Page 42

K age

Pictures told a thousand words. They also told a story when you looked closely enough. I’d been flicking through her social media accounts for far longer than I’d told myself I would. Almost all night long.

I’d left Juliette in bed. My bed. With Tank. My dog.

Staying there hadn’t been an option. Neither had sleeping. The nagging feeling remained, a churning in my mind that I couldn’t get past. There was something I was missing. There was definitely a hell of a lot I hadn’t been told.

I was also trying to wait patiently for Gray’s return call.

He’d even ignored his fucking emails.

That wasn’t like him.

My hackles continued to be raised. I’d made mental note to head into town in the next day or so and see what I could find to hook up an old-fashioned security system.

I could mark the perimeters with certain noisemakers that would allow me to hear when someone was coming.

If we were outside.

Somehow, I doubted there was a store in town carrying sophisticated equipment.

My back ached from hunching over and I sat back, pulling the bottle of beer to my lips.

Now the fucker was lukewarm. That’s how long I’d been poring over the damn photos.

After rubbing my eyes and blinking, my focus was drawn to the last letter Henry had drafted.

A fucking sanctuary. He’d been nuts thinking I could handle it.

I pushed the beer aside. The alcohol had done little to ease the band of discomfort stretching tight across my stomach. Neither had the passion we’d shared. If anything, breaking the promise made to myself had heightened the anxiety.

Pillow talk after sex usually included learning more about each other, even if it was bogus shit.

Not with Juliette. All she’d wanted to talk about was the sanctuary.

What I could do with the property. How incredible saving them was for sweet animals.

At this point, handling a business that included several full-time employees was the last thing on my mind.

Fuck it.

I’d already emailed the attorney asking for the name of the buyer. I wasn’t cut out for this shit. Being with Juliette was a solid reminder I was good for no one. And horses? Fuck.

I returned my attention to the screen, concentrating on Instagram.

I’d learned a good deal about her, including she had an eye for photography and capturing the moment. I could see why she had so many followers.

While most pictures were of single items, the photograph taken up close, those that included people had a different reason for intriguing me.

With the laptop being older, I’d had various technical issues but had finally managed to get to a point where I had several Safari windows open, every social media account Gray had provided the address to located on the screen.

As I scrolled through, my mind drifted away, yet a photograph caught my attention.

I clicked on it, studying the background.

It was another rare photo of Juliette taken by someone else.

This time she was obviously in New York City, the Broadway marquis a dead giveaway. That’s not what interested me.

The man in the background did. Whoever had been the photographer had zoomed in on Juliette’s face, which made a portion of the background fuzzy, but there was something about a man standing watching her that troubled me.

I could swear to God I’d seen him before.

I’d been forced to set up fake accounts on the social media platforms Gray had provided me a list of. I wouldn’t have been able to access anything otherwise. It felt like I was cheating, checking up on her, but I’d realized the more I learned about her, the easier it would become to keep her safe.

I flicked to a few more pictures on her IG account before switching to Facebook. After a full five minutes, I realized there was nothing there.

TikTok. Maybe it was a video.

Going through them was necessary, but every time she appeared in a photo or video, I hesitated. And looked.

And hungered.

I threw back the rest of the beer. Warm or not, I needed to quench the thirst in any other way than what I was thinking.

Craving.

The videos were annoying as fuck. Too cutesy and right now too time consuming. I was about ready to give up when I found the one I was looking for.

I enlarged the screen as much as possible and played it over and over again, finally figuring out a way to free the frame. Then I shifted from the IG back to the video. There was no fucking doubt it was the same man in both.

Maybe not a red flag by typical standards except for one detail.

The video had been taken in California. There was no fucking chance that was coincidence. Not unless the guy in the fuzzy picture from New York was someone else.

What in the fuck was I dealing with?

“You’re checking up on me?”

The tension in Juliette’s voice startled me almost as much as the fact she’d slipped into the office, coming far enough in to see the larger separate monitor without me knowing.

I should have known by the scent of her lip gloss.

Strawberry. One of the purchases made at the drug store.

Since that night, every time I’d gotten close, the fragrance had assaulted my senses.

I didn’t bother trying to shut anything down. This was an investigation now. My investigation. “I’m searching for answers, Juliette.”

