Chapter 31 Juliet
JULIET
“Juliet?” I blink and refocus on the men in front of me.
Nolan is positioned no less than a foot away, face serious as he perches his big body on the coffee table.
I’m a little surprised the thing hasn’t collapsed beneath his muscled weight.
Behind him, Gio stands with his back to the wall, arms crossed, looking every bit as grave as Nolan. And Lex…
Lex is locked in his office. Now, I know why.
“What?” My voice comes out sounding like a croak and I blink, coughing once to clear the sound away. “What?” I repeat. That’s better.
Nolan’s brow furrows. “Did you hear what I said?”
Did I hear about how someone has been stalking me for potentially years—someone that isn’t Lex—and not only are they likely the reason for all of my fucking problems in the last year, but also Morpheus’ killer? Yup. I heard that. Loud and clear.
“Yeah,” I say. “I did.”
Nolan straightens, his shoulders going back as he tilts his head.
“Did you expect me to scream or cry?” I ask.
“No…” His answer is hesitant. I snort. A year ago, I probably would have broken down. The Juliet from a year ago didn’t know how hard life could be. She didn’t know what it was like to be so hated, so hungry.
“Maybe she’s in shock,” Gio comments, pushing off the wall and coming forward as his arms drop to his sides.
Shock? No. I shake my head. “At this point, I don’t think anything could surprise me,” I say.
Gio doesn’t stop until he’s right beside Nolan, his legs wedged between the short sofa I’m sitting on and the table. “You’re not really reacting, though.”
“Because now isn’t the time?” The words come out sounding like a question.
Gio arches a brow at me. “Then… when is the time?”
I lift my head. “When we catch the motherfucker.” Gio’s lips twitch and then the corners turn up into a smile.
“Damn fucking right.” He nods.
Nolan continues to stare at me as if he’s trying to worm his way into my head and read my thoughts with the power of his will. “I’m okay,” I tell him. “I’m glad you guys finally told me what the hell is going on.”
“We were always going to tell you,” he informs me. “It was just a matter of when.”
“No,” I tell him. “It was a matter of if you thought I could handle it.”
Gio’s smile falters at that statement. “Prep Girl…” I hold up a hand, stopping him.
“I just want to know, now, what the plan is,” I say. “What are we going to do? How are we going to catch them? Are we going to tell the police?”
“Detective Lann doesn’t seem willing to listen to reason,” Nolan says. “But the media might be more open to it, especially if we get the city in on the story.”
A grimace overtakes me. “I’d rather not involve the media if we can avoid it.”
Memories of the year I’d spent drinking myself into a stupor following the night Morpheus raped me are a blur in my mind, but what does stand out are the copious amounts of paparazzi waiting outside of nightclubs and hotels.
The night that I’d met Paris had been one where he’d helped me hide from them.
Not that I was famous by any means, but there had been a few B-list actors at the club and more than a fair share of rich kids from New York in town.
“That’s for after—if the police still try to pin the blame on you,” Nolan assures me. “For now, we’re going to set a trap for the culprit behind the notes and pictures.”
“Wh—” The door to Lex’s office opens and he steps out, halting any further conversation. All at once, the three of us—Nolan, Gio, and I—turn to watch him.
Face haggard and a shadow of beard growth coating the lower half of his face, from his jawline and halfway up his cheeks, Lex looks half crazed. “Did you find it?” Nolan asks.
Lex blinks and then looks at him. “I got… something,” he says. “I’m not sure if it’ll work, but I cracked the connection history for the drive.”
“What does that mean?” Gio asks. “Do you know who sent it?”
Lex shakes his head, dark hair falling into his face briefly before he shoves it back.
“No, not a name, but each photo and video has an original name and location and date when it was taken, uploaded, and added to the drive. The USB’s metadata showed that it’d been used previously.
Deleting files from the flash drive doesn’t actually delete it from the drive’s memory. ”
Gio looks almost adorably confused as he stares at Lex. “So…” he hedges.
Lex levels him with a flat look. “I was able to restore some of the previous files and I ran one of my scanner apps.”
“So you don’t know who sent it, but you found a way to contact them?” Nolan’s question is half guess, half statement.
“Yes.” Lex blows out a long breath. “We have an email address. There’s no guarantee it’s the owner of the drive’s email, but it’s all we have so we might as well try to use it.”
Nolan nods, and Lex finally moves the rest of the way into the room. The second his eyes find me, the steel in his expression fractures. His features soften into a look of such yearning that I have no other choice but to react.
“Baby…” When he calls for me in that rough, slightly husky tone, I’m done waiting for him to reach me.
I rise, meeting him halfway like some cliché in a rom-com—except there’s nothing cute about the way his arms cage me in, or how he buries his face in my hair like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.
“I’m fine,” I murmur against his chest. “Really. Nobody died. Yet.”
His grip tightens. “I’m sorry.” His words come out choked. “I didn’t know—I should’ve known that you were in danger. I should’ve…” Lex’s voice cracks and I glance to his face to find him biting down hard enough on his lower lip to have split the skin there.
These men… I sigh, rising onto my toes as I press my mouth to his. He releases his lip automatically and kisses me back, tasting of mint and rust. The blood, I realize. When we finally break apart, Lex’s storm cloud eyes are glassy with guilt and desire.
“No more apologies.” My tone is firm. “You didn’t know. Now you do, and you’re going to help me fuck up the person behind all of this mess.”
“I am,” Lex agrees, pressing another soft, chaste kiss to my forehead.
“We are.” The creak of the coffee table sounds behind me as Nolan stands up, his voice a deep, heavy note. Lex tenses against me and I squeeze my arms around him reassuringly. Before Nolan can say anything more, I speak up.
“The plan,” I reiterate, glancing back. “Do we have one or do we need to come up with one?”
Gio is the one that answers. “We have one.”
Lex sinks his head back down on my shoulder, nearly bending completely because of the height difference. It’s like having a big fucking Great Dane sitting on me, but I don’t mind. In fact, I like the pressure. I would just like the pressure more if I were sitting.
Carefully, I shuffle to the side, Lex following.
When I retake my seat on the sofa, he easily slides on it next to me, head still pillowed on my shoulder.
Reaching up, I sink my fingers into the inky black strands of his hair and gently scrape my nails against his scalp.
The full-body shudder that works through him seems to make both Nolan and Gio relax.
They move back, Nolan scooting the coffee table away from the couch some feet before perching back on it and Gio taking the chair.
“All right,” Nolan begins. “So, this is the plan…”