Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
H earing Max’s breathing and watching his chest rise and fall soothed her worries.
After everyone had left and she’d made sure every door and window in the place was locked, they ate a light dinner before settling down on the sofa and watching TV until Max fell asleep.
Juliette glanced down at Max sprawled across the sofa with his head resting against her thigh. His breathing was steady, his features relaxed, despite the events of the day. She ran her fingers lightly through his hair, careful not to get near his bump or wake him just yet. He needed the rest after what had happened in the basement. But they couldn’t stay on the couch all night.
“Max,” she whispered after the show was over, brushing her fingers along his jaw.
He let out a soft, contented sigh but didn’t stir.
Smiling, she leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”
He hummed in response, blinking his eyes open slowly. For a moment, he looked confused, but then he focused on her and a sleepy smile curved his lips. “Mmm, best wake-up call ever.”
She chuckled. “Let’s get you in bed before you fall asleep on me again.”
He stretched and groaned before finally sitting up. “Fine, but only if you come with me.”
She chuckled as she stood and took his hand, leading him down the hallway, up the stairs, and to the bedroom. The house was quiet, a stark contrast to the chaos from earlier in the day. The only sound was the rhythmic crash of the waves outside, steady and soothing.
Max sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing a hand over his face. “You okay?” he asked, watching her as she moved around the room.
“I should be asking you that.” She pulled a small bag from the chair and unzipped it, taking out a few of her things. “But yeah, I’m fine. Just glad you’re okay.”
He nodded and yawned as he fell back onto the bed, watching her. “You know, I never really thought about what it’d be like to have someone else’s things in here.”
She paused, looking over her shoulder at him. “And?”
His lips tilted into a lazy smile. “I like it. Is the closet big enough for you?”
She chuckled and motioned to the massive walk-in closet. Max’s things took up only a quarter of the space. “I think I have less clothes than you do. There’s going to be more empty space in there than either of us can fill.”
Warmth spread through her chest. She turned back to the dresser and placed a few folded shirts in an empty drawer before moving to the bathroom to put away her toothbrush, makeup bag, and hair products. It wasn’t much, but it was a start—one that felt bigger than she’d expected.
When she returned, Max had shifted under the covers, his arm stretched out towards her. “Come here,” he murmured, his voice thick with exhaustion.
She slipped in beside him, and he immediately pulled her close, tucking her against his chest. “Feels right,” he mumbled against her hair.
She smiled, pressing a kiss to his bare shoulder. “It does.”
Within minutes, his breathing evened out again, his body warm and solid next to hers. She let out a slow breath, letting the exhaustion of the day finally take over.
As she drifted off, she realized something. Despite everything that had happened, despite the threats and uncertainty, she felt safe. Because she was here, with him. And that was all that mattered.
The following morning, she woke to a text message from Palmer that his men were there and ready to work. Dressing quickly and leaving Max to sleep more, she opened the door for them and went about making breakfast.
When she was done, she set two plates down on the small outdoor table on the deck. The morning sun was still casting a golden glow over the ocean, warming everything and making her glad that summer was finally there.
The air was still a little crisp this early but warming quickly, the salty breeze carrying the distant cries of seagulls and happy people enjoying the beach below them.
Max stepped out and stretched his arms over his head before plopping down in the chair across from her. His hair was still messy from sleep, and the faint bruising on his temple from yesterday’s attack made her stomach twist.
“I could get used to this,” he said, grabbing a slice of bacon off his plate.
She smirked. “What, waking up to the sound of hammers and saws?”
He chuckled. “That, and already made breakfast.”
She took a sip of her coffee. “It’s just eggs, bacon, and toast, nothing fancy.”
“Still better than my usual protein bar.” He shot her a grin before digging in.
They ate in comfortable silence for a while, watching the waves roll in. The town was waking up, boats already heading out to sea, and the occasional distant voice carried up from the beach below.
“I’m gonna grab a quick shower before we start the day,” Max said once he was done eating. He pushed his chair back.
