Page 9 of Stars and Scars

He walks in a world where the glitz doesn’t count. I get the feeling that he’s all too familiar with the dark underbelly of both of our worlds.

Jax winds up his spiel, and gives me a look as if he expects me to say something back. I hadn’t been paying attention, not really. I stammer out something generic.

“It sounds to me like I should be well protected.”

Jax beams a smile, so I know I said what he wanted to hear. He turns to Grayson, still grinning.

“Well, Grayson, it looks like you’re going to do some real work for a change, instead of playing in the jungle and licking hallucinogenic toads all day long.”

Grayson cocks an eyebrow.

“Actually, the hallucinogenic slugs give a much better buzz.”

Jax snorts, and Grayson shrugs.

“I’m ready to begin the mission…”

Grayson squeezes his eyes shut and contorts his face into a grimace.

“I mean, I’m ready to start the job. I do need more information, however, about the nature of the threat Ms. Gilroy faces.”

“I can play you the video they hacked into my live stream.” I dig in my purse and extract my phone. “And please, call me Charlotte.”

I tap on the screen until I find the saved video, then turn it around so he can see. Grayson takes the phone out of my hand, unprompted. I can feel the power in his grip, a casual strength that’s all the more overpowering for its subtlety. His knuckles are the size of walnuts, and his wrists are thicker than my ankles.

This is a man far stronger than he looks…and he looks damn strong.

Grayson’s eyes narrow as he watches the Order’s video recorded threat. I’ve heard it a dozen times now since it first happened, but it still cuts me like a knife. This time, though, I feel almost like a bullied kid finally turning their oppressor into the principal’s office.

Grayson’s reactions are inscrutable, impossible to read. The only thing I know for sure is he’s concentrating with laser focus. As the video ends, he pushes pause and hands the phone back to me.

“Are you certain this isn’t a prank by one of your followers?”

His deep voice rolls over me like an ocean wave. He almost seems like he’s whispering, but not quite. Somehow, it’s more intense than if he’d yelled at the top of his lungs.

“That’s what the cops asked her too,” Jax interjects. “She has nearly two and a half million followers. I’ve got Harlowe working on it but quite honestly there’s just too many accounts for us to vet.”

Grayson turns his gaze on me. I suppress the urge to shift awkwardly.

“Have you had any negative interactions with people on the internet lately? Trolls or what have you?”

I sigh. “I’m not sure how to answer that. There are always trolls in my feeds, but I do my best to ignore them. I get a lot of threats, too, so when the Order direct messaged me–”

His eyes widen. “They directly messaged you? When?”

“Um, about a week ago. They told me to stop posting or I would suffer the consequences. I didn’t take it seriously at the time.”

“Why not?”

I put one hand on my hip and glare at him.

“Um, because like I said, I get threats all the time. If all I did was respond to them, I wouldn’t have any time to create new content.”

His lips draw into a narrow line. Grayson doesn’t speak, but he doesn’t have to. I can tell he thinks my creating new content is not worth risking my life over.

If he only knew.

“You’ve dealt with cults before, haven’t you Grayson?” Jax sits forward in his chair. “When you were in the CIA?”

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