Page 76 of Ashes and Lilies
“You don’t know?” Brayden seemed to pick up on my doubt, his voice unsure. “He said you looked like you wanted to work and that you had anxiety near others. So, he closed this floor. We came because Gloria ignored the memo.”
I watched Brayden suspiciously. “Who?”
“Shut up, Brayden.” Finn kicked his shin. The guilt in his actions had answered my question.
I couldn’t hide my shock. Finn had manipulated the situation? Was it his fault we were alone? “What is he talking about? What about everyone else? Don’t they need to study?”
Finn refused to look at me, glaring at the floor instead. “Who cares about other people.”
“Finn!” I gasped, appalled.
“Hold on a moment.” Brayden was holding his leg, but his attention was on me. “You don’t know?”
I didn’t like not knowing things. “What don’t I know?”
“She doesn’t know!” Bryce joined in, alarmed. The smugness had vanished from his expression, and he looked almost human. “You said you were friends for over ten years!”
“What don’t I know?” I repeated. This was the worst. Once again, I had no choice but to depend on Bryce as a source of knowledge.
But it was Brayden, not Bryce, who began to answer. “I’ll tell you what you don’t know. Finn—”
“All right, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. It’s time to shut upnow.” Finn stood up, brushing off his pants. “We have places to be.”
“No.” I glared at Finn. “You shut up. I want to know.”
“There’s no time.” Finn shrugged. “Julian is waiting for you. Maybe if you meet with me—talk to me—I’ll tell you.”
Wow, he drove a hard bargain. “Maybe—”
“How do you know Julian is waiting for her?” Bryce mused, watching Finn suspiciously. “Are you monitoring him too?”
“No.” Brayden raised his pointer finger. “He feels the weight of his impending doom.”
“Neither, you idiots,” snapped Finn as he nodded toward the space behind Bryce. “He’s standing right there.”
My gaze shot to the end of the aisle, where Julian was leaning cross-armed against the bookcase. His frame was half-shrouded in shadow, but it was still easy to see that his focus was entirely on Finn.
His expression was almost terrifying.
“Julian!” When had he gotten here? I’d completely lost track of time. “Why are you standing way over there?” After all, we were clearly having some privileged meeting in my cubicle. He should have joined us.
“I’m holding myself back.” Julian pushed from the shelves and strode forward slowly, his hands in his pockets. “It’s easier to do from a distance. I told you to keep him away.”
At first, it seemed like he was talking to Finn, with the way his gaze never wavered from the man. But it was Bryce who responded. “I tried. He’s hard to contain.”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving anyway.” Finn moved aside, probably so he wouldn’t be trapped within the cubical. Julian didn’t say a word, but his eyes followed the blond man as he slumped behind Bryce.
This was so uncomfortable.
I stepped between them, interrupting the inevitable blood-fest. Why it seemed the right thing to do, I wasn’t sure. But I didn’t like the look on Julian’s face.
Something about it caused my breath to hitch in apprehension. At the moment, he was far from the serene man I’d come to know.
He stopped in front of me, yet was still looking at Finn.
This wasn’t good. I had to distract him. I grasped his hands, hoping touch would help. “Hello,” I greeted.
I could see the others out of the corner of my vision, so I didn’t miss Bryce and Brayden’s shocked stares. But once Julian’s eyes met mine, nothing else mattered.
