by Cynthia Eden
Light spilled onto her face. He could see a bruise already forming on her forehead. “Julianna, it’s okay.” He reached for her right hand.
She screamed. The sound was sharp and desperate and pain-filled.
He jerked his fingers back as if he’d been burned.
“He broke it,” she whispered as she looked down at her hand. “When I tried to fight him, he broke my wrist.”
The sonofabitch was going to suffer.
“Come into the den with me.” Julianna was almost begging now. “We’ll be safe in there. He couldn’t get to me.” She kept repeating that and it was tearing into him.
Car doors slammed outside, and the swirl of police lights flashed through the house. “You’re safe, baby. I promise,” Devlin told her, keeping his voice gentle. “The cops are here, and if that bastard is still anywhere on the property, he will be found.” He planned to call in Chance and Lex and they were going to search every inch of the place.
Two uniformed cops rushed into the open doorway. They had their guns up and they immediately pointed them at Devlin.
“Julianna Smith?” One barked. “You called for help—”
She still had the broken wine glass in her left hand. He noticed that the cops were eyeing it with concern. “A man was in my house,” she said, her voice too flat now, as if all of her emotion had vanished. “He attacked me.”
The cop on the right frowned at Devlin. “And who are you?”
Faith Chestang walked in behind them. “He’s Devlin Shade, her bodyguard.” Her gun was in her hand. “Though I’ve got to wonder…where the hell were you during the attack, Devlin?”
He’d been too far away. He should have stayed at her side. Shit, this was on him. “Her wrist is broken,” he said, voice grim. “And I think she hit her head. She needs an EMT.” No, a hospital was what she needed.
“Julianna…” Faith’s voice actually sounded concerned. He knew she had a rep for being good with victims. “I’m going to need you to drop your weapon so that I can get you some help.”
Julianna blinked, appearing confused, then she glanced at her left hand. Her fingers still gripped the stem of that wine glass. Very slowly, her hand opened and the broken wine glass hit the marble. It shattered, the sound too loud right then.
“That’s one way to do it,” Faith muttered, then she waved behind her. “We need medical attention in here! Now!” She closed in on Julianna. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know.” Julianna shook her head. “I locked myself in the den. He was trying to break in.”
From the looks of that door, her attacker had come close to succeeding.
“But he stopped.” Julianna stared down at her hand. “Maybe he heard Devlin’s car coming and he ran.”
“I got here just a few moments ago,” Devlin told Faith, trying to keep his voice soft and non-threatening, too. Julianna seemed too fragile in that moment. As if she were on the verge of shattering, just like that wine glass. “The bastard could still be close by. There weren’t any cars outside when I arrived. Maybe he’s on foot. Maybe—”
“Get a search going!” Faith called to her team. “Search this house. Search the grounds. Let’s find him, now!”
An EMT rushed through the doorway.
“I’ll need a description,” Faith said, before the EMT could reach Julianna.
Julianna’s gaze rose as she stared at the detective. “I didn’t see him. It was dark. He just…grabbed me.”
Faith’s lips thinned. “Height, weight, anything…you got ideas for those, right? I mean, he grabbed you so…”
“I think…he was around Dev’s height,” Julianna spoke slowly, as if remembering. “And strong, so strong, like Dev.”
The EMT reached for her right wrist.
“It was broken before,” Julianna explained as she shook her head. “He knew that. Told me it was still weak. That if he applied just enough pressure, he bet he could break it again.” Her breath rushed out. “And he did.”
Faith shot a fast glance toward Dev. He nodded, understanding the fear that he’d just seen in the detective’s eyes. This isn’t a random attack. The guy knows Julianna. If he knew about her wrist being broken, shit, then he knows her very well.
The EMT was leading Julianna out of the house.
“I’ll have more questions!” Faith called.
Julianna looked so small as she was taken out. Devlin wanted to find the bastard and destroy him. He reached for his phone.
