manager of the Den had been one of his best informants over the past seven years. Juliana was in the bar almost as much as she was home. But Tony hadn’t told him everything. Thomas wasn’t foolish enough to think he happened along the first night she’d been hurt and Tony had never mentioned any injuries. The man would answer for his omission later.
Thomas should let her go. Should find her again later when she’d had time to absorb his return. He knew this but he found himself flashing back to the vivid daydream he’d allowed himself on the flight home. Juliana, happy to see him, had thrown herself into his arms. Unable to wait another moment before he claimed her, he emptied the bar and took her on the nearest table. The image was enough to make him follow her into the night.
Juliana was just climbing on her Ducati when he opened the door. A tendril of power snaked away from him to wrap around her, caress her. It was a physical manifestation of their bond, one that went beyond their union. He could control it if he chose, keep his power contained, but what was the point? No, better to remind his bride that he was there. And that she better get used to it.
The limo he brought from the airport drove up and he slid into the back seat just as Juliana pulled out of the parking lot. He shut the door and the driver glanced back at him. Michael Bishop, the only one he’d trust with his life and, more importantly, Juliana’s.
Michael arched his brows. “What do you want to do?”
“Follow her. Make sure she gets home all right.”
“She won’t like it,” he said, but put the car in gear and followed in her wake.
Fifteen minutes after Juliana left the Den, she pulled into the short drive next to a small well-kept house.
“What is this?” Thomas asked. He assumed Juliana would head straight home.
Michael coughed into his hand, but Thomas had already seen the smirk. “This is her house.”
Thomas ran his eyes over the hovel before him. It was what a real estate agent would have called “cozy”—which translated to “tiny.” He’d be astounded if there was more than one bedroom. Glancing down the length of the street he saw the only working light was directly across from her and it flickered on and off. “That is not a house. That is a hut.”
Juliana flipped him off and shut the door behind her. After a moment, he motioned for Michael to drive on. She was doubtless tucked in safe behind multiple wards and enchantments. At least, she better be in this neighborhood. He had antagonized her enough for one evening. “Why did you not tell me she was living in such conditions?”
Michael shook his head. “She’s happy there and she’s done a lot of good for the people in the neighborhood. Leave her be.”
In the past several years, Michael had taken a very protective stance when it came to Juliana. It was a trait Thomas usually liked in his second, but not now. She didn’t need protection from him. It was everyone else Michael needed to worry about. Thomas mentally counted to ten. If he didn’t value his second so much, he’d remind him exactly what his place was, but he didn’t want to lose him. Not over this. Juliana belonged to Thomas, regardless what anyone else might think, including the woman herself.
He let his mind wander as Michael drove him to the house. There was no reason for Juliana to be living as she was. Everything he possessed was hers. She had a home, money and she turned her back on all of it to live like a pauper. He ground his teeth. The cursed girl stripped his nerves bare and stomped all over them. She always had.
Michael’s phone rang. The timing was too coincidental for it to be anyone but his bride. She’d want to know why her lover hadn’t informed her that her husband was back in town. Thomas allowed himself a bitter smile. Oh, he knew the moment his bride had fallen into bed with his most trusted associate. In a way, it was what he wanted when he left and he supposed that Michael was a better choice than most. He would protect Juliana with his life.
Thomas also knew that if Michael were aware of their union he never would have slept with her in the first place. “Answer it,” Thomas said after the third ring.
“I’m driving.”
“I wasn’t asking.” Thomas met Michael’s eyes in the mirror.
Michael swallowed whatever argument he’d been about to make and answered. “I didn’t know,” he said, confirming it was Juliana on the line. “He said he had some business and left on an errand out of town. He’s moving home. You aren’t getting rid of him.”
“Super.” Her voice drifted to where Thomas sat in the back. Sometimes he was more grateful for his superior hearing than others. “Where are you?”
Michael shifted in his seat. “I have some business to finish up. I’ll be around in a day or two at most.” Not a lie, but skirting the edge of truth.
“Call me when you get here. I want to see you.” Thomas clenched his teeth. She should be saying those words to him. No one else.
Michael glanced at him for the barest of moments. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? I hope you don’t think you get to disappear just because Thomas shows back up.” Thomas dropped his chin against his chest unwilling to let Michael see the pain the conversation brought with it.
Michael cleared his throat. “You know why not. You’re his whether you want to admit it or not. You always have been.”
“I don’t belong to anyone, Michael. Especially him.”
“I’ve got to go. We’ll talk when I get there.”
Thomas kept his head down as his second hung up the phone.
“I can explain,” Michael said after a moment, his voice low.
“That won’t be necessary. I’m aware of more than you imagine.”
Juliana tossed her phone on the table, knowing it wasn’t broken despite the satisfying crack it made. The cursed thing was impossible to break. She’d tried many, many times. Curse Michael for not being more concerned about Thomas’s sudden decision to move home. And curse Thomas for making her care. She shouldn’t give a crap what he did. Shouldn’t care where he lived or why. But she did. She couldn’t shut down that elated part of her that was jumping around like a demifae on crack.
That this was the first Michael heard of Thomas’s move bothered her. Thomas didn’t go around announcing his plans, but he rarely kept them from Michael.
Michael was Thomas’s second, the one that would take over his territory should anything happen to him. Once upon a time, she thought nothing could separate them. Then the vampire Thomas put in charge of the coven when he left attacked her, drained her and left her for dead. It was her first death. At the time, she also wished it had been her last.
When Raoul and his cronies realized she survived, they fled the territory. Thomas sent Michael to find out why. Instead, he found her in a hospital bed with Thomas’s sister Sara holding her hand. Sara had been too afraid of her brother’s wrath to call and give him the news. Michael told her not to and sent her home.
Thomas reclaimed the coven, ruling it from afar and Michael stayed with Juliana for a year. After he helped her heal, he helped her hunt the bastards down. They’d found them all except for Raoul. They still chased down the occasional lead, but always came up empty handed. When Michael returned to Thomas, he didn’t breathe a word of what had transpired.
At the time, Juliana thought he had and Thomas just hadn’t cared. Michael told her it wasn’t his story to share. She believed him. He’d never lied to her before and she didn’t see why he’d suddenly start. She hadn’t thought about the attack in months and she hated Thomas for bringing it to the forefront of her mind again. Hated him for stirring up emotions she buried a long time ago.
She picked up the phone and dialed Sara’s number.
“Thomas is back,” Juliana said.
There was a long silence on the line. “Well, crap.”
“You didn’t know?”
“Of course not.” Relief flooded through Juliana. “He may be my brother, but I wouldn’t let him surprise you like that. Although...”
