Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

“Julian!”

Lilith’s call had him rushing out of the living room. He’d finished his call to Rose and was gazing out the living room window, happiness swirling around him at the news that his sister was pregnant.

He skidded to a halt as he rounded the corner of the kitchen. Lilith’s face was as white as the dress shirt he wore to formal events. Her computer sat open in front of her. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked and hurried over to her side.

She said nothing but turned the computer to face him. He looked at the screen and saw a job listing. He read the words but thought little of them. It sounded too good to be true, but then again, some employers always embellished their listings to lure people in for interviews. Other times, what they wrote was really the truth.

“I don’t understand, Lil. Why are you showing me this job ad? Are you thinking of applying?”

“No! It’s not a job. It’s a recruitment ad. Someone is recruiting people.”

He didn’t want to say that’s what most of the ads on the site were for—recruiting people to work for them.

What was he missing?

What was it about this ad that had scared Lilith so much? And she was scared. Her hands trembled as they rested on the table.

Julian squatted and placed his hand over hers, hoping that the touch would calm her. He re-read the advert, this time looking carefully at each word. All the while, her warning that someone was recruiting bounced around his mind.

After reading it for the third time, it finally sunk in what she was saying. “Someone is looking for followers. Simone is starting, or has started, another cult.”

Lilith nodded. “This was how they got me,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. “The promise of better things. But it wasn’t better. It was worse.”

Julian pulled her into his arms as sobs wracked her body. Whoever this person was, they had balls to advertise in such a public way. Then again, whoever they were believed they were untouchable. That they were doing nothing wrong.

Lilith’s sobs slowed, and she pulled back to look up at him. Tears clung to her lashes, and the light hit the sheen of moisture clinging to her cheeks. He brushed his thumb across her skin, wiping it away. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I lost it like that.”

Julian pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s a completely normal reaction after seeing a reminder of what happened to you. But you have to know, you finding this . . .” He pointed to the screen. “Is a huge help. I’ll be able to give the link to our tech guys, and they can chase it up and see where it originated from.”

“What if I’m wrong? What if this is really a legitimate ad, and the place is a fancy hotel or something?”

“Then we file it away in case it proves useful in another case. Do you know how many leads the Agency gets that lead to nothing? A lot, but if we ignore them and disregard them, then we could put people’s lives in danger.”

“I guess.” Her eyes flicked to the screen, and he could see the wheels turning in her mind.

“No. Don’t even think about it.” He slammed the lid shut on the computer.

“What? How do you even know what I’m thinking?”

He may have only known this new Lilith for a few weeks, but he’d watched how she reacted with everyone. How she always wanted to help if she could. “You were thinking what harm would it do to respond to the ad? Go check it out and see if your suspicions were right that this is indeed a cult.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Her voice was pitched a little higher, definitely an indicator that she wasn’t being entirely truthful.

Julian chuckled. “Uh huh. But seriously, Lil. Don’t make me worry even more than I’m going to while I’m away. Swear to me you won’t answer this advert. That you’ll let me get the guys at the Agency to look into it.”

If the idea of leaving her was stressing him, he was even more worried now and wished he could push the issue of her staying with Cass again. But he wouldn’t, because he needed to trust her. Trust she knew that doing so could lead to something bad happening.

“Okay. I won’t. It was just a fleeting idea anyway.”

“Thank you.” There was something else he needed to broach with her, and that was her wearing a tracker that he’d picked up from Cass the day after their date. The necklace was sitting in its box on his dresser. He would’ve preferred she wear earrings, but her ears weren’t pierced so a necklace was the next best thing. The chain was super strong, after Ox’s Eveline had had her necklace ripped from around her neck after she’d been kidnapped by her former boss.

“You’re worrying again. I promise I won’t answer the ad, if you’re still worried,” she said softly as she ran her finger along the flesh between his eyes.

“I know. Come with me.” Julian entwined his fingers with hers, loving the way hers curled around his, giving him a gentle squeeze.

