Still, they watch Julian during the meal, eying him as warily as they would observe a savage creature. He’s smiling, his potent charm turned on full-blast, but I know they can sense his ever-present aura of danger, the shadow of violence that clings to him like a dark cloak.

When we get to coffee and dessert, Julian gets an urgent text from Lucas and excuses himself to step outside for a few minutes. “It’s nothing serious,” he tells me when I give him a worried look. “Just a small business matter that needs my attention.”

He walks out of the house, and Rosa chooses that moment to visit the restroom, leaving me alone with my parents for the first time since our arrival.

“A business matter?” my dad asks incredulously as soon as Rosa is out of earshot. “At ten-thirty at night?”

I shrug. “Julian deals with people in different timezones. It’s ten in the morning somewhere.”

I can see that my dad wants to question me further, but thankfully, my mom jumps in. “Your friend is really nice,” she says, nodding toward the hallway where Rosa went. “It’s hard to believe she grew up like that.” She lowers her voice. “With criminals, I mean.”

“Yes, I know.” I wonder what my parents would think if they knew that Rosa had killed two men. “She’s wonderful.”

“Nora, honey…” My mom casts a furtive glance around the empty room, then leans forward, lowering her voice further. “I know we don’t have much time right now, but tell us one thing. Are you truly happy with him? Because now that you’re both on US soil, the FBI might be able to—”

“Mom, I can’t live without him. If anything happened to him, I’d want to die.” The stark truth escapes my lips before I can think of a gentler way to say it. I soften my tone. “I don’t expect you to understand, but he’s everything to me now. I truly love him.”

“And does he love you back?” my dad asks quietly. He looks older in this moment, aged by the sorrowful pity I see in his eyes. “Is someone like that even capable of loving you, honey?”

I open my mouth to reassure him, but for some reason, I can’t bring myself to say the words. I want to believe that in his own way Julian does love me, but there is a tiny kernel of doubt that’s always present with me.

My dad hit the nail on the head.

Is Julian capable of love?

Truthfully, I still don’t know.

16

Julian

The black Lincoln is already waiting when I step outside.

“I told them you were busy, but they insisted on this meeting,” Lucas says, melting out of the shadows near the house. “I figured it was best to let you know.”

I nod and walk over to the car.

The window in the back rolls down. “Let’s take a ride,” Frank says, unlocking the door. “We need to talk.”