"I don't know if I can help you, Jules." Jeremy said as I narrowed my eyes. "And why is that?" I asked and crossed my eyes. "Betraying Colby stresses me out." He said as I nodded.
"Understandable but I think betraying me might be scarier." I said then stood up.
"It doesn't matter if you help me or not, I'm going to figure it out." I said as he sighed.
"Julia." He said as I turned to leave the room. "Give me Max's phone number." I said and turned to look at him.
"Are you serious?" He asked as I nodded. "Give it to me." I said and pit my hand on my gun.
"Jesus, you are Quill's daughter." He said then grabbed his phone. "Don't talk about him." I mumbled, feeling my heart ache.
It still hurt to know my father betrayed me and that I killed him. Sure, he was dead to me for a while there but there were times that I still missed him.
"Just give me the number. I don't need to involve you more than that." I said quietly.
"Here. You can't do this alone though. I'll help you but if Colby finds out you're taking the heat." He said as I nodded.
"I can live with that." I said then went over to him. "I'll call him. I don't want him snitching to Colby before we can even speak to him." Jeremy explained as I nodded.
"Why can't we just talk over the phone?" I asked as Jeremy laughed.
"Max is a rat. We don't know who he's with at any given moment. Talking in person with him is the best option no matter what." He said as I nodded.
"Makes sense." I said as he dialed the number. I watched him intently as I sat across from him, feeling the baby kick and move inside of me.
I loved feeling her and knowing she was there but I was so scared I was going to lose her during this.
It was hard enough trying to figure all of this out but knowing there was a whole other life I was in charge of was stressing me out.
"Max?" Jeremy asked then put Max on speaker phone. "Jeremy. How can I assist you?" Max asked as I rolled my eyes.
This guy was such a clown and I really couldn't stand him.
"I need to meet with you." Jeremy said as I nodded. "For???" Max asked as Jeremy sighed. "Information. Can you come up here any time soon?" He asked with a hopeful tone.
"Funny enough, I'm already up here. Doing some business but can meet later if you'd like." Max said as I nodded.
"Yeah, send me an address and a time." Jeremy said and ran his hand through his hair.
"Great." Max said then hung up. "Well, that's lucky." Jeremy said as I nodded slowly. "Or suspicious." I said then stood up.
"Where are you going?" He asked as I turned to leave. "I gotta go find a place to stay. I'll be back in a little while." I said as he nodded.
"I'll text you." He said as I shook my head. "Don't have my phone. I'll be back." I said then left the room.
I found myself having a false confidence that everything would work out and be okay. The truth was I was terrified of this entire situation but I couldn't let anyone know that.
I had to be confident and sure of myself.
I carried myself with a hard expression as I made my way to the door that would lead us outside. Luckily I didn't see anyone while I was down here because I didn't feel like explaining myself right now.
When I got back to the car I started driving around until I got to a hotel I wanted to stay at.
It was kind of terrifying to stay in the city by myself knowing that people were most definitely out to kill me but I couldn't worry about that.
I did this to myself.
"Hi, ma'am. How can I help you?" The lady at the front desk asked as I walked up to her. "I need a room for the next couple days." I said as she nodded.
"Any preferences on type of room?" She asked and starting typing stuff into her computer.
"No, I just have one request." I said as she tilted her head. "Yes?" She asked as I sighed. "I'm uh..running away from an abusive ex. Can I give you an alias to put the room under?" I asked as she nodded.
"Of course. Customer confidentiality is important to us. Do you have an ID and matching credit card with your actual information?" She asked as I nodded. "Great. What's the alias?" She asked as I pursed my lips.
"Sabrina Monroe." I said after thinking of two random names to use. "Perfect. I have a room with one bed for the next three days. It's on the third floor with a view. Is that okay?" She asked as I nodded.
"That's good, thank you." I said then grabbed my ID and credit card so I could get fully checked in.
"And you're all set. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you." The front desk lady said as I nodded.
"Thank you." I said then grabbed my key card and my bag.
When I got up to my room I felt a sense of relief knowing this would be my safe space. Of course there was always a chance someone was watching me but I at least felt safe here.
I made sure the door was locked and dead bolted and that the curtains were closed so nobody could look in here then I went into the bathroom so I could shower.
It was a long day of traveling and pretending to be a badass so I just needed a second to myself.
Once I was in the bathroom I locked the door then took off my shirt, then the vest I was wearing.
