Page 20 of Throne of Secrets

And he would. Ethan didn’t tolerate men who didn’t understand the wordno. His mother had raised him to respect women, and he’d never once asked a woman out again if she’d declined—especially not after she’d turned him down as clearly as Star had rejected Kyle.

Star blinked, her brow furrowing. Then she leaned forward. “Oh, no, no. That’s not what I want you to read. Keep going.” She waved dismissively at him, but Ethan mentally filed away the information for a future trip to the hardware store.

His gaze dropped to the screen, his attention locking on the transcribed conversation. The words chilled him. The details were troubling—very troubling. There were ways to identify the men. If the hardware store had security cameras, he could cross-reference the timestamp with Star’s receipt to narrow down the suspects. He'd also check nearby street cameras for additional footage.

He looked up. “What time were you at the hardware store?”

Star scrunched her nose. “The receipt for the samples should be in the phone case pocket. It should have a timestamp, right?”

“Yeah, that should work.” He flipped the phone over and slid the crumpled receipt from the case. “Seven fourteen p.m.”

“That sounds right,” Star said, tapping her nails on the table.

Ethan exhaled a sharp breath, struggling to stay on task. “Could you recognize these men if you saw them again?”

“Yeah, maybe. I opened another note last night and described as much as I could remember. I made sure to include the small stuff—like the moon-shaped scar on one guy’s arm and the tattoo on the back of the other guy’s hand.”

“Good thinking,” Ethan said. “Did you consider calling the police?”

Star chewed her bottom lip. “I did consider it, and I almost did. But what was I supposed to tell them? That my dictation app recorded some guystalkingabout killing a person? Is that even illegal? I mean, talking about it isn’t a crime, right? At least, I don’t think it is. Plus, I kinda panicked because—wait, isn’t it illegal to record people without their permission? At least in this state? Oh my God, Ethan!” Her voice pitched higher. “They were talking about killing somebody! In a hardware store! The Mafia is using my hardware store as a meeting spot, and I recorded them. Holy crap, they're gonna put a hit on me, aren’t they?” She dropped her head into her hands. “I just can’t. I just … can’t.”

Ethan reached across the table and placed his hand on her arm. “Star.”

Her head lifted. Her eyes were wide, her breathing shallow.

“First,” Ethan said, his tone even and reassuring, “no one has put a hit out on you. Your imagination is running on overload. I don’t think this is Mafia, but just to make you feel better, we'll lock down your house. Step one to that end is you start locking the doors. Every door. Every time. No exceptions.”

Star nodded rapidly, biting her lip. “Youdon’t think it is the Mafia, but that doesn’t stopmefrom freaking out and thinking it’s them. And yeah, okay. Lock the doors. Got it.”

“Step two: I’ll install a security system for you. Nothing complicated. Just enough to alert us if someone comes up to the house.”

Star's shoulders sagged with relief. “I can pay for that. I still have some money left from Uncle Nico's inheritance for house repairs. I can just?—”

“No.” Ethan shook his head. “I have spare parts I can use to build a solid system. Actually,” he added with a faint smirk, “the parts are state-of-the-art. I could rig up a mesh so tight I’d know if a spider farts in the corner of the attic.”

Star snorted, then clamped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God. Did I just snort?”

“You did.” Ethan grinned despite the situation. “It was adorable.”

Her cheeks flushed, but she waved him off. “Okay, so step three?”

“Step three,” Ethan said, leaning back in his chair, “is me digging into this conversation. I’ll track these guys down.”

She blinked at him. “How? I don’t know who they are.”

Ethan sipped his coffee, eyes locked on hers. “It's kind of what I do.”

Star’s eyes widened. “Wait. Are you, like, a private investigator? A security ninja? Ooh! Are you secretly with the CIA? Oh my God, do you have to kill me now that I know?”

Ethan chuckled. “I'm more of an all-around security guy.”

She exhaled a shaky breath. “Thank goodness. I swear I worried about this all night. I kept thinking, 'Okay, maybe I'm overreacting.' But then I kept picturing those guys. It freaked me out. You don't think I'm in danger, do you?” she asked.

Ethan’s expression softened. “Star, you're in danger every waking moment—from gravity, rogue hardware displays, and your own feet. But I don't think these guys are targeting you.”

Her brows shot up. “Ha! I told you—the Star Curse only hurts other people.”

Ethan rubbed his forehead. “Sure. The Star Curse. Speaking of danger, what are you going to do when I leave? You’re going to lock the doors, right?”

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