AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You should’ve talked to me first.” A hollow nervous energy swirls through my belly and extends through my chest and my limbs. Trusting anyone else in my fight feels like just another foolish mistake in a lifetime of mistakes, but Stiel has information that could help me, likely information I’d have no way of getting on my own. Maybe I could trust just this once, just to get through this lawsuit. I suck in a deep breath before continuing. “Stiel can look at their phones remotely, right? So he could see what they have on me from the penthouse? Can he delete the recording?”
“Yes,” Titan answers confidently. “Whatever you need, I will get for you.”
“None of this is on you.” I want him to get it: This has always been about me. He is not responsible. “You’re just who I was with when they decided to go looking for dirt on me. If anything, this just means they’re running scared. Still, Stiel could check.Justcheck though, nothing more. I could give the information to Gutierrez, and he can handle it from there.”
I take in a deep breath, steadying myself and the ping-ponging emotions I’ve felt since I met with my mother. Fear, anger, sadness, disappointment—all of it. I can feel how close I am to this ending. I can accept a little help, I tell myself, just a hand to help me cross the finish line. It will still be my victory.
“Yes. We can do that.”
“Just checking. Okay, just deleting.” My voice drops to a whisper. “I have to do this myself.”
“Okay, baby girl.” He leans down and presses a long kiss on my forehead. “Let me take you home.”
Home.
I quickly shake the word from my mind. I know it would feel too good if it were to take root.
“Please.” I wrap my arms around his neck as he cradles me to his chest before launching us into the overcast Los Angeles sky.
ChapterThirteen
TITAN
“Were you able to access the recording from the mother’s phone?”
I stalk into Stiel’s security office, one floor down from the penthouse, several hours after returning Julianna to my bedroom. Her eyes had that wild look in them when I tucked her into bed, and that strange new Pull-like sensation I’d felt at the wrap party embraced me once again. What felt like her soft touch stroked along the inside of my chest, warming me with equal anger towards Julianna’s mother and desire at my baby girl’s nearness.
It was clear she had too much energy to rest. So instead, I offered her my credit card and Rook as her bodyguard for a shopping trip to take her mind off her mother. She asked Eden to tag along. When she insisted Eden’s purchases be included in the unlimited budget, a mischievous glint lit up her brown eyes, and I felt certain Julianna was going to be okay.
“She’s got bigger problems than that recording, Titan.” Stiel shakes his head slowly as I enter further into the dark room. He’d been here since last night’s party, searching for any information he could find on Maximus.
After meeting Rook and Knox above the Hollywood Hills last night, we’d spent the last hours of darkness flying over the city, seeking any sign of the rogue gargoyle. When the search had proven fruitless, we met with Drusila in the back room of her witchcraft store on the east side of the city. Her coven attempted to scry for Maximus, but without an item of his, they could only confirm that heightened gargoyle energy was within the city limits. Knox had continued searching the skies, well above the cloud line, while Rook and I had returned to the penthouse.
There was nothing I could do about the Keystone or Maximus right then, but I could check in on Julianna. I wanted to make sure that she wasn’t too sore from our time in the cave and, perhaps, if her body allowed it, worship her pussy for handling my cock and tail so well. Instead, I found my bed empty and a new text message from Eden saying Julianna was on the other side of the city. Stiel, with his tracking system, had filled in the rest of the details for me.
I hadn’t lied to Julianna when I told her I’d seen her leave the restaurant and watched her mother follow after her. But I’d also been close enough to hear the entirety of their conversation from the moment her mother had noticed her to the second she realized their conversation was being recorded.
Julianna wanted me to believe that whatever her mother and ex-manager had on her didn’t include me, but I know that’s not true. I know whatever they have on her is big enough that they would risk an in-person meeting where I was the main topic of conversation.
Julianna asked me to only look into the recording and gather what information I could from the penthouse, and I will stick to her rules.
The first promise I ever made to her was to protect her, and as long as Stiel finds what is needed to help her win her case, sticking to my word shouldn’t be a problem.
“They most definitely know that you’re paying her,” Stiel confirms.
“How?” My growl is low and guttural, my tail moving back and forth over the marble floor with an irritated sweep. I meant to help Julianna for the short time we are in each other’s lives, but now I might be the thing that ruins it.
“That’s not the worst part.”
I let out a sharp puff of air from my nostrils and lean my claws on the desk next to Stiel. I stare at his three large computer screens, the only illumination in the room.
“Tell me.”
“You’re not going to like it,” he says cautiously, avoiding my eyes as he focuses on the screens, as if he’s worried I might blow at any second. “I found this last night. Dredd should’ve told you when he went to find you in the cave.”
“He did.” In all the chaos of last night’s manhunt, I’d forgotten Dredd said Stiel had new intel to share on Kathleen and Richard before he flew Julianna home. Or perhaps I’d been too clouded by anger after he’d accused me of putting her before the Keystone.
Stiel’s claws tap quickly over the custom-made keyboard, quickly pulling up what I instantly recognize as the Sweet Arrangements website.
