“I’m so sorry, Julia,” Emily said.
“But the FBI seized those warehouses. How would the signal still be pinging there or whatever?”
“It’s not exactly in the building,” Morse explained. “The city has a small satellite dish on top of the building.”
Julia stopped pacing and cradled her head in her hands. “That son-of-a-bitch. That son-of-a-disease-infested-maggot-ridden-whore was sex trafficking. Of all the depraved, messed up shit he could have possibly been doing. No wonder he pushed me away. I was asking questions, and he knew I’d find out sooner or later. I always did.” She wrapped her hands around her stomach. “That’s what they trained me for. But, this is too much. I wouldn’t have stood aside and let him do this shit. He knew, so he fucked around on me, making sure I found out and left. I always wondered why my parents didn’t force me to go back to him. Why they continued to allow my payments even though I’d broken the terms. Either they knew what he was doing, or Wesley had told them it was okay.” She shook her head.
Emily jumped to her feet and rubbed Julia’s back.
“Mom had to know. She’s like me, and she wouldn’t have let it go. She fucking trained me.”
I watched Julia shove the pieces together, wondering what to do. Emily’s expression was hopeless as she continued to pat her back.
“Now that it’s all over and the Kinlans have been dealt with, Wesley needs me back so he can keep an eye on me.” She ran her hands through her hair and cradled the back of her neck, looking up at the sky. “Fuck! That’s why he planted those cameras. Here I thought he was just a pervert, but no. He’s been watching me this whole time to make sure I didn’t put two and two together.”
“You said you have the picture online?” Emily asked.
“I should. All my photos are supposed to be saved.”
I had a bad feeling about where this was all going, so I stood and grabbed Julia’s shoulders, forcing her attention onto me. “Are you sure you want to go down this road? The Kinlans died over this shit. What’s to stop this asshole from coming after you?”
“He’s already coming after me.” She pulled up the messaging app on her phone and passed it to me. There were several texts from an unknown sender asking her where she was, what she was doing, and when she was coming back. Reminding her that she only had until the end of the weekend.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“My ex is not your problem. I already told him we aren’t getting back together. It’s not like he can force me to change my mind.” She turned to Link and asked, “Is there a computer I can use to check my online storage?”
Link glanced at me.
Knowing Julia wouldn’t be deterred, I nodded.
Soon, Link, Emily, Julia, Wasp, Eagle, Morse, Tap, and I were all huddled around Link’s computer, staring at Julia’s photos.
“It’s not here,” she said, sounding devastated. “I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. He must have hacked my account and deleted it.”
I, for one, was relieved. “Sounds like there’s nothing more you can do.”
She didn’t look so convinced, but she let me lead her back out to the fire pit.
“I feel so stupid,” she said, climbing back on my lap. “I should have looked into it, but everything fell apart after that.”
I’d been trying to tamp down my temper, but the entire situation was screwing with my mind. Wesley was dangerous, and she didn’t seem to realize that. Afraid of her getting too ballsy and doing something stupid, I squeezed her against me, reassuring myself that she was okay. “I’m glad you didn’t pursue it. Jules, the Kinlans did not hang themselves in some sort of father-son suicide pact. They aren’t the type to go out like that. Emily said they were trying to cut a deal.”
“I know,” she admitted.
Yet, she didn’t sound scared. “You’re not bulletproof.”
“I know.”
Still not scared. “You can be poisoned, strangled, stabbed, suffocated, have your pretty little neck snapped, and he wouldn’t have to do any of it. He could send someone to take care of his dirty work for him. Someone could walk right in your store, pull out a gun, and put a slug in you before you even knew what was happening.”
She shuddered. “I know.” This time her voice was shaky. Good. She needed to understand the severity of the situation.
“If he doesn’t leave you alone, I’m gonna lose my shit and kill him.”
“I know.”
“Morse, tomorrow morning, will you have time to set a couple of those cameras back up in Julia’s bookstore?” I asked.
