Page 18 of Hunted Hearts (Black Heart Security #6)

Theo exhaled through his nose, the sound sharp in the quiet room. He hated it. Hated that they were about to drop this on her shoulders when she’d already been through enough.

“Then we need Willow here,” he said firmly, looking around the table until every one of them met his gaze. “She’s gonna need a female she can trust in the room. Someone who’ll help her process it, not just stand there like a bunch of guys circling a problem we can’t fix.”

Denver gave a short nod, his expression grim. “I’ll have Willow bring Juliette in.”

Theo yanked out a chair and dropped to it, his energy depleted. But his body didn’t relax. Not even close.

He couldn’t stop what was coming. But he could make damn sure Juliette didn’t face it alone.

* * * * *

Juliette had just eased her bow back into its spot in the case when a soft knock broke the stillness of the guest room. She glanced up, fingers lingering over the smooth wood of the violin.

She’d meant to do this hours ago. It was her ritual after every trip to inspect every inch of the instrument to be sure it was unharmed.

But Theo had been…distracting. The warmth of his arms, the way his presence settled something she never even knew was restless inside her, had pushed everything else from her mind.

The knock came again, and then Willow’s voice. “Juliette? You got a second?”

Juliette hesitated, then she placed the violin carefully in the case and snapped the clasps shut before rising.

Willow Malone stood in the doorway, her dark brows drawn together, though her smile was warm. She was tall but feminine, with long, dark hair spilling over a pine green sweater and faded jeans. The woman wasn’t just pretty in a grounded, natural way—she was stunning.

Juliette felt a strange pinch of self-consciousness.

She’d been told all her life she was beautiful, a porcelain doll with a violin, and while the comparison had been flattering at first, it often made her feel like she existed behind glass.

Willow, with her earthier beauty and easy warmth, felt real in a way Juliette sometimes wished she could be.

And yet, this was Theo’s sister. His only sister. That made Juliette’s pulse quicken, because what if Willow hated her?

“Sure,” Juliette said softly, smoothing a hand over her own soft alpaca wool sweater her mother gave her for her last birthday.

Willow’s smile held, but the lines between her brows didn’t ease. “My brothers want to see you.”

Her heart tripped. “What for?”

“That’s as much as I know. They’re waiting for us in the conference room.”

“Conference room?” Juliette’s brows pinched. The ranch had a conference room?

There was so much she didn’t know about this place. And she knew even less about the family dynamics, which made her twist her fingers.

Willow gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Come on. One thing to remember is that my brothers may look mean, but they’re all really soft teddy bears.”

That pulled an unexpected laugh from Juliette. “I’ve seen your brothers. Are we talking about the same people?”

Willow’s chuckle had a musical lilt all of its own.

Juliette found herself throwing glances at her companion’s profile.

The woman oozed confidence from the tips of her long lashes to her feet in thick cotton socks that looked like they belonged to one of her male relations.

She found herself wondering where their parents fit into this big happy ranch family.

The walk through the house felt longer than it should have, her feet whispering against the hall rug.

The deeper they went into the maze of the home, the quieter everything became, until all Juliette could hear was the faint hum of the furnace and the slow, measured creak of the floorboards.

They rounded a corner and entered another hallway leading to a set of glass doors.

The conference room was unlike any space Juliette expected to find in a Wyoming ranch house. Sleek and modern, anchored by a long walnut table and chairs large enough to accommodate the men who sat around it.

Screens glowed faintly on the far wall, rolling data that looked more like it belonged on a government op than a cowboy retreat.

All of the brothers were each seated in a way that made it feel less like a casual chat and more like a briefing. Their expressions were tight, controlled, but Juliette felt the heaviness in the air the second she stepped through the door.

Her gaze snapped to Theo’s. His stare was already trained on her, a weight that anchored her more than she was willing to think about right this moment.

He stood and pulled out a seat for her.

Denver coughed. “Paint…peeling…”

Theo snapped his head around to pierce his brother in a glare that she didn’t understand.

“‘Thus with a kiss, I die.’”

More Romeo and Juliet quotes. But Juliette felt too wound up to acknowledge they were trying to tease them.

She caught Denver’s smirk as she settled in the seat, and Willow sat beside her.

Her nerves weren’t going to let her stay silent for long. She looked straight at Theo when she asked, “What’s going on?”

No one answered immediately, and she scanned the solemn faces, each as rugged and handsome as the last. Talk about good genes in this family. A portrait of the Malones would make any of the paintings of her aristocratic ancestors look like a bunch of family pets.

Colt cleared his throat, but it was Carson who spoke first, his voice gentle. “We just need to ask you a few questions, Juliette. About the charity you’ve been working with.”

Juliette blinked. The charity was the furthest thing from her mind, and it took a moment to get her bearings about the subject.

She nodded, her pulse kicking up. “I found it two years ago. With my great-grandmother’s history—working with children during the war—it felt like a way to honor her. To pay it forward.”

“Can you tell us more about that story?”