“On my accounts.” Her sigh was heavy as she walked closer.

Saving her life was the main thing on my mind.

Too bad it wasn’t the only thing. Her hair was tousled, a frank reminder that we’d spent hours exploring each other’s bodies. She’d found a tee shirt of mine.

While long enough to be a dress on her, the length highlighted her rounded hips and legs to die for.

If I were a decent man, I’d avert my eyes. Only I certainly wasn’t a decent man.

“Come here,” I commanded.

“Why should I?”

“Because I asked you to.”

She took a few seconds, but approached, folding her arms as she did. “What are we looking at?”

“You tell me. Do you recognize that man?” I flipped from one to the other.

She leaned in. “No. I have no idea who he is.”

“Does it appear to be the same guy on both posts to you?”

“Yeah, it does. Why?”

“California,” I pointed. “New York.”

Her frown immediately faded, turning into a hint of fear. “He was following me?”

“Maybe. Did you see him on your trip here?”

“I don’t think so, but maybe.” She looked away briefly. “Hold on. He was at the airport when we arrived. I accidently bumped into him.”

I sat back. “You’re sure.”

Juliette nodded. “What does that mean?”

“That means whoever planned your kidnapping had done so for months.”

“What happened wasn’t a random kidnapping.” Her voice was suddenly quiet, even trembling.

“No, it wasn’t.”

She looked away, her body shaking. “What’s happening?”

“Whoever they are, they’ve been tracking your whereabouts, determining this was the best location to grab you. After you were taken, did you see that man at all?”

“No, I’m positive. I memorized the faces of the men who came and went. Just in case.” Even her laugh was laced with nervousness.

“Did you upload all the photographs you took in Bermuda prior to the kidnapping?”

She shook her head. “Why?”

“Do you mind if I take a look? Maybe you could grab the SIM card. I just want to see if he appears in any other pictures. Maybe there’ll be a better one up close I can try and have a trace run with.”

At first, I thought she was going to say no, especially when she abruptly left the room. Exhaling from frustration, I sat back. I hadn’t intended on terrifying her, but the clues were all we had. And with Gray ignoring my calls, I continued to feel like time wasn’t on our side.

She returned a couple of minutes later, this time Tank following her. He stood just inside the doorway, a ball in his mouth. After pulling the SIM card, she moved closer to the desk.

“Here. Maybe you’ll find something.” When she turned, her eyes fell onto the letter from Henry. “You’re going to sell everything. Aren’t you?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m no business owner.”

“But you could be. Think of all the horses you’ll help save.” Her eyes now held the same joy in them as they had when I’d found her the night before.

“Juliette. I’m a soldier. That’s all I’ve ever been. I wouldn’t know how to take care of horses.”

“That’s why you hire good people.”

“It would seem I inherited a few along with the sanctuary.”

Her eyes opened wide before giving me that look as she’d done way too many times. “Then there you go. No excuses. I know you’re afraid, but you can’t enjoy life without taking some risks. Maybe it’s time to stop being a soldier. You are retired.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Chuckling, I knew there was no sense in arguing with her.

“I’m always right. Can we at least go see the horses today? Just once? I won’t beg, but…”

“No need to beg. I need to run into town, but we’ll pop over when I return. And you’re staying here.”

“Is it safe?”

She was constantly surprising me. Now she realized just how dangerous the situation was. “It’s better if you weren’t seen in town. I’ll only be gone an hour. You just need to stay inside. Can you do that?”

“Of course.”

“I mean it, Juliette. I’ll leave Tank with you. He won’t allow anything to happen, but you need to follow my orders.”

“This love bug?” He knew she was talking about him and immediately headed for her.

As she bent down, cooing while she rubbed him all over, I realized she was right.

I hadn’t been living. “Yes, Kage. I’ll follow your orders and stay inside with the doors locked.

You know it would help if I had a phone. ”

“I’ll take care of that while I’m out.” I’d already thought of purchasing a burner phone.

At least if something happened and we were separated, she could get in touch with me.

Leaving her was risky. But taking her with me meant she’d be seen by even more people.

Yes, there was gossip, but the city was large enough by now the fake marriage Juliette had created should have died down.