24. Chapter Twenty #2
I turn, my eyes locking onto a familiar pair of stormy gray eyes—the kind that reminds me of the Maine coastline in winter, just before a storm.
Julian Havord. The relief that floods through me at seeing him should be terrifying, but instead, it feels like the missing piece of me just slid back into place.
My body relaxes instinctively, as if it knows it can let its guard down.
I don’t have to wonder who’s responsible for his appearance. Judging by Maisie’s face when she spots Carter next to him, it certainly wasn’t her doing. No, this has Felix written all over it.
“You’re here,” I rasp.
He’s handsome enough to make my head spin, and he smells like he’s worth a million bucks. The man is irresistible to drunk me and that’s a problem.
“I am,” he replies, stepping closer to brush a strand of hair from my face, his gaze scanning me with concern. “You have drunk eyes.”
I laugh, the sound light and unsteady. “How lucky of me that I get to see two of you.”
His lips curve into a smile, his hand staying at my neck, warm and grounding. “Careful, you’re looking at me like I mean something.” His thumb strokes lightly along the column of my throat, sending tiny, electric thrills through me. I find myself inching closer.
“You do mean something,” I tell him before I can stop myself. His eyes mesmerize me and then the next thing that slips out of my mouth is, “I want to swim in your eyes.”
His smile deepens, thumb tracing slow circles against my skin. “I’d rather run through yours.”
My breath catches. “You would?”
His chin dips, gaze softening. “They remind me of a meadow I had by my house growing up. I loved it. I used to go there when I needed to feel. . .” His voice fades, a shadow of sadness crossing his face like he hadn’t meant to reveal so much.
“Hey, lovebirds.” Carter’s voice captures my attention, but I can’t seem to take my eyes off the man in front of me. He huffs somewhere behind us. “Jesus, it’s like talking to a wall.”
“Why are you even here?” Maisie asks, sounding irritated by his presence.
Their voices drone out as I focus in on Julian, but I start to feel off—a hazy, heavy feeling settling over me. My vision begins to swim, my muscles going slack as my body rocks forward. Julian reacts instantly, hands steadying me as his face comes closer, worry etched across his features.
“Andrea?” He tilts my chin, but his face is a blur, slipping in and out of focus.
“Julian,” I breathe, clutching onto his shirt as confusion prickles at my mind. “Something’s wrong.”
I lean my head onto his chest, trying to make the spinning stop, but a loud, pounding pulse fills my ears, drowning out everything else.
Julian’s voice rumbles against my forehead as he shouts, “Carter!” His tone is sharp with panic, and I feel my heart hammering harder, the world spiraling as weakness overtakes me.
Voices start overlapping around me, but I can’t follow any of it.
I squeeze my eyes shut, disoriented, but Julian’s arm tightens around me, his presence a protective shield against whatever’s pulling me down. His voice is the only one that breaks through, the only thing that matters. Then I hear him snarl, “Motherfucker,” his voice heavy with anger and urgency.
Hands shift, and suddenly I’m being pulled from his embrace into someone else’s. I try to protest, but my words are thick and garbled, and all I manage is a weak, “No.” I can just make out Julian’s back as he moves away, and I reach out, desperate to close the space between us.
“We have to stay here. Let them handle it.” Maisie’s voice comes, gentle but firm.
I shake my head, clinging to the faint awareness I have left. “ Please .”
Cursing under her breath, she guides me forward and holds onto me with an unyielding grip, anchoring me.
I try to talk myself out of feeling this way, but there’s no use.
It’s already happening and no power in the world can stop it now.
I have to wait it out and try not to lose my mind in the process.
We come to a stop, and I blink, struggling to clear my vision.
In a dark corner of the club, I spot him, and the air is pulled from my lungs. The hand that was gently caressing my skin only a moment ago is now clamped around a man’s neck. He pins the man against the wall, his face inches away, pure fury in his eyes.
“What did you give her?” Julian’s voice is a low, dangerous growl, vibrating with barely restrained rage.
The cool exterior of the man I’ve come to know is falling apart before me.
When the man is silent, Julian releases his neck only to throw a punch that lands with a sickening thud.
The man’s beady eyes catch mine in a moment of recognition, causing my knees to buckle.
He’s the guy I talked to earlier at the bar—the one who gave me that uneasy feeling.
Julian presses his forearm hard against his collarbone, keeping him pinned, while Carter stands behind him, ready to block any escape attempt. “You have two seconds before I start breaking bones.”
He tries to jerk himself free but gets nowhere. “GHB,” he hisses out with malice. “You should be thanking me.”
Julian’s expression hardens. “Why’s that?”
The man lets out a dark laugh. “I loosened the bitch up for you.”
Julian’s grip tightens, slamming the man’s head back into the wall. I blink and Felix appears with his sharp gaze assessing the situation with a practiced calm.
“Julian,” he murmurs gently, placing a hand on his elbow. He shrugs him off, his icy glare fixed on his target.
The man looks at me and then at Carter and Felix before finally focusing back on the man before him, the one who came to my defense. He coughs out a broken laugh that reveals his blood-stained teeth. “Let me guess. . .yours?”
Julian inches closer, his voice low and cold. “Mine.”
Carter notices us and strides over to take me from Maisie’s arms while blocking the view of the only man my mind seems to be clinging to. I think I start to cry because my face feels wet and I’m shaking.
“Julian,” I manage, my voice weak and wavering. “I want Julian.”
“Hey.” My eyes follow the sound of that soft voice, so much gentler now. Two arms slide around me, surrounding me in familiarity and warmth. His cheek presses against mine as he speaks gently into my ear. “You’re okay.”
I bury my face in his neck, breathing him in. “Don’t leave me again.”
He cradles me closer, murmuring in my ear, “I’m not going anywhere, ma cerise.” Then he scoops me up in his arms, holding me as if I’m the most precious thing in the world. I gather what little strength I have, clinging to him tightly.
“Let’s go.” Carter.
“I’m not taking her anywhere near all those cameras.” Julian.
“There’s a back exit. Felix said we could use it.” Maisie. “Should I have Caesar take us to the hospital?”
The mention of a hospital makes me recoil, and I shake my head, panic gripping me.
Julian’s arms tense around me. “No hospital. We’re going home.”
Oh, thank god.
“But what—”
“But nothing, let’s go.”
“He’s right, Maze.”
With that, we move, Julian’s arms steady around me as we slip out the back.
I feel like I’m floating, though there’s a strange heaviness tugging at me, pulling me under.
Each beat of my heart feels slower, softer as the world around me fades.
I keep a tight hold on him—on the one thing that feels solid in a sea of dark.