Page 110 of The Hundred Loves of Juliet
I didn’t consider how much it’s changed since then, and how it jeopardizes my safety now—and Helene and our baby. My very existence is a threat to them.
Mea culpa. It is always my fault.
“Okay,” Helene says after Sandrine’s finished. “So we’ve got rogue files we need to recover, plus we need to figure out where their sources were so we can nuke those, too. But how are we going to do that? We don’t know what the files are called or where they’re stored. Merrick and Aaron probably have multiple copies backed up on the cloud in different places. And god only knows where Aaron dug up the information.”
“Leave it to me,” Calvin says. “First place to start is any digital info you’ve got on Merrick: personal and work email addresses, phone number, and Social Security number, that kind of stuff.”
“Why?” I ask, reminding them that I’m still here on the phone.
“If I can find a way into Merrick’s emails,” Calvin says, “I’ll be able to trace all activity between him and Aaron in the last few months. How much time do I have?”
“Eight hours until Merrick realizes I’m not on the plane I’m supposed to be on,” Helene says.
Calvin whistles. “Eight hours. That’s…not a lot of time. But okay, okay, cool.”
I can’t tell if his rapid-fire speech is because he’s nervous or because he’s excited. But I am definitely the former. Not only amI worried for Helene and the baby, but I’m terrified for myself as well. If I’m revealed, I will be held captive forever. Without being able to die, I’ll be a guinea pig for all time.
And even if Icouldescape, there would be literally nowhere to hide. The whole world would hunt me.
Sandrine steps in with her calming tone. “If anyone can get this done, it’s Calvin and his team. They’re the hackers the NSA, CIA, MI-6, Mossad, and every other top agency in the world wish they could have, but can’t afford.”
It’s not a guarantee, but I hear Helene exhale, placated for now.
I, however, am still furious that we have to be doing this. I’m angry at myself, but mostly, I’m incensed at Merrick and Aaron. “That’s all fine and good for damage control, but what are we going to do to punish these two for what they did? Lines have been crossed. Helene was blackmailed and kidnapped. And they’re threatening my life, too.” I stomp out of my bathroom and into the sitting area, which looks out onto the infinity pool. I would like to hold Merrick’s and Aaron’s heads under the water.AfterI’ve beaten them both to a bloody pulp.
“I want those two discredited and publicly shamed,” I growl into the phone. “Strip them of their reputations and careers. Take away what matters most to them.”
Because that’s what they’ve tried to do to me.
But it’s Helene who steps in. “Sebastien,” she says softly. “I don’t think you really want that.”
“I do.”
“No, you don’t. You’re angry and you want to protect me and the baby. But you’re not a vindictive person. I know you. You don’t want this.”
“Merrick tried to take our life away from us.”
“I know.”
“He deserves to be robbed of his.”
“I agree. But just because we can, doesn’t mean we have to. We’re better than he is, Sebastien. If Calvin can find and wipe clean everything Merrick and Aaron have, then let’s walk away. Let’s leave them behind and be happy—you, me, and our baby.”
Be happy.As if that were ever truly a possibility with the curse.
I sag onto the couch. How I wish I could be in that conference room with them right now, rather than here in Santorini by myself.
But I also see that perhaps it’s better that I’m here. The deep-seated part of me that is still Romeo has always been too impulsive.
“Letting Merrick and Aaron walk away…Is that what you really want?” I ask, trying to exercise restraint.
“It is,” she says.
I’m quiet as I think about it.
“But if it makes you feel better,” Helene says, “maybe I can get us a guarantee.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