“Calling in backup?” Faith asked him as she holstered her weapon. “You don’t think the DC cops can handle this?”
“I think you can handle just about anything,” Devlin told her, and he meant those words. He knew Chance had worked closely with Faith back when his buddy ran the security for Hawthorne Industries. Faith had been an All-Star there, no doubt, but she’d left Hawthorne Industries after some kind of blow-up with the big boss, Will Hawthorne. A man who was one serious force to be reckoned with in D.C. and in the whole freaking world. A man with too much time and too much power. “But I still want my team in here because this one is personal.”
Faith looked over her shoulder. Julianna and the EMT had vanished. “Yeah, I was worried it was.” Her gaze came back to him. “After that interrogation, I knew.” She gave a low whistle. “Are you being careful here? I warned you—”
“She’s a victim.” He could see that. Faith had to see it, too. “And she needs us both.” He started to push by her, but Faith caught his hand, stopping him.
“You weren’t with her tonight.”
No, and he should have been.
“Why not?”
Because she walked out on me. Something happened…something terrified her and made her run from me. “We thought her stalker was in custody. You and I both thought it. It seemed safe enough for her to be on her own.”
Her hand slipped away from him. “Maybe Heather Aslo wasn’t working alone.”
He’d already thought the same thing. “She’s not safe. Not until we find the bastard out there who did this.”
“Well, then there’s something you should know…” Faith leaned in closer and her voice dropped. “Heather talked to two men earlier tonight. Her lawyer, Harry Gibbs, and that reporter, John Reynolds. Now, the lawyer doesn’t fit the description of the attacker. The guy’s size is all wrong, but Reynolds…”
Devlin remembered the green-eyed, blond reporter. “He’s my height.”
“And pretty close to your build.” She gave him a little salute. “I’ll be questioning him, you can count on it, but I thought you might like that information.”
He sure did. “I owe you.”
“The VJS tab just keeps growing…” She headed toward the den and the other cops who were in the area.
“Faith!”
She turned back toward him.
“What about Heather Aslo’s boyfriend? Hugh Bounty? Did your team find him?”
She shook her head. “He wasn’t home and a canvas of his neighborhood turned up nothing. There’s an APB out on the guy now.”
“Then maybe he wasn’t home because he was here.” The guy was sure high on Devlin’s suspect list. He was tied right next to the reporter.
“I already thought of that. This isn’t my first case.” Her eyes narrowed. “We’ll find him. Don’t worry, Hugh will be in my interrogation room by dawn.”
Provided that the guy hadn’t already gone to ground. An ex-military guy, Hugh might not have any trouble disappearing.
Devlin headed outside and he didn’t draw in another deep breath until he saw Julianna. She was in the back of an ambulance, and two EMTs were working on her. With his eyes locked on Julianna, Devlin called Chance and put the phone to his ear.
Chance answered on the fourth ring. “Too late,” Chance muttered, his voice groggy, “or maybe it’s too damn early for this phone call.”
A feminine voice murmured in the background. Devlin knew that would be Gwen Hawthorne. Chance’s one-time client was now the guy�
�s obsession. No, it’s not obsession, it’s love. Devlin knew just how Chance felt for Gwen—despite the desperate battles the guy had waged to control himself around her.
“I need your help,” Devlin said.
“You’ve got it.” An instant response, and just like that, the grogginess was gone from Chance’s voice. “What’s the problem? What can I do?”
He was still watching Julianna. “You know Julianna Smith is our new client…”
“Yeah, Lex told me all about her.” A tense note had entered Chance’s voice. “What’s she done?”
“Nothing.” His hold tightened on the phone. “She’s not like…not like the media says. She was attacked tonight. Some bastard was waiting in her house.”
Silence, then… “I thought her stalker was locked up. That’s what Lex said. That it was the step-daughter.”
