Julian (Trinity Academy 4)

Clinging to each other, I try not to think of the cold treat of death creeping closer.

But there’s a reason I’m still standing.

Focusing on Julian’s face and seeing how much he cares about me only makes me more determined to survive this killer.

I have to fight for Della.

I have to fight for everyone I love.

I’m going to fight for myself.Chapter 29JulianI’ve been working from home for the past three days. Lake came over today with all the work Jamie has missed out on, and I’m relieved to see that it’s helping to distract her.

Lake opens his laptop, then says to Jamie, “This is the paper I did on international law. Read through it while I order us some snacks.”

Getting up, he grins at me. “I’m putting it all on your tab.”

I let out a chuckle. “I’m totally okay with that.”

After Lake has placed an order for an obscene amount of food, we move to the balcony so we won’t bother Jamie.

“With everything going on, we haven’t spent much time together,” I say as I stare out over the city.

“Yeah.” He leans against the banister. “I thought you’d want to know that I’ve spoken with my father. He’s willing to stay on for another four years. He said he’d talk to you once you’re back at the office.”

I’ve totally forgotten about the problem of Mr. Cutler retiring.

Placing my hand on Lake’s shoulder, I say, “Thank you.” My eyes drift back to Jamie. “Thank you for helping her.” In the spur of the moment, I pull him into a hug. “I owe you so much.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’re family,” Lake murmurs.

“I hate to break up your bromance,” Jamie’s voice pulls us apart, “but I need Lake to explain this sentence to me because it feels like I’m reading a foreign language.”

Lake lets out a chuckle as he hurries over to her. “Which one?”Minutes after the food arrives, I receive a call from reception that Detectives Olsen and O’Neal are here.

While waiting for the two men to come up, Jamie begins to chew on her thumbnail. I take hold of her hand and weave our fingers together.

Hayden opens the door for the two Detectives, and when we’re all seated, Detective Olsen says, “We’ve looked into Henry Little’s family history and prior places of employment.” The detective clears his throat. “He comes from a middle-class family. Previous employers all say he was a good worker, and they never had any problems with him.”

“In other words, you found nothing that will be helpful?” Hayden asks.

“Actually, we did find something,” Detective O’Neal takes over. “After searching through his home, we found items that could be mementos he kept from potential previous victims. We’re looking into unsolved cases to see if we can link any to Henry Little.”

“So, he has killed before?” Jamie asks, her face going ghost white.

“We’re still looking into it, Ma’am.” Shifting in his chair, Detective O’Neal says, “We’d just like to go over some of the details you gave in your statement.”

They only spend another ten minutes with Jamie before they leave, promising to let us know if they learn anything new.

The moment Hayden closes the door behind them, he says, “They’re not telling us everything.”

Lake, who’s been quiet the entire time, suddenly asks, “Should I ask Preston to hack into their system for the file.”

“He can do that?” Max asks.

Lake nods, already pulling his phone from his pocket.

Hayden is deep in thought as he murmurs, “The more information we have on Henry Little, the better.”

While Lake is on the phone with Preston, Jamie gives me a tired smile. “I’m going to take a nap.”

“Let’s just hear what Lake says, then I’ll go with you,” I say, not wanting her out of my sight.

Lake hangs up, then grins. “He’ll get right on it. I’m going to head home. I’ll call you as soon as Preston has anything.”

“Thanks for all your help today,” I say as I walk him to the door.

Jamie gives him a hug. “I really appreciate you bringing my assignments over.”

“Just let me know if you need help with any of them. I’m only a call away.”

“Will do.”

I shut the door behind Lake, then taking Jamie’s hand, I pull her toward the bedroom.

“I guess we’ll watch baseball,” I hear Max mutter before I close the door behind us.

“You don’t have to stay with me every second of the day,” Jamie says as soon as we’re alone. “You must have a lot of work to do.”

“I can answer emails from my phone.”

She lets out a sigh then goes to use the ensuite restroom. My eyes never leave the door while she’s in there, and I feel the familiar panic clawing up my spine from her being out of my sight.

The moment she walks back into the room, I let out a deep breath.