The Sinister Silhouette

ing it to my ear.

“Hello?”

I hear breathing on the other end of the line, and I’m just about to hang up on whoever the fucker is, when a slight voice speaks.

“Luca?” I know right away who it is before she even tells me. “It’s me, Jules.” Another pause, and what fucks with my head is the hitch in her voice. “I need your help.”

My chair creaks as I sit up straight.

“What’s wrong?” I demand.

“I-I can’t tell you over the phone.” Her deep exhale of breath blows over the speaker. “Can you come to Theo’s?”

“Are you okay, Jules?” I growl the question, needing to know the answer before I do anything else.

“Y-yes,” she croaks. She doesn’t fucking sound okay. “But I need to see you. Please. Right now.”

The urgency in her tone has me getting up from the chair. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Thank you,” she breaths on a heavy sigh.

Blood rushes to my head as anger over I don’t know what flows through me. What in the hell is going on? What’s gotten her so frightened?

“I’m getting in my truck now, Jules. Meet me at the front door, okay?”

I receive her acknowledgement, end the call, start my truck, and haul ass the three miles to Theo’s place. When I walk up the front steps, the curtain flutters as Jules looks out the window. A moment later, I hear the locks disengage and she’s pulling the door open. The minute I see her, I know something major is wrong. Her eyes are slightly swollen and red from crying and her cheeks are pale and even more shallow than they were the other day. When she sees me, her body visibly slumps, as if in relief that I’m there.

I don’t stop until I’m inside the house, forcing her to move back or get her feet stepped on by my boots. I shove the door closed behind me with more force than I intended, and she jumps when it slams shut.

“Th-thank y-you,” she stutters. She pulls in a breath and tries again. “Thank you for coming.”

“Tell me what happened,” I order.

Her fingers interlock in front of her, and I notice the white in her knuckles.

“Would you like something to drink?” She looks around nervously before bringing her eyes back to mine. “I can get you something to drink first.”

“Jules,” I bark when she turns to go to the kitchen before waiting on my answer. “Why am I here?”

Her head drops, and her back is still facing me. I wait her out and a second later, she turns back. Her voice shakes as she gestures to the living room. “Can we sit?”

I jerk my head up and follow her to the couch. It’s apparent something is wrong, and it must be really worrying her for her to call me. I should be the last person on her short list of names to ask for help.

She settles down on one end of the couch, and I take the middle cushion. I should have taken the opposite end, but something tells me I need to be close to her. Her hands run up and down her jeans-covered legs and her chest pumps too fast to be normal breathing.

“Jules.”

When I call her name again, her face snaps to me. Fear and uncertainty mingle in her eyes. It breaks something in me, wondering if those emotions are directed toward me. But then, why would she call me if she were so scared of me?

Before I can stop myself, I reach over and put my hand over both of hers before she rubs a hole in her damn pants. She glances down at my big hand, frowning, so I remove it.

“I’m sorry,” she starts. “I didn’t know who else to call, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Just tell me what’s happened. Does it have anything to do with Theo?”

I’ve got my answer when the fear in her eyes triples. White-hot anger rushes through my veins. My jaw fucking aches from clenching my teeth so hard. Before she has a chance to answer, I growl, “What in the fuck has he done?”

Her lips rub together, and I feel her hand beneath mine dig into her thigh. Her eyes skirt away from mine to land on something across the room.