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The first thing I want to do is pick up my phone and call him.
I don’t. I need to make Julian understand I can help in ways Uncle Dan can’t.
Chapter 17
Julian
“You’re in over your head,” Theo states as I finish spilling everything about Poppy. There’s no escaping it; if I hadn’t come clean, he would have unearthed the secrets himself. Worse, he'd approached Poppy directly.
“I’m handling it,” I retort, irritation sharp in my tone. My gaze sweeps the room, desperate for a distraction, a drink. Striding towards the wall of cabinets, I start flinging doors open.“Where do you keep the whiskey?”
Silence. As if the CEO’s office is the only one with a stash of good old Texas whiskey. I don’t buy it for a second.
“Handling it!” Theo’s voice booms.“The Sinclairs aren’t just any nuisance. You don’t‘handle’them. You erase them, Julian. Every last one, or they’ll come back to haunt you.” His fingers curl against the wood of the desk, separating us.“I’ve borne the scars from people like them.”
I scoff,“More secrets from your elite college club, then?” My patience wears thin, my mind racing to Poppy, to the looming threat of her discovering the news before I can tell her.
“Uncle Dan is helping—” I start.
Theo leans over his desk, imposing.“Uncle Dan is bound by his profession's rules.”
“Laws bind him,” I counter, challenging Theo's notion that his club stands above the law. Perhaps they do, but it’s a gamble I can’t take.
Theo shakes his head, disbelief and frustration mixing.“Let me guess, Uncle Dan insists on doing things by the book?”
Through gritted teeth, I respond,“Andrew’s high profile, his father’s a presidential candidate.”
“That means he’s indebted to many, some of whom might owe me—orus—a favor,” Theo warns.
“I’ll handle this.” I don't want help from his secret group of friends who live by a code of fucked up morals.
“I’m not asking,” Theo asserts, a finality in his tone that brooks no argument.
Exasperated, I throw my hands up.“Then why the hell are we even discussing this? You said this morning that as your brother, I come first over your friends. Was that another lie?”
“I’m trying to protect you!” Theo’s roar fills the office.
“Maybe you are,” I concede, voice flat. The thought of taking action myself, should Uncle Dan fail, has crossed my mind.“But I’m a soldier. Breaking every rule makes me no different from our enemies.”
Theo’s anger seems to falter, his jaw slackening.“The world isn’t just black and white, Julian. It’s not even shades of gray. It’s a spectrum of colors. Seeking revenge doesn’t make you their equal. Your motivations, your reasons—they set you apart.”
I'd like to think that's true. If given a choice, the world would agree with me concerning Andrew. He’s a rapist, an abuser, a demon without a leash allowed to roam.
“When you went off to college, you had to navigate your path. Let me do the same. If Uncle Dan fails, then I’ll turn to you.” I concede.
Theo pauses, a heavy silence between us.“Uncle Dan won’t succeed. I know how the Sinclairs operate.”
“I just need time to try,” I reply. I want to try to save Poppy while keeping my morals. Theo can be my safety net if Uncle Dan’s way fails.
Theo glances at the door, almost sensing I'm about to run through it to go find Poppy.“Andrew just orchestrated his fiancée’s death in a plane crash. How much time are you going to give this man to get all his pawns and knights on the board and closer to your queen? Don't wait too long. I’m warning you, even my help has its limits.”
Chapter 18
Poppy
Inviting Harper to join me for lunch at work was, in retrospect, a decision that might have needed a tad more thought—or, frankly, a full-blown strategy session. Let's face it: in every HR handbook, there's probably a picture of Harper captioned 'how not to act in the workplace.'
Harper's entrance into the cafeteria could only be described as an event. With her towering height and striking beauty, topped with a waterfall of blonde hair that seemed to mock the cafeteria's harsh lighting, she turned heads—and not just turned, but practically swiveled on an axis. The mixture of eye rolls from females and stares from males she received was like watching people see a unicorn in a business suit for the first time.
