Chapter 57
Julian's POV
The black Lincoln Navigator sat trapped in rush hour traffic on the boulevard, the setting sun turning the windows into sheets of dark gold. I leaned back in the rear seat, my eyes fixed on the gridlocked cars ahead but seeing nothing.
Ethan sat up front working through emails on his tablet, occasionally glancing at the stalled traffic. The driver kept the engine running, inching forward whenever a gap appeared.
I should have been reviewing the briefing documents for tomorrow's meeting. Instead, my mind kept circling back to the same thought: How is she now? Have those arrangements helped her notice anything unusual?
The rational part of my brain told me this was absurd. But the other part, the part that could identify Nora Grey's scent from fifty yards away, refused to be silenced.
The car crept forward another few feet. Through the window, I caught sight of a young woman on the sidewalk holding a microphone, her light blonde hair catching the last rays of sunlight. My entire body tensed before logic reasserted itself.
Not her.
But the resemblance was enough. The carefully constructed walls I'd been maintaining for days cracked. Heat flooded through my veins, my instincts surging to life with an almost painful intensity. My fingers tightened involuntarily on the armrest as I fought to control the physical response—the overwhelming urge to find her.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to breathe slowly, steadily. This was absurd. I was a Federal Inspector General, not some lovesick fool losing his composure over a similar profile.
But the discipline didn't help. I wanted to hear her voice. See her smile. Confirm she was safe.
Ethan's eyes flicked to the rearview mirror. He didn't say anything, but I knew he'd noticed.
I needed a distraction. Something to anchor me back to the work at hand.
"The arrangements I ordered," I said, my voice coming out rougher than intended. "Are they complete?"
Ethan's response was immediate and professional. "Jeremy Wright has been officially placed under federal audit investigation. He's suspended pending results. Gareth Grey's transfer and housing have been finalized. The Vaughn Group investigation is ongoing but requires more time to avoid detection."
"Good." I paused, then made a decision that surprised even me. "Change the route. Take me to Riverview Community."
There was a brief silence. Then Ethan said carefully, "Understood, sir."
The car turned at the next intersection.
---
Nora's POV
At six in the evening, Marianne and the others had already moved their belongings to Riverview Community. Over the phone, I could clearly sense her satisfaction with the new apartment.
Just as I was leaving the hospital to head the new apartment, my phone buzzed. Henry's name appeared on the screen.
"Nora, Lucas mentioned you're moving today. Do you need help?"
I leaned against the hospital's exterior wall, watching evening commuters hurry past. "No, thank you, Henry. The moving company already handled everything."
"Are you still at the hotel?" His tone was casual, but I heard the underlying question. "If you are, let me take you to dinner. Somewhere nice."
My stomach tightened. This was exactly what I'd been trying to avoid—letting Henry's kindness blur into something else.
"Actually," I said, inspiration striking, "Marianne mentioned wanting to invite you over for dinner. To thank you for everything you've done for us. Maybe we could do that instead?"
The pause on the other end told me that wasn't the answer he'd hoped for.
"Sure," Henry said finally, his voice carefully neutral. "That sounds great. Can I come over now to see the place?"
I hesitated. After everything he'd done for us, refusing outright would seem ungrateful, almost rude. "Okay. We could meet at the community entrance?"
"Perfect. Twenty minutes."
After we hung up, I let out a long breath. I was drawing boundaries, I told myself. That was healthy. Normal.
So why did it feel like I was lying to both of us?
---
Riverview Community looked much better than I'd expected—clean sidewalks, new buildings, actual landscaping. The streetlights had just come on, casting pools of amber light across the entrance.
Henry was already waiting when my taxi pulled up, leaning against his car in a light gray suit and gold-rimmed glasses. He looked exactly like the dependable, accomplished man he was—the kind of person any rational woman would be thrilled to have in her life.
"You got here so fast," I said with a smile as I approached.
We walked into the complex together, Henry offering his own assessment of the community. I made appropriate responses, trying not to think about debts and the careful distance I needed to maintain.
---
Julian's POV
The Lincoln Navigator sat in the visitor's parking area near Riverview Community's entrance, the car's dark exterior blending into the gathering dusk. I'd left the rear window cracked, letting in the cool evening air.
My eyes tracked two figures walking side by side toward the community gates. Even at this distance, I recognized her immediately.
Nora.
And beside her, the man in the gray suit and gold-rimmed glasses. Attentive. Solicitous. Standing just a fraction too close.
Every muscle in my body locked. My pupils contracted to dangerous slits as I watched him gesture toward the buildings, watched her nod and respond. My jaw clenched so hard I felt my teeth ache.
The Alpha in me roared for action—to get out of this car, to assert my claim, to make it crystal clear that she was mine. But I forced myself to remain still, my knuckles white against the leather armrest.
She's not yours, reason whispered coldly. She doesn't even know what you mean to her. What you both could become.
They disappeared through the gates. I didn't move. Couldn't move. My eyes stayed fixed on the spot where they'd vanished, my breathing carefully controlled despite the fury and jealousy churning in my chest.
In the front seat, the driver's hands trembled slightly on the steering wheel. Ethan stared determinedly at his tablet, but his entire body was rigid with tension. The air inside the car had gone thick and oppressive, heavy with the weight of an Alpha on the edge.
Nobody spoke. Nobody dared.