She met Theo’s gaze and felt his support like he took her in his strong arms. She launched into the tale of her great-grandmother and all she’d done in the orphanage during the war, during the Blitz.

No one spoke or even shifted in their seats.

She swept a look around the table. “I’ve been given this gift—my music, my platform…the support of my family who believed in it all. I needed to use it for more than stages and spotlights. I wanted it to mean something.”

Her voice wavered, but not in guilt. In confusion. Because something in their faces told her this wasn’t about honoring anyone.

Willow sniffled beside her. When Juliette turned, she saw the woman swiping at her cheeks with a tissue.

Juliette’s lips parted. “Willow? What—?”

“The tissues were for Juliette,” Denver muttered, shifting in his seat like he’d rather be anywhere else. Colt rubbed the back of his neck, exchanging a glance with Oaks. The Malones weren’t unkind, but she sensed emotions like this made them twitchy.

As Willow went through tissue after tissue, Theo stood, drawn up like a tight bowstring.

“Enough dancing around it. Juliette, you need to know the truth.”

Her stomach sank, the cold creeping into her limbs before the words even left his mouth.

“The more your star power rose, the more attention you brought to that ‘charity,’” Theo began, his voice even but edged. “But it’s not a charity. Not even close. And that’s why someone’s been trying to stop you from calling attention to them.”

The words landed like a punch. Juliette’s breath stuttered, her mind flashing to every strange incident of the past weeks…months even.

Her voice came out tight and brittle. “You suspected that the charity played a role in this…but I didn’t want to believe it. The fire. The scorpion in my bouquet. The…the pills.”

Theo’s jaw worked. He gave a short nod, but the storm in his gray eyes said more than words ever could. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he was two seconds from hunting down whoever was behind this and ending it himself—with his bare hands if he had to.

“But…the children.” Her voice cracked. “The ones I’ve visited, the ones I…

I know their names , Theo. Each one!” Her hands shook as she pressed them to the table, knuckles whitening.

“Luka—he was adopted last year. I talked to him last month. He had the flu, and I sent him get-well balloons.” She shook her head.

“I don’t understand how that isn’t real! ”

“We’re going to track down every last child associated with the orphanage, Juliette. We promise you that.” Theo’s oath was deep, low…and made her heart clutch.

Denver leaned his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. “Special ops intercepted the transport of some kids who were carrying bags with the charity logo on them.”

She sputtered. “B-but they must have been transported to meet their adoptive families.”

Theo shook his head slightly, and this time her heart clenched out of fear instead of emotion for the man watching her like she was the most precious object in the world.

She gripped the edge of the table to steady herself, but tears swam in her eyes. One escaped the corner, and Willow pulled out two tissues and passed them to her.

She dabbed at her eyes. “Where are those kids now?”

“They’re out of danger, honey.” Theo’s soft words…the endearment…they calmed her.

He held her stare for several heartbeats. But as quickly as her relief rose up, it was chased away almost instantly by a harsher fear.

“What happens to them now?” she stammered, her voice rising.

Theo dragged in a deep gulp of air. The tendon in the crease of his jaw flickered as if he just barely trapped his response behind his teeth.

Denver darted a look at his sister before speaking. “They’ll be placed in foster care until other arrangements are made. Try to find next of kin…”

Willow broke out in noisy tears all over again, and Juliette didn’t feel far behind. Tears tumbled faster down her cheeks.

“They can’t just be dropped into the system. The foster system isn’t—” She broke off, her throat tightening as emotion constricted her throat. “That isn’t better. It’s not safe for all of them.”

Denver’s deep voice rumbled softer now. “We’ll make sure the homes are vetted. We’ll make sure it’s done right.”

Juliette nodded, but the motion felt mechanical. Her chest ached, her breaths shallow as the weight of everything pressed harder and harder. The faces of those kids—their smiles, their voices, the way their eyes lit up when she played—flickered through her mind like a cruel slideshow.

The room blurred. Willow’s hand found hers, squeezing, and for a moment Juliette clung to that warmth, even as her vision shimmered with tears she could barely blink away.

A knock on the door broke through the heavy quiet. Willow stood to answer, cracking it just enough to speak with whoever was outside. Juliette heard the murmur of a male voice, low and steady.

“Everything okay in here?” she heard him ask.

Willow whispered something in reply. Then Juliette caught a clearer word, one that made her spine stiffen.

“…delivery.”

Theo was in motion instantly, his spine straightening like pure steel. He crossed the room in two strides and caught Juliette’s hand, his palm warm and firm around hers.

“Come with me.”

Juliette barely had time to rise before he was leading her out. His grip was an anchor against her rising tide of panic. Her heart hammered hard against her ribs, not just from fear, but from the solid strength of him and the way his hand swallowed hers, steady, unyielding.

The hall stretched ahead, dim and quiet except for their footsteps. As they neared the front door, Juliette slowed, focusing on the heat of his hand, the way it grounded her even as the world tilted sideways around them.

Whatever was waiting outside, she could face it.

As long as Theo didn’t let go.