The throaty engine of a car pulling into the gravel parking lot signaled that I had a customer. I waved to Roman and Ulfric before taking off.

  A few hours and what felt like a thousand sticky ice cream cones later, Roman snuck up behind me. His strong arms wrapped around my middle and anchored me to his chest. He buried his face against my neck. “Sorry I was a prick earlier,” he murmured against my ear.

  “It’s okay.”

  He turned me around. “No it’s not. You’re the only good thing in my life.”

  “I’m always here for you, Roman. I wish I could do…something.”

  “Just knowing you love me gets me through, Juliet.”

  Tears pricked my eyelids. For someone so hard on the outside, he said the sweetest things.

  “Do you mind leaving a few minutes early tonight?” he asked. “This clown busted me for being five minutes late last night. I don’t wanna put up with his bullshit again.”

  “Of course.” Damn, if we hadn’t stopped to fool around last night, he would’ve been home on time.

  Without meaning to, I’d gotten him into trouble.

  He didn’t send me the usual home safe text that night and I lay awake worrying until morning.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Roman

  The first week of school was finally here and the home was utter chaos.

  I marveled at the fact that I’d be starting the new school year at the same school that I’d ended the last one with. It had to be a first for me. Maybe I’d make it all the way through to graduation.

  Maybe wasn’t an option. There was no way I’d leave Juliet.

  Pip couldn’t contain his excitement. He couldn’t wait to finally start high school. He’d found a navy blue polo and a pair of tan pants that looked like a Catholic school uniform. I shook my head and handed him his new backpack.

  Jackass Jason—as all the kids in the house now called him—had picked up more shifts in the house. He drove us to school on the first day.

  Pip was unusually quiet on the way to school. Maybe the reality of attending a school where more assholes like Sam Squire probably roamed the halls was finally sinking in.

  I leaned over and spoke against his ear. Low enough that only he would hear what I had to say. “I got your back, kid. You’re gonna be fine.”

  Finally, he smiled and seemed to relax.

  Juliet waited for me at our usual table in the back of the cafeteria. I kissed her senseless before setting her down and introducing her to Pip.

  He blinked up at her, completely in awe.

  “I’m so happy to finally meet you, Phillip,” she gushed. She reached out, pulling him into a sisterly hug which Pip surprisingly accepted.

  “All right, that’s enough of that,” I said, breaking them up.

  She snorted at me and returned to her seat. I took the chair next to her. Under the cover of the table, I put my hand on her leg, running it beneath the loose dress she was wearing until I gripped her thigh. Her body automatically responded to my touch. Her legs inched apart and I dared to brush my knuckles against her core.

  Her entire body quivered and she took in a shuddering breath. “Roman,” she warned in a low voice. “Don’t.”

  “What are you doing?” Pip asked, ducking under the table.

  “Get out of there.” I reached over and tapped him on the back.

  Juliet covered her mouth and laughed.

  “I need you. Soon,” I whispered in her ear.

  Her lashes fluttered.

  The magnetic pull to her never lessened. I’d spent the entire summer mapping the contours of her body, knowing her in the most intimate ways possible. Still, my desire for her never went away. It was always there, crackling under my skin when she was near.

  Focus.

  It was time to settle down and wrap my mind around schoolwork again. For the hundredth time this week, Juliet and I compared our schedules. I wouldn’t see much of her in the morning, but we managed to have the same lunch period and shared all of our afternoon classes.

  She reached over and plucked Pip’s schedule out of his hands. “Do you want me to show you where your classes are?” she asked.

  Did Pip want the prettiest girl in the school to show him around? Of course he did. He slowly bobbed his head up and down.

  The bell rang. I kissed her cheek and wished Pip luck before heading to my first class.

  The first week back to school was a short one. Despite a bit of leftover restlessness from the summer break, classes had gone well.

  I couldn’t wait for Friday to be over. I was looking forward to working over the weekend. Both to spend time with Juliet and to make money.

  Apparently work would have to wait. After my last class of the afternoon, I received a note from the office that I needed to go straight home.

  A bad feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. This had never happened before.

  “I have to go home first. But I’ll see you at work later,” I promised Juliet on the walk to her house.

  “Okay.”

  I didn’t dare give her more than a peck on the cheek in front of her uncle’s house. Just in case the bastard was lurking nearby.

  If I’d known the hell I was about to walk into, I would’ve taken Juliet’s hand and run far, far away instead of going home.

  Many cars lined the driveway. Not unusual. We frequently had visitors. Especially when kids were removed or placed here.

  Jackass Jason was in the living room with my caseworker and two men I didn’t recognize.

  “Roman, come here.”

  My stomach bottomed out.

  They were here for me.

  Memories of all the other times I’d been packed up and shipped off flooded my brain.

  I hadn’t even done anything wrong.

  “What’s going on?”

  Jason stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. I don’t know what I did to piss this guy off, but he seemed to be enjoying himself way too much. “We executed a routine search of your room and found contraband.”

  “Routine search? I’ve lived here for months and never been searched before.”

  “You were overdue.”