The trip to his bedroom didn’t take long, but the second they crossed the threshold, Lilith tensed. “What are we doing here?”

Julian wasn’t offended by her reaction. Before Rose had called, the kisses they’d shared on the couch were some of the hottest they’d shared. He definitely wanted to take what they were doing further, but he also knew that Lilith may not be ready for it, regardless of how she softened in his arms. Her reaction, right this moment, confirmed his thoughts. "I've got something for you. I'm not trying to force you to do something you’re not ready for.”

“I thought I was.” Her admission surprised him, but he was pleased that she was feeling comfortable enough to be honest and open with him.

“I will not deny that I want you in my bed, Lil. But when you’re ready. I can wait.”

She sighed, her attention wandering to the bed before coming back to him. “I want it, too. I’m not sure why I had a mini freak out the moment we walked in.”

Julian pulled her close and bussed her cheek. “You’ve been through so much in your life. What’s normal for someone, isn’t normal for you, and that’s okay. Just know that I’m always going to be here for you.”

“Thank you, I know that.” She hugged him tight, then dropped her arms, and he did the same, even though he wanted to keep holding her. “So, why are we here?”

Julian reached out for the square box resting on the dresser. “Let’s go back to the living room, and I’ll explain.”

“You can’t tell me here?”

He may have said he was good with waiting until Lilith was ready, and he totally was, but having the bed so close was a temptation. No way would he force her to do something she didn’t want to do. “I think it will be better if we don’t. Come on.”

He held out his hand and a second later, she slid her palm against his. He loved she was so open to holding his hand. It was such a simple gesture. Nothing special about it all, but for him, it was symbolic of the trust growing between them.

Once they were seated on the couch, he placed the box on the table. He would have to form his words carefully, and in a way that wouldn’t cause Lilith to think he wanted to take her control away. Problem was, he had no idea how to explain it. “I need you to hear me out before you say anything. Can you do that?”

Weariness entered her green eyes, and he hated seeing it. “Okay. I can do that.”

“Good.” He reached for the box and opened it. The simple heart necklace winked up at him. An innocuous and plain charm, but there was so much more to it. While the heart looked delicate, it was anything but. It was a lot thicker than one would expect it to be. He extracted the chain and held it up. “I’ve seen a lot of things in my job with the FBI. Seen the way people can be mistreated. People disappear off the streets all the time, and families wonder what happens to them. Sometimes they come back, but most times they don’t because they’ve been sold.”

“If you’re trying to scare me, it’s working. What has people disappearing got to do with the necklace you’re holding?”

He didn’t mind that she’d interrupted him. Even he hated how he started the conversation. He hadn’t wanted to scare her into wearing it, but maybe it was better that he had. Now he needed to be blunt and to the point. “This isn’t just a simple necklace. It’s a tracker. Inside the heart is a device that can tell me where you are at all times. I want you to wear it.”

“What!? No! No!” Lilith scrambled off the couch and rushed over to the window, as though she was looking to escape through it.

He stayed where he was, even though he wanted to go over to her and reassure that it wasn’t as bad as she was thinking. Which really wasn’t a surprise to him. He’d been expecting a reaction like this from her. “This isn’t about controlling you. It isn’t about taking away your ability to think and do what you want. It’s a tool to keep you safe. To make sure that nothing happens to you.”

“If that’s what you need to tell yourself to help you sleep at night, then go right ahead. But I won’t wear it. I won’t have my freedom taken from me.”

“I’m not expecting you to stay a prisoner in this house. That’s not the purpose of this device. You should call Cass about it. She’s the one who came up with it. She wears one. In fact, all the wives of the married guys from Alliez have them as well.”

At the mention of Cass and the other women, her shoulders lost a little tension, and her fists relaxed as well. “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice a little calmer than it had been a few seconds ago.

