“Hey. Hang on. Is everything okay?”
“Fine. I just need to go.”
The guards fell in step behind me as I walked out of the house and toward my car. I didn’t look back as I got in, started the engine, and took off like a bat out of hell. At the corner, I nearly smashed into a stopped delivery van before slamming on the brakes. Then I drove, barely seeing the road, until I arrived at my agent’s building. My bodyguards parked next to me, not looking too happy. I rolled down the window and spoke to the one in the driver’s seat.
“Change of plans. My meeting is a video call. I’m doing it here from the car.”
“Okay.”
Rolling the window back up, I’d at least bought myself some time. Time to think, to replay every moment since the day I met Wes. What had I told him? Had I compromised my father? Given him information that he could use against him? I’d told the man about my childhood, for God’s sake—confided things I’d never trusted to anyone. Because I’d thought he was one of us. On my side. I’d thought he wasmine.
Questions spun in my head until it hurt, pounding with the worst headache.
What should I do now?If I told my father, Wes was a dead man. If I did nothing, I’d be putting my father more at risk than I already had. I hated the choices, hated how torn I felt about who to save. The man I lovedhad betrayed me. Everything he’d ever said or done had been an act. My tears came, sudden and heavy.
I have no idea how long I sat there, but eventually, the tears stopped. I wiped my face, cleared my head, and slammed the car into drive.
Wes was on the couch when I walked in. Dressed, hair now dry, he stood. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
I’d rehearsed what I was going to say on the drive home, but when I opened my mouth to speak, even I was surprised at how emotionless my voice was. “Sit at the table,” I said.
Wes’s brows dipped. “What happened? Did—”
“Shut the fuck up and sit your ass in the chair!” My voice was loud and cold. I sounded a lot like my father.
Wes was a smart man, though. Lord knows he’d fooled me into believing I meant something to him all this time. So he walked to the table and took a seat. “What happened? Juliette, talk to—”
“Save it,” I snapped. “Stop acting. I’ve had enough of your lies.” I spelled out everything I knew—the flip phone, the message from his captain, that he’d been using me all along.
He opened his mouth to interrupt when I said that last part, but I lifted a hand and cut him off. “This is how it’s going to go.” I spoke with a calm I didn’t feel. “You’re going to get the fuck out of my house and tell Vince you’re not capable of taking care of me after the shooting. Say your injury is worse than you originally thought, if you have to.”
He tried to protest, to tell me things weren’t what they seemed. But I was in no mood.
“Stop talking and start listening,” I told him. “I’m going next door to Pam’s for a much-needed drink. If you’re still in this house when I get back, I will tell my father everything I know. Do you understand me? And if Vince finds out you’re a cop and manipulated his only daughter, you’re a dead man. Not maybe.Dead. He won’t care if he goes to prison for the rest of his life for shooting you himself.”
Wes stared at me. I could see the conflict in his eyes, the turmoil pulsing through him. For a beat, I thought I saw something that looked like love, too. But it had to be a lie like everything else.
“Don’t do this,” he whispered. “Juliette, I love—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” If eyes could shoot daggers, he would’ve been on the floor. “Be gone by the time I get back.”
I grabbed my coat and never looked back as I swung open the front door and walked out.
CHAPTER 27
Wes
My hands shook as I threw my belongings into a bag. Devastated as I was, I was proud of Juliette for the way she’d handled that. I deserved to be kicked out on my ass—or rather to have my ass handed to me. She’d done both and handled it like a boss.
Good for you, Juliette.
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t been more careful with that damn spare phone. I’d been burned out lately. And when you’re burned out, you get sloppy. Anger raged inside me, even as bittersweet relief cycled through me. Lying to Juliette had been eating away at my soul, killing me inside. She didn’t deserve to be deceived. When I’d agreed to go undercover, I didn’t even know her. I didn’t know I’d end up having to hurt the person I loved the most in this world. So good on Juliette for figuring it out and ending this fucking charade. I’d come to this operation with good intentions—to catch a criminal and earn my place back on the force. But hurting her was beyond what I’d signed up for.
I just wished I’d had the chance to tell her on my terms. I hadplannedto tell Juliette the truth, even if she might never believe that now. I wouldn’t get to explain everything delicately and carefully. I’d wanted to ease her into an explanation for my actions. Instead, the news had hit her like a ton of bricks. I tried to ignore the harsh truth my gut was already warning me to prepare for.We can’t come back from this.
She’d cut me off when I’d tried to tell her I loved her. Rightfully so. But I’d so badly wanted to say those words, to explain that I’d never meant to hurt her, and that any business arrangement I’d entered before I met her had no bearing on how much I loved her today. But I’d broken her trust for good, and the situation was most likely irreparable.
I emptied the last of my personal items from the fridge to spare her any rotten reminders of me, and then with a giant bag slung over my shoulder, I left Juliette’s house, unsure whether I’d ever see the inside of these walls again.
