Page 113 of Shadows of the Past
I listen, and it hits me just how much weight he’s been carrying. Even as a kid, he was always thinking three steps ahead, making sure Niko and Vi were safe. Any crack in his control meant a chance they could get hurt.
I get why Julia did what she did. At least, my mind understands. My heart? That’s another story. My heart still feels betrayed. I know it’s old trauma, all those years of being left alone. Maybe a wiser man would handle it better, but therapy sessions and pulling hundreds of souls out of captivity haven’t exactly worked well together.
“You did good, Ro,” I say quietly.
He just nods, and I know he understands everything I can’t put into words. I don’t know much about families, but I do know every team needs that rational head and as long as Lunaisn’t involved, that’s Roman for us. He’s the one who takes the weight, who keeps us steady so the rest of us can breathe.
I have no idea when I’ll be okay again, but I do know where I want to start: with Aleksandr’s blood splattered across every wall of a basement.
Chapter 42
?
Julia
Every breath hurts. Even drinking water feels like a battle. Everything aches, but I force myself to push through, to heal faster.
When I open my eyes, Max isn’t here. My chest tightens, tangled up with the memory of him telling me I left him behind, that I didn’t choose him.
I glance toward the window and spot Amalia. I try to sit up, wanting to look normal, but the IV tugs at my arm and a sharp gasp escapes me.
She spins around at the sound. “Por Dios, Julia. What are you doing?”
Dark circles shadow her eyes, and her brow is furrowed as she hurries to help me sit up. Her green-brown eyes lock with mine, and for a heartbeat, I see our father reflected there. The knot in my throat tightens, but there’s comfort in it too because something of him still lives on in her. With her round glasses perched on her nose, she looks so small in this moment.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
She gives me a gentle look, searching for the right words.
“You? Julia, you were almost killed just because we let him in. That was the second time he came to our house. Tío Felipe neverliked him, but Lupe was so happy with him that nothing we said would have changed her mind.”
Guilt gnaws at me. I disrupted their quiet lives. If it weren’t for me, that snake would never have found his way in.
“You said it was the second time? He didn’t show up on any cameras,” I say, wondering who he hired to wipe the footage so quickly.
She bites her lip, and I watch her, confused.
“I deleted them. But only because Lupe begged me to. The first time, she said dangerous people were after him and she didn’t want him found. The second time, after he showed us those photos of you, she said you were trying to kill him.”
I see the regret flicker across her face, but I can’t help the pride swelling in my chest. My little sister’s always been a genius. Always curious, always a bit of a nerd.
“You managed to delete them yourself?” I ask, unable to hide my smile.
She nods, letting out a nervous laugh. “I’ve loved computers since high school. I had a teacher who saw my potential and asked if I wanted to make a little extra money. He taught me everything. I never did anything bad, but I learned how to access a terminal from an external server, and the rest is history.”
I listen, soaking in every detail she wants to share, every story from her teenage years that I missed. I know we’re both just avoiding the elephant in the room. Lupe should be here with us, not out there with a madman who carves up little girls.
“Your boyfriend is terrifying,” Amalia says quietly.
I look at her, knowing she could never understand what Max and I have been through together. She could never grasp theconnection between us, and honestly, I don’t think words could ever do it justice.
“He is,” I admit, because it’s the truth.
Maksim wasn’t raised to be gentle or charming. He was raised to be a weapon—an heir to horrors most people can’t even imagine.
And yet, he’s good. He’s good when he waits for me in the morning with my coffee ready. He’s good when I catch him watching me with that warmth in his eyes that no one else ever sees. He’s good, because I know, deep down, he’ll find it in himself to forgive Lupe for what she’s done.
She leans in, voice barely above a whisper, her fingers nervously twisting together. “I heard him talking to that man who looks like him. They found them.”
