Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
JULIA
J ulia’s knees wobbled as she studied the man in front of her. “Kyle, what are you doing?”
“Julia…” he said, his tone even and measured as he took a step toward her.
She stumbled backward away from him, crashing into a table in the foyer and sending it screeching across the hardwood. “Don’t.”
“Julia, please, I just need you to trust me for a second here.”
“You just padlocked the door. And this place has nothing to do with–“
He lunged at her, clamping a hand over her mouth before she could say anything else. “Shh.”
With his hand still firmly over her lips, he grasped her by the arm and led her to the stairs, forcing her up them. Each step felt heavier than the last, her mind racing. Could she trust Kyle or was this more dangerous than she cared to face?
She struggled to yank her arm free, but his grip was too strong. He wrangled her through a bedroom and into an ensuite bathroom, stopping at a large glass shower enclosure. With her pressed against him, he spun the dial to turn on the water, shifted the shower head toward one wall, and shoved her inside.
“What the hell are you doing?” she burst as he stepped in with her and pulled the door shut.
“Lydia has this place bugged. I don’t know how many and where. The water should cover our voices if there are any microphones in here.”
Julia stood in stunned silence, her jaw agape and her eyebrows pinched. “Lydia?”
“Yes, Lydia. The person who wanted me to bring you here.”
Her stomach twisted into a knot. Why was Kyle following Lydia’s orders? Was Grant right about him?
Kyle shook his head, his features pinching. “It’s really bothering me that you’re looking at me like that right now.”
She stared at him, noting the tension in his jaw and the pleading in his eyes. Was he always this desperate, or had his involvement with Lydia brought out a new facet of his personality? “Like what? Like you just drove me to the middle of nowhere, shoved me into a cabin, and padlocked the door?”
“Like I’m going to hurt you. Julia, I would never do that.”
The shower’s rhythmic splatter against the tile echoed her racing heartbeat. “Then why are you following Lydia’s orders to bring me here?”
“Because that’s what she wanted to let me back in, okay?”
Heat washed over Julia as steam started to rise around them from the hot water spewing onto the tile wall. She pressed a hand against her forehead as she tried to process his words. “Why did you do that? Kyle, this is way too dangerous.”
“That’s exactly why I did it, Julia. Metcalfe is dead. And that note threatened you or someone else close to Grant. I need to get information from Lydia now more than ever before something happens to someone…before something happens to you.”
Julia blew out a sigh as she shook her head. “You shouldn’t have done that. You should have stayed far away from Lydia.”
“Too late. I want this over. And I want to make sure you’re safe. She’s cornered us, and I need to fight back from the inside. It’s the only way to protect you from Lydia.”
“How is this making sure I’m safe? And why didn’t you tell me?”
“I couldn’t. I spoke with Lydia when you went to see Sierra. She told me she needed you out of the way for a few hours. That she needed Grant isolated. She said I had to move fast or else I’d lose my chance to prove myself.”
Julia covered her face with her hands for an instant. “We should have told Grant. He’s not going to be happy–“
“I don’t care if he is or isn’t. I was more than a little worried that if Lydia was so desperate to have you gone for a few hours she’d find someone else to do it if I didn’t. I didn’t like that idea. As far as my father? He’s just going to have to deal with it.”
Julia shook her head at the situation.
“We can’t go back now. If I fail…I’ll never get back in with her–“
“Good!” Julia exclaimed.
“No, not good. Not good for you or me.” Kyle sucked in a breath as he clenched his jaw. “She’s coming after all of you. And if I fail at this task…if we go back right now…she’s going to come after me, too.”
Julia shifted her weight as she slid her eyes closed. He was right. If Lydia suspected they’d talked or she’d convinced him to let her go, Kyle may be the next one who wound up in the morgue. “Fine. But I think you should text Grant and give him a heads-up. Did Lydia give any indication on why she wanted him isolated?”
Kyle shook his head. “No. And no, I’m not texting him. There’s no way I am going to risk him not reacting in whatever way Lydia expects. We need this to go our way, Julia. And my father is just going to have to do his part unwittingly.”
“I just think he’s going to see this as a betrayal.”
“He sees everything I’ve done already as a betrayal, so it doesn’t matter.”
Julia heaved a sigh as she chewed her lower lip. It would be a horrible few hours for Grant, but she hoped once they reunited, everything would be explained, and they’d have some sort of information to use moving forward. “Okay, fine. We won’t tell him. Now, can we get out of the shower? I’m starting to get wet.”
“Actually, there’s something else.”
Her stomach flip-flopped again. Now what?
Kyle swallowed hard and pressed his lips together. “She not only wanted me to bring you here, but…she also…wanted some compromising pictures.”
“Are you kidding me?”
He shook his head. “She said there’s a camera in the mantel clock. All she needed was a few questionable shots.”
Julia slapped a palm against her forehead. “I can’t believe this. I cannot believe her.”
“I’m sorry.”
Julia shook her head as she lowered her hand, curling her fingers into a fist. “It’s not your fault. But this puts us in a terrible position.”
“I know. But we’re in a worse position if I don’t get back on her good side.”
“That’s not the only camera, right? And you said she has microphones?”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t talk freely while we’re here. And I think whatever happens in front of that mantel clock better be convincing or else she’s going to be on to us.”
Julia wrapped her arms around her midriff as she nodded. “Yeah, that shouldn’t be very hard. We can just rehash one of our old conversations.”
“Fine. Let’s go before she starts to wonder where we are.”
Kyle shut off the water, and they left the relative safety of the shower behind. Julia’s heart pounded as she followed him down the stairs. This had been a risky move on his part. And the fallout could be colossal, but they were committed to the plan now. There was no going back.
