Page 23 of Keeping Lilith

An older woman sat behind the desk, a friendly smile on her face. “You must be Lilith. Welcome to Alliez Security. I’m Yolanda. If you need anything, just come to me. I don’t move far from this spot.”

She managed a thank you, and hopefully, her smile wasn’t a scary one. How had this woman known her name? Did everyone who worked there know that she would be coming in today?

Well, duh, yes they do.

It was very disconcerting that they kind of knew her, but she didn’t really know any of them.

Lilith kept her head down as she followed Cass through the office until she disappeared into a room. Like she had at the building’s entrance, Lilith paused, taking in the space. A long desk took up one side of the room. Five screens and three keyboards took up most of the table. On the opposite side sat a smaller desk. This one had two screens and one keyboard. “How do you keep track of what’s going on?”

“Cass is a genius, but it’s best to not ask and accept she can do it all.”

Lilith jumped at the voice behind her. A voice she’d only heard in her head these past couple of days. Whirling around, she found Julian standing a couple of feet away. He wore pressed black pants and a sky-blue button-down shirt. Her mouth went dry at the way his hair slicked back off his face. His clear blue gaze didn’t back down from her scrutiny.

“How are you, Lil?” he asked softly, a hint of a smile on his face.

“G-Good,” she stammered and inwardly rolled her eyes at her reaction to seeing him.

Her body warmed at his appraisal of her, and she refused the urge to tug the hem of the dress lower. She wasn’t used to showing this much leg. Her last dress, she’d worn for a year, and it had ended way below her knee. The sleeves had been long and the neckline high.

This is the new me. Embrace it.

All well and good to think it. Carrying it out was a different matter, but she’d try. One step at a time on this road of her new life.

Chapter Twelve

I need to stop staring.

Julian ignored his inner thought because the sight before him was captivating. Lilith looked beautiful.The dress she wore flattered her figure, and he appreciated her toned arms and legs. But he also could see that he was making her uncomfortable, and that was the last thing he wanted.

The previous two days had been torture, not being able to contact her, but he’d been called back to work to deal with a case that needed all hands on deck. No one cared that Mac had given him a couple of days off. The lives of ten young girls relied on everyone doing their jobs. Which was why he was at Alliez’s office. But he hadn’t been expecting to find Lilith there too, and he was glad to see her.

“What brings you here today?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets to control the urge to pull her into his arms. To notch his head between her neck and shoulder and see if she smelled as sweet as she had the last time he’d seen her.

“Cass brought me in. Said I needed a change of scenery.”

“I did, but I also think she could help around here. Good to see you, Julian.” Cass poked her head out and smiled at him.

“What? What could I possibly do to help? There’s no garden here. That’s the last place I did anything. Digging up dead plants and making sure the ones living didn’t die. Putting new plants in, nurturing them until they provided some of the food the commune used,” Lilith interjected.

While what she’d said wasn’t anything special, Julian caught the way her expression lightened when she talked about working in the garden. The way her shoulders relaxed. The hint of happiness that he hadn’t heard before. “You liked doing that, didn’t you?”

“It kept me busy.” Lilith fobbed off his question with a generic answer, and even though Julian wanted to push, he didn’t. It wasn’t the time, but he would ask her again and he would do what he could to help her find a job that involved plants. Or gardens.

“I’m sure whatever Cass has got in mind for you to do, you’ll do well.” Julian second guessed himself the moment he finished. Had he sounded condescending? He hadn’t meant to be, but as he replayed the words, he inwardly cringed. He had sounded as bad as he’d thought.

“What are you doing here, Julian? I thought you worked for the FBI?” Lilith asked.

“I do, and I’m here because I’ve got a meeting with the team.” Julian maintained his focus on Lilith, wanting her to know that he wasn’t lying. She’d been lied to for most of her life. He would not be another person who did that to her.

“Do you need me?” Cass asked from where she still stood in her office, watching the interaction between him and Lilith.

“Not at the moment, but if things progress, we’ll need you.”

“Right. Well, I’ll leave you both to it.” Cass nodded, and then disappeared back into her office, closing the door.

Now that they were alone—standing in a busy office hallway wasn’t exactly alone, but it felt that way to Julian—he asked herwhat had been on his mind from the moment he spotted her. “How are you really doing, Lilith?”

After everything she’d gone through, she had to be overwhelmed. He didn’t know what she’d been doing the past couple of days while he’d been called into work. She may have gotten a job. Or an apartment—although that was unlikely given her financial situation. Had she gotten in touch with her parents? Again, not a likely scenario. She hadn’t exactly come out and said it, but he suspected she wasn’t close to her parents at all.

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