Finding Romeo

Chapter 27

(Talia's POV)

I raced through the hallway, Luka's gun now in my hand. Why had I been so stupid to open up the door without checking to see who it was? I had screwed up and it was my fault that Brad had attacked Romeo, I could only hope that he wouldn't do to him like he did to Mr. Ew. I only had to be fast enough to stop him.

When I spotted them, they had bust down the neighbors door and was sprawling out on top of each other, struggling to get the upper hand with each other. Even though Brad was a fiery redheaded lunatic, Romeo could still hold his own against him, knowing the right way to hit him to cause the most damage to his face.

It must have been something that he learned from spending so many years with his father beating up on him. Now it was his turn, only on someone else. Instead of causing physical and mental damage on someone weaker than him though, he was defending me and himself.

It would have been a beautiful thing to see, if the situation had been different and I wasn't freaking out and mad as a hornet.

I spotted a man appear in the doorway above Brad and Romeo, smacking them both over the head with a rolling pin and knocking them both unconscious before I had a chance to move towards them.

I held the gun behind me as I rushed forward, only slowing when I was at the doorway, hiding my bent arm behind the door. Having your arm behind your back was never as inconspicuous as everyone thought it was.

My eyes were on Romeo's chest and I only sighed in relief when it rose and fell as he breathed.

The man looked up at me, wielding the rolling pin like it was a club, reading to swack anyone else. His blue eyes paused on me, then ran over my body from head to toe, checking me out. The man was somewhere around my age and obviously handsome as he straightened up from his defensive stance, his eyes going from weary to flirty in a blink of an eye. His blonde hair was a mess under his chef's hat, which now sat off center on his head, flower covering his clothes and hands.

He wiggles his eyebrows at me and glances down at the heap of men on the floor. "Buttercup, are either of these yours?" He nudges Romeo with the toe of his sneaker. "Because if they aren't, we can scoot them right on out the door and I'll cook you dinner. Do you like cupcakes? Cookies? I can make a mean bowtie pasta. Well, it's not a mean pasta. It's a nice, good-natured pasta."

I stared back at the man in stunned silence for a moment, before tucking the gun into the back of my pants, my thumb brushing over the safety to make sure it was on. Even though this man was strong and agile enough to knock two men unconscious with a single knock to each of their heads, he didn't seem to be mean or crazy. He was just a normal guy who was defending his home, who was now openly flirting with me over their bodies. I moved forward a step, kneeling next to Romeo and brushed the hair away from his face. It was an automatic reaction, nothing that would help him wake up sooner or be okay, but it did make me feel a bit better to see his face. "This one is."

His vibrant green eyes flicker between me and Romeo, and his expression wilts. "Darn. Are you sure? He's kind of scrawny," He frowns. "Who's the redhead?" His eyes narrow. "Did he hurt you?" He gasps loudly. "Were you being ROBBED?"

I couldn't help but laugh, he was such an upbeat guy, managing to lift my spirits, even with Romeo laying in front of me on the floor. "I'm sure, he's the one." I said, surprising myself. It made it sound like I was in love with Romeo. Even though I cared for him very much, I couldn't be in love with him so soon after meeting him. I hadn't even known him in person for a day, that would be ridiculous, but I could honestly say that he was mine. I didn't specify what he was to me and I didn't mind if the man standing near me thought it was more than a friendship. "And the redhead is my ex. He just walked in and attacked Romeo as soon as he saw him. I'm so sorry they came into your apartment like that, I'll pay for any damages." I left out the part where Brad had told me that he had killed my stalker, it was something that this guy didn't really need to know.

He makes a tsking sound. "Jealousy never made anybody any sweeter." He wiggles his eyebrows at me. "And just for the sake of revenge, if you want to put some hot sauce in his underwear while he's knocked out, I'll look the other way." He grins widely, mischievously, and half covers his mouth in a loud whisper while nodding his head towards the kitchen. "I've got a bottle of Peppered Pain on the counter if you want to do your worst."

I tapped my finger on my chin, contemplating it. If I did do it, then it would just make Brad more crazy and angry. I might be able to defend myself, but I wasn't sure that he wouldn't go after Romeo again. If I wasn't around and a nice pedestrian wasn't there to know Brad out, I didn't think that Romeo would be able to keep himself safe. Brad had already killed someone because of me, I didn't want him to do it again to someone I actually cared about. "I think I'll pass, but I would use some help dragging him out into the hallway."

His shoulders slumped downward, like he was actually disappointed that I wasn't going to use his hot sauce to torture my psychotic ex. "We could toss him down the stairwell."

"Good idea," I nodded, then watched in shock as he grabbed Brad and heaved him over his shoulder like a bag of flower, like he weighed nothing. I tried not to be too impressed, but what woman wasn't over the show of male strength? I followed him down the hall, opening the stairwell door for him. He chucked him in, Brad's head smacking against the wall as he crumbled against the landing. I didn't feel sorry for him at all, maybe it would keep him unconscious for longer.

"Perfect!" I said, leading the way back to his apartment. "It's not every day you find someone willing to get rid of a body for you."

* * *

(Romeo's POV)

Waking up with my head pounding wasn't my favorite thing in the world, but I was used to it and I welcomed it. The pain in my head just meant that whatever battle I was fighting was over, if only for a little while. I blinked my eyes open, the room blurring and swirling around me. I didn't recognize the bright colors surrounding me, the fact that it was so unfamiliar put me on edge. I was used to waking to dreary darkness that wrapped around your soul and squeezed out any hope. Being somewhere other than that only meant one thing, more danger.

I sat up, reaching my hand up to gently touch the part of my head that was throbbing, finding a small lump there, but surprisingly no blood. I felt disoriented as I blinked against the light, trying to make sense of the room around me. It was happening again. Fear shot through my veins, if he had moved me while I was unconscious, then I could be anywhere. If there was anyone around, I would have to try and fight them off and in my state, it wouldn't go well for me. I needed to move, to leave before whoever had put me here found me. I struggled upward, finding my feet and staggering forward, catching myself on the door frame.

"Romeo!" A feminine voice said from in front of me, causing me to freeze. Talia. Her voice made my panic evaporate. I wasn't in the mercy of whoever was around, she was safe, the one person who wouldn't hurt me. The light to my darkness. A hand landed on my shoulder and I reflexively flinched, but her hand stayed put as I blinked my eyes to bring her more into focus. Her angelic face came into focus and I sighed. Instead of the hell that I usually woke up to, it was like heaven seeing her here with me.

"Are you okay?" Talia asked, one of her hands brushing against one of my cheeks, her eyebrows furrowing in something foreign to me. Worry? I had never seen someone look at me like she did. She cared about how I was and she was worried that I wasn't okay. These injuries were nothing new, but the feelings that she was causing me was.

I reached forward shakily, brushing my fingers against her cheek, then cupping it in my palm. Her eyes met mine and my heart stuttered in my chest. I wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt more than my wounds, but could I? I've never kissed or been kissed, so I had no idea how normal people would go about it. If I did, I would be entangling myself in her thorns, completely at her mercy. Like an asteroid caught in the Earth's gravitational pull, I bent my head towards hers...

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A/N

This chapter is a crossover with Finnley from #MorganPhillups book Saving Tin Man! She helped right some of the parts, making sure that Finnley sounded like himself.