Page 96 of Never the Same

Julian met my eyes first, a million apologies written in his expression, like he was devastated he hadn’t fought harder to keep me in his orbit with what was going on. His fingers were restless, like he was still half in the digital world.

For the first time since last week, I wanted to hug him.

Even the broody brother, too.

I slowly lifted my eyes to Gideon, and I’d swear the man looked like he’d been to hell and back. His suit was rumpled, and he had shadows carved under his eyes.

Unable to stop myself, I slowly approached them, and they met me halfway.

“Hi,” I whispered, fighting back tears.

Gideon stopped in front of me and set his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said in a hoarse voice, shaking his head. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

“Me too.” An ache built in my throat as I hugged him.

Julian gathered me in his arms next. “Don’t you leave me again, got it?” he said into my ear before pulling away.

I blinked back tears and turned toward the room.

“Carter,” Gideon greeted with a slight bite to his voice. “Sebastian,” he said next.

“Gideon,” both Carter and Sebastian responded in unison, and whether they knew each other from the past or not didn’t change the fact they didn’t seem ready to lower their guards this morning.

Carter’s index finger skimmed his fork handle, as if a utensil was as good as a 9mm. Across from him, Sebastian’s chair creaked as he leaned back, watching my brothers like a patient predator.

“Was my protector with me in Rome?” I didn’t even know the name of my protector yet. “Was he the guy I was with before I went missing?” I faced my brothers again.

“He was. Kylo told his family he found out at the last minute you were going on a trip, and he was worried about you. They had no idea he’s been missing since they’ve been in Peru off-grid,” Gideon explained in a somber voice.

Kylo? I let the name roll around, searching for familiarity. Nothing came, like usual. Just a roadblock to my past.

“I found a flight manifest. He arrived in Rome a day after you did. I never thought to check . . .” Gideon grimaced, clearly upset with himself for missing that. In his defense, he’d assumed my protector was in Peru. “Where Kylo went after, I don’t know, since we can’t track him outside the airport because of the corrupted CCTV footage in the city. And as to where he was taken after you went missing . . . ? All we know is, his phone was shut off when yours was before the blackout, and it hasn’t pinged since.”

Julian stepped forward, his gaze laser focused on the table, and I twisted around to see who he was staring at. Gwen, of course. “Looks like it’s time for us to finally meet in person,” he said to her.

I couldn’t help but notice Easton carefully watching Gwen’s every movement as she approached my brother.

“Julian.” He offered her his hand. “Nice to officially meet you.”

“You know, Central Intelligence has you listed as deceased.” She slipped her hand into his.

A wolfish smirk crossed my brother’s lips. “Slight misunderstanding.”

She smiled back. “You don’t say?” I noticed a twitch of her fingers against his, and the room’s hum dulled to a silence so sharp I swore I could hear the catch of her breath before she asked, “You’re him, aren’t you?”

“Him who?” He let go of her hand and dragged his knuckles along his jawline.

Why’d I get the feeling we were invading their privacy right now?

“You’re the anonymous hacker, the one who’s been . . . the one who saved Falcon Falls from dying on that plane when we were up against The Collective. The one who saved us over and over again with your tips,” she sputtered, eyes going wide. “I can just feel it.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but based on the uneasy way my brother was standing and avoiding eye contact with her, he did.

Easton abruptly stood from the table. “You’re him?” A hint of jealousy boomed through his voice. So, not just a shadow, huh? Also, I clearly didn’t need to worry that the guy had any kind of lingering feelings for me based on how he was looking at Gwen. That was something.

“Well?” Gwen folded her arms, waiting for my brother to talk.

From the sounds of it, Julian was a pretty damn-good guy if he’d helped her and Falcon Falls out so many times without taking credit for it.