The raw emotion in his eyes made my protests die in my throat.
“Okay,” I said softly. “I'll stay here.”
Relief flooded his features. “Thank you.” He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead, and my breath caught, unexpected warmth twisting through the fear. “I'll be as fast as I can.”
“What if you don't find anything?”
“Then we keep looking,” he said. “We'll figure this out, Violet. I promise you.”
“Okay,” I murmured.
Julian hesitated, like he wanted to say something else. Then he just nodded and left.
I stood there for a moment, listening to his footsteps fade down the hallway. A few seconds later, I heard his voice in the corridor; muffled but authoritative. He was talking to someone on the phone. Arranging for the guard he'd promised, probably.
Then silence.
I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the warm afternoon sunlight streaming through the window. Julian would find something. He had to. Because right now, we had nothing.
No solid evidence. No suspects. Just a grainy video of a figure in a dark jacket and the unsettling knowledge that someone dangerous was watching me. Someone who didn’t want me getting too close to the truth.
I turned away from the window and sank onto the bed, my legs suddenly unsteady. All this time, I'd thought Julian was the threat. Or Roman. But I'd been looking in the wrong directionthe whole time, and whoever was really behind it all had been free to watch me. To threaten me.
It made me wonder… what else had I been wrong about? What else had I missed?
A sudden knock at the door made me jump.
“Miss Calloway?” An unfamiliar male voice called to me. “I'm Dean, from estate security. Mr. Valcourt asked me to stand guard outside your door.”
I exhaled shakily. “Okay. Thank you.”
“I'll be right here if you need anything, miss.”
I was safe. Julian had made sure of it. But as I sat there in the quiet room, waiting for him to return, I couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere out there, someone else was waiting too.
Watching.
Planning their next move.
39
Julian
The five-minute driveto BHU felt more like five hours. Every minute I spent away from Violet was a minute she was potentially vulnerable, even with Dean stationed outside her door.
My hands tightened on the steering wheel as I thought about the hooded figure from the October footage. Whoever it was, they were methodical. Patient. Dangerous. And they'd been operating right under my nose the entire time I'd been surveilling Violet. Watching her. Threatening her. Trying to scare her into stopping.
I should’ve noticed. Should’ve seen the signs.
Guilt twisted in my gut, but I shoved it down. It wasn't useful right now. Finding evidence was. That way I could track down and punish this motherfucker, whoever he was.
I pulled into the university parking lot and headed straight for Violet's dorm building. It was mid-afternoon, and the halls were relatively quiet, because most students were in class or at the library.
I'd kept a key to her room from when I'd been breaking in regularly, and I used it now, slipping inside and closing the doorbehind me with a soft click. Then I pulled on a pair of latex gloves from my pocket and got to work.
The bed was the obvious starting place. I dropped to my knees and examined the frame carefully, looking for any dark stains that might have been missed.
Nothing.
