Page 49 of Born Chaos

“This place is amazing,” I say with a breathy laugh. “And it’s in my budget?”

“It’s at the top of it,” the agent says as I walk through the closet. It’s not huge, but it’s all I need. “And it won’t be available for two more weeks.”

I can live with that.

“I don’t know what it is exactly, but this apartment just screams you,” Elena remarks as she takes it all in. “A little rough around the edges, sturdy, elegant in it’s own unique way.”

“You always know just what to say,” I say with a sarcastic smile in her direction.

“It’s why you love me,” she teases back.

I walk back out into the living room, taking it all in once more. I pull in a deep breath. And a feeling of peace washes through me.

“I’ll take it,” I say, feeling completely confident as I say the words.

“That’s wonderful,” the agent says. “I’ll draw up the paperwork. You can drop the deposit at my office tomorrow if that works?”

“Yeah,” I confirm with a nod. And for the first time in weeks, I feel like a weight has lifted off my chest. I feel like maybe I can reclaim my life from the mess of the rubble. Life was never, ever going to be easy for me. But I can take it back as mine.

“You’re glowing, Juliet,” Elena whispers as she follows the agent toward the door. “Looks good on you.”

I chuckle, and follow them out. But I look back just once before she locks the door.

Home. This place will be home. My home.

Or, in two weeks it will be.

So, for now, I spend the rest of the afternoon shopping with my best friend. We pick out furniture for my new place. We get lunch. And I finally tell her everything that’s happened between me and Sebastian.

I don’t seeRoman for the next two days.

He’s got an entire city of nearly three million people to keep an eye on. The crime rate in this city is ridiculous, and then you throw a bunch of vampires and gifted into the mix? Roman has plenty to keep him busy. Others come and go from the chapel, and I’m beginning to recognize faces-Ivana, the man who was with Roman when he showed me the video footage, and of course, Jay Casper.

But on a Sunday night, about two in the morning, Roman walks into the church. It’s just me right now. Everyone else is off for the weekend, or they’re away for work. I’m sitting in one of the chairs at a desk, reading a book about college bullies and romance. I don’t take much time to read, but I do know I’m a sucker for romance. Not sure I’m a fan of the bully genre though.

Roman is soaking wet when he walks through the doors of the church. It’s been dumping, hard, all day, continuing into the night. And in just an hour, we’re supposed to get below freezing. The city will be shut down for most of the day with the conditions like this.

“Whoa, did you walk from the south side here?” I ask as I lay the book face down on the desk, holding my place.

“Just from Chicago Avenue,” he says as he shrugs out of his soaked coat. He hangs it on the tree stand by the door and shakes his hair out, running his fingers through it. “Jay had to borrow my car to go after somebody.”

“It’s very generous of you just to hand it off to walk four blocks in a downpour,” I remark. I lean back in my seat, propping my feet up on the edge of the desk, ankles crossed.

He just makes a grunt of acknowledgment that I said anything. “Be back in a sec.”

My eyes follow him. And I should look away. I feel kind of ashamed that I don’t. But just before he steps back into the hall behind the chapel, Roman reaches up to the collar of his soaked shirt and pulls it up over his head. I’m granted a wide-open view of his back.

It was a given that Roman would be ripped. No question on that. What I don’t expect is the heavy scar that covers the space just below his left shoulder blade, running down toward the middle of his back.

Exactly like he was stabbed in the back and left there to die.

Nor do I expect the full sleeve of tattoos that cover his right shoulder, running down his arm toward his wrist. They stretch up his neck, to the black rose inked into his skin, and spill onto his chest.

He’s kind of beautiful, in a dangerous, dark way. Everything about Roman screams predator. Mysterious. Solitary.

I continue staring as he disappears around the corner, toward his bedroom.

My insides tighten in a mix of complex emotions. My mind twists with all of the unresolved shit going on inside of me. I lace my fingers back into my hair, leaning back in my chair, tilting my face to the ceiling as I squeeze my eyes closed.

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