Page 113 of From Rome, With Hate

“Three days?” I give her a quizzical look before dropping my attention to my side.

Large white bandages are wrapped around my torso.

“Thirty stitches but, thankfully, the doctor was able to remove the bullet.” Julianna’s voice cracks.

“Hey.” I snap my head back to her. Her eyes are welled with tears. I lift my hand, gritting through the pain, to caress her cheek. “I’m here. I’m alive.”

“I know.” She closes her eyes on a sigh and leans into my hand. She covers mine with hers. Her rose gold wedding ring glints in the sunlight.

Memories of the last time I was awake come back to me in waves.

“Lark…” I begin delicately. “Your dad.”

“Rome.” Her eyes open. “I’m so sorry.”

“No.” I adjust myself in the bed and lean on my right side. “Why the fuck are you sorry?”

“Because my dad was behind this the entire time. He knew about us and tried to have you killed for it. He had your dad murdered after framing him.”

“I’m no stranger to having the threat of death looming over me.” I smirk. “Especially from the Capuletis.”

Julianna smiles weakly, her mouth twitching.

“What happened to him?” I ask her, the echo of another bullet replaying in my mind.

“After my father shot you, Marcus heard and ran toward us. He shot my father in the leg before he called for help.” Her chin quivers as tears flow from her sparkling eyes.

“Is he okay?” I move to sit up in bed. A sharp pain hits my left side, radiating across my body. I groan, then rest back against the pillow with a sigh.

“Yeah,” Julianna whispers. “He’s in jail right now, charged with attempted murder. They haven’t set a trial date yet.”

“Lark.” My heart breaks for my wife. I’ve despised Kingsten Capuleti, even wishing him dead at times. But that was before.

Before I fell in love with his daughter.

No matter how our families hated each other, I never wanted things to turn out like this. Like me, Julianna has lost both parents.

“Come here.” I lift the edge of the blanket, wanting to hold Julianna close. I need her.

She sniffs, then climbs into the bed, careful not to sidle up too close to me.

While holding her against my right side, she gently places her hand on my stomach, tracing the lines of my tattoos. Her head rests on my shoulder, her tiny breaths brushing against my skin.

We lay in silence, with my fingers running through her hair, as I replay every moment in my mind. Rolling my head against the wall, I stare out at the window again. The pond shimmers under the glistening sun, trees swaying with the late summer breeze.

“How did we end up back at the cabin? Why are we not in the city?”

Julianna shifts, lifting her chin. I look down at her, caressing the side of her cheek. Her tears have dried, but her blue eyes are still filled with immense heartbreak.

“I thought Marcus was calling an ambulance when you were shot. Apparently, I was wrong.” Her mouth tugs into a ghost of a smile. “He was calling your personal doctor.”

“Oh.” I sigh, relaxing against the wall. “Right. I’d forgotten Marcus and I had an agreement if anything like this were to happen, we’d deal with it internally, with someone we trusted.”

“The fact you have enough money to pay for a personal doctor—one you can call at a moment’s notice—is insane.”

I laugh but stop once it feels as if my stitches might split. “Don’t lie, Lark. You’ve had a personal doctor before.”

“He was a family doctor, not just mine.” She playfully taps my chest. “And I haven’t hired one since I’ve been on my own.”