She nodded. “I’ve already set up the cameras but figured that I’d start going through yesterday’s footage while you shower. I want to post the video soon.”
He leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips before heading inside.
Once she cleared the table and grabbed her laptop, she settled onto the outdoor chair, pulling up the footage from the day before. The videos loaded smoothly, and she started trimming clips, focusing on the shots where the workers hadn’t blocked the view.
Then she scrolled through the footage from the second camera, where the workers’ were working at the base of the stairs, and froze.
Her stomach twisted slightly as she watched Max walk down the hallway towards the kitchen. The camera set up at the far end of the space captured him disappearing into the kitchen. Alone.
She nearly skipped to the next clip when something in the corner of the frame caught her eye.
Frowning, she rewound the footage and hit pause.
A shadowy figure was following him from the living room.
Her breath hitched.
She leaned in closer, eyes locked onto the grainy corner of the shot. A small person, dressed entirely in black, their face obscured by the lighting, moved across the hallway, following behind Max. And in his hand?—
A pipe wrench.
Juliette’s heart pounded as she hit play again, watching in horror as the figure followed Max into the kitchen just moments before he had been attacked.
Her stomach dropped.
This wasn’t just some random accident.
Someone had been watching him.
Someone had attacked him on purpose.
And they were still out there.
Juliette paced the deck while she waited for Max to finish getting dressed, her fingers tapping anxiously against the back of her phone.
She’d sent a text to Aiden and he had responded almost immediately, saying he was on his way. She’d watched the footage at least five more times, each viewing making her stomach twist tighter. Someone had followed Max. Someone had been waiting for the right moment.
The thought sent a shiver through her.
When Max finally stepped outside, his damp hair tousled and his brow furrowed from her urgent request to talk, she wasted no time.
“You need to see this,” she said, sitting down on the bed and pulling up the footage on her laptop.
Max sat beside her, leaning in close as she played the clip. She felt him stiffen beside her the moment the shadowy figure appeared in the frame.
“Son of a—” His jaw clenched.
She let the video play through once more, pausing just as the figure stepped into view, the pipe wrench clearly visible in his grip.
“It wasn’t just some random break-in, they weren’t looking for the diamond,” Juliette said quietly. “Whoever this is, they wanted to hurt you.”
Max exhaled sharply, scrubbing a hand down his face. “We need to take this to Palmer and Parker. If this was one of the workers, they might recognize him.”
She nodded, already closing her laptop.
They moved quickly, finding the brothers in the middle of a discussion about materials in one of the upstairs bathrooms. The second Palmer saw their faces, his expression darkened.
“What’s wrong?” Parker asked, setting down a clipboard.
Juliette opened her laptop again, turning the screen towards them. “We caught something on the footage from yesterday.”
Both men leaned in as she played the clip, their gazes sharpening when the figure appeared. Palmer muttered a curse under his breath while Parker crossed his arms.
“Any idea who that might be?” Max asked, his voice tight.
Palmer exhaled through his nose. “Give me a sec.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled through a list, then exchanged a glance with his brother.
Parker nodded. “We can put together a short list of guys who match that build and were working yesterday.”
By the time Aiden arrived, the brothers had narrowed it down to three potential suspects.
Aiden listened as they explained, his expression growing graver by the second. “Alright,” he finally said, jotting down notes. “I’ll need their names and contact info. If they’re here working today, we can question them, if not, we’ll bring them in for questioning.”
Juliette stole a glance at Max, the tension in his posture unmistakable.
“Why don’t the two of you go take a walk while we handle this?” Aiden suggested.
“I have a better idea,” Max said, taking her hand. “I have a few errands to run in Edgeview. I need to pick up a few things. We’ll be back after lunch.”
“We’ll keep you posted,” Aiden assured them.
“I’ll grab my purse,” Juliette said, and disappeared.
In all the excitement, she’d forgotten to hit publish on the posts and did so before they left, making sure to exclude the scene where Max was followed.
