He took her hand in his to lay kisses on her palm.
“Let’s head down, check in with Lena, and get this day started,” he offered. They still had clients coming in for interviews, and Julian wanted to wrap them up before they left.
The women headed out first, talking about whatever it was they were discussing. All four men waited until they were in the elevator and going down.
Julian and Justin rounded on Becket without warning. “You keep your eyes on her,” they stated.
How did he tell them that he already was? Beckett stared at Claire for hours a day. They didn't need to worry. He wanted to be all over her.
“I have it covered,” he stated. “For the record, I think you’re not giving her enough credit. She’s just out of the military. I’m betting she can take care of herself.”
They didn't disagree, but that still didn't mean they wouldn’t assign a guard dog.
“We run this place a little differently,” stated Julian.
Justin agreed.
“We’re the men, and they’re the women. We keep them safe,” Kane added.
Beckett thought they were kidding. “You know if they even get wind of this conversation, we’re all going to get our asses kicked. I’m betting two ex-Feds, an ex-detective, and a soldier would be incredibly insulted by that chauvinism.”
They were well aware, and that’s why they waited until they were out of earshot.
“So keep it to yourself, play bodyguard, and don’t get caught, or all of our asses are on the line.”
“This is crazy,” he stated.
Julian didn't disagree. Unfortunately, this was how they ran their business. The women might have the girlfriend code, but they had their own little rules.
It was the ‘Husband Rules’.
“Just keep our sister safe, Beckett. That’s your number one mission. Tori and I will find the missing man.”
He shrugged, following them into the elevator as it returned. “Sure thing, boss. If that’s where you want my attention.”
He wasn’t really upset.
There were far worse jobs he could have. Playing babysitter to a sexy woman wasn’t that big of a deal. If he wasn’t scared shitless of Claire finding out his secret, he’d throw himself at her. He’d be crazy not to find her sexy as sin.
Yeah, he was screwed.
In this case, he suspected it was going to be a huge ordeal.
Tori could hear talking in the main part of the office. Lena was adamantly telling someone they weren’t going to see her today.
It was odd, since Lena was generally easy going unless pissed off. Whoever was there must have been trying to strong arm her.
As she stepped around the corner, her sister-in-laws and Christina behind her, there was this wave of uneasiness.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Her soldier awareness was kicking in.
And for good reason.
In their foyer stood a man and older woman, and the male looked like someone from her past.
It rattled her cage.
“Can I help you?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. It was the only protection she could offer herself.
“I tried to tell them, Tori, that they couldn’t see you without an appointment. They said it’s personal,” Lena offered.
Tori focused on the woman next. There was that same wave of awareness, only it began tying her stomach in vicious knots. Something was there.
Her gut instinct was screaming.
“Do I know you?” she asked.
“Victoria Rose, it’s me, your mother.”
There was an audible gasp.
The world came to a screaming halt with those six words. Tori almost couldn’t believe her ears.
“This is your brother Beau. We need to talk to you.”
If there was ever a way to freeze everything inside her, this was it. Her past was back, and she’d been sucker punched by them just showing up.
Claire put her hand on Tori’s back, knowing that this was going to level her sister. She knew about her past.
This wasn’t going to be good.
Tori braced herself, and then it came.
The emotions flooded out, and she stood her ground, defending herself.
This was a battle a long time in the making.
~ Chapter Two ~
As they exited the elevator, he heard his wife’s distressed shouts. That alone turned his blood to ice. All four men hustled toward the foyer, and the mêlée which was brewing there.
Julian had to admit that he was pretty freaked out. His wife seldom raised her voice. In fact, in all the time they’d been married, it had only happened once.
She’d been trained as a soldier and was relatively calm when the shit hit the fan. Yet now, that wasn’t the case. This was so foreign to him, that it rattled Julian to his core.
As he rounded the corner, she was pointing at a woman, and there was a red flush coating her skin.
“Get the hell out of here! Do you hear me? You’re not welcome here! I don’t want you here!”
Julian rushed to her side and wrapped his arms around her waist, since it looked like his normally cool and collected wife was about to attack them. If the anger on her face was any clue, the redheaded woman she was facing down was a goner.
“Honey,” he whispered, trying to keep her calm. This couldn’t be good for her or their child.
Tori was furious as she struggled to get free from his vise-like grip. “If you come back here, I’ll personally throw you off this property! I’m not screwing around. Get the hell out of here!”
Julian scanned the faces of the two people who stood before them. The woman had to be in her late fifties and had the same flame hair as Tori.
The male, well, he looked like the man Julian once saw in the picture on Tori’s mantle. This guy resembled her dead brother, Trey.
Uh oh.
This couldn’t be good.
The man went to speak.
“No! You’re getting out now! Get the fuck out of our business!”
