Page 63 of Hunted Hearts
He’d seen a lot of storms in his life, some worse than others. But the one bearing down on them now? This wasn’t weather. This would be a goddamn reckoning.
In the center of it all, Juliette, the woman he would stop at nothing to keep safe. If he had his way, she’d be encased in bulletproof glass.
And Theo had no intention of showing mercy.
* * * * *
Juliette drew her bow across the strings, coaxing a soft, longing note from her violin. The sound echoed through the library’s high ceilings and off the warm wood-paneled walls, wrapping her like a blanket she hadn’t known she needed.
She’d missed this. Missed the feel of the strings under her fingertips, the whisper of the bow that resonated through her fingers into her own soul. Music had always been her refuge—until everything changed.
Until danger chased her into hiding.
Now she found herself reconnecting with her roots, standing in a pool of sunlight streaming in through the tall windows. She closed her eyes and let herself melt into the music.
Note after note sang from her heart, not her hands. She didn’t play for an audience. She played for herself. For the girl who learned to speak through music. For the woman now caught between who she used to be…and who she was becoming.
Juliette knew she was changing—or maybe this was always who she was meant to be and she was never forced out of her comfort zone so she was able to grow.
She finished on a drawn-out, aching note and let it hang in the silence. Then she lowered the violin and turned—
And nearly dropped it.
Five Malones stood frozen in the hallway, the men broad-shouldered and muscular, and the women tucked between their big bodies, all staring at her like they’d stumbled across a ghost or a miracle.
Theo stepped forward first, a soft smile playing around his hard lips. The tenderness lingering in his eyes sent a shiver of pleasure through Juliette.
“You sounded incredible.”
His brothers Colt and Gray stood behind him, hands in pockets, sheepish expressions on their rugged faces like they’d been caught stealing cookies instead of eavesdropping on her private concert.
But Aspen and Layne beamed at her with twin looks of awe. She’d seen people look at her that way plenty of times, but seeing it from these women meant so much to her.
“We didn’t mean to interrupt,” Theo added, clearly trying not to smile.
Juliette laughed softly, clutching her violin close. “You didn’t. Honestly, I’m glad you were here to enjoy it. I’ve missed this so much.”
“You have amazing talent,” Colt said gruffly. “Wouldn’t mind hearing you again sometime.”
“Name the day,” she said with a bright smile.
And in that moment, standing in jeans and a simple sweater instead of a ballgown, with her hair in a messy twist, she felt something she hadn’t in a long time—pride. Not just in her skill, but in her ability tomovepeople.
To make something beautiful in the middle of the chaos.
Theo crossed to her, brushing a knuckle down her arm. “Come on. We’ve got a plan to talk about. But don’t be surprised if you’re asked for an encore later.”
He gently took her hand, curling his fingers around hers. “Come with me.”
“Where?”
“The war room.”
The words sounded terrifying. It made her think of her great-grandmother playing to orphans during an air raid.
Juliette laced her fingers with his. The warmth of his palm steadied her.
As they moved through the wide hallway toward the part of the ranch house where the security office was located, she stole a glance at her lover’s profile. Tension rode along the angles of his jaw, and his shoulders looked heavier than they had earlier.