As they pulled out of the driveway, Juliette kept sneaking glances at Max. Since his head was still aching, she drove his car.
“You okay?” she asked softly, reaching out to rest a hand on his arm.
He exhaled slowly, forcing a small smile. “Yeah. Just trying to keep my head straight. It’s one thing knowing someone attacked me, but seeing that guy actually following me…” He shook his head. “It’s unsettling.”
Juliette squeezed his arm gently. “We’ll figure out who it is. Aiden and the guys won’t stop until they do.”
Max nodded but didn’t say anything else. She turned onto the highway that would lead them towards Edgeview, the larger town about thirty minutes away.
“So, what are these errands?” she asked, trying to lighten the mood. “You’re being all mysterious, it almost makes me think you’re either picking up something completely boring like light bulbs or something ridiculously extravagant.”
He smirked, the tension in his face easing just slightly. “What if I told you it was somewhere in between?”
Juliette raised an eyebrow. “Interesting. Okay, I’ll play along.”
They spent the next few miles chatting about little things—the upcoming work still needed on the house, the posts she’d uploaded, and the fact that they now had over two million views on their latest video.
By the time they reached Edgeview, Max had fully relaxed, and Juliette was feeling more at ease too.
Their first stop was a small specialty store tucked between a coffee shop and a bookstore. Inside, Juliette immediately caught the scent of leather and aged paper.
Max led her to a glass case where a variety of cameras were displayed.
“Ah-ha,” she said, crossing her arms. “Now it makes sense.”
Max grinned. “I wanted to surprise you, but since we were already coming into town, I figured we’d pick one out together.”
Juliette’s heart squeezed. “You want to get me a camera?”
He shrugged like it was no big deal. “You mentioned that you’d been thinking about getting something of your own for a while. Consider it a housewarming gift.”
She stared at him, speechless for a moment. No one had ever done something like this for her before.
“Max…”
“Pick one,” he said, nodding to the case. “I want you to have something special.”
Juliette swallowed past the lump in her throat and focused on the cameras, her fingers brushing over the cool glass.
He was making it impossible not to fall deeper in love with him.
And somehow, that scared her more than the man who had attacked him.
After the camera shop, where she’d picked out a used Olympus Pen-F complete with several lenses and a case, they headed to the hardware store and grabbed a few items he needed along with a couple of cases of backsplash tile they’d picked out for the kitchen.
Before heading back to Pride, they found a burger place and ate lunch.
It was there, when they were almost done eating lunch, when the report on the television caught Juliette’s eye. She tapped Max’s arm and pointed to the screen just as the words “Gabriella DeLuca found dead in hotel room” scrolled across.
“What the…” Max pulled out his phone and quickly searched for the report.
“What happened?” Juliette asked, glancing at his phone.
“They aren’t saying.” He glanced at her. “She was found early this morning by her agent. The first reports say that she was attacked.”
Juliette swallowed. “What are the chances that someone would attack you and her in the same twenty-four hours?”
“We need to get back home.” He glanced around. “Quickly.”
She nodded and followed him out to the car.
When they pulled up to his driveway, the number of cars parked outside his place had easily doubled.
Cameras flashed as she drove quickly by while people yelled at them. There were a couple of police cruisers parked there along with all the construction workers’ trucks.
“This is going to be a very long day,” he said before they got out.
“We’ll deal with it, together.” She took his hand in hers.
He lifted it to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “This is not how I expected things to go.”
They had talked on the trip home about Gabriella. He’d skimmed through all the articles he could find about what had happened. So far, all that the press knew was that she’d been attacked and most likely murdered sometime the day or night before and then discovered by her agent, Mariam Collins, early that morning.
When they walked in, Nick was standing in the living room talking to Parker.
“You heard?” Nick asked them.
“Yeah, what do you know?” Max asked.
Nick shook his head. “Not much more than what they’re saying on the reports.” He motioned to the TV, which was muted but playing the news channel.
