Julian’s POV

    At the train station, I returned the rental car and then lugged my luggage over the sidewalks to the main outdoor concourse of the train station. There, I spotted Alice and Amber with their luggage. Alice smiled and waved when she saw me, but there was something off about Amber.

    Her stance was rigid, her arms crossed over her chest. She kept ncing around suspiciously, inching away whenever anyone got to close.

    Immediately, her posture put me on high alert. I hurried to them, to be near, to shield them from whatever

    she was afraid of.

    “Hi, Daddy!” Alice said brightly, stretching her arms out for a hug. At once, I had to return it. Kneeling down, I circled my arms around her, holding her tightly for a long moment before letting her go.

    “Are you looking forward to our trip?” I asked her, not letting my heightening tension show, for her sake.

    “Yes! I’ve never been to these packs before… Do you think the people will like me?”

    “They’ll love you. I’m sure of it.”

    As I stood, I turned my attention back to Amber. This close, I could see her bubbling nerves even more prominently as she looked around with increasingly frantic movements.

    “Amber?” I said, a question, hoping that would be enough to prompt something of an answer, wanting tomunicate in a way that wouldn’t upset Alice.

    “Did you talk ito /iOlivia today?i” /ishe asked me.

    “She stopped me by my car,” I told her. I had made the mistake of keeping secrets about Olivia before. I

    would not do so again. “She tried to talk me into going back to my pack with her. I said no.”

    “Was she acting strangely?i” /ishe asked me.

    “Insistent, perhaps,” I said. “She spoke like she had some kind of premonition that something bad was going to happen.” I hugged a harsh breath. “But she has never had that gift.”

    Amber looked at me, and, strangely, the suspicion she had been casting to everyone else on the concourse, she was also showing to me.

    I was taken aback a moment, shocked by it. What had I done to earn this sudden mistrust? Last night, when I had left Amber’s house, everything had seemed fine.

    “Did something happen?” I asked.

    Amber nced down at Alice, who was busing herself with the doll she was carrying.

    b“/bI’m not sure if we should go on this trip anymore,” she said.

    I inched closer to her. Keeping my voice light so Alice wouldn’t overhear, I said, “I will protect you, Amber and Alice, from anything. Olivia doesn’t have premonition. She was just attempting to scare me into doing what she wanted.”

    “What if she’s right in this case,” Amber said, surprising me.

    “What do you mean?b” /b

    “What if she knows something bad is going to happen, because she orchestrated it.”

    Amber’s POV

    I watched Julian like a hawk. I didn’t want to suspect him of being in on whatever Olivia was nning, but how could I not at least eye him with some caution. After all, Julian always had a kind of alliance with Olivia. He admitted he felt guilt over the loss of their unborn child.

    Could she have manipted him to take part in whatever her scheme was?

    My blood continued to run cold, my heart pumping ice water into my veins since having spoken with Ms.

    Flora.

    What had been Olivia’s intent in trying to get Alice out of school? Had she wanted to kidnap her? To harm

    her?

    How much did Julian know? Howcent was he in this scheme?

    His words do little to ease my growing suspicions. b“/bYou truly think she would try something?”

    She already had tried something. And now, by Ms. Flora’s admission, Olivia knew the details of this trip. Ms. Flora had been well–meaning, but she’d told Olivia far too much.

    Nowbi, /i/bit took everything within me not to grab Alice and take her home where I was certain I could keep

    her safe.

    The only thing that kept me here was a hope that Olivia had just been trying to scare me. And an even dimmer hope that Julian might mean what he said and want to protect Alice and me.

    “Something has frightened you,” Julian said. “Whatever it is, hear my vow. Nothing will harm byou /bor Alice while bI /bam around. You have my word.” He ced his hand over his heart as if to indicate that I had bthat /btoo, though he didn’t say those words aloud.

    bGods/bb, /bI wanted to believe him.

    b“/bOlivia is plotting something, Julian,” I said. “I know because she already acted on it.”

    He blinked. “Tell me everything.”

    So I did, exining what Ms. Flora had told me, about the woman iming to be my sister–inw hade to the school to try to check out Alice for the day. And that this woman fit Olivia’s description perfectly.

    As I spoke, Julian grew more and more tense, his body stiffening, his muscles tensing, his hands forming

    fists at his sides.

    His face showed his shock for only a moment before that hardened too.

    “She came to the school…” he said, repeating my words while sounding so very far away.

    “Yes.”

    A low growl escaped him then.

    Alice, hearing it, nced up at him. “What’s wrong, Daddyb?/b”

    Immediately, he cut it off. “Nothing, Alice. Keep ying with your doll.”

    He nced around a moment, taking in the rest of the concourse, before ncing back to me.

    “I have a private jet waiting,” he said. “We’re too exposed here. We’d be safer on the ne.”

    As much as I wanted to trust in Julian, I couldn’t risk Alice. Telling me we were going on a private jet to our location could be a lie. A train had tracks, it could only go one of two ways. A ne could go wherever it wanted once it was in the air.

    b“/bNo,” I said firmlyb. /b“It’s either the train or we aren’t going.”

    He gave me an incredulous look. “You can’t be serious. You think I’m involved in this somehow?”

    “You owe her. You told me that yourself.”

    “I would never risk you and Alice –”

    “How do I know that? You’ve put us second before.”

    Maybe it was wrong of me to bring up the past, especially when a sh of hurt crossed his gaze, but how could I not? My daughter was being threatened, and I could see shadows all around us. I wanted to believe in Julian but he had given me hundreds of reasons to doubt him.

    “That was a long time ago,” he said.

    b“/bMaybe not long enough,” I replied.

    “Amber, I am telling you that I have nothing to do with this, and I will protect you –

    “Ah, there byou /bare!” Chase called to us from nearer bthe /bparking lot.

    b“/bUncle Chase!” Alice replied, brightly waving. She started to move forward, but Amber and I moved quicker. Each of us ced a hand on one of Alice’s shoulders, keeping her firmly in ce at our sides.

    Alice nced up at both of us with confusion and surprise.

    Chase kept his easy grin as he hurriedly closed the distance instead.

    “I’m d I’m not toote,” Chase said. His gaze fell to Alice. “I would hate to miss the chance to hug my favorite girl goodbye.”

    b+15 /bbBONUS /b

    bChapter /bb153 /b