They reached the bottom of the stairs. Kyle peered around one of the wooden beams holding the vaulted ceiling at bay before he glanced back at Julia. He flicked his eyebrows up at her, and she nodded. A silent response to his unspoken question of whether she was ready.
He squeezed her hand before he nodded toward the living room, allowing her to lead.
She paraded into the room, spotting the mantel clock, but pulling her eyes away from it immediately.
She struggled not to keep shifting her gaze to it as she flung her arms out. “Kyle, why did you bring me here? There’s nothing about DG Industries here.”
“Because we needed to talk, and this is the only way I could think of,” he answered.
She twisted to face him as if anticipating an answer. “About what?”
He sucked in a breath as he shrugged. “About us.”
Julia offered him an unimpressed glance, trying to project the emotions she felt the last time they had this conversation. “Kyle, there is no us. I’m married.”
“And you shouldn’t be.”
She offered an exasperated sigh as she crossed her arms. “That’s not your decision to make.”
“Maybe not, but I’m not going to stop trying to convince you that your marriage to my father is a huge mistake.”
Julia flicked her gaze to the floor, the words hitting her a little too hard. She wondered how much of this was staged and how much he really meant. “Can we please go back?”
“No,” Kyle said with a shake of his head. “Not until we’ve talked about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about!” she exclaimed.
“Yes, Julia, there is. There are dozens of points to talk about. Tons of reasons I can give you on why you should walk away from him.”
“I don’t need to hear them. We’ve been over this before.” She pressed her hands together as she wagged them at him. “Kyle, you need to stop this.”
“I can’t, Julia.” His forehead creased as he set his hands on his hips and shook his head, his gaze falling to the floor. “I can’t just stand back and watch you with him. I know you’re not happy. And I’m not going anywhere until we’ve talked through this.”
Julia crossed her arms, pressing her lips into a thin line.
Kyle moved closer to her, wrapping his hands around her arms and rubbing them. “I know you don’t want to face this, but hear me out. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, about everything. About him, about you, about us. And about how I feel about you.”
“Kyle, please,” she said, pressing a hand against his chest as she flicked her gaze up to him.
“No, Julia. I need you to hear all of this. Starting with how much you mean to me.”
Kyle moved closer, wrapping his arms around her before he leaned in for a kiss, tilting them slightly toward the camera as he cupped her face.
The kiss, though a ruse, had an unsettling amount of warmth to it that unnerved her. It was supposed to be all for show, but she questioned how real it was for Kyle.
She pushed back against him as she shook her head, glancing up at him. “You need to stop.”
He pressed his forehead against hers. “But I can’t stop my feelings for you.”
Julia again wondered how much of this was faked for the camera and how much of it was real. He kissed her again before she leaned away from him.
“Kyle…” she breathed quietly.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. But I’m at a crossroads here. I’m questioning everything–my loyalties, my decisions. You’re the only person who has ever listened to me, who has ever understood me. I need you right now. Even if you just listen. Please, Julia. I need someone to talk to. Someone who understands me.”
Julia hesitated, searching for words that would sound credible but that would also feed into their plan. He needed to keep her there, but it wouldn’t look right for her to simply agree, would it? “I should call Grant and let him know–”
“No,” Kyle answered, his voice incredulous. “Julia, he’ll come after us. He’ll…no, you can’t tell him. Please.”
“He’s going to wonder–”
“Then let him. Let him wonder, Julia. Why is it okay that he keeps such close tabs on you? It’s not healthy.”
“I think my disappearing randomly would cause anyone concern.”
“You didn’t disappear. You could be out for a walk or researching a book. We can’t call him, and I really need you right now.”
Julia bit her lower lip as she remained in his arms before she slowly nodded. “Okay. We’ll talk, but you have to promise to listen, too.”
“Done,” he said as he rubbed a thumb against her cheek. “Why you don’t you relax, and I’ll build a fire and grab us a snack?”
Julia sucked in a breath, nodding as she pulled away from him. She skirted the couch and dropped onto it, working to keep her eyes off the mantel clock, afraid of ruining their perfect plan.
As the flames roared to life, Kyle stood and dusted off his hands. “I’ll be right back.”
She followed his departure from the room, sinking her teeth into her lower lip again. The cabin, with its rustic charm, felt a world away from her reality. The fire’s crackling put her more on edge than relaxed her.
The pressure of the situation built inside of her. Lydia would use the photos they just created against her. Hopefully, she could explain them to Grant. And hopefully, this would help their investigation.
She shifted on the couch, drumming her fingers against it until Kyle’s voice startled her. “Hey, Julia?” he called from the kitchen.
She leapt from her seat, happy to leave the camera behind, though her mind wondered how many other eyes were on her. She stepped into the kitchen, her eyes questioning as she glanced at him.
He used the smart home hub to turn on music and set the volume at a high enough level that it sounded almost annoying. He grabbed her hand and tugged her closer to him, keeping his voice low. “Looks like we earned our Oscars for that performance.”
She was tempted to ask him how much of his was fake and how much was real, but she thought better of it, not wanting to wade into those weeds.
“Lydia called. She was pretty pleased with what the camera picked up.”
A chill ran down Julia’s spine as Kyle confirmed Lydia’s satisfaction with their performance. What had they just unleashed? Would Grant understand, or had they just crossed a line from which there was no return?
“Now what?” She asked.
He sighed as he flicked his gaze across the room. “Now, we wait.”
Julia swallowed hard as the words sank in. She hated waiting, and she hated it even more when she knew Lydia was scheming at this very moment. But for now, she was stuck. And she’d have to wait it out.