“We’ve been asked by the local police handling the case to question you. Aiden has already confirmed that you both were here all yesterday and last night.”
“Thanks,” Juliette said, sitting down on the sofa, suddenly exhausted by everything. Max sat next to her and took her hand in his.
“Your folks wanted me to let them know when you returned,” Nick said, waving his phone. “I texted them when I saw you making your way up the drive.”
“Thanks,” she said again and rested her head back. “Between staying up late watching over Max and the early morning wake-up call, I’m tired.” She felt a headache spreading.
“Let me go get you a soda.” Max stood up and, before she could say anything, he disappeared into the kitchen.
“What now?” she asked Nick.
“Well, Palmer and his crew have finished installing the new security system with the help of Josh Williams.” He motioned when she heard Max talking to someone in the kitchen.
“Right, Internal Security. I forgot they also do high-end home and business security systems.”
“He’s probably showing Max the ropes now,” Palmer said as he came back into the room. “For now, if you have your phone, you can install the app. I’ll give you the login information.” He sat next to her.
For the next few minutes, he ran her through the basics while she sipped the soda Max had gotten her and waited for her parents to show up and worry over them.
When her parents did arrive, they carried a couple boxes from Baked. They all sat around the living room as a handful of people chowed down on pizza and the beer and wine that Max pulled out. Aiden and Nick had left to go on another call.
Later, she sat curled up on the couch, Max’s arm resting protectively around her shoulders as they listened to the low hum of conversation around them. The scent of fresh pizza from Baked filled the living room, but her stomach was too twisted with tension to eat much more.
Her parents sat across from them, exchanging glances every so often, as if they were debating whether to say something. Eventually, her mother was the first to speak.
“Honey, I know you’re exhausted, but are you sure you two are safe staying here tonight?”
Juliette sighed, setting her half-empty soda on the coffee table. “We just had a brand-new security system installed, Mom. Plus, we have cameras everywhere. I think we’re as safe as we can be.”
Her father nodded but didn’t seem convinced. “And what about you, Max? How are you holding up?”
Max rubbed his hands over his face before dropping them into his lap. “It’s been a hell of a day.” He exhaled, shaking his head. “First the attack, then Gabriella… It’s a lot to process. My head is dull and my pain level is about a two.”
Juliette reached for his hand and squeezed. She could feel the tension in his fingers, his usual calm and confident demeanor cracking under the weight of everything happening.
Her mother gave her a soft, knowing look before standing. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us. We’re only a call away if you need anything.”
Juliette smiled appreciatively. “Thanks, Mom.”
Palmer stretched his legs out and cracked his neck. “I’ll make sure everything is locked up tight before I head out.”
Two hours later, after everyone had left for the day, the living room had been cleared, and the leftovers stored away, Max let out a long breath and leaned against the kitchen counter. Juliette could see the weight of the day pressing down on him like it was on her. His shoulders were tense when she ran her fingers over them and even his jaw was tight when she brushed her lips across it.
“Come on,” she said softly, reaching for his hand. “Let’s go up to the bedroom. You need some sleep.”
She led Max up the stairs. Once they were in the bedroom, Max sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand through his hair. “I still can’t believe Gabriella’s dead.”
Juliette sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I know. It doesn’t make sense.”
For a moment, they just sat there silent. Then Max turned, brushing his fingers along her cheek. “You’ve been incredible through all of this. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
She smiled softly. “You don’t have to know, because I’m not going anywhere.”
That seemed to be all the reassurance he needed. He kissed her—slow and lingering—before pulling her fully onto the bed with him.
He tossed off his pants and shirt and she did the same, and they curled together as tightly as they could. They lay tangled, warmth and exhaustion settling over them.
As Max drifted off, Juliette tried to think of any reason why someone would be after Max and Gabriella. None of it made any sense to her tired mind.
The diamond was the only thing that was possible. And she was pretty sure that if it could be found, someone would have found it by now.
In his sleep, Max instinctively pulled her closer, and she let herself finally sink into sleep.