I frowned and looked at my pregnant belly, running my hand on it as I admired it in the mirror.
"I love you." I whispered to my unborn child who I was hoping would live long enough for me to meet.
I shook my head, trying to ignore those negative thoughts. I was going to protect her with my entire heart and soul.
It seemed easier said than done but I owed it to Colby to keep myself and our daughter safe throughout all of this.
Showering felt so nice after the long day of travel, but I knew I couldn't stay in there for too long. I needed to prepare myself for the shitstorm that was talking to Max.
I didn't know much about the guy but I knew he was hard to deal with and I knew he would love to relay information about me to everyone.
I had to think of a way to get information without him giving information about me.
After my shower I ordered some food to the room then enjoyed some dinner. I knew I needed to get ready to leave again but there was dread sitting in my chest.
I wanted to call Colby.
I missed him even though it's been less than a full day. I knew he was going to be mad at me and I knew there was a huge chance I would never see him again.
I couldn't think about that too much.
After eating I got myself ready then went to go meet with Jeremy. Luckily by the time I got there, he was still here.
"There you are. We have to go." Jeremy said as I walked into his office. "Chill out. He'll wait for us." I said as he rolled his eyes.
"Your confidence is a little too much right now, reel it in." He said as I chuckled. "Sorry." I said then let him lead the way to the car.
I had to admit I was really nervous but I was ready to get some new information.
We drove for a little while before we got to the park my dad used to bring me to. "Ready for this?" Jeremy asked as I nodded.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I said then got out of the car. We walked for a while before the familiar little rat showed up in our line of vision.
"Well well...I wasn't expecting you here." Max said to me as I clenched my jaw. "As far as you're concerned I'm not here." I said and raised my brows.
"Does Colby know?" He asked as I rolled my eyes. "Nobody is going to know." I said as he chuckled.
"So what information could you possibly be looking for, beautiful?" Max asked as bile climbed up my throat.
"Where were Snake and Gold last seen?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level. "Ah. So you've caught on that you're a dead girl walking." He hummed as I rolled my eyes.
"Their base is in a warehouse downtown. This is the address. I wouldn't be dumb if I were you. These are the big shots." Max said as he wrote the address down.
"I'm not worried." I said then took the paper from him. "Alright, but I think you should let your boyfriend handle it. He's more experienced." He said as I shook my head.
"I can handle it. Is there any other information?" I asked and crossed my arms.
"She's feisty. How've you been putting up with her?" Max asked Jeremy as I rolled my eyes.
"She's fine. Do you have any more information for us or are you just gonna keep wasting time?" Jeremy asked with annoyance.
"There's not much to say. They've been planning something but I haven't heard anything." Max said as I nodded. "Awesome. So we're done here." I said as he chuckled.
"Where's my payment?" Max asked and cocked his head to the side. "Payment?" I asked and raised my brows.
"Surely you didn't think that this was all going to be free information, right? Plus you want me to keep quiet which is an extra want." Max said as I rolled my eyes.
"How much do you want?" I asked with a sigh. "Not so much a what I want...more so a who I want." He said then stepped closer to me bringing his hand to my ass and squeezing it.
I gasped and stepped away from him, feeling my heart racing. "Woah, don't touch her, Max." Jeremy said as my eyes instantly watered.
"Come on. You need to pay me in what I want for the information you begged for." He said, looking at me the same way the men at the brothel used to.
I was an object to him.
"I'll give you money but I'm not gonna fuck you." I said, trying to keep the strong persona up. "No can do." Max said as I clenched my jaw. "Fine." I said then looked at Jeremy.
"I'll be right back." I said as he shook his head. "You don't have to do this." He said as I nodded. "I know." I said then walked away with Max anyways.
Once Max and I were alone, he leaned into kiss me but instead of kissing him I punched him in the jaw as hard as I could.
"What the hell?!" Max asked angrily as I chuckled and pulled my gun out, hitting him in the head with the butt of it so hard that he passed out.
"Jeremy!" I called out, causing him to run over. "Aw, what the hell Jules?" He asked as I looked at him.
"You got any rope in your trunk?" I asked as he chuckled. "Juliana White I don't know why I ever underestimated you." He said as I shrugged.
The truth was it was probably a bad idea to go with this route considering he was probably going to tell everyone he saw me but I was hoping this would hold him off until I could kill Snake and Gold.
Maybe I was in over my head though.