Page 134 of Stolen Faith

Especially since Alexis was pregnant.

“Juliette,” Sebastian snapped, waving his hand in front of her. “Pay attention.”

She made a face. “What happened to addressing me as Grand Master and being deferential? You did it a second ago.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what I was doing. That was weird. Do you want to talk to the Fleet Admiral or not?”

Juliette groaned.

Franco stuck his head in through a doorway that led to a small room off the main office. “Is Colum there? Can I talk to him?”

“You can talk to your friend later,” Devon said, a smile in his voice.

“At least your boyfriend has friends,” Sebastian said to Devon.

“My boyfriend becomes friends with everyone we meet.”

Devon and Franco referring to one another as boyfriends had become a running joke. In many ways, it softened the blow for Juliette. Every trinity had to decide two things—how they’d structure their relationship internally, and how they’d present themselves to the outside world. In the past, there’d been no real choice except for two of the three to get married and the third to be a “close friend.” That was changing as society became more accepting, but being openly in a trinity was still risky, and what had just happened proved that. After years of not consciously deciding how they’d present themselves publicly, the kidnapping had forced Juliette, Devon, and Franco’s hand.

Eventually, Devon and Franco would marry, and Juliette would follow in her mother’s footsteps and remain an unmarried, independent woman. And if she had children, Juliette would either raise them as a single mother, never naming the father, or she wouldn’t have children, except to pretend to be a surrogate for Devon and Franco, and her child would legally belong to them.

Juliette’s body went tight with a tangle of emotions she didn’t have time to sort through.

“Phone. Call.” Sebastian enunciated each word. “You’ve been ducking him for weeks.”

“I’m not ducking him. I’m declining his calls, as I’m under no obligation to talk to him.”

“I reminded him of that. He said to tell you that if he ever gets kidnapped, he expects you to call and check on him, and that if you did, he’d take the call.”

Juliette smiled because she could hear the Fleet Admiral’s voice in her head saying all that. “Fine.”

“In the comm room.” Sebastian stepped out of the doorway.

Juliette shrugged off the robe and switched out of the platform shoes that gave her the extra height. She tossed the robe onto her best friend’s head as she passed him.

One of the recent changes to the headquarters was the panic/communication room. It had its own dedicated communication and power lines and a massive door that could be locked from the inside. The headquarters itself was protected by secrecy and coded doors, but her councilors had insisted on a panic room.

It was the size of a large closet with a single chair. There was a long counter along one wall where the communication equipment rested. Franco had suggested a couch, so they could be comfy while hiding out and waiting for rescue, but Devon had pointed out that a couch would take up space, which might limit the number of people who could fit in there. Except for the all-membership parties that happened several times a year, there were rarely more than three or four people in headquarters. But given what had just happened, Juliette didn’t try to talk Devon out of his paranoia.

Juliette sat, then clicked into the secure, encrypted video call.

“Fleet Admiral,” she said in greeting.

Eric Ericsson was sitting in what she recognized as his home office. The big blond man was smiling. Physically, he was intimidating, but he gave off an air of easygoing kindness that Juliette was sure was a front for an incredibly dangerous man.

“Grand Master. How’s damage control?” His accented English was perfect, and not for the first time she wondered how he managed to lead an organization that encompassed dozens of countries, with a membership that probably spoke hundreds of different languages.

She’d ask Franco to ask Colum.

“We haven’t seen a reporter in a month,” she said.

“You know there’s a good chance someone will start looking at my people.”

“Given the separation between the societies, I don’t think you need to worry.” Juliette hid her wince because she was absolutely lying. If the Trinity Masters were exposed, the Masters’ Admiralty would be in real danger.

“You did a good job,” Eric said.

“Thank you, I was so worried about your opinion on how I handled it,” she cooed.

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