Page 43 of Keeping Lilith

“Why doesn’t the FBI use them then? How do they make sure that nothing happens to their agents?”

“The agency has their own monitoring system in place. It’s not as sophisticated as what Cass has created, and she keeps that technology as far away from the government as possible. I doubt the FBI knows that the guys have these trackers in their possession.”

“How do you know about it then?” she countered, skepticism loud and clear in her tone.

“I would say that Alliez is becoming more of my family than the FBI and the taskforce I work on is.”

Sometimes Julian wished he worked for Alliez and not the FBI, but to do what he wanted, the FBI was the way he could eradicate people like Ralph and Staunton, and the countless others they’ve shut down and crippled their dubious businesses.

Silence stretched between them, and Julian did nothing to break it. Lilith needed time to digest all that he’d told her. All that he’d asked of her. It had to be her decision. But he hoped she would agree to wear the necklace. Hoped that she would believe his request wasn’t sinister, but coming from a place of caring and need to keep her safe.

“Can I have a look at it, please?”

Julian dropped the necklace into her outstretched hand.

Was this a positive move? Her asking to look at it? Or was she going to still discard his request? What would he do if she wouldn’t wear it? Worry, most likely. Be stressed the whole time he was away. Not to mention half of his focus would be on the woman standing in front of him, wondering what she was doing. Where she was. If she was safe. His focus wouldn’t be on the job. Wouldn’t be on what would be required of him. This was the firsttime he was going to be part of the boots on the ground in an operation that wasn’t on US soil.

“Is there really a tracking device in the charm?” Lilith tapped the heart.

“Yes.”

“Where? I can’t see any indication that there’s something in there, apart from it being thicker than what you’d think a charm should be.”

Julian smiled. “Trust me, it’s in there. Cass’s technology is amazing.”

“And you’ll be able to know exactly where I am if I wear this?”

“Yes. Well, Cass will. She’s the one who monitors the trackers.”

Lilith held the necklace up a little higher, as if the light would somehow show her where the tracking device was. There was no way she’d find it. There was a reason it was well hidden. The bad guys would never know they were being monitored too, if they happened to get whoever had a tracker in their possession. “Do the husbands ask Cass to tell them where their wives are?”

“Nope, besides, they all have cell phones. They can also track them that way too. The jewelry tracker is an extra layer of security should they get kidnapped and their phone taken off them.”

“So even if I didn’t wear this, you’d have a way to monitor me through my phone?”

“Yes, but, Lil, I wouldn’t be obsessively checking up on you. In fact, in all the time you’ve been living here and you’ve had a phone, I haven’t once checked where you are. And also, you can check where I am whenever you want via my phone.” He pointed to the necklace. "Wearing the tracker won’t change the way I treat you. It’s an extra layer of security, should the unthinkable happen.”

Was he making any headway with her concerns? Only time would tell if he had reassured her his reasons for wanting her to wear this necklace were genuine.

Pleasure settled low in his belly when she unclasped the chain and put it around her neck. “Here, let me,” he said as he stepped forward and took it from her. It took him a couple of tries, but eventually he got it secured. “Thank you for doing this.”

Lilith nodded. “I trust you, Julian.”

They were the best words anyone could’ve said to him. “Thank you, and I promise you, your faith in me is not misplaced.”

“I know.”

Julian pulled her against his chest, holding her close, breathing in the apple scent of her shampoo. This was where she belonged, in his arms. He just had to convince her of that. Make her believe he was her future. And if it took him months, then he was okay with that. As long as they could be together in the end.

Chapter Twenty-One

It had beenthe longest three days, and Lilith was going out of her mind with boredom. The job hunting hadn’t been successful. Well, after finding that one particular ad, she’d been reluctant to go onto that website again.

As promised, Julian had given the link to his colleagues at the FBI. With him being away, she didn’t know what was happening with it. If they were even looking into it or had just written it off as not worth their time.

Maybe she should call Cass about it. Julian hadn’t said that he was going to ask her to look over it, but it couldn’t hurt. There was nothing stopping her from getting a ride to Alliez’s office. She still wasn’t confident driving around LA. There was too much traffic for her. Then again, like anything, if she did it more, then it wouldn’t be so daunting. Not today, though. Perhaps when Julian was back. The idea of contacting Cass, though, wasn’t letting up, so she picked up her cell phone and pulled up Cass’s contact.

“Hey, Lilith, you okay? Is something wrong?”