Page 132 of Burning Daylight

He leans back, lacing his fingers in his lap.

“They trust me. Not because I’m loyal, but because I’m useful. My job isn’t to pick a side, it’s to ensure the table stays steady while everyone plays their hand.”

“And if both sides go to war?”

Frederick shrugs. “Then I win either way.”

“I’m not trying to hurt her,” I murmur, my chest feeling heavy. “She’s…different. It’s like the world shifts when I’m next to her.”

“Virtue can easily turn into vice, my boy,” Frederick says.

“Juliette isn’t aweakness, she’s…” I trail off because I don’t know what to say.

She’s everything.

Frederick sighs and lowers his voice, like he’s telling me a secret. “Like I said, I’ve known Juliette since she was born. I’ve been to her birthdays, and I’ve seen her stumble and fall and pick herself back up more times that I can count. I’ve seen everyone in her life use her for their gain, while she takes nothing for herself. So speak plainly to me about the two of you, Roman, and maybe I can help you. Does she feel the same?”

“If you’re so close, why don’t you just ask her?” I eye him carefully.

“This feud between your two families brings nothing but destruction,” he says instead of answering. “It decays the very foundation of the city itself. And above all, that’s what I care about.This town.So believe me when I say that you need someone who understands how to navigate all of this. Especially if you’re sloppy enough to leave trails like photos and spray paint.”

I grit my teeth. “I told you already, that isn’t what it looks like.”

He smacks his hand on the table. “A jumbled confession can only receive a jumbled solution.”

I snap, the words clawing out of my throat before I can stop them. “What do you want me to say, Frederick? That I saw her once and never forgot? How I think I fell for her before I even knew her name? You want me to spell out how we carve moments like they’re stolen, and how she tells me things she probably doesn’t say out loud to anyone else?”

His face softens with understanding.

“How it fuckingdestroysme knowing she’s not mine, and she never can be, when I’d give up almost anything for the chance?”

My voice drops, my heart exposed and raw.

“What good would telling you that do me? Will you take my words and turn them into a ‘solution’? I have news for you: I know Juliette and I can’t be together. It’s been made more than clear. So, we’re not. Period.”

Frederick swallows harshly and slowly nods. “Then look me in the eyes and promise me there’s no story here.”

“There’s no story here,” I say.

Lies. Lies. Lies.

“Very well.” Frederick straightens his cuffs, running a hand down the front of his suit again. “For a moment, I thought you two might be…”

My chest spasms. “Might be what?”

“It doesn’t matter.” He gives me a sad grin. “If you’re fickle, stay away from her. For both of your sakes. And if you aren’t, promise you’ll come to me first. I can help you, Roman. Both of you.”

My brow furrows. “How?”

“Sometimes the only way to protect something as precious as love…is to take it far from where anyone can reach it.”

Something twists low in my gut, like a screw turning into bone.

I don’t answer him. I can’t.

For all of his polished bullshit and monologues, there’s a soft knowing in his words that cuts through me. Like he’s reaching inside my chest and poking at something I’ve barely let myself name.

“Your father’s asked me to help dissuade the public opinion that may arise thinking the vandalism is just one person. There’ll be copycats of you cropping up over the next few days.Do notinterfere if you see them tagging.”