Page 62 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family
My jaw clenched and my entire body went cold. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, clearly trying to process everything as she said, “Rachelle was freaked out. She thought it was you at first, but I told her you wouldn’t do that.”
“Nah,” I confirmed. “I wouldn’t.”
“I didn’t think so.”
She was still tense but better now that she was here with me. I studied her for a second, then asked, “The guy who was watching you. What did he look like?”
She bit her lip with her brows pinched as she tried to recall. “Tall. Light brown skin. Short locs. Had this look like he knew exactly who I was but I have never seen him before.”
Before she even finished I knew who the fuck had been stalking them tonight. Trent.
My jaw tightened. She was watching me and reading my reaction. “You know who it is.”
It wasn’t a question. “Yeah. I do.”
Baylyn pulled back more to look at me and tensed.
“Who is he?” Her voice was tight.
My tongue glided over my my bottom row of teeth while I considered my options because I didn’t want to tell her about Trent just yet. The less she knew, the better.
“Someone who should’ve never had eyes on you.”
Her frown deepened. “But he does.”
I hated that I hadn’t caught this shit sooner but there was really no way to link Baylyn to me, or so I thought.
She was trying her best to stay calm but I could see her stressing. “I need to show you something.”
I watched as she pulled up Skroll and switched to her notifications. She swiped for a second before stopping, then turned the screen toward me.
“This isn’t you, right?” she asked, watching my face. “I thought it was at first, but…”
I took the phone from her and my eyes narrowed. The profile was damn near identical to one of the burner accounts I kept tabs on her with. Same aesthetic and same empty bullshit. It mirrored my tactics too closely. That meant Trent had been tracking Baylyn’s movements for a while now and I’d missed it. The thought sent irritation through me, but I kept my expression neutral. She didn’t need to know the extent of it right now. I sent the profile to myself and handed the phone back to her.
“Not me.”
She toyed with the corner of her lip staring at me. “So, who is it?”
I sighed, reaching up to rub the tension out of my jaw. “It’s not someone you need to worry about.”
Her eyes flashed with frustration. “Emir?—”
“I’ll handle it.”
I could tell she was trying to let it go but wasn’t stupid. She knew who I was and the type of people that meant she was by default connected to.
“Is this going to affect my life?”
I gripped her chin gently between my fingers, tilting her face up so she was looking only at me.
“No,” I said firmly. “I won’t let it.”
I could see the hesitation in her eyes. The push and pull of wanting to trust me but not knowing if she fully could. I wasn’t about to let that doubt linger.
“You’re staying here tonight. Go shower, relax. I’ll take care of the rest.”
She sighed. “I know this is a part of your life and I said I was down with you so I’m going to trust that you have this covered.”
