The Monster & The Conspiracy (BWWM)

29. The Ghosts of Julian's Past.

C H A P T E R
T W E N T Y -  N I N E

Lin was sitting cross legged on her bed, chin resting on both of her fisted hands. Her phone was on the burgundy duvet facing her. The message: Soapstone Pungwe Bird. The Kingdom of Eswatini. City of Lobamba. Nhlanhla Mansion, was displayed on the screen.

After stopping Kennedy from making a horrible mistake the night before, Lin had decided to go straight home. She couldn't go back to the Manor and face Julian when she was extremely confused about the message on her phone.

It was a chilly Sunday afternoon.  She was missing church, her mother would kill her no doubt, but the message in her phone had been playing havoc with her brain so much that everything else that didn't include Julian had ceased to exist.

How did this unknown sender get her number? Who had sent this to her? Was this a trap? Should she tell Julian? Was she ready to get involved in this again? Was she prepared to risk Charlie's life by dappling in Julian's mess again?

But then again, she wanted to help find Celine Perkins, the missing woman and the only way she could do that was if she rejoined the 'team'. It was obvious that all of these events were connected somehow. If she helped find the artifacts, maybe she would find out where Celine Perkins was.

"This is your last warning Simo. Stop meddling. This has nothing to do with you or that short friend of yours."  She had that threat inscribed in her heart. It still haunted her each waking moment of her life, effectively scaring her from going back to Julian.

Well, whatever she chose, Julian deserved to know about this message. These were his artifacts after all. Lin couldn't believe this, it was as if this whole mess was inescapable. Not because killers were probably after her, but because she wanted to help Julian. Despite all the danger that was involved in this, she still wanted to help Julian. She wanted to be there for him. She wanted to play a part in restoring the artifacts that meant everything to him.  Why was that? Why was she unable to let go of him?

Lin lunged for her sneakers, tugged her braids into a ponytail then grabbed her car keys. When she arrived at the Manor, she jogged up the stairs and knocked on the door. The door was opened by Julian, who welcomed her with a murderous expression.

Julian, barefoot but wearing a grey hoodie and grey sweatpants hastily stepped outside and gently shut the door. Lin couldn't help but admire his messy, tousled hair. She squinted her eyes at him and realised that there was a smudge that resembled chocolate, smeared on his left cheek.

"Have you had your fill?" Julian growled, immediately snapping Lin out of her daze.

Lin's cheeks flamed up before she cleared her throat in a bid to erase the fact that she was gawking at him. "Hi, Julian." She greeted after gathering her wits.

"You should have called." He muttered rather harshly. "Charles is here and I don't want him to see you."

That hurt Lin.

A lot.

She veiled the pain that threatened to show on her face by frowning. "I'm sorry about coming here unannounced."

"As you should be." He grumbled.

Lin bit back the urge to curse him. "I have something that you need to see." She informed him. She opened the message and then handed Julian the phone. Julian's brows creased as his eyes trailed the message a hundred times until he returned his attention to Lin.