Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
JULIET
EARLY AUGUST
Gino is starting to get antsy, and he doesn’t get antsy.
Sure, he can get impulsive. For example, pretending to date me because of these messages I’ve been receiving.
It’s late summer now, and the heat is getting to us all.
It’s been weeks of constant text messages, mostly nothing of importance, clearly there to scare me.
The rest of the group, not so much; not unless it’s out of fear for my safety.
I follow my usual routine of waking up at six, but this morning I decide to go down to the gym before cooking breakfast. I change into yoga pants, a sports bra, and a grey sweatshirt.
Walking into the kitchen, I grab my pre-workout and chug it next to the sink.
No one is awake here this early in the morning; this is my peaceful time to relax and reset.
Entering the gym, I make sure to be quiet, even though it’s just Gino and I in the house right now. I know the second he hears any sound, he will wake up and look for me, which is why I decided against dancing this morning.
The gym is a state-of-the-art space, and everything you would need is in here: punching bags, weight machines, a treadmill, and stretching and yoga mats. Gino spared no expense when he redesigned this place two years ago.
I turn on the TV and lay out a mat in front of the wall of mirrors. The sun is rising later with the late summer weather rolling in, so the sun lights up the room.
I start my yoga routine, and my body takes the relief of the stretching and deep breathing I haven’t done in weeks.
Once I’m done, I clean the mat I was using, turn off the TV, and walk to the fridge in the gym to get water.
As I walk out of the gym, I am not paying attention and run right into a wall.
A wall of muscle.
I step back and look up, seeing Gino’s tired face looking at me. He’s dressed in gym clothes, so he had the same idea as me this morning.
He grabs my waist to steady me.
This is the closest we’ve been alone in weeks.
“Hi,” I squeak out. “I’m going to take a quick shower, then I’ll make breakfast.”
“Jules, it’s okay if you need a break; we all do. You don’t need to rush.” I nod my head. “I’ll be in here for a bit, so take your time, and I can make my own breakfast.” He lets me go and walks past me into the gym.
I climb up the stairs to my room and close the door behind me. I turn on the shower and take off my sweaty gym clothes, throwing them into the laundry basket.
Once I get into the shower, I let the hot water run over my body. Taking a deep breath, I reflect on the last few months.
Everything we have done and investigated hasn’t yielded any results.
Gabe has been in Italy for weeks, and Gino knows he will eventually need to call him back if there isn’t anything for them to look for.
His parents haven’t asked many questions, considering his father was a part of Antonio’s council, so Gino was prepared for their father to push for information after a few weeks.
But he hasn’t. It could be because Jake and Marco are still here.
Once I get out of the shower, I blow-dry my hair and put it into a low bun. I put my contacts in and wash my face, after which I put on light makeup consisting only of mascara and light lip tint. Then, I walk over to my closet and put on a green sweater and jeans.
Exiting my room, I head down into the kitchen and quickly start a pot of coffee and turn the burner on for eggs.
With everything finished, I lay it all on the counter on warming plates and cover them, ready for breakfast.
I get myself a cup of coffee and get a small plate of eggs, pancakes, and sausage.
I normally eat when everyone gets here, but I have a feeling no one will arrive for a while, and I’m hungry.
Everyone is focused on their tasks: Alonso staying with Vanessa, and Drew’s attempting to hack into the Russos’ property management system.
Ryan’s looking into financials in the States and questioning anyone in New York who seems to be involved with the Russos.
After I’m done, I put my plate in the dishwasher, clean up after myself, and grab my laptop and coffee, heading towards the library to continue the forensic accounting.
Then my phone buzzes. Unknown number, again.
Unknown
You need to keep looking into Russo’s associates in the States. They know something.
Juliet
Who is this?
Unknown
That is irrelevant.
Juliet
Irrelevant. Why should I listen to you?
Unknown
Because you should. I know Drew has been trying to find out who I am, and he’s a good hacker. But I’m better.
This cocky son of a bitch.
My phone starts vibrating in my hand: Unknown Number Calling. What the hell, this guy is calling me now?
Pushing aside the knowledge that Gino will get pissed, I answer because this needs to end.
“Hello.”
“Juliet,” the voice says. I try to make out the caller, but I can’t. “Drew needs to stop trying to find me and needs to find a way to find more of Lorenzo’s associates.”
“Well, Drew wouldn’t have to figure out who you are if you weren’t hiding. And how do you know Drew?” I grit out.
“You’re just like your father, always asking questions,” whoever this is says.
“How do you know my dad?” I ask.
“You’re testing my patience.”
“Well, you’re testing mine,” I counter.
“How I know your father is not the point, and besides, I know more of him than I do in a personal manner; but again, that’s not the point.”
I don’t know how to respond to that.
“Just get Drew to focus on associates that will give you something to work off of to find Mateo.”
Before I can reply, they hang up.
I stare at my phone in confusion, replaying their words. Contact more associates.
“Jules,” I hear. “Jules. Jules, there you are.” The voice calls. I turn and see Gino looking at me in the doorway. I'm clutching my phone so tight it might break. “Jules, what’s wrong?”
I don’t reply. I don’t know how to reply. Instead, I just stare at him.
He walks closer. “What is it, Bella?” His voice is lower now.
Bella. He’s never called me that before. And I have no clue what it means, but it brings me back from my frozen state.
“That person called me—”
“What?” he all but yells out.
He starts to walk out, most likely to get Drew. I grab his arm, pulling him back, and he nearly knocks me over when he turns back.
“Whoever it is clearly knows us; they said to stop trying to find them and look more into Lorenzo’s associates.”
“We’re not going to stop looking into whoever this is. We’ve looked into other associates, and there’s none.” He’s so close to me and can smell his cologne; he puts his hands on my biceps to steady us both. “What do you think we should do?”
“I-I think we should look, but maybe look from a different angle,” I say, looking into his sparkling green eyes.
“What kind of angle?”
“What if we try to find what Lorenzo thinks he has on Mateo? We’ve been looking more into who they are and how they could be connected, but we haven’t seen what they know or what they think they know about him.”
“That could be a good angle to run. I’ll tell Drew to start looking into it.” He pauses, looking into my eyes. He moves his left hand to the side of my face, rubbing my cheek. It feels like he is about to lean in.
“Is everything okay?” We hear Drew and jump apart. “Uhh, shit, sorry, I just heard you yell and wanted to make sure everything was good.”
“Yeah, everything’s good. Juliet has a good idea to run by you.”
“Alright, Juliet, my computer is in the kitchen; let’s go.” I nod my head and start to walk away, but before I get too far, Gino pulls me back.
He leans down and whispers, “Thank you, everything’s going to be fine; we'll figure this all out.” He kisses my forehead and lets me go.
As I walk away, I realize what he just did. Did he really just kiss my forehead?