Chapter 101
Scarlett's body went rigid.
The voice wrapped around her like a memory she had tried to bury, soft and almost gentle, yet laced with something that made her skin crawl.
Julian did not move.
But she felt it, the shift in him. The way every muscle locked into place, the way his hand tightened around hers just enough to remind her he was there.
Grounding her.
Protecting her.
"Stay behind me," he said under his breath.
Scarlett swallowed hard but nodded, even though he could not see it in the darkness.
A faint beam of light cut through the room.
Julian's phone.
He angled it forward, the dim glow barely illuminating the edge of the living room. Shadows stretched long across the marble floor, distorting everything into something unfamiliar.
Another step echoed.
Closer now.
Scarlett's pulse pounded so loudly she was certain whoever stood there could hear it.
"Joshua," Julian said, his voice calm in a way that felt dangerous. "You should not be here."