Because that was what Devlin had told the guy. “A man came after her this time. I’m out at the Smith mansion and the cops are crawling all over the place.” He exhaled on a rough sigh. “But I don’t think they’re going to find anything. And I’m not going to let that guy just keep running around, attacking her.”
“Didn’t I hear that Heather has a boyfriend? Maybe it’s him.”
It wasn’t surprising that their suspicions were in sync. “Faith has an APB out for the guy.” What Devlin wouldn’t give to go one-on-one with that fellow in an interrogation… “Can you come out to the mansion and supervise the search of this area? Faith is here, and I know she’ll share more with you than she will with me.”
“I’ll try my charm,” Chance allowed. “But Faith only shares what she wants to share.”
And she’d shared the reporter’s name with Devlin. I’ll be chatting with that guy, very fucking soon. “I need VJS to help me track down a reporter named John Reynolds. I want both him and the boyfriend—Hugh Bounty—found. Those bastards are both connected to Heather, and that woman has already proven just how badly she wants Julianna dead.”
One of the EMTs jumped out of the ambulance. The EMT grabbed one of the back doors and slammed it. “Shit, I’ve got to go. They aren’t taking Julianna away from me.”
“What?” Chance’s voice rose. “Who’s taking her?”
He was running toward the ambulance. “Bastard broke her wrist and I think he gave her a concussion. He is damn well going to pay.” Devlin hung up the phone and grabbed the second ambulance door before it could shut.
“Hey, buddy,” the male EMT said, “you need to back away—”
Devlin ignored him and opened the door. Julianna was lying on a stretcher inside, but her head turned and she met his gaze. “I want to come with you,” he said. Devlin tried to sound non-threatening, a hard task considering the rage that was pumping through him. He needed to stay close to her, until her attacker was caught. Her safety was his first priority.
No, she was his only priority.
The EMT grabbed his shoulder. “You need to step back—”
“Please,” Julianna pleased. “I need Devlin with me.”
The EMT let him go. “You family?”
“Close enough,” he muttered, not even caring about the lie as he bounded into the ambulance. He saw that they’d already put a brace around her wrist. His fingers brushed against hers as he settled in near her.
Julianna gave him a weary smile. “I think I need to hire you again.” The ambulance cranked and the siren blared. Her smile slipped away. “I’m not safe yet.”
No, she wasn’t. He brushed back her hair, being extra careful not to touch the growing bruise on her forehead.
“I have to do what’s right,” Julianna whispered. “I’m sorry.”
Why was she apologizing to him?
“I did it,” she said.
He frowned and leaned closer to her. “Baby, I think you’re confused.” He glanced over at the female EMT who was monitoring Julianna. “Is she okay?”
The EMT hesitated. “She took a pretty hard blow to the head. She’s got a concussion, and that can manifest in confusion and—”
“I did it,” Julianna said again, her voice stronger. “I’m sorry.”
He didn’t understand. “Julianna, just relax. Whatever you did, we can fix.”
A tear leaked from her eye. “We can’t fix this.”
He brushed away her tears. “For you, I can fix anything.”
Chapter Twelve
She had a new cast. A lovely blue one. And she had a concussion. The doctors were telling Julianna that she needed to stay in the hospital for observation, but she had someplace else that she rather desperately needed to be.
“Come on, Julianna,” Devlin urged her. “Just one day.”
He’d been with her during all of the poking and prodding. He’d been swearing furiously when her wrist was reset. His rage had filled the room, but during that very, very long swearing fit, he’d been stroking her hair—ever so tenderly—the whole time.
“I have someplace I need to be,” she said as her fingers stretched a bit. She’d forgotten what the cast felt like. Cold at first, then heavier, seeming to lock down around her wrist so tightly as the material hardened. She lifted up the cast, staring at it. Whoever that man had been, he’d wanted to hurt her. Kill her.
“Give us a minute alone, doc,” Devlin said.
She lowered her cast, frowning at him. “A minute isn’t going to change my mind.”
