I hadn’t known Julia long, but I’d known even that first random night I met her that she wasn’t weak. She wasn’t one to freak out, or lose her head, or panic.
She was strong — stronger than she even knew. And whatever this was, it wasn’t her “getting cold feet.”
Something was fucking wrong.
“If the other night had freaked her out, we would have picked up on it,” Micah said, echoing my own thoughts.
I nodded.
“Agreed,” Luke growled from the window, still staring out over the capital. He turned, and I saw the worry, and the fear, and the unknown in his face that was the same that was in mine, and Micah’s.
“She’s it,” Like said quietly. “She’s it for me. And I know she’s it for you two also.”
Micah and I nodded in unison.
And it was true. We’d barely known her a week, and I knew how fucking insane it was for us to have these feelings for her like this. But you know what?
I’m pretty sure I’d known I was in love with Julia Carlson the second I saw her across the dance floor at that cheesy masquerade club. The last couple of days had cemented it.
I loved her.
We loved her.
And I knew we’d be damned if we were going to sit by and watch her slip away from us.
Luke met my eye and saw the fire inside, and he nodded.
“Fuck this,” he growled, storming to his computer and clicking it on.
“What are you doing?” Micah and I perked up, standing from the chairs we’d been in and moving next to Luke.
“You know I’m a little…” Luke cleared his throat. “Strict with my employees.”
“You think?” Micah muttered, and in any other circumstances, I might have laughed.
“I assign office phones to everyone in a senior position — guard captains, head chefs, senior valets, and—” He looked up, a grim look on his face.
“And personal assistants.”
His eyes dropped back to his computer as he hammered out some commands, opening up a program with a map on it.
“And every single one of these phones has a—”
“Tracking device,” I whispered, finishing his sentence.
Luke nodded grimly before he punched the enter key, watching as the map zoomed to the left and began to center on a building.”
“Brother,” he growled. “Let’s go get our girl back.”
Chapter 16
Julia
The loft apartment was grimy, and sparse. In another part of town, this spot would have sold for millions as a luxury loft condo space, but here in the shipping district by the river, it was at the bottom of the barrel.
I shivered, forcing myself not to look away or cower at the wicked look in Dan’s face. Two other men who I’d never met before but who looked as sneering and grizzled as Dan were also with us, glowering at me from behind him.
“So,” Dan stepped forward, and it took everything I had not to either hit him or back away.
I’m proud to say I stood my ground.
“Here’s what’s going to happen.” His eyes narrowed at me. “Your new boyfriends are going to pay for the privilege of having my leftovers.”
My resolve broke. This time, I lunged forward, fist drawn back, before one of the other guys darted forward and stopped me right before I could punch my ex in the face.
Dan whistled. “Jesus Christ, Jules. Better watch that temper. I think princes like themselves nice little subservient chicks. You throw a punch at them and you might just get thrown in jail or some shit.”
He and his goons chuckled as I stood there seething at him.
“I’m fairly certain you don’t know what they like,” I hissed.
“Oh, I think I do.” Dan smiled thinly at me. “Sluts, apparently. Used up whores who’ll open their legs for three fucking guys at the same—”
There was no one in the world fast enough to stop my fist from crashing into his nose that time.
Dan screamed, clutching his face and swearing as his two friends lunged forward and pulled me away from him.
“You fucking bitch,” he roared.
“Says the man crying like one with a busted nose.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’ll want to watch your fucking tone with me, Jules,” he snarled.
“Here’s how this’ll work. You’re going to go back to those little pricks—”
“Little, Dan?” I smiled evilly at him. “I mean, you’ve watched that video. Still want to use the word little?”
Dan’s face went red, and he snarled at me.
“They’re going to pay. Fifty million.”
I stared at him. “Fifty million?”
“Each.”
I shook my head. “No one would pay that.”
“For this?” Dan laughed, waving his phone. “Those fuckwads are worth billions. Trust me, a hundred fifty mil is a steal of a deal.”
“You’re insane,” I hissed.
“Least I’m not a whore.”
I spat at him, and he just chuckled.
“Get the money, Jules, or this gets out.” He eyed me slowly as his friends let me go and moved back behind him.
“Do we have a deal?”
I swallowed, resisting the urge to try and lunge at him again.
“Yes,” I hissed. “Fine.”
Dan just smiled at me as I turned and made for the door.
Locked.
Something cold shivered through me, and I started to turn to tell him unlock it so I could go get his money, when I heard him chuckle.
“And there’s another thing, Julia.”
I whirled at the nearness of his voice, gasping when I realized he and his two goons were right behind me. I backed away, immediately hitting the door and feeling the adrenaline spike in me.
“What do you want, Dan?” I said quietly.
He grinned.
“How about one last time, huh Jules?”
His eyes dipped down over my chest, and I felt like I’d be sick.
“Get away from me.”
“Seems you picked up some new tricks with your royal boyfriends,” Dan said icily. He jerked his head behind him. “How about my fiends join in, since you’re apparently into that sort of thing these days.”
The fear tore through me, tears blurring at the edges of my eyes.
“Please don’t,” I whispered, my skin crawling as I tried to duck away from them. It only backed me into the corner of the room, without even the locked door behind me.
Dan smiled.
“Julia, Julia, Julia,” he sighed, grinning as he and his friends closed in around me.
“For old time’s sake,” he chuckled. “We’re going to have some fun with you before the three of us become millionaires.”
They moved closer, his friends pulling at their belts with dirty fingers.
“C’mon baby,” Dan spit out. “Show me some of those new tricks you—”
The door to the loft exploded in, wood splintering and the very doorframe shattering away from the wall as three huge, roaring shapes came charging into the room.
No, not shapes.
Princes.
I wish I could say there was this huge fight and that it was all this big drawn out thing, but really, the whole thing was over in seconds.
One of Dan’s friends caught a piece of the doorframe to the knee, knocking him to the ground, and the other just held his hands up, like these were the police coming to arrest him and not the furious men who loved me ready to murder him to make sure I was okay.