Page 105 of The Beat of My Heart

“We got you, dude,” Preston says as he starts collecting items and clearing space at the kitchen table.

“Trevor?” I hear. Looking up, I see Preston’s youngest brother, Ashton. I’ve been so caught up, I forgot that all five Westbrook boys were here.

“What’s up, Ash?” I ask while I’m trying to set up various monitors.

“This is kind of my thing,” he says shyly.

Ashton is eight years younger than we are, so I’m not as close with him as I am with the other four Westbrooks, but he’s one of us, and I see how badly he wants to help.

“Yeah? How so?” I ask, trying to get a read for how he could be of help.

“I’m on par with Julia,” then, leaning in, he whispers, “I’ve been hacking for Loki since I was sixteen.”

This catches me entirely off guard and I chuckle. “What the fuck?”

He nods, looking ashamed.

“I can’t believe it, little Ash is all grown up,” I say, feeling lighter knowing I have back up. “Alright then, dude, grab a chair, we’ll get you set up.”

He smiles and holds up a bag I know contains his own supplies, “I’ve got it covered.”

No shit.

“Alright then, brother, let’s get started,” I say, slapping him on the back.

For the next two-and-a-half days, I watch, log, and reroute items as they come in. Julia is fucking brilliant. The system she has set up is monitoring Miles’ every move. I’m pissed that I can’t just storm my father’s house and take Julia back, but she is sending updates every four hours, letting me know she is okay. Unfortunately, she had to disable incoming messages from me, but I get it. Leaving that line open would be an easy trace should Miles get suspicious.

The amount of shit we have collected is enough to take Miles down, but she is waiting for something. Something big, and I’m afraid it has to do with Loki. We haven’t been able to get a hold of him in over twenty-four hours, and I have a pit in my stomach that says something is wrong. The fact that Seth is also on edge isn’t helping the tension that has settled over the house.

I’m staring at the computer screen when we hear Lanie scream Julia’s name. I’m out of my chair and through the front door at the same time as Dexter. Both of us panic at the sound of the scream.

Standing at the door of the main house is Julia. With Charlie on her hip and a bag in her hand, Julia smiles the second her eyes meet mine.I will marry this fucking girl, is the last thought in my head before I’m sprinting across the lawn.

Wrapping her and Charlie in my arms, I lift her off the ground.

“Dada,” little Charlie says happily.

“Yeah, Dada, little man,” I reply. Looking to Julia, I say, “Where is Romero? I will kill him.”

“No, you won’t. We have a lot of ground to cover, but before I fill you in on everything, I need to talk to Preston,” she says.

“Preston?” I ask.

Julia cringes a little, and I know she is aware of the package Loki is collecting.

“Oh shit.”

“Yeah, we need to get him home with Seth so they can finish setting up security,” she tells me.

“Ah… I’m not telling him who the package is,” I tell her, slightly terrified of his reaction.

“Fuck no,” she says immediately. “That’s a job for Loki.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I say, following her across the lawn to the guesthouse we call home.

The next hour goes by in a flash.

A perplexed Preston finally left with Seth. All of his brothers, except for Ashton, followed suit. This kid really knows his shit, so he stays behind to keep tabs on all the files we are watching. Dexter goes back to his house, and after a brief dinner with her parents, Julia and I are finally left alone.