Page 26 of Hunted Hearts (Black Heart Security #6)

T heo stood by the foot of the conference room table, arms folded, listening while Denver laid out another layer of security protocols for the Lake Tahoe event.

The main concern now was how quickly they could pull this together and get the word out.

Since Juliette was such a headliner, they all felt confident that she would be playing to a sold-out venue.

That was the biggest factor. Everything else was icing to be thrown on the cake in the next week or so.

The words filtered in and out—details about team assignments, surveillance coverage, backup plans—but his gaze kept drifting to Juliette.

She sat across the room, surrounded by Willow, Aspen and Oaks’s wife Shiloh, nodding while they discussed menus and ticket sales for the event.

Her eyes, though…they looked far away.

She was tired. Not just physically—though he’d seen her rubbing at her temples. He could see how all this talk was wearing on her. Emotionally. Soul-deep. No amount of supplements or meditation could soothe this away.

When the meeting finally broke, Theo pulled Denver aside. “We have a tight grip on everything?”

Denver nodded.

“Give me forty-eight hours,” he said. “Everything’s on track. Let me use this window to relax before the hammer drops.”

Denver glanced at him, then past him to Juliette. What he saw on her face must be the same thing Theo did. He clapped Theo on the back. “Take her to the lake. Just…stay reachable.”

He found Juliette just as she was finishing a conversation with Aspen about lighting. When he approached, he caught what she was saying.

“As long as there aren’t any candles. I don’t want to risk another fire.”

A cold stone sank into his gut. Juliette looked up at him with soft surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He couldn’t hold back from moving to her side and reaching for her hand. “We’re taking a break. Just you and me. A little time to get our bearings before we take on the world.”

She blinked, startled. “Really?”

“Really. Tahoe. Colt’s house.”

Shiloh and Aspen couldn’t have wider grins fixed on their faces. It made him groan internally to think that everyone on the ranch seemed to see what he felt for Juliette, when hell, he didn’t quite know. Or at least wasn’t ready to put into words.

Willow heard the word “Tahoe” and glanced up from the computer she was working on. “Oh! Take the jet. It’s fueled and prepped.”

Juliette blinked again but didn’t comment. She never asked about the money, never questioned the way the Malone brothers operated, blessed with power and access most people didn’t even know to dream of.

He wasn’t sure if he could even explain it himself.

All he knew was that all their investments seemed to be showered with luck—their money grew faster than any of them could keep track of, into a legacy that would help generations of Malones to come.

Maybe it was amends for the misery of their father.

And since the family seemed to be growing at the same speed, they would need it.

Theo saw Juliette taking it in—always with that grace of hers that came from being born into prestige but trained to keep her curiosity buttoned beneath politeness.

Before they left, he tugged her by the hand toward the barn.

“Serenity deserves a goodbye,” he said.

When they entered the space, silence and calm settled around them, closing them in.

He hung back, letting Juliette stride ahead. When she pushed onto her tiptoes to peek over the stall door, a smile lit up her face with a beatific glow.

“She’s dozing.”

He chuckled as he sauntered over and took a look. “A couple of the veterans exercise the horses each morning. They must have worn her out.”

She reached for the latch on the door and gently eased it open to step into the stall with Serenity. The horse caught her owner’s scent and nickered a soft noise of welcome.

“Hi, girl. How are you today?” She ran her hand over the horse’s flank.

Theo leaned against the stall, watching the pair interact with a natural mutual affection that didn’t typically happen so quickly. But Juliette seemed to have that effect on everyone she came in contact with.

Juliette smiled at the mare and began to braid her tail. The horse shifted under her touch, calm and docile. Watching her with the animal stirred something in Theo’s chest—something fierce and aching.

“We’ll be leaving soon,” she said to Serenity. “After the concert…” She dipped her head, hiding her eyes from Theo. But he saw her delicate throat working as her fingers nimbly worked the thick, shiny hair of Serenity’s tail into a braid.

She lifted her gaze to Theo. The sadness in her eyes made him stop in his tracks. “I’ll come back to see her soon,” Juliette murmured.

Hooking his finger under her jaw, he tilted her chin up gently. “You will,” he promised with a ferocity he hadn’t intended to let seep into his tone. “We’ll make sure of it, Juliette.”

Her nod was slow. She finished with the braid and pulled the ribbon from her own ponytail free to tie around Serenity’s tail.

