Chase & Chloe

by Simone Elise

  "You want us to beat him up?"

  "If you think Marc and you won't do enough damage, call in Archie and Declan." Chase's voice had an edge to it. We all knew that if Jenkins took one look at Chloe, he would be doing what any sane man would do – having his hands all over her and Chloe had made it clear she was out for a good time. If she was drunk, she might go there.

  “Okay. We will head over to the gym now. You know this will backfire on us. He saw my face yesterday."

  "Wear a mask. I don't care how you do it. Just make sure that man isn't near Chloe tonight."

  “Okay, boss. We are on to it." I hung up and turned to Marc. "You catch that?"

  "Yeah, time to get our fists bloody." Marc started the car. "That girl has no idea how much trouble she is."

  I glanced at Chloe as we drove past. She knew nothing about what Chase was willing to do for her; what we all were willing to do to make sure she was safe. Chloe might think she was letting her hair down tonight, but we were going to make sure she wasn't going to do anything stupid.

  Chapter 38

  Chase's Point of View

  Chain-smoking wasn't something I approved of. Always thought the men doing it were too stressed for their own good and they should deal with the problem instead of just smoking cigarette after cigarette but tonight, I was seeing it in a completely different light.

  "You gone through a packet yet?" Dan walked into the kitchen with a stupid smirk on his face. "You know she is still at the dinner, right? She hasn't even gone clubbing."

  "I know."

  "If this is you when you know she isn't doing anything bad, I can't wait to see what you look like come midnight." Dan opened the fridge, pulling out two beers.

  He had a point. I was just smoking and waiting for my phone to go off, to tell me Jenkins had been dealt with but I still hadn't heard anything, and it was after nine.

  I lit up another smoke and noticed my packet getting low. "Oi, give me your pack." I took the beer off Dan and then put my hand out for them.

  "Geez man, you are getting desperate taking cigarettes off your brother." He was joking.

  But I was serious. "Do you want to go to the shop and buy me another packet?"

  He groaned and pulled his packet out of his jeans pocket. "Come midnight, I doubt there will be a cigarette left in the house."

  "It won't come to that. The boys will have Jenkins dealt with and Chloe will be forced to go home."

  "Right, cause this is the only night of freedom she gets, and she is going to give it up. What has you thinking she won't just go to the club anyway? Hook up with a random?"

  "Cause I know Chloe."

  "If you and her are so close, why is she even looking at this Jenkins bloke?"

  It was bothering me I didn't have an answer to that question. Surely she didn't really think I would walk away from her. She couldn't actually think I would let her go that easily? That I would give up on her? That my feelings for her would just stop. Didn't she realize I wouldn't stop until I fixed my mess and had her back?

  "Then again, she did say she was still hung up on someone." Dan slapped me on the shoulder. "Good luck with that. I'm heading to the pub. Wanna come? You can still chain smoke from there and worry."

  A distraction. The reality was, I was going to run out of cigarettes and beers. A pub would provide both.

  "Yeah, I'll come."

  Chloe's Point of View

  "Touch me again and I'll break your hand." I glared at Chad, who was making it a habit to touch my back every time we were introduced to someone; like we were a couple, which we weren't.

  He just grinned at me. "You are the one who got dressed up for me."

  "Again! I'm not dressed up for you!" Frustrated and furious summed up my mood. I wanted to leave. Now. If Chad made one more remark about getting me out of this dress tonight, I swear I will drown him in the punch bowl.

  "You know you are the only girl here showing so much skin." Chad decided he would continue a conversation with me.

  "Can't you go annoy someone else?" I sipped from my glass of wine. Come on Jenkins, what is taking you so long? I pulled my phone out from my clutch. Still nothing. Come on, it was getting to ten. We had made plans he would pick me up at nine, but I still hadn't heard anything from him.

  "Why would I do that when my date is the hottest woman in the room?"

  "Not your date."

  "That's not what your parents said."

  God, he was frustrating. I unlocked my phone and brought up Jenkins’s number, sending him a quick `where