Page 31 of Creeping Lily

JUSTIN

I force down the bile clawing up my throat, the bitter taste of it burning all the way down. Lily’s not wrong. I do have secrets—more than she could guess—and one in particular that will shatter everything between us if it ever comes out. The kind of truth you can’t come back from.

And I can’t think about it now.

Can’t think about her face when she realizes I’ve been lying from the very start, when she puts together how I maneuvered my way into her life with all the precision of a con artist.

Instead, I fix my focus on Goliath. On the bastard who calls himself my handler.

He rang me—no, ordered me—midway through a term paper and told me to get my ass down to the café because Lily was being cornered by some stranger.

I’m not going to pretend I didn’t run. I did.

But I still don’t know why I was the one pulled for this.

Goliath isn’t short on men who can handle a simple extraction.

The paper? Not an issue. Goliath’s been covering my loose ends since day one, cleaning up my messes before they even hit the ground. That’s not what’s eating me alive .

What’s eating me is the fact they knew what was happening to Lily before Bethany even had the chance to call me. By the time she did, I was already two minutes away. Which means Goliath has eyes on her. All. The. Time.

They’re watching her harder than they’ve ever admitted. And that means one of two things—either Lily is tied to them in a way she doesn’t know… or she’s walking straight through a minefield and no one’s bothering to tell her.

Is that what happened the night I found her bolting out of the library, adrenaline pouring off her like sweat?

Was that fear in her eyes… or was it one of Goliath’s shadows failing to do his job?

My handler swore it wasn’t the latter, since I was the one tailing her that night.

But I’m not so sure anymore. The pieces don’t fit.

After dropping Lily back at her dorm, I head across town to the cathedral—Goliath’s sanctum.

The place looks holy from the outside, but inside it’s anything but.

The original landowner donated it after Goliath found his granddaughter’s murderer, and they converted it into their headquarters, keeping the facade of reverence while filling it with the tools of war.

The lower level greets me with a silence so heavy it almost hums. Eyes follow me from every corner. They don’t even try to hide it. Conversations drop to murmurs, as if my arrival is a variable they didn’t factor in today. Something’s happened here—something big—and everyone’s on edge.

I pass the boxing ring, empty now, but still smelling faintly of sweat and canvas. Then I reach the glass-paneled office. The assistant—Clara—meets me with her usual tight-lipped smile before swinging the door open.

Inside, my handler is at the corkboard, studying whatever’s pinned there. At the sound of my steps, he flicks his wrist and slides the whole thing into the wall, hiding it away. Not that I could’ve seen much from here, but the move makes me itch to know what’s on it.

He turns, and even behind the mask I can see the edge in his expression. The tension in his shoulders. The silent weight pressing between us.

“Sit down,” he says, voice low.

“I’ll stand.”

“Not a request, Collins,” he says, as he drops into his own chair.

The way he says my name makes my jaw clench, but I finally take the chair, the leather cold under my palms.

“Two things.” He holds up two fingers like I’m slow.

I smile without humor. “Thanks for the visual aid. I can keep up.”

He doesn’t like that, I can tell. His gaze sharpens as he leans forward, steepling his hands.

“Bentley Walker.”

I sit back, pulse ticking higher. Bethany already told me all about him—how he appeared at the café like a ghost, how Lily’s face gave her away. She was rattled. Not happy to see him.

“What about him?”

“Bentley Walker is exactly the kind of man we keep away from Lily Snow.”

“And if she doesn’t want to stay away from him?” I ask.

His jaw shifts, anger tightening his tone. “She doesn’t get a choice, Collins. We have strict orders to keep him away.”

“Orders from who?”

His head tilts, a slow, deliberate reminder of the oath I took not to ask questions.

“You’d do well to remember your place. You came to us. Not the other way around. Break the rules and you’re out.”

I bite down on the retort clawing its way up my throat, wipe my palms against my jeans, and give him a look that says I’m not impressed.

“What’s the second thing?”

“Your relationship with Lily Snow.”

“What about it?”

“It ends. Now.”

“The hell it does,” I snap, leaning forward. The heat in my chest is pure rage.

“You can’t let your dick compromise her safety,” he fires back.

“My relationship with Lily has nothing to do with Goliath.” My voice is tight, my teeth clenched.

“It does when she’s a client. She has been since the day she arrived.”

“If she’s your client, then why the fuck does she have no idea you’re trailing behind her?”

He rises, planting his hands on the desk and leaning over it until the air between us feels like it might ignite.

“She’s here because of Goliath. You keep pushing, and I will destroy you.”

The words are slow, quiet, deliberate. I’ve seen men crumble under that kind of tone. I’m not one of them. If anything, I’m walking out of here even more determined to dig into what they’re hiding.

“What is it about this girl?” I mutter.

“Believe it or not, Collins, we want the same thing.”

“You think keeping everyone in the dark is helping her?”

“You know as much as you need to know.” He waves at someone behind me, and Clara appears like she’s been waiting.

As she walks me out, I glance back. “So what’s your boss’s name?”

She smirks. “Names don’t matter here, Collins. What matters is he’s got a serious hard-on for you. Thinks you’ve got potential. Don’t let it go to your head.” She leans in, lowering her voice. “Keep your eye on the ball. You’re going places… just not with Lily Snow.”

The cathedral doors groan as they swing shut behind me, swallowing me back into the cold night.

The air out here feels different. Sharper. Like even the city knows I’ve just walked out of a den full of wolves.

Clara’s words stick in my head like burrs. Going places. Just not with Lily Snow.

It’s supposed to be a warning. I take it as a challenge.

The stone steps under my boots are slick from an earlier rain, but I don’t slow down.

My pulse is hammering too hard, my mind running hot with images I can’t shake—Bentley Walker at the café, Lily’s face caught between shock and despair, the way my handler shut down every question with that smug little head tilt.

They’re hiding something.

Something big.

And the worst part? Lily has no idea. She’s in the middle of their game, and I’m starting to think I’m not here to protect her at all. I’m here to keep her in line.

I hit the street and keep moving, my hands shoved deep into my jacket pockets to hide the fists they’ve curled into. A black SUV idles across the road—one of Goliath’s. No headlights, just the quiet hum of the engine. Watching me. Reminding me I’m never truly out from under their eye.

Fine. Let them watch.

If Goliath wants me to stay away from Lily, I’m going to do the opposite.

If they think they can decide who’s safe for her, they’re about to find out just how bad I can be when someone tries to leash me.

By the time I reach the corner, I’ve already made my choice.

I’ll dig until I hit the root of this thing.

I’ll tear apart whatever they’re keeping from me.

And when I finally know the truth about why Lily Snow matters so damn much to Goliath…I’ll decide for myself what to do with it.

And God help anyone who gets in my way.