  I took a step closer to Jason. “What contraband?”

  He pointed to the coffee table and for the first time I noticed the items laid out in neat plastic bags with notes written in black marker on the outside. My brain struggled to catch up and make sense of what I was seeing. An iPad. Two different cell phones. Marijuana, rolling papers, and a pipe.

  “None of that’s mine.”

  “It was found in your room. Under your bed. So who else would it belong to?”

  “Bullshit. I’m being set up.” I turned to Ms. Simpson, seeking her assistance. She had to know this wasn’t true. “Do something. You know I’m not a thief.”

  “Roman—”

  “Why would I bust my ass working so many hours if I was gonna steal shit?” The injustice of it boiled my blood.

  By this point in my life I already knew what was coming. Don’t know why I bothered fighting it.

  I was about to lose everything.

  The freedom I’d worked so hard to carve out for myself.

  Any chance of going to college.

  The love I’d found.

  Everything familiar was going to be ripped away once again.

  “The electronics are bad enough. But you’ve also brought illegal narcotics into the house,” one of the men I didn’t know said.

  “No I didn’t.” My hands went to my hair, grabbing a fistful. “Test me. I’ll take any test you want. You won’t find any drugs in my system.” I pointed at the stuff on the table. “Fingerprint that shit. You won’t find my prints on any of it.”

  Jason shifted and looked away. Guess none of that occurred to him.

  For the first time, I thought maybe I was getting somewhere and this nightmare would go away. The two strangers looked at each other and then Ms. Simpson. She eyed Jason before addressing me.

  “The items will be processed. For now, we need to remove you.”

  “No!”

  Run! Get out!

  The two strangers tackled me before I reached the front door, slamming me into the wall. “Relax, son. Relax.”

  “You fucking relax. I’m being set up.”

  They zip tied my hands behind my back. I glanced up the staircase and found Pip, Squire, Janet, and the rest of the kids watching the spectacle.

  Squire pouted and wiped a fake tear off his cheek. Janet wiggled her fingers at me and mouthed, “Bye-bye.”

  They did this.

  Tears ran down Pip’s cheeks and he shook his head.

  Who would protect him from the bigger kids if I wasn’t here?

  “Don’t do this.” Realizing Pip would be all alone reduced me to begging. “Ms. Simpson, please. You know I’m innocent.” With my face mashed up against the wall, my words came out muffled.

  “We’ll sort it out, Roman,” she said with a little more authority.

  But it was too little too late.

  They could sort it out later, but the damage would be done. My life would be upended. Even if I was vindicated, the chances of me being returned to Pine Bluff were slim.

  The two officers marched me out the front door and into a van. “Where are we going?”

  “A more secure facility.”

  Kiddie prison.

  “I just started the school year.”

  “They have a school there.”

  Great, I was headed to a facility where I wouldn’t be allowed to leave the grounds. Not even to go to school.

  Juliet.

  I had no way to contact her. Even if my backpack somehow made it to the place I was going, they’d search it and find my phone. She was going to be so worried.

  My job would be gone too. I had no hope anyone involved would have the decency to call and let Ulfric know why I wouldn’t be coming in this weekend.

  I yanked at the restraints on my wrists. Tears of rage welled up, burning my eyes, but I gritted my teeth until they dried up.

  I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of my tears.

  They wouldn’t break me.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Juliet

  By Sunday I was out of my mind with worry. Something bad must have happened to Roman.

  As soon as I realized Roman wouldn’t be showing up for work Friday night, I told Ulfric about the ominous message he had received at school.

  He shook his head. “Fucking bastards,” he’d muttered.

  I called Uncle Dex to see if he could do anything.

  “I’ll see what I can find out, Julez. But I’m not family. I’ll have a hard time getting anyone to talk to me.”

  After work Sunday night, I went to see Mrs. Shields. While watering the flowers Roman and I bought her earlier in the summer, I broke down crying.

  Behind me the screen door clicked open and thumped shut.

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” Mrs. Shields pulled me into the warm circle of her arms and stroked her hand over my hair.

  I spilled all my fears and worry to her.

  “Oh, Juliet.” She sounded so distressed, I felt bad for telling her. “Poor Roman. What can I do?”

  For a moment we were both quiet. What could she do? What could I do? I’d never felt more powerless.

  “Do you think I could apply to be his foster parent?” she finally asked.

  I wiped the tears off my cheeks and stared at her. “You’d do that?”

  “Of course. He’s a good boy. He deserves some stability.” She hesitated. “I might be too old to be approved as a foster parent, though. I don’t know.”

  “I don’t think so.” My heart already felt lighter. They’d be crazy to turn her down. Mrs. Shields had a lovely home and lots of time to give. She’d be a perfect foster parent for Roman. This might actually work. It had to.

  “I’ll call my lawyer tomorrow morning and see if he can help me figure out where to start,” she promised.

  “Thank you. Thank you so much, Mrs. Shields.”

  Monday morning, I waited out front for the Pine Bluff van to arrive. Praying Roman would be on it. Maybe the home found his phone and he was grounded for the weekend, but he’d show up for school. Everything would be okay.

