Israel''s brow twitched ever so slightly he really did think it was a good idea.


    "I like this n. Let''s do it. I''ll get in touch with Q right away."


    As Israel turned to leave, Leonard called after him, a note of warning in his voice.


    "Don''t forget your promise, Israel. Once this is over, you''ll back Aurora."


    A small smile tugged at Israel''s lips. "Rx. Aurora''s my sister. If I don''t look out for her, who will?"


    With that, Israel strode out.


    ...


    At the moment, Abby Murphy was away. To ensure Ste''s safety, Joshua had moved into the estate and stayed by her side.


    The Williams family wasn''trge, and their estate was sprawling-so much space, so few people.


    Each member had an entire floor to themselves, free to decorate however they liked, with their own study, gym, media lounge, srium, kitchte whatever suited their tastes.


    Skyler Williams had gifted Ste an entire level, hers to arrange as she pleased.


    Though Ste and Joshua lived on the same floor, their rooms weren''t especially close. They were, after all, a man and a woman; a little distance was only proper.


    After dinner, Ste worked for a while, then suddenly recalled she''d left a file with Joshua.


    She walked over to his room and knocked on the door.


    "Joshua, are you in?"


    The door swung open almost immediately. Joshua, already changed into somethingfortable, stepped aside to let her in without a word.


    "Come in, let''s talk inside."


    Ste entered and got right to the point. "I think I left some papers with you earlier."


    Joshua poured her a ss of water. "Give me a sec, I''ll check my briefcase."


    "Thanks."


    While Joshua was gone, Ste settled onto the sofa, taking the chance to look around his room.


    She truly saw Joshua as a friend, so she''d made sure his room was just as spacious as hers.


    On the balcony, a few potted nts soaked up thest evening light. The coffee table and wardrobe were dotted with quirky little


    Pe


    ornaments Tamr ones, she realized. Joshua had brought them from her old home in Novaris. Cóntent belongs to s


    When Ste left Novaris, she''d only taken the essentials-everything else she either gave away or tossed. Joshua had protested, saying it was and if


    a waste to throw things out, as


    she was giving things away anyway, why not let him have them?  s


    Most of the trinkets were insignificant to her, so she''d handed them over without a second thought, never imagining he''d actually bring them all the way here.


    Her gaze wandered to a framed


    portrait hanging on the wall-hermet


    own handiwork, a sketch of Joshua she''d drawn for him. He''d disyed it in the most prominent spot.  s


    A gentle smile tugged at her lips. He really did treasure her art.


    Just then, Ste''s eyes drifted to the desk, where a familiar-lookingptop bag rested. It looked almost identical to the one Harold had used earlier that day.<fn77bf> ???s ??????? ?s ?????? ?? find[?]ovel</fn77bf>


    Joshua reappeared with a stack of documents, catching her mid-thought.


    He studied her for a moment before handing her the files. "Are these the papers you were looking for?"


    Ste pulled her attention back, quickly flipping through the pages. "Yes, that''s the one."


    She got to her feet. "You should get some rest. I''ll leave you to it."


    Joshua walked her to the door himself. "If you need anything, just call. No need toe all the way over."


    Ste nodded and walked away, but paused at the threshold for onest nce inside.


    Through the narrow gap in the door, she caught sight of aptop on the desk- one that looked uncannily simr to the one Harold had been carrying earlier.