Page 104 of From Rome, With Hate

Rome is still standing beside my sister with his arm wrapped around her.

I still want to murder him.

“Remember how you used to beg me to hear you out on your theory about the truth of who killed our mother?” Julianna asks.

I clamp my jaw shut and curl my fingers into tight fists at my sides. My nails cut into my palms.

“I never asked questions when you suddenly stopped looking last year, but I should have listened to you when you did,” she adds, cutting me an icy glare. “Maybe then you would have felt the need to tell me about how Rhys O’Connell is our cousin and his dad ordered the murder of our mother.”

Guilt punches me in the gut. It isn’t that I never wanted to tell Julianna the truth about our mother’s murder, but I promised Rhys I’d let it go, and I guess I allowed Julianna to get swept up in that promise.

“Shit.” I deflate, wiping a hand down my face. “I didn’t intend on keeping it a secret, Jules. I promised Rhys I would let it go, so I did. I’m not certain the same can be said for you and Rome. You kept this from me all these years.Ten years?” I ask, pained. “Really?”

Suddenly, the gravity of her secret wraps around me. She said she’s been with Rome longer than we’ve known all our friends.

“Before we fill you in on everything, we need to agree to some terms,” Julianna says.

I roll my eyes and scoff. “Come on.”

“No.” Fresh tears well in her eyes as she presses her hand to her chest. “Rome and I have been through enough shit to last a lifetime, and I’ve always kept everything locked inside my chest and lived in torment, pretending to be someone I’m not. So, the last thing I need is to tell my brother the truth about how I unexpectedly fell in love with our sworn enemy, only to lose him. I need you to promise me, Holt,” she begs, a tear dripping down her cheek. “I need you to promise me you’ll hear us out. I need you to promise you’ll at least hear Rome out before you pass judgment on him. Because I need my brother, and I can’t lose you. We’ve lost too much already, and I can’t go back to living life the way I was before. I refuse.”

Emotion is thick in my throat, and I have to work around it to swallow.

There’s heartbreak in Julianna’s glassy, fragile gaze. A heartbreak I wish I could take away.

Sighing, I run a hand through my hair before sitting on the end of the poker table. I grip the edge with both hands and hang my head.

When I raise my chin, I stare directly at my sister before shifting my focus to my apparent brother-in-law.

“I’ve imagined a million ways to murder you my entire life,” I admit.

Rome chuckles, his mouth curling into a smirk. “Same here.”

“Does Dad know?” I ask Julianna.

Her expression changes to one filled with crippling fear. “No, but we plan on telling him soon. We wanted to tell you first.”

“Fuck.” I hiss and roll my eyes again, grinding my teeth tightly, hoping the tension will loosen. Squeezing my eyes shut, I let out a groan before popping them back open. “Fine. I’ll listen.”

“Oh, thank God.”

The three of us snap our heads toward the end of the hallway.

Selene is slumped against the wall. She’s changed out of her sparkly dress and into a forest green leggings set.

Yeah, definitely tearing that one off her later.

My wife pushes off the wall and joins me at the poker table. Draping her arm over my left shoulder, she rests her chin on her arm and looks at Rome and Julianna.

“Where should we start?” Julianna looks up at Rome, her wedding ring glinting as she clutches his arm. The sleeves of his black collared shirt are rolled up to his elbows, revealing the signature Montgomery snake.

I shove aside my instinctual disgust.

Rome opens his mouth to answer, but I cut him off, crossing my arms over my chest. “Why don’t we start with how Julianna was crying to me on the phone about how you embarrassed her in front of the entire lacrosse team?”

“Holt,” Selene scolds, her voice barely above a whisper.

“What?” I raise my hands, shrugging innocently. “It’s true.”