  Everything was not okay.

  The van pulled up to the curb. I didn’t recognize the driver and I was afraid to approach. I doubted he’d answer any of my questions anyway. Instead, I waited for Pip.

  He trudged down the van steps last.

  “Pip!” I called out.

  “Aw, you waiting for your fuck boy?” Sam taunted.

  “Sorry, he’s not coming today,” Janet added. “So sorry.”

  I hated these two. Roman never talked about them much, but it didn’t take a genius to know there was friction among the three of them. Sam Squire had bully written all over his aggressive posture. If I knew Roman, he stood up for the kids Sam probably enjoyed picking on.

  “Where is he?” I asked, pushing into Sam’s space.

  “Back off, bitch.” He lowered his filthy face until it was inches from mine. “He’s gone.”

  My stomach churned. Gone where?

  “What did you do?”

  “Who, me?” Sam pretended to be offended. “Nothing, darlin’.” He slung his arm around Janet’s shoulders and the two of them strolled inside together, smug as two slugs.

  A cry of pure fury burst out of me.

  “They took him Friday night,” Pip said in a quiet voice.

  I glanced down at him and wanted to cry. Misery was written all over his pale face. In the dark circles under his eyes and the tension lines around his mouth. Losing Roman had hit him hard.

  “Who took him? What happened?”

  He gestured toward a bench away from the other kids and we moved over to it for privacy.

  “Sam’s been gunning for him for a while. First, Evie and he tried to set Roman up. Janet’s been pissed since Evie got sent away. She stole some stuff from school and the two of them planted the stuff and some drugs under Roman’s bed. Our room had a ‘surprise’ search and that was it.”

  “Where’d they send him?”

  “I don’t know.” His bony shoulders lifted in a sad shrug. “They don’t tell us stuff like that.”

  My heart broke at the note of acceptance in Pip’s defeated voice. I understood, though. He’d probably gained and lost many friends while in foster care. My brain refused to accept the harsh reality of the situation. The connection Roman and I shared was special. Our futures were already woven together.

  I wouldn’t abandon him at the first bump in our road we encountered.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Roman

  There was nothing regal about the Castle Correctional Center. The gladiator-like environment had a different set of rules than the Pine Bluff home.

  This was more like a prison. To prepare us for where most of us would end up once we were released from the state’s “care.”

  In fact, we weren’t far from the county jail. When kids acted up—pretty much every day—and the counselors didn’t want to deal with it, they dialed 911 and let the cops cart us away.

  It was a place designed to turn broken children into monsters.

  I was isolated from the rest of the inmates—I mean kids—for the first week. That was fun. First, I’m kidnapped from “home.” Everything normal in my life stripped away. Then, I’m shoved in a room by myself for my “safety.”

  Every nerve in my body was on edge. What was Juliet doing? Thinking? She must be so worried about me. Would she go to the house? Ask what happened? God, I hoped not. I couldn’t stand the thought of someone telling her I was a thief.

  She’d know it was lies. We were so deeply connected, she’d have to know I’d never do anything that would pull me away from her.

  After five days, I finally wrangled a pen, envelope, stamp, and piece of paper from one of the counselors.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Dear Juliet,

  I can’t imagine what you’re thinking right now. But know this—I was set up. Probably by Janet and Squire. I never would’ve purposely done anything that would’ve taken me away from you.

  You can write me here, just know someone will read your letters before I see them.

  Please look out for Pip if you can.

  Love,

  Roman

  * * *

  I sobbed with relief when I opened the mailbox and spotted Roman’s familiar, blocky handwriting.

  The envelope shredded under my eager fingers and I carefully tucked the pieces back together so I didn’t lose the return address.

  He was okay.

  I ran up to my room and quickly wrote my own letter. If I hurried, I could run to the post office and mail it before they closed for the day.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Dear Roman,

  I’m so happy to finally hear from you! Pip explained what happened. I’m so sorry and angry.

  Don’t be embarrassed, but I spoke to Mrs. Shields. I don’t want to give you false hope, because I’m not sure how things will turn out, but she talked to her lawyer. They are working on getting her approved as a foster parent, so you can live with her. Wouldn’t that be amazing? You could come back to school. And we’d see each other every day.

  I’ll be here waiting for you.

  All my love,

  Juliet

  * * *

  Sadly, Juliet’s letter gave me no hope. Sure, I got choked up thinking of Mrs. Shields going through the trouble on my behalf. Did I think it would work out? Nope. Nothing in my life had ever gone in my favor. Why should my luck change?

  “Letter from your girl?” my new roommate asked from the top bunk across from mine. So far, we had the room to ourselves, but there were two more spaces left. I dreaded who they might place with us. Griff was around my age and seemed to have the same fuck-off-and-let-me-do-my-time-in-peace attitude I’d developed. He wasn’t an orphan, but from the brief things he’d said about his parents, he might as well have been. He’d already been at the Castle for a few months. As soon as I got tossed in his room, he took on a big brother role. It annoyed me almost as much as I appreciated the protection. His concern gave me some breathing room to get used to my surroundings.