Updated Oct 1, 2025 • ~10 min read
Agent Marlowe arrived within the hour, her team sweeping the house, the street, canvassing neighbors.
“The kid who delivered it is twelve years old,” she reported. “Said a man gave him twenty bucks and the envelope. Description matches about ten thousand men in Chicago. We’re pulling security footage from nearby cameras, but—”
“But it’s not enough,” Roman finished. “Whoever did this knew we’d call you. Knew how to stay invisible.”
“The photo was taken this morning. Outside Lucia’s. High-quality camera, telephoto lens. Professional.” Marlowe’s expression was grim. “This wasn’t random. Someone’s been watching you closely.”
Juliette sat on their couch—their new couch in their new house on their wedding night—and felt the fragile hope they’d built start to crumble.
“I thought it was over,” she said numbly. “All the arrests. Nico in prison. I thought we were free.”
“You are free,” Marlowe insisted. “One threatening letter doesn’t change that. Could be someone with a grudge. Could be a copycat trying to scare you. Could be—”
“Could be someone from Nico’s organization that you missed.” Roman’s voice was hard. “Someone smart enough to lay low during the arrests. Patient enough to wait until we felt safe.”
“We didn’t miss anyone. We arrested every associate, every—”
“You missed someone.” Juliette stood, crossing to the window, staring out at their quiet street that suddenly felt like a trap. “Because that letter is real. That photo is real. Someone is out there, watching us, and you can’t stop them.”
Marlowe’s phone rang. She answered, listened, her face going pale.
“When?” she asked. Then: “I’ll tell them.”
She hung up, and Juliette knew before she spoke that it was bad.
“Theo Mercer was attacked an hour ago. Someone broke into his hotel room. He fought them off, but—” She stopped. “He’s in the hospital. Critical condition.”
The room tilted. Roman grabbed the back of a chair to steady himself.
“Is he going to make it?”
“They don’t know yet. He’s in surgery.” Marlowe’s jaw clenched. “Roman, this changes things. This isn’t just harassment. This is attempted murder. Someone is systematically going after everyone connected to Nico’s takedown.”
“Then get us out of here. New protection. New names. Right now.”
“No.” Juliette’s voice cut through the panic. “No more running. No more hiding. We did that. It didn’t work. If someone wants us dead badly enough to find us in witness protection, to track us after all the arrests—running won’t help.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Marlowe asked.
“We draw them out. We bait them. We end this.” Juliette turned to face them, and her expression was fierce. “Whoever sent that letter wants us scared. Wants us to run. So we do the opposite. We stay. We live loud. We make ourselves visible. And when they come for us—we’re ready.”
“That’s insane,” Roman said. “You want to use yourself as bait?”
“Us. We use us as bait. Together.” She crossed to him, took his hands. “Roman, we can’t live like this. Can’t spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, waiting for a threat that might never come or might come tomorrow. We finish this. Now. For real.”
“She’s right,” Marlowe said slowly. “If we set up a controlled scenario. Heavy surveillance. Armed agents. We could—”
“No.” Roman pulled away from both of them. “Absolutely not. I’m not letting Juliette walk into danger again. Not after everything.”
“You don’t get to decide that for me.” Juliette’s voice went hard. “I’m not asking permission. I’m telling you—I’m done being a victim. Done being prey. If someone wants me dead, they can try. But they’re going to have to go through me fighting.”
“Juliette—”
“Roman.” She grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her. “Remember what we promised? Partners. Equals. You don’t protect me by pushing me aside. You protect me by standing with me. So stand with me now. Help me end this.”
He stared at her, at the woman who’d been terrified in a prison consultation room and now stood ready to face down death itself. She’d changed. They both had. Survival had made them harder. Braver. Reckless in the way only people who’d already lost everything could be.
“Okay,” he said finally. “We do this together. But Marlowe—I want every resource the FBI has. Every agent. Every backup plan. Because if anything happens to her—”
“Nothing will happen. I promise.” Marlowe was already on her phone, calling in reinforcements. “We’ll set it up for next week. Give whoever this is time to plan, to make a move. And when they do, we take them down.”
The plan was simple in concept, terrifying in execution.
Roman and Juliette would resume normal life—going to work, coming home, being visible. But every moment would be monitored. FBI agents disguised as neighbors, as delivery drivers, as joggers passing by. Cameras everywhere. A panic button on both their phones. The house wired with alarms and silent triggers.
“You’re bait in a trap,” Agent Sienna explained during the briefing. She’d been reassigned to their case after River Falls. “Whoever comes for you won’t know we’re watching. They’ll think you’re vulnerable. And the second they make a move, we’ve got them.”
“And if they’re smarter than that?” Juliette asked. “If they realize it’s a trap?”
“Then they don’t show up, and we’ve lost nothing except time.”
“Or they go after someone else,” Roman said. “My friends from prison. Juliette’s family. People we care about who aren’t protected.”
“We’ve already assigned security details to your family. And we’ve contacted the witnesses from the trial—everyone’s on alert.” Marlowe’s expression was confident. “This will work, Roman. Trust me.”
He didn’t. But what choice did they have?
The first three days were uneventful.
Juliette taught second-graders about fractions and didn’t tell them their teacher was bait for a killer. Roman helped a wrongfully convicted man file an appeal and didn’t mention he was expecting to die any minute.
