I scrub my hand down my face. “Can’t say I’m surprised. They seem to still be in place, so I’m assuming she got her way then, too.”
“Hey,” Stella complains, slapping me upside the head. “I’m right here, asshole.”
“Calli,” I say, knowing it’ll make Stella happy, “you’re with us.”
Toby also decides that he’s coming with us and climbs into the back of my Aston.
My gaze meets his in the rearview mirror. We’ve not exactly seen eye to eye recently with all this shit with Stella, but the second I look at him, I see the same fierce determination and need to protect her on his face.
With a nod, I focus on what needs to be done and start the engine.
“Fucking hell,” Calli squeaks when I gun the engine and throw her back in the seat as I peel out of the Cirillos’ driveway.
Theo’s Maserati pulls up right behind us when we get to Stella’s and the eight of us walk up to the front door as a unit.
But our arrival doesn’t go unnoticed, because the door opens before we get to it, and Galen stands there, his eyes scanning all of us before landing on his daughter in confusion.
“Stella, it’s so good to see—”
“Fucking hell,” Theo barks as I launch myself at Galen. “Not again.”
“Seb, no,” Stella screams, and it’s only the sound of her voice that stops me from landing more than one punch this time.
Galen’s jaw flexes as he rubs at the place I hit.
He doesn’t come back at me. He can’t, really, seeing as he’s still rocking a sling from the last time.
“What the hell is going on?” the man who’s meant to be fucking protecting her booms as he runs out of the house behind Galen.
“It’s okay,” Stella assures him, and he immediately backs down a little.
“No, it’s really fucking not.”
“Seb,” she hisses. “We need to take this inside.”
Glancing over my shoulder at her driveway, I realise that she’s right.
Anyone could be listening to this, and the last thing we need is for him to know we’re onto him.
My steps falter as I move toward the house, realisation hitting me.
If it weren’t for me, Stella would have known about this threat earlier.
How many other things has he done that she just assumed were me playing games?
Guilt threatens to swallow me whole. She could have died because of me and my stupid need for revenge.
I stop and turn back to her.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“There’s more, isn’t there? The photos are just a part of it.”
“Y-yeah.”
“Fucking hell, Princess,” I sigh, pushing my hair back from my brow.
“Let’s just get my stuff, then we’ll talk.”