We nodded as the other officers started ransacking the house.
The same cop asked, “Is he here right now?”
Kraven answered, “No.”
“When’s the last time you saw him?”
“Earlier today,” Kraven replied.
I seemed to have lost my voice again. I’d been in this situation before, but this time, it was much different.
This time, it was personal.
Finally, the proof of how Julius was making so much money came to light.
And it was catastrophic.
I watched them invade our haven like it meant nothing. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours, until we heard Julius from the driveway, shouting, “What the fuck did he do now? Goddammit, Kraven!” We knew this moment would change everything between us.
As soon as Julius got out of his car, officers ran toward him. I watched it all unfold through the living room window, unable to move. My feet were glued to the floor beneath me.
“What did Kraven do now?” Julius yelled.
One of the officers grabbed Julius’s hands and pulled them behind his back.
“Julius Knightly,” he confirmed, and the rest played out in slow motion. “You’re under arrest for possession with intent to sell.”
My blood ran cold as my legs carried me outside, Kraven beside me.
The officer continued, though Julius paid the cop no mind, too consumed by me.
I was bawling my eyes out. The boy I loved, the one who saved me, the possible father of my baby, was being arrested in front of me like he was one of the monsters of the houses I was placed in. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
Julius?
I immediately felt guilty for the simple fact that I knew he was selling to provide for us.
Shutting my eyes, I turned around, seeking some sort of comfort from Kraven, or I’d crumple to the ground. I couldn’t remain upright. I had to use him for support. He held me up in his arms, hugging me so tightly against his chest, aware I was ready to break…
Or maybe I already was.
Especially once I realized I was in the arms of the guy who called the cops on his very own flesh and blood.
His brother.
CHAPTER
TWO
ISLA
The house was once again tooquiet without Julius. It was too unsteady, too daunting. The stillness didn’t come with any peace or rest. It was the kind of quiet that stirred your bones, the kind that you felt deep under your skin, in your chest, in your soul…
It stretched through the walls, filling the spaces between my breaths. It was alive and thriving and weighing heavily on my heart.
The silence was waiting, and it all felt so wrong.
There I was, standing just inside the front door, my hand still wrapped around the knob, long after it clicked shut behind me. For what felt like forever, I didn’t move.
