Page 32

“I’m holding myself back.” Julian pushed from the shelves and strode forward slowly, his hands in his pockets. “It’s easier to do from a distance. I told you to keep him away.”

At first, it seemed like he was talking to Finn, with the way his gaze never wavered from the man. But it was Bryce who responded. “I tried. He’s hard to contain.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving anyway.” Finn moved aside, probably so he wouldn’t be trapped within the cubical. Julian didn’t say a word, but his eyes followed the blond man as he slumped behind Bryce.

This was so uncomfortable .

I stepped between them, interrupting the inevitable blood-fest. Why it seemed the right thing to do, I wasn’t sure. But I didn’t like the look on Julian’s face.

Something about it caused my breath to hitch in apprehension. At the moment, he was far from the serene man I’d come to know.

He stopped in front of me, yet was still looking at Finn.

This wasn’t good. I had to distract him. I grasped his hands, hoping touch would help. “Hello,” I greeted.

I could see the others out of the corner of my vision, so I didn’t miss Bryce and Brayden’s shocked stares. But once Julian’s eyes met mine, nothing else mattered.

At first, his gaze was icy, impersonal, and heart-stopping. But slowly, soft blue cut through the darkness. A moment later, the tense atmosphere became a distant memory as Julian’s mouth curled into a smile. “Hello, dearest.”

“Hi,” I greeted again, smiling as relief made me lightheaded. “You’re early.”

“I’m not,” he said. “I’m actually late. But it makes sense that you’ve lost track of time.”

I had? But I hadn’t finished my research yet. “I was looking something up,” I explained. “I’m making a plan.”

Amusement flickered across his expression. “Oh, I don’t doubt it.”

Didn’t he want to know about my plan?

“Do you think they realize we’re still here?” Bryce’s sarcastic tone cut through the moment. “Should we remind them?”

“No, I want to watch.” Brayden sounded amused. “This almost makes him seem human. Do you think Anthony knows?”

“Probably,” was Bryce’s dry reply.

“Well,” Finn snapped, “I don’t want to watch. They can keep that business to themselves. ”

At the sound of his voice, Julian’s attention returned to Finn, and he frowned. A trace of shadow colored his expression. “Don’t worry,” Julian said. “You wouldn’t have been invited anyway.”

Brayden gasped, Bryce’s eyebrow rose, and Finn’s mouth closed.

“All right, we’ve dallied long enough.” Julian refocused on me. “Are you ready?”

I glanced at the pile of books on my desk. It was rude to leave them. But at the same time, I didn’t like how Julian was still looking at Finn. The tension was making me fear for my ex-friend’s life.

“I’ll put these back for you,” Brayden said, seemingly reading my mind. “Unless you’d like me to check them out?”

I looked at Brayden and pressed my lips together.

“It’s not a bother,” he added.

“You can bring them?” I asked. “You’re a student here, right?”

“Yes.” Brayden winked. “I’m a senior information science major. So, the librarians know me pretty well. I can bring them to you tonight.”

This was excellent news. “You’ll help me with my plans?” I asked him.

“Don’t say yes, Brayden.” Finn stepped out from behind Bryce. “There’s something you don’t understand. When she makes plans—”

“This is between me and Brayden,” I cut Finn off before Julian could intervene. Was he completely stupid? I was trying to protect him, and he was screwing it up.

I wasn’t even sure why I cared. However, I was beginning to suspect that Julian hated Finn far more than the others. Also, Damen wouldn’t like it if Julian killed his brother.

The last thing I wanted was for Julian and Damen to get into a fight .

“One second,” I told Julian, releasing his hand. I stepped past the others and gathered my bag and notebooks before glancing at the pile again and back to Brayden. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Brayden waved his hand, unconcerned. “Go ahead. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.” I returned to Julian. He swung my backpack over his shoulder, then grabbed my hand and began to steer me from the group.

“Bye,” I said, not looking at Finn or Bryce. But it would be rude to ignore Brayden.

Brayden smiled again. I wasn’t sure why he was happy—the atmosphere was suffocating. “Bye now.”

Julian’s tense jaw relaxed as we left the library and headed to his car, but even after he closed my door and slipped into the driver’s seat, there was still an intensity to him that could no longer be ignored.

“What’s wrong?” Had I done something? Or was he still worried about Finn?

Julian sighed, seemingly torn by an internal struggle, before finally looking at me.

“I got a phone call from my grandfather when I was coming to pick you up. He was asking about you,” he said, squeezing his hands over the steering wheel.

“An unidentified body was turned in at the morgue. He’s busy now and wants to know if you or I could check if they were one of your assailants. ”

“Okay,” I told him, unsure why this might upset him. Plus, how would Julian— or anyone besides me—be able to tell who’d attacked me? “We have time before we have to meet everyone at Professor Hamway’s house tonight,” I told him. “We can go now.”

“It’s not that,” he replied, pressing his lips together.

“I will try not to cry if it is him,” I told him. Though, honestly, I might. I would definitely have a nightmare later, though. But Julian didn’t need to know that.

Julian looked at me, brows furrowing. “That’s another reason.” He grabbed my hand and held the front against his chest. “You’re not still worried, are you? You know nothing will ever happen to you so long as I’m around, right?”

“I know…”

“Bianca,” he began. “You don’t need to go, I can…”

I smiled, and his words trailed off as I pulled my hand away.

“L-let’s get this over with,” I told him. It would ruin everything if he felt me shaking. “That way, we no longer need to worry about it.”

Julian was still frowning at me. “I wasn’t worried.”

Yes, he was, even though he might not admit to it. I didn’t know what he was worried about, exactly.

“But that’s fine,” he said, turning his attention back to the vehicle. “We’ll make it quick. I don’t want you there longer than we need to be.”