I stand and extend my hand to him.
“I will.” He takes my hand and hoists himself up before pulling me into a hug.
Neither one of us have ever been very big on showing emotion. Our dad made us feel emotions were a weakness and made sure to beat it out of us. That’s why Julius is—or was—quiet and I drink. When shit just gets too much, he goes further into his shell and I go on a bender. Probably not the best coping mechanism, but it’s worked for us.
I clap his back softly, not wanting to hurt him. “You know I love you?”
He pushes me away with a laugh. “Let’s not, okay? I don’t need to hear you say it to know it.”
I give him a grin followed by a scoff. “Whatever.”
His smile drops and his face grows serious again. “I’m serious, Luke. Get out of here and try to live a decent life with your girl.”
“You know I can’t leave you alone.”
His smile returns for a split second. “I won’t be alone. Ilya is only a phone call away.”
I shake my head with a smile of my own. Ilya Kuznetsov isn’t some random person. He is the Russian mobster. Teddy met him when we used to get our supply from Europe. They crossed paths and somewhat hit it off and had always kept an understanding, but it was more Julius who got close to him.
Ilya was intrigued by his silence, and Julius was amazed with his tactics. Neither of them scared of the other which was scary. But if he’s willing to help Julius in his hunt for vengeance, I won’t get in the way. The two of them together would be nothing but deadly.
“Just—”
“Be careful,” he cuts me off before I can finish. “I’ll be fine.”
I leave him behind as I walk back to Teddy’s room. When I make it to the door, I pause for a second and think about everything that’s brought us to where we are now. At first, Charlie was nothing more than an obsession, something I knew would end badly for Teddy, but now she’s everything to me. In a way, I think some of my love for her can be attributed to Teddy. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have her in my life. If he didn’t fuck up and make a mess, I would have never got a chance to fix it.
She used to be nothing more than someone I despised. Starting from the time I would spend hours in a car with Teddy just watching her. But at soon as he ordered us to bring her home, it was game over. I wanted to hate her. I told myself that was the only way to make sure shit never got complicated, but over all of the months together—seeing how fiercely she loved and how strong her loyalty was—I turned into a fucking goner.
I let out a deep breath and turn the knob. When I step in, Charlie is curled into a ball on her side, sleeping peacefully. I had plans to tell her what Julius said, to really drive home the point we should get out of here, but I can’t bring myself to wake her. Instead, I walk to the bed and crawl in behind her.
When I slip my arm around her, she stirs and turns over. “I was wondering when you were coming back.”
I study her face for a moment, and my earlier plan goes out the window. She’s pale and her eyes are tired. Maybe it’s just the rough pregnancy, but I can’t help but to think it’s all the bullshit she’s had to deal with. She’s still beautiful of course, but she doesn’t have that same light in her eyes she used to. Her lips don’t stay in a soft smile almost permanently like before. Northridge Heights is wilting my flower, and all I want to do is stop it.
“I know today has been rough, and I’m sorry for that, but we need to talk.” I reach
