Page 120 of His Fury

“You’re McCabe’s woman, yeah?” a man said, his smooth, deep voice unfamiliar.

I froze. “I’m sorry, who is this?”

A low chuckle. “Just need to know if he’s still good for Thursday. No slipups this time.”

“This is a business line,” I said tightly. “If you’re trying to book an event?—”

“You’re amusing,” the man interrupted, entertained. “Tell him it’s good to go. Same hands, different gloves.”

The line went dead. I stared at the phone, the dial tone buzzing in my ear like a warning.

What the hell was that?

My heart thudded as I slowly replaced the receiver, my fingers lingering like it might ring again. It didn’t. I was alone in the office. But the message was clear.

I wasn’t separate from Zayn’s world anymore.

People knew who I was. Knew where I worked. Knew I answered the phone.

And I had no idea what the message meant—only that it hadn’t been for me. And for the first time since I started at The Grand, I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want to be anywhere I couldn’t see Zayn.

I checked my phone. He hadn’t read my message from earlier, and I had no other missed calls or messages. I didn’t want to text him again, especially not this.

Between the guy from yesterday and now this, I didn’t want tobehere either. The coffee in my cup was lukewarm, but I gulped it down anyway.

Instead of texting Zayn, I stood. I needed a fresh coffee, and I knew exactly where to get it.

The café was two blocks from Elixir, and in the back corner of the café, nursing a cappuccino as if he hadn’t nearly gotten me killed, was Julian. Exactly where I knew he would be.

He looked up in shock as I approached, then smiled widely as if it hadn’t been days since we’d spoken.

“Isla?” he said like nothing was wrong. “This is a nice surprise. You look tense,” he added, leaning forward and pulling out a chair for me.

“Mmhmm, do I?” I asked as I sat down. “I wonder what could possibly be making it seem that way?”

His smile dimmed, and he let out a big sigh. “Okay, I deserve that, but you came to me. You chose to find me.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Everyone knows where to find you on a Wednesday morning at nine a.m.” The server came to the table, and I ordered myself a black coffee with a dash of hazelnut syrup. Julian asked for another cappuccino.

“What happened?” he asked casually.Toocasually.

I could lie. I could fluff it up and be clever. Or I could just be me.Honest. “A man called my office.”

Julian’s jaw tensed.

“With a message for Zayn.”

He looked out the window, away from me. “They used to call me,” he said, sounding sorrowful. “Guess they’re not interested in me anymore.”

“Why?” I snapped. “Because yougavethem Zayn instead?” I took a breath. “Or because you gave themme.”

His face changed. “I didn’t give them you.”

“They know where I work. Know how to reach me. That’s not a coincidence.”

Julian gave a low laugh as he sat back, looking at me with a mix of pity and contempt. “No, it isn’t. That’s your life. You’rewithhim now,” he said coldly. “That’son you.”

I recoiled like he’d slapped me. Then, in a sudden moment of clarity, I gaped at him. “You’re jealous?” He looked away quickly. “Julian? What happened to you?”

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