Julian stood and walked over to where she stood, getting close but not close as to spook her. “Exactly what I said. They all wear trackers. Teresa has earrings. Eveline has a necklace, same as Cass and Astrid. After what they went through, they were more than happy to wear them. And when the guys go on their missions with the FBI, or if they do one for someone else, they all have one on them. Cass is constantly monitoring them while they’re away.”

“And you, will you wear one when you go away with them on this trip you were telling me about?”

Julian was pleased that she was talking to him. That she hadn’t shut herself completely down. “I don’t normally because they’re for the Alliez guys, but if you want me to have one, then I’ll ask Cass for it.”

“Why doesn’t the FBI use them then? How do they make sure that nothing happens to their agents?”

“The agency has their own monitoring system in place. It’s not as sophisticated as what Cass has created, and she keeps that technology as far away from the government as possible. I doubt the FBI knows that the guys have these trackers in their possession.”

“How do you know about it then?” she countered, skepticism loud and clear in her tone.

“I would say that Alliez is becoming more of my family than the FBI and the taskforce I work on is.”

Sometimes Julian wished he worked for Alliez and not the FBI, but to do what he wanted, the FBI was the way he could eradicate people like Ralph and Staunton, and the countless others they’ve shut down and crippled their dubious businesses.

Silence stretched between them, and Julian did nothing to break it. Lilith needed time to digest all that he’d told her. All that he’d asked of her. It had to be her decision. But he hoped she would agree to wear the necklace. Hoped that she would believe his request wasn’t sinister, but coming from a place of caring and need to keep her safe.

“Can I have a look at it, please?”

Julian dropped the necklace into her outstretched hand.

Was this a positive move? Her asking to look at it? Or was she going to still discard his request? What would he do if she wouldn’t wear it? Worry, most likely. Be stressed the whole time he was away. Not to mention half of his focus would be on the woman standing in front of him, wondering what she was doing. Where she was. If she was safe. His focus wouldn’t be on the job. Wouldn’t be on what would be required of him. This was the first time he was going to be part of the boots on the ground in an operation that wasn’t on US soil.

“Is there really a tracking device in the charm?” Lilith tapped the heart.

“Yes.”

“Where? I can’t see any indication that there’s something in there, apart from it being thicker than what you’d think a charm should be.”

Julian smiled. “Trust me, it’s in there. Cass’s technology is amazing.”

“And you’ll be able to know exactly where I am if I wear this?”

“Yes. Well, Cass will. She’s the one who monitors the trackers.”

Lilith held the necklace up a little higher, as if the light would somehow show her where the tracking device was. There was no way she’d find it. There was a reason it was well hidden. The bad guys would never know they were being monitored too, if they happened to get whoever had a tracker in their possession. “Do the husbands ask Cass to tell them where their wives are?”

“Nope, besides, they all have cell phones. They can also track them that way too. The jewelry tracker is an extra layer of security should they get kidnapped and their phone taken off them.”

“So even if I didn’t wear this, you’d have a way to monitor me through my phone?”

“Yes, but, Lil, I wouldn’t be obsessively checking up on you. In fact, in all the time you’ve been living here and you’ve had a phone, I haven’t once checked where you are. And also, you can check where I am whenever you want via my phone.” He pointed to the necklace. "Wearing the tracker won’t change the way I treat you. It’s an extra layer of security, should the unthinkable happen.”

Was he making any headway with her concerns? Only time would tell if he had reassured her his reasons for wanting her to wear this necklace were genuine.

Pleasure settled low in his belly when she unclasped the chain and put it around her neck. “Here, let me,” he said as he stepped forward and took it from her. It took him a couple of tries, but eventually he got it secured. “Thank you for doing this.”

Lilith nodded. “I trust you, Julian.”

They were the best words anyone could’ve said to him. “Thank you, and I promise you, your faith in me is not misplaced.”

“I know.”

Julian pulled her against his chest, holding her close, breathing in the apple scent of her shampoo. This was where she belonged, in his arms. He just had to convince her of that. Make her believe he was her future. And if it took him months, then he was okay with that. As long as they could be together in the end.