Page 85 of The Hate We Breathe
Nolan lowers his head. “Yeah… I think it is.” The admission doesn’t make my anger go away. “I’ve been too busy trying to keep Darrio busy and…” He trails off, but he doesn’t need to finish. The three of us know exactly what he’s been doing.
From being the liaison with Viks and Abel, to acting as Darrio’s bitch boy so he’d lay off Gio before he got kicked out, then the dead girl in the student parking lot. Iknowhe’s had his hands full for a while now, but…
“You’re Nolan fucking Pierce,” I seethe, standing from my seat. “That’s what you do—you fucking handle this shit. You don’t keep secrets.”
“It wasn’t a secret,” he argues. “Viks?—”
My fist is flying towards his face before he can finish. “Viks isn’t our fucking leader!” My heart is a rapid drum against my throat and chest, growing louder and louder.
“Fuck.” Gio mutters a curse and dives between Nolan and me, hands and arms braced out to keep us separated—to keepmefrom taking mybest fucking friendapart with my bare hands. Not that there’s much room for either of those things in this closet of a room.
“That’s enough.” Gio’s voice cuts through the chaos in my head, sharp and annoyed. “It’s obvious someone is after Juliet. That much we can agree on. If we assume that everything that’s happened is connected, then what we need is a plan.”
Harsh breaths drift through the darkened room. “Whoever this is, they don’t want her near us,” Nolan says. “They want herunprotected.”
Fuck. That.
“It could be Darrio,” Gio suggests, lowering his arms now that it doesn’t seem like Nolan is going to lash back at me. I’m still considering shoving his head through one of my monitors, though. “That’s how he might’ve gained access to the video—it wasn’t on the cloud, but I can sleep pretty hard. He could’ve paid one of the kids at Silverwood Public to sneak into the locker room and leave you that note.”
“Maybe.” Nolan’s tone is grim. “Maybe not. Either way, we’re done playing nice.”
“I’ve been done playing nice for a long fucking time,” I growl.
Nolan doesn’t look at me as he moves for the door. “Viks, Abel, and Rylie can chase down the lead on Juliet’s mother. They can handle the embezzlement and the Calloway trail.” The door swings open and light spills inside. When he turns back to face us, there’s the shadow of red on his cheek and chin from my fist. His eyes glint, cold and certain. “We catch whoever’s hunting her. And when we do…”
I bare my teeth and finish his statement. “We kill them.”
31
JULIET
“Juliet?” I blink and refocus on the men in front of me. Nolan is positioned no less than a foot away, face serious as he perches his big body on the coffee table. I’m a little surprised the thing hasn’t collapsed beneath his muscled weight. Behind him, Gio stands with his back to the wall, arms crossed, looking every bit as grave as Nolan. And Lex…
Lex is locked in his office. Now, I know why.
“What?” My voice comes out sounding like a croak and I blink, coughing once to clear the sound away. “What?” I repeat. That’s better.
Nolan’s brow furrows. “Did you hear what I said?”
Did I hear about how someone has been stalking me for potentially years—someone thatisn’tLex—and not only are they likely the reason for all of my fucking problems in the last year, but also Morpheus’ killer? Yup. I heard that. Loud and clear.
“Yeah,” I say. “I did.”
Nolan straightens, his shoulders going back as he tilts his head.
“Did you expect me to scream or cry?” I ask.
“No…” His answer is hesitant. I snort. A year ago, I probablywouldhave broken down. The Juliet from a year ago didn’t knowhow hard life could be. She didn’t know what it was like to be so hated, so hungry.
“Maybe she’s in shock,” Gio comments, pushing off the wall and coming forward as his arms drop to his sides.
Shock? No. I shake my head. “At this point, I don’t think anything could surprise me,” I say.
Gio doesn’t stop until he’s right beside Nolan, his legs wedged between the short sofa I’m sitting on and the table. “You’re not really reacting, though.”
“Because now isn’t the time?” The words come out sounding like a question.
Gio arches a brow at me. “Then… when is the time?”
