Page 92 of The Stalker Snafu

CHAPTER 35

An Olive Branch

As fate would have it, there was a slight hitch to my plan. I had no way of forcing someone to take me to Noah, and Julian was not at all inclined to humor me. We’d worn ourselves out arguing in circles by the time Oliver returned with food, and my stomach won out.

I could put my anger aside for a few minutes for the sake of sustenance.

“Here.” Oliver set a Happy Meal on the coffee table in front of me along with another bag. I managed a smile as he set a tray of to-go sandwich and salad containers next to them.

“Did you get Emma a salad, too?” Julian asked, eyeing the grease stains on my food bag. “No one can eat just that crap.”

“Watch me,” I told him, opening the flaps of the kid’s meal and taking a long inhale before opening the other brown bag. I hummed in contentment. “I love fries.”

Finn appreciatively watched me lift out the large order of fries. “I need to find myself a woman who looks at me like you look at those fries.”

“Shut up, Finn,” Adrian said half-heartedly as he rummaged through the food options. “Did you get any cubans, Bishop?”

“There’s one in there somewhere for you. Give me a sec. Finn, here’s your slushie.”

Julian’s phone rang as I popped a fry into my mouth, and he stood with a frown. “I need to take this.”

Everyone grabbed food containers while he slipped out the front door, and I unpacked the rest of my meal. I didn’t want to appear too eager about the toy—and I would never admit it to the guys—but I was secretly hoping there would be a little stuffed animal. Mr. Elephant could always use more royal subjects to lord over.

Luck didn’t appear to be on my side—all I pulled out was some silver stick thingy in a plastic bag.

Finn sucked in a breath beside me, setting aside his blue slushie and pouncing before I could blink.

He snatched the gadget right out of my hand, and flashbacks to the cupcake kidnapping assaulted my brain. “This is perfect! I can totally use this!”

Adrian frowned and swapped sandwich containers with Oliver. “That’s Emma’s toy. Don’t just take it from her.”

Finn’s excited grin rounded on me, his eyes brimming with hope. “You’ll share with me, right?”

I studied the toy he was fawning over, but it just looked like a space pen to me. “What is it?”

Finn’s grin grew impossibly larger. Freaking dimples. “It’s an invisible ink pen, and the other end has a black light. We can write secret messages to each other and communicate like spies. It works just like magic.”

I considered it. Magician spies. “That sounds fun. Okay, I’ll share.”

Finn tore into the plastic immediately, and Adrian sighed.

I turned my full focus to my fries.

Julian rejoined us shortly after Finn’s pilfering of the pen, and we had a nice enough lunch. I didn’t learn much about the guys, but they did mention Noah was the only one taking classes at Westcroft. When I asked what the rest of them did, there weren’t many answers aside from Julian’s vet school, Finn’s magic gigs, and Oliver being your average international piano phenomenon.

When the last fry was devoured and I verified there weren’t any stragglers at the bottom of the bag, I thanked Oliver and tried to reimburse him for the food—but he was adamant about not taking my money. He said he’d paid for everyone. My head still hurt from arguing in circles—plus I needed to save all my remaining energy to convince Julian—so I turned to the man in question with my best no-nonsense face.

“I need to see him,” I demanded firmly. “Right now. Please.”

Julian ate a bite of salad and took his time chewing before he answered. “Emma… We don’t want to make things worse. We can’t predict how Noah will react to seeing you right now.”

I sat up taller. “Then he won’t see me. I just need to see him, and you guys know where he is, right? We’ll sneak in, and I’ll verify he’s okay.”

Julian looked down at his salad while the others avoided my gaze.

“Please?” I pressed.

Julian hesitated, glancing at the others before his eyes landed on Adrian. “… We might be able to get a picture, but⁠—”