Tori broke free. Instead of moving toward them, she stormed to the elevators, leaving everyone to stare in her wake.
Justin moved to his brother’s side. “What’s going on?” he asked.
Julian didn't need a play by play. He could already tell. “You’re her mother,” he stated, his voice dead and void of all emotion.
The woman went to speak, but was cut off.
“Get out,” stated Vivian.
The Littlemoons were rallying around their own. All four of them moved menacingly toward the strangers.
The younger male lifted both hands. “Please. If you’d just listen to what we have to say,” he began. “I just want to talk to my sister.”
“Kane,” stated Julian. “Escort them from my building. “Mr…?” he began, pausing to get his name.
“It’s Beau. Beau Christensen.”
“You need to leave, Beau. What you did here was way out of line. You came into our business and ambushed my wife. You’re lucky she didn't kick the shit out of both of you. If you don’t leave, I’m going to pick up where she left off.”
Justin was by his side. “I’ll help.”
Kane lumbered toward them, an angry look on his face. While he wasn’t a Littlemoon, he was part of their work family. “You need to go, or do I have to make you leave?” he asked, cracking his knuckles to punctuate how serious he was.
The man pulled out a card and scribbled his cell on the back. “I didn't mean to hurt her. I thought she’d listen. Please… have her call me. I can explain.”
Julian stuffed it in his pocket. “Go.”
When they headed out, he glanced over at Kane. “Make sure they leave. I don’t want them anywhere near our door.”
The man did what he asked.
Lena immediately began apologizing. “Boss, I’m sorry. I didn't know. They just strolled in and wanted to see Tori. I tried to explain.”
He cut her off. “It’s not
your fault, Lena, but if they come here again, call one of us. They’re not permitted here. I won’t have them upsetting my wife. From here on out, they’re prohibited from getting anywhere near her.”
She nodded. “Is that really her mother and brother?”
“Yes.” With that, he headed toward the elevator. “Justin, hold down the fort. I need to check on Tori.”
He was well aware that while she was furious down there, upstairs, in the sanctity of their private space, it wouldn’t be anger that had its claws in her.
His wife was going to be hurting, and he needed to handle Tori’s heart delicately. This had to blindside his woman, and that worried him.
She was pregnant.
They didn't need this to add to her stress.
When the elevator door closed, the team got to work.
“Poor, Tori,” whispered Claire, her eyes making contact with Justin’s.
“Yeah, she’s going to need our support,” he stated, angry that someone hurt his family. “I want everyone to keep their eyes open for those two. I doubt that they’re going to go away after this. In fact, I have a bad feeling.”
Claire and Vivian did too.
They all got to work, but no one was concentrating.
All of their thoughts were for the woman upstairs, and how they could keep her safe from her past.
Upstairs, Julian was upset to see that he was right. Tori had barricaded herself in their bathroom as she threw up. While he could have popped the lock, instead, he gave her a few minutes to compose herself. The last thing that he wanted was to make his pregnant wife feel trapped.
If that happened, she would either slip into a blackout or make a break for it. Neither option sat well with him, so Julian bode his time.
When the door finally opened, he had to admit--she looked like crap.
“Julian,” she stated, right before rushing toward him.
He stood, pulling her into his arms as they tumbled backward onto their bed. Immediately, she curled into him, seeking some sort of comfort.
“It’s okay, honey. I’m here. I have you.”
“Oh God, Jules. She’s back,” she whispered, her face pressed into his shirt. “Why did she have to come back? My life was finally smoothing out. I was almost to absolute happiness and now this.”
He left a trail of kisses across her cheek. “I don’t know, Tori. What did she say to you?”
She told him everything. In actuality, there wasn’t much of a story to tell. The second she saw the woman, and it registered, there was so much anger.
“So, she wants to be part of your life?”
Tori nodded.
“How do you feel about that?”
“I never want to see her again,” Tori admitted.
“And your brother?”
She tensed in his arms.
“What about him?”
Tori didn't have an answer for that. It broke her heart that the man looked like her deceased brother. “He’s a dead ringer for Trey,” she admitted.
“Yes, he is.” If they were each in a picture and side by side, Julian wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.
“She’s dead to me, Jules. All these years, she left me alone. My own mother abandoned me, and now she wants to come back. She can’t. My dad struggled when she left us. She picked up and bailed, and then when they died, she never came back for me. Not even then.”
He understood the hurt.
“Then she’s not coming back into your life. I’ll make sure she stays away.”
She clung tighter.
“What do you want me to do about him?” he asked again.
“I don’t know.”
Julian hated going there, but he had no choice. “They likely found you after the last case. Our names have been all over the news,” he admitted. “The last case put us in the spotlight even more than the others.”
She wanted to be sick as she shook in his arms.
“It’s okay, honey. I have you.”
“Can you find out more about him?” she asked softly. “I need to know everything.”
