<b>Chapter </b><b>312 </b>Dangerous Ground
Chapter 312 Dangerous Ground
Quinn disliked the peril Julius represented, yet provoking a direct sh here and now served no purpose
After all, she reminded herself, no one could predict what an enraged Julius might do and none of the dreadful possibilities had even happened yet.
“Doria isn’t exactly tranquil,” Julius added, tone softer, almost reluctant. “If real trouble finds you, call me
at once.”
Quinn studied him, curiosity edging past fatigue. “Why did youe to Doria at all, Julius?
“If I said I was tracking leads about your brother, would you believe me?” He met her gaze without blinking, as if the fragile thread binding them depended on her answer.
Ever since the memory mmed into him–Rowan Bridger’s silhouette flickering across some Dorian street years ago–Julius had treated the republic like a crime scene waiting to be scoured. Every flight manifest, every border camera feed, every whisper in the underworld–he threw money and manpower at them all, convinced the key to Rowan’s disappearancey somewhere beneath Doria’s washed–out skies.
“Back near the spot where my brother was dragged out of the van and left for dead–did you ever send anyone to question the locals?”
“I did,” Juliús said with a curt nod. “They spoke to every resident within blocks, but nothing useful surfaced.”
Quinn fell silent. Only now did she understand why, when she canvassed the neighborhood earlier that day, tenants had told her someone else had alreadye asking the same uneasy questions.
“I’ve also pulled the employee rosters for every factory in the area over the past five years. Your brother’s name doesn’t appear on a single list.”
The statement blindsided her. Quinn had nned to hunt down those records herself; Julius had finished the legwork before she even boarded the ne.
“If you want to see the files, I can have Fabian email the entire package to you right now,” he said.
“Thank you,” Quinn said, meaning every syble.
“And one more thing,” Julius added after a weighted pause, his voice dropping to gravel. “Dig if you must, but stay out of ces that smell like trouble. I don’t care how lethal you are alone–crowds will swallow you. You know that as well as I <i>do</i>, Quinn.”
“I understand. No <i>one </i>values my safety more than I do.”
She clutched that certainty like a lifeline. <i>I </i><i>have </i><i>to </i><i>stay </i>alive. <i>Rowan </i>is <i>waiting</i><i>, </i><i>and </i><i>Mom </i><i>and </i><i>Dad </i><i>sacrificed </i><i>everything </i><i>for </i><i>this </i><i>heartbeat </i><i>still </i><i>inside </i><i>me</i>. <i>I </i><i>won’t </i><i>waste </i><i>it. </i>
Only after Julius stepped out and the door clicked shut did Quinn allow herself a long, shaky exhale.
She hadn’t expected him to turn up in Doria, yet his presence–unasked for though it was–had saved <b>her </b>hours<b>, </b>maybe days, of grinding investigation.
<b>173 </b>
<b>Chapter </b><b>312 </b><b>Dangerous </b><b>Ground </b>
<b>Her </b><b>mind </b>drifted back to the punishing kiss he’d pressed on her moments before<b>, </b>the possessive warning wrapped in it. This is why people <i>shouldn’t </i><i>fall </i>in love so <i>casually</i>, she thought, pulse still skittering
<b>Even </b>breaking up
<i>d </i>beplicated now, a knot pulled too tight to cut free without bloort
Yet she didn’t want to push Julius so far that the rumors proved true and he truly lost his mind
The stories about the Whitethorn family’s men echoed in her head, darker each time she reyed them<b>. </b>
She thought of Joaquin’s crazy behavior. The image sent a chill skimming over her skin.
From what she had gathered, Joaquin had stopped appearing in public after his wife’s death, Julius <b>himself </b>had admitted the loss had turned his father into a madman.
She refused to believe Julius would follow that same bleak trajectory.
After all, they’d only been together a few short months. Even if his feelings ran deep, time would sand down the edges; distance would dilute what remained.
He would not transform into a lunatic over her. He couldn’t.
A nce at the clock jolted her. She pulled out her phone and dialed Laura.
“Quinn, what took you so long? I was about to ring you myself!”
“Sorry, Julius dropped by my room. I got dyed.”
“Julius?” A sharp breath hissed through the line. “He’s in Doria too?”
“Yeah.”
“Please don’t tell me he followed you all the way to Doria,” Laura said, half teasing, half genuinely unnerved.
“Could be business. The Whitethorn family as projects here too,” Quinn replied, though she wasn’t entirely convinced herself.
“Just promise you’ll stay safe-” Laura began, when a sudden yelp cracked through the speaker. Static rippled, and Quinn’s heart jumped into her throat as the call filled with muffledmotion on Laura’s end.
From the other end of the call, Quinn’s voice floated out, slightly distorted by the speaker yet unmistakably tender. “What’s wrong?”
Laura drew a sharp breath, her words tumbling out in a whisper that almost tripped over itself. “N–n- nothing, really. A cockroach just scurried past and gave me a fright. Let’s catch upter, okay? I… I still have something to deal with right now.”
Without waiting for Quinn’s reply, she jabbed the red icon and the screen went dark, cutting the conversation like a snapped wire. Then she spun, ponytail whipping her shoulder, and pinned Weston with a stare so sharp it might have drawn blood–this was the man who had just yanked her close and branded her neck with his mouth.
<b>2/3 </b>
A sharp sting blossomed where his lips had ravaged her skin, hot and persistent like a live coal. <i>I </i><b><i>don’t </i></b><b><i>need </i></b>
19:52 Fri, 15 Aug
Chapter 312 Dangerous Ground
a mirror to know he left a trophy, she thought, the certainty throbbing in time with her pulse.
<b>10 </b>Fras <b>Coins </b>
She nted both palms against his chest, more to brace herself than to push him away. “Weston Windore, what exactly are you trying to do?”
He only tightened his arms around her waist, drawing her in until the faint scent of his cologne fogged her senses. “So it’s permissible for you to kiss me, but a capital crime if I return the favor?” he murmured. voice brushing her lips, their noses almost grazing.
Laura’s eyes rolled so hard they nearly showed whites, the universal gesture for men who just don’t get it. “I kissed you to help you, remember? You dragged me to that private club so I could scare off your suitors. Don’t pretend you didn’t notice Serena Wynn drooling over you. You’re repaying my favor with ingratitude.”
Weston arched an eyebrow, one corner of his mouth tilting in amused challenge. His fingertip traced the fresh bruise on her neck, azy circle that made her shiver despite herself–the mark was his handiwork, and they both knew it. “Laura, I thought you liked this. Back in the day, you and I even researched how to make a proper love bite.”
Heat crawled up Laura’s cheeks, turning her fair skin rose–pink. Ah<i>, </i><i>the </i><i>recklessness </i>of youth–apparently the bill <ies </i>due in adulthood<i>. </i>