Chapter 21
Julia couldn’t stop shaking. She sat curled in the corner of the oversized couch with both hands wrapped tightly around one of Emily’s, but even her friend’s firm grip couldn’t stop the trembling.
It was probably shock. Definitely fear. And maybe an adrenaline drop, like after a really intense scene. Except there was no warm-and-fuzzy, floaty feeling.
The room was quiet compared to the chaos of the venue. Fortunately, the dessert was ready to be served, the staff capable of breaking everything down on their own when Alec whisked her and Emily out of there and back to Devlin HQ.
Emily hadn’t left her side since. Julia was grateful for that because right now, her friend felt like the only thing keeping her tethered to the floor.
Alec leaned against the counter, coffee in hand. Calm on the surface, but he hadn’t taken a single sip. His eyes kept returning to the couch, to her, to Emily, as if checking to make sure they were still there.
Rhys stood near the doorway, speaking quietly with Gaby, while Callan worked from his laptop at the small table nearby.
She’d known these people for months, some for years. They were usually unflappable. Tonight, all of them were on edge. Which told her how bad this was.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Emily asked. “Not coffee. Maybe water or a soda?”
Julia shook her head. Her stomach was a knotted-up mess. She couldn’t stop thinking about Mateo, in the hospital with a broken leg and concussion. It could have been worse—even fatal on concrete steps. Every time she thought about that, nausea rolled hard through her.
Emily squeezed gently. “Stop blaming yourself.”
She looked over weakly. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Julia slid down, head against the cushions, and closed her eyes. It felt like a bad dream. The play party. The bruises. The realization that someone had been close enough to touch her things. Then, and tonight.
How long had he been watching her? Waiting? And out of all the women in Miami, why had he chosen her?
The break room door opened, making Julia jump. Emily’s grip tightened, almost painfully. The bite of it was actually welcome.
Dev walked in first. Leland right behind him.
“What took so long?” Alec asked. “Miramar’s not that far.”
Dev moved past him without slowing. “We had to make a delivery.”
“What’s the word on Mateo?” Leland asked, allowing no space for small talk.
“Concussion. Fractured femur,” Alec answered. “He’ll recover, but he’s out of commission for a while.”
Dev nodded once. “I’m relieved he’ll be okay, but his absence means we’re down a man when we can’t afford to be.”
“How did your, uh…” Alec’s eyes went to the couch before he concluded, “Follow-up go?”
“It isn’t Parker,” Leland said.
“You’re sure?”
“He had an alibi for tonight,” Dev said, grabbing a chair and sinking into it.
Alec exhaled. “We’re right where we started.”
“No,” Rhys said from the far side of the room. “We’re worse.”
Silence she didn’t understand settled over the room. How could it possibly be worse?
Rhys pushed away from the wall. He crossed to the seating area and sat on the edge of a chair. Gaby perched on the arm. The others gathered closer.
“The early victims disappeared quietly,” he said. “Minimal interaction. He took them and vanished.”
Julia’s stomach tightened when his gaze shifted toward her.
“Now, he’s communicating.”
“The scrunchie,” Gaby said softly.
Rhys nodded. “He breached security to leave a message. He also expected pursuit well enough to remove Mateo from the equation.” His expression darkened. “That’s escalation.”
Dev folded his arms. “Not random. Deliberate.”
“Exactly. Organized offenders avoid unnecessary risks unless their psychology changes.”
Julia already hated where this was going.
“Emotional investment alters behavior,” Rhys continued. “It makes them reactive. Possessive. Dangerous in ways they weren’t before.”
The room felt smaller. Hotter. Like the walls were closing in one slow inch at a time.
Julia wrapped her arms around herself more firmly. “What does that mean for me?”
Leland moved before anyone else answered. One second, he was on the far side of the room. The next, he was beside her. Close enough that she could feel the heat from him. Close enough that she remembered exactly how safe his arms used to feel.
“A bodyguard isn’t enough anymore,” he said.
Julia looked up immediately. “What else is there?”
“Protective custody,” he replied. “A safe house with controlled access. Full coverage.”
This couldn’t be happening. Julia shook her head. “No. I have a job,” she said. “A life.”
Emily stepped in immediately. “We’ll handle work. Don’t worry about that.”
“For how long?”
Silence, which meant they didn’t know. Panic climbed another notch inside her chest.
“There has to be another option.”
Leland held her gaze. “There isn’t.”
The blunt certainty landed harder than if he’d shouted.
Julia turned to Alec, her last hope.
“You do have an option,” he said, calm as ever.
Relief flickered. Briefly.
“You can let us keep you safe and come out of this alive.”
Beside her, Emily sucked in a breath. Because it was harsh. And because it was true.
Firmly, but with more finesse, Dev assured her, “Leland will make sure that happens.”
It fell short. “Isn’t there someone else?” she asked, stiffly.
Something dangerous moved through Leland. Not so much anger but resolve, the kind that didn’t bend.
“Mateo’s out,” Dev reminded her. “And my twenty-four-hour options are limited.”
“Leland is the best man for the job,” Alec said, backing the call without hesitation.
Julia looked between them. The decision had already been made. “It sounds like I don’t have a choice.”
Leland’s restraint finally cracked. “You don’t.” Silence settled, heavy and absolute, as his gaze locked on hers.
“And after tonight? I’m done pretending otherwise.”
***
The door slammed hard enough to rattle the frame. He didn’t slow, crossing the condo without bothering to turn on the lights. He stopped at the windows overlooking downtown Miami, the skyline glittering in fractured reflections on the glass. The city below was bright, alive, and unaware.
His jaw tightened. His control had slipped tonight. Not completely. But enough to irritate him.
She hadn’t been alone. Not once. Not for days.
Devlin’s men, damn them, had closed ranks around her faster than expected. They were alert, efficient, and everywhere. As though they alone understood how to protect a woman.
He replayed the events in the parking lot again in his head. When they left the safety of the kitchen, his approach and timing had been perfect. The moment the hair tie disappeared from his hand into her pocket went unnoticed.
Satisfaction curled through him. He had breached their perimeter without detection. Walked in and back out under their noses while they stood believing themselves completely in control.
The irony almost amused him.
For all their confidence, all their carefully layered systems and protocols, none of them had realized the breach. Perhaps even now they were scratching their heads.
His fingers flexed lightly against the glass. That part pleased him. What didn’t, the interruption afterward. The pursuit prevented him from watching the show.
Now that they understood how easily he could reach through the cracks, they were tightening the circle, containing her. Julia would no longer be reachable in ordinary ways.
Keeping him away from what belonged to him.
That thought stirred a dark, possessive instinct inside him.
His gaze shifted briefly toward his reflection in the window.
He smoothed his features into exactly what the world expected to see.
But underneath, the pressure had started building.
Soon it would be roiling, but that was to his benefit.
Pressure had always forced clarity. It stripped away distractions until only instinct remained.
The rules had changed now. Mostly prompted by him. It meant the process would need to change with them.
He looked out over the city, recalculating movement patterns and access points automatically. If Julia herself was no longer accessible, the protection surrounding her became the vulnerability.
His mouth curved slightly. Not a smile, much colder.
They thought they’d made her safe. What they’d really done was turn her into a challenge that demanded resolution. He’d always been good at games and puzzles. Winning came easily. This time would be no different.
He pushed away from the window, already making adjustments in his head. Already adapting. Because this wasn’t over yet. Not even close.
They’d taken access, proximity, and placed barriers between them.
For that, Julia would pay.