When she kissed Serenity’s muzzle goodbye, it looked like she was giving up more than just a horse.

He led her to the Black Heart Security SUV that had already been loaded with their luggage, and Juliette’s precious violin had been strapped in using the seatbelt in the back seat.

The jet ride was short, and the drive to the Tahoe house even shorter. Colt’s house felt more like a luxury lodge than a private residence.

As Juliette climbed out of the car, she gave a small shake of her head. “This is your family’s house?”

“Colt’s. When he left the military, he was living rough in the mountains. Off-grid.”

He handed her the violin, and she cradled it in her arms as he collected their luggage and led her to the side door.

He went on. “He refused to come home, and it was really worrying Willow. I wasn’t around at the time, but she always kept in touch with me through email. Willow finally told him if he wanted to disappear, he might as well do it somewhere warm and stocked with groceries.”

Juliette laughed, the first real one in days. The sound turned into a sigh as he opened the door and they stepped inside.

“This place is amazing!” She crossed to the floor-to-ceiling windows. The view overlooked the lake, glittering silver under the early dusk. “If I had this view to look at every day, I might hide out too.”

“Yeah,” he murmured, unable to stop himself from memorizing the way she seemed to blend into the scenery, like she belonged here.

Like she could belong to his world.

He reached for her, and she slipped into his arms like she belonged there most of all. His heart flexed as he searched her beautiful eyes. Lowering his head in small increments, he drank in the scent of her perfume.

Their lip met in a tender kiss. Once…twice.

The doorbell made them jolt apart. In a swift move, he swept out an arm, shoving her behind him.

“Theo!”

“Stay back.” He reached along his spine and curled his fingers around the grip of his weapon as he silently moved to the window and peeked through the blinds.

A delivery truck was pulling away.

Theo frowned. He wasn’t expecting anything.

With a suspicious scan of the area, he cracked open the door and spotted the small parcel on the step.

He stepped out and grabbed the package.

“Theo?”

“Stay back, Juliette.”

If it was an explosive…

He examined the label—overnight rush, printed from some online shop.

He peeled open the package and stopped cold.

Inside was a slim, linen-wrapped photobook. His gut pitched as he flipped it open, dreading what he might see.

Then his brain blanked.

Boudoir shots, artfully done. Dozens of them. All of Juliette.

Juliette posed in delicate lace, tangled in soft sheets, kissed by golden light. The shots were tasteful and artistic, some playful…others devastatingly sensual.

All of them were her. And every single one felt like a gift and a curse at the same time.

He stepped into the house and closed the door in a daze, the book clasped in one hand. He met her stare. “Juliette…”

She glanced down at what he held. “The album arrived.”

He could only stare and fight the urge to grab the woman and lay claim to her.

“I wanted to thank you,” she said softly. “For Serenity.”

“When did you do this?”

“Yesterday.”

His fingers clamped tighter on the book. His gut clenched with instinctive concern. “You went to a photographer?”

Her lips popped open in surprise, and she issued a soft, tinkling laugh. “No. I took them with my phone on a timer, with the aid of a couple of strategically stacked books.”

“I didn’t know you were interested in photography.”

“Did you know you can learn anything from video tutorials?”

He stared at her, stunned beyond words.

She shrugged. “I edited them, added some filters and uploaded them to a photobook site. I had it shipped to the ranch but asked Aspen to intercept it and have it rerouted here so I could surprise you.”

“Jesus, Juliette.” His cock was a steel rod throbbing behind his fly.

She gave him a playful look. “I hope that’s the good kind of growl in your voice.”

He let the book fall open to a random page, staring down at the image of her in soft pink lace, lips slightly parted, her eyes fixed on the camera. No shame, just bold beauty.

She made this for him. When she stared into that lens, she was thinking of him.

Fuck.

“The things I’d do to you if you were wearing this right now,” he rasped.

She lifted a brow. “Isn’t it your lucky day?”

And then she was gone.

He blinked. “Juliette, come back.”

She kept walking, her hips twitching in an alluring manner.

“What do you mean by lucky day?” he called after her.

Her voice floated back. When she twisted her face into profile, her thick hair rippled down her back.

“I packed it.”

Theo’s heart slammed against his ribs.

A minute later, she called out softly to him.

God help him, he was falling—no parachute, no backup, just a prayer and the hope that he didn’t lose her when this was all over.