They came home each evening to their house that was surrounded by invisible protection. Made dinner. Pretended to watch TV while actually watching the street through the window.
“This is worse than actually being in danger,” Juliette said on the fourth night. “The waiting is killing me.”
“Maybe no one’s coming. Maybe the letter was just a scare tactic.”
“You don’t believe that.”
“No. I don’t.”
On the fifth day, Theo woke up.
Roman got the call at work and immediately drove to the hospital. Juliette met him there, both of them escorted by agents, both of them terrified of what Theo might say.
He looked terrible—tubes and machines and bandages covering half his face. But his eyes were clear when they entered.
“Roman,” he rasped. “Juliette. You’re okay.”
“We’re fine. What happened? Did you see who attacked you?”
“Not their face. Wore a mask. But—” He coughed, wincing. “They said something. Before they stabbed me. Said ‘Nico sends his regards.'”
Roman’s blood ran cold. “Nico’s in prison. Maximum security. How could he—”
“Money. Reach. He’s been in the game fifty years. You really think prison walls stop him?” Theo grabbed Roman’s hand with surprising strength. “They’re coming for you next. Both of you. You need to run. Now.”
“We’re not running.” Juliette’s voice was steel. “We’re ending this. But Theo—did they say anything else? Anything that might help us identify them?”
“Just—” He struggled to remember. “A tattoo. On their wrist. Some kind of symbol. Three lines. Like—” He gestured weakly. “Like tally marks.”
Roman and Marlowe exchanged glances.
“That’s not enough to ID someone,” Marlowe said. “But it’s something. We’ll cross-reference with known associates.”
They stayed with Theo until he fell asleep again, then returned to their house-turned-fortress.
“Three lines,” Roman muttered as they walked inside. “Three lines. Why does that sound familiar?”
“You’ve seen it before?”
“In prison. Someone had that tattoo. I can’t remember who.” He pressed his hands to his temples. “It was—someone from Nico’s crew. Someone who—”
The lights went out.
Complete darkness. Every lamp, every device, everything dead.
“Backup power should kick in,” Juliette said.
It didn’t.
Roman grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the panic room they’d insisted on installing. But before they reached it, the front door exploded inward.
Three figures in masks. Moving fast. Professional.
Roman shoved Juliette behind him, reaching for the gun Marlowe had given him. But one of the figures was faster, firing a taser that dropped him instantly.
“Roman!” Juliette screamed.
A hand clamped over her mouth. She bit down hard, tasted blood, fought with everything she had. But there were three of them and one of her, and they were trained and she wasn’t.
They zip-tied her hands. Dragged her toward the door.
Where were the agents? The backup? The protection they’d promised?
Then she heard it. Gunfire. Shouting. The cavalry arriving too late.
One of the masked figures went down, shot by an agent who’d finally broken through. The second turned to fire back, giving Juliette a chance to break free.
She ran. Not away. Toward Roman, who was struggling to stand, still twitching from the taser.
The third figure caught her. Slammed her against the wall hard enough to see stars.
“Nico says hello,” a woman’s voice hissed. Then she pulled out a knife.
Roman roared, launching himself at the woman despite his body still spasming. They went down in a tangle of limbs and violence.
More gunfire. More agents. The house was full of chaos and light and federal law enforcement finally, finally arriving.
The woman with the knife tried to run. Made it three steps before an agent tackled her, driving her face-first into the hardwood floor.
“Clear!” someone shouted. “Clear! We’ve got them all!”
Roman crawled to Juliette, pulled her into his arms. Both of them shaking, bleeding from minor cuts, alive.
“You okay?” he gasped.
“I think so. You?”
“Better now.”
Agent Marlowe appeared, her face furious. “Someone cut our power. Cut our communications. This was coordinated. They had inside information.”
The woman with the knife was hauled to her feet, mask ripped off. Juliette gasped.
It was Hana. The young teacher from River Falls who’d been so friendly. Who’d asked about Portland and seemed so harmless.
“You,” Juliette breathed. “You were watching us the whole time.”
Hana smiled, blood on her teeth. “From the day you arrived. Nico pays well. Pays better than teaching, anyway.” She looked at Roman. “You should have stayed hidden. Should have died quietly. Now you get to live knowing we’ll always find you. Always.”
“Book her,” Marlowe snapped. “And someone find out how the hell she bypassed our security.”
As Hana was dragged away, Juliette collapsed against Roman. “It’s never going to end, is it? There’s always going to be another threat. Another person on Nico’s payroll.”
“No.” Roman’s voice was hard. “This ends now. We’re going to see Nico. Face to face. Tomorrow.”
“Roman, that’s—”
“The only way. He needs to see that we’re not afraid. That we won’t run. That every person he sends after us just proves we won.” His arms tightened around her. “And he needs to hear me say it directly—if anyone touches my wife again, I’m coming for him. I don’t care if he’s in maximum security. I don’t care if he’s dying. I will find a way.”
“That’s a threat against a federal prisoner,” Marlowe warned.
“Good. Write it down. Add it to his file. I want him to know.” Roman’s eyes were blazing. “We’re done being victims. Done being hunted. Tomorrow, we go on offense.”
Roman whispered, “Forever starts now.”
And Juliette realized—he was right.
Forever didn’t start when they felt safe.
It started when they stopped waiting for safety and chose to live anyway.
Together.
Always.
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