It killed her to even ask that. She didn't want to have anyone else in her life, especially anyone who was part of her mother. Yet, she had to see for herself. He looked like Trey, and he was obviously born after the woman left.
“I need to see if he’s my half-brother, or ...” She couldn’t even say the words.
Julian would handle it. For his woman, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do. All he wanted was for his feisty babe to return. If this gave her closure, so be it.
“Yes, honey.”
“Jules?” she whispered, clinging to him.
“Yes, Victoria?”
She sniffled, trying not to breakdown even more. “Can we leave tonight? I know we weren’t supposed to start this case until Monday, but I have to get out of here. I can’t stay here knowing she’ll pop back in. I can’t imagine that she’s going to stay away.”
He didn't think she would either.
None of them did. That’s why he put them all on full alert downstairs.
“Yes, we can. I’ll have Lena call the client and tell them we’re arriving early. If they can’t meet us, well, then we’ll start without them.”
She hugged him. “Thank you, Jules,” she whispered.
He stopped her. “Victoria Rose, you don’t have to thank me for taking care of my wife. This is my job. I don’t want you to ever hurt.”
Tori knew how lucky she was.
Julian was her hero, and he’d always fill that role. Over the last year, she realized that she didn't have to run. Julian would keep her safe.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you too, honey. Now, why don’t you go take a hot shower and start packing? I’ll tell the team we’re heading out early.”
“Does this make me a coward, Jules?” She knew that no one would tell her the truth but him. Tori trusted her husband.
“No. It makes you human. You’ve just got a horrible surprise and want to put some space between you and the pain. When I found out my father had been murdered, I did the same thing. This is part of the grieving process.”
“What am I mourning?” she asked, staring up into his eyes. Certainly, it couldn’t be the woman who hurt her.
“Your past, Victoria. You’re mourning your past.”
With that, she pulled from his arms and headed back toward the bathroom. While she was still shaky, at least Tori knew she could get through this.
Or at least she had faith in Julian getting her through it.
“I know you said I didn't have to say it, but I do. Thank you for being my husband, Julian. I love you more than you’ll ever know.”
He didn't buy that.
He would know because at that moment, he loved her the same. “I’ll be right in, honey,” he offered.
When she nodded and closed the door, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Calling his brother, Julian waited for him to answer.
“Is she okay?” was Justin’s first question.
“Yeah, she’ll be okay, but I need you to tell Beckett and Claire that there is a change in plans. We’re heading out tonight. They can fly out in the morning. Also, have Lena call the Lamonts. Have her find out if they can meet us tomorrow morning instead of Monday. I know it’s an inconvenience, but Tori wants out of here, and I think that’s advisable.”
Justin made notes, pointing at the one notation for his wife. When Vivian hustled out to talk to Lena, he spoke, “What do you need me to do, Jules? I’ll hunt them down and break them for hurting Tori.”
Julian knew his brother would. The bond between Justin and Tori was strong. They were two broken soldiers trying to navigate the minefield of being out of the service.
“Run them. I want to know everything that’s gone on in their lives the last thirty two years, specifically the brother.”
“Do we know he’s really Tori’s brother?”
There was no mistake in Julian’s mind. “He
looks exactly like her other brother--the one who died in the military. I’d bet my half of the business on it.”
“Do we know her mother’s name?” Justin asked.
“Shelby. It’s Shelby Christensen. That’s all I know. He said his name is Beau. On his arm was a military tattoo. If you can’t find anything on him, call Elizabeth Blackhawk. All you have to do is explain what went down. She’ll get you some details.”
While Julian didn't like using the FBI, he knew for his wife, he’d bend the rules each and every time.
“Okay, on it.”
“Thanks, Justin. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem, bro. I’ll do anything for Tori. Just call me if you need anything. I’ll make sure we dig deep enough.”
Julian was grateful.
It gave him a sense of peace to know that his wife had backup to keep her heart safe. This is why family mattered.
Julian wouldn’t trade it for the world.
* * *
The darkness would be coming soon. Then, he’d have to move. The house was becoming the bane of his existence. It was only a matter of time before the energy to find the treasure wouldn’t be worth it.
Then, he’d burn it down.
What he wanted was someone who had a clue. They needed to be able to find him the loot. If he could do it himself, he would, but it just couldn’t happen.
This was a delicate thing. Being found inside would raise suspicions. That was the last issue he needed to deal with.
He needed this handled, and now.
His family had been hunting for what was theirs for all these years. A century of stress, pain, and anger was there, living in the walls of that house.
While they didn't own it, they did own what was in it.
That was if it was still there.
What if the reason no one could find it was because it was never there?
He got angry.
Oh, it better not have been stolen all those years ago. If it was, the shit would hit the fan. Someone would have to pay.
Unthinkable Games (LIttlemoon Investigations Book 3) Page 4