But the doctor was already fleeing, probably intimidated by the hard glint in Devlin’s eyes. Then again, the doctor had been glancing rather nervously at Devlin since the swearing began.
The door shut behind the doctor.
She braced herself for whatever stay-at-the-hospital lecture Devlin had planned.
He closed in on her, stalking slowly. Her chin tipped up.
He kissed her. Softly. Tenderly. Then he—very gently—curled his fingers under her chin. “You pretty much scared the shit out of me.”
Julianna blinked.
“When I got to that house and saw the door open like that…when I saw that fucking smashed door to the den...” His jaw hardened. “I was yelling your name, but you weren’t answering me.”
Because when she’d first heard that frenzied yell, she’d been terrified that it was her attacker. It had taken more than a few precious moments for the truth to sink in. Not the attacker. It’s Devlin.
“There aren’t many things that scare me. But tonight…you did it. Or rather, the idea of something happening to you, of someone hurting you…that got to me.”
She didn’t know what to say. Or maybe she was the one afraid then. Afraid to say the wrong thing to him.
“You’re getting to me,” Devlin rasped. “Making me feel things I shouldn’t.”
“Don’t.” Julianna pushed against his chest. He stepped back and his hand fell away from her chin. “Don’t feel anything for me.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “Why the hell not?”
Because I’m a killer. I’m about go to jail. “Maybe the stories were right about me. You’re a good man, Devlin. You need to find someone good, too.” She jumped off the exam table. Maybe her legs trembled a bit. Maybe Devlin had to lunge forward and grab her before she did a header into the floor.
No maybe about that.
“You are good, Julianna.”
She should tell him. But just saying the truth, right there to him…she was afraid it would break her own heart. Because once he knew, Devlin wouldn’t look at her the same way. Any growing feelings he had for her would turn into disgust.
Thirteen times. Jeremy was stabbed thirteen times.
“I need to get dressed,” Julianna said, fighting to keep her emotions under control. “Then I’m leaving the hospital. I don’t care what the doctors say.”
“Why.” Not a question, but a demand.
“Because I have to talk with Detective Chestang.”
His hold tightened on her. “What are you doing?”
She shook her head. “You don’t want to know. Not really.
” Then, even softer, “Don’t make me say it. Not to you.” Don’t make me do the one thing that will break us both. Did he think she didn’t feel that connection between them? She did. It was far too strong to ignore. Not just lust, but something far deeper.
She’d sworn never to let another man get close to her. But she’d broken that vow. Devlin made her feel and dream and need.
He made her need things she couldn’t have.
“You can say anything to me. You think I’ll judge you? You think I’ll turn on you?” Devlin demanded.
“I don’t want to find out.” And that was the stark truth. She didn’t want to see what he’d do in that situation. He was a good man, and she was damned if she’d be the one who made him cross that thin line that might lead him down a different path.
She grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom. As quickly as she could, Julianna dressed in that little room. Her head was throbbing, nausea churned in her stomach, and the cast was bulky as hell, but she pushed through all that. Julianna didn’t glance toward the mirror, not even once. She just didn’t want to look at herself.
Moments later, she was done. She opened the door and found Devlin standing on the other side of that hospital room. Her shoulders tensed as she braced herself for another argument from him, but Devlin shook his head.
“You want to go and see Faith? Then I’ll take you.”
“Thank you.” She crossed to his side.
His blue eyes seemed even brighter. “I don’t like this.” Then he leaned close to her. His fingers feathered over her cheek. “I want to take you away from here. Get you as fucking far from this mess as I can.”
Did he think she hadn’t already had the same thought? Run. Hide. No one will find me…not if I run far enough and fast enough.
But there were some sins that you couldn’t hide from. And some that you could never outrun. “It would have been nice,” Julianna told him quietly, “if I’d met you before Jeremy.” Before she’d learned to fear a man’s anger so much. Before she’d learned to fear the darkness in herself.