Colby's POV
It felt like the world had stopped when Julia cried out the news that had me feeling like I was kicked in the groin.
We had a child.
I didn't know about it and the stress I caused Julia caused her to lose it.
It was all my fucking fault.
Having a child with Julia would have been detrimental to my career and would put her and that baby's safety at risk but it was a big enough reason to leave the crime world all together.
I thought at the time that it was the best choice to make to protect Julia.
It was in the sense of the crime world, but I couldn't protect her from herself.
The fact she fell into addiction and couldn't gain custody of her siblings broke my heart.
I was the reason she got taken and I was reason she was introduced to narcotics to begin with.
I groaned and sat down, grabbing another cigarette.
My mind was racing with thoughts and feelings that I didn't think would ever stop.
I sat in silence on the balcony, smoking cigarette after cigarette. I didn't care that I needed to go to sleep to be focused, I wouldn't dare close my eyes right now.
This news made me wonder what else happened with Julia after I left. She mentioned to me that there were men watching her and approaching her, but she thought I sent them.
I had a sick feeling that Julia was wrapped into more shit than she ever has been in before.
The sun eventually started to rise, and I was still sitting on the balcony, exhaustion and shock still coursing through my veins.
It didn't matter how tired I was, I had a lot of work to do today.
When I went inside, I tried to go into the bedroom but the door was locked. "Julia. I need to get in there." I said with a sigh.
Silence.
"I'm serious, Jules. I'll leave you alone all day but I need to get ready." I said and knocked on the door.
After another couple minutes of silence I pulled out my knife and started picking the lock. I didn't have time to entertain this sort of thing.
When I opened the door I saw Julia curled up on the bed on top of the covers.
She was hugging herself and I could see the tear stains on her cheeks from all the way over here.
I sighed and walked over to her, grabbing a blanket and laying it on top of her.
I watched her for just a second to make sure she wouldn't wake up, then made my way to the bathroom.
I got myself ready for the day, making sure to be quiet so I wouldn't wake Julia up.
Part of me wanted to wake her up so we could talk, but I knew she hasn't been sleeping well. I couldn't really blame her considering the situation.
Once I was done showering and getting ready, I got dressed and made my way back to the bedroom.
Julia was still fast asleep so I carefully went to my bedside table and pulled out a burner phone.
I set it on the night stand then wrote a note with my phone number and instructions to call me when she woke up.
It didn't feel right leaving her here by herself but we were on the top floor so nobody would be able to get in through the balcony and I would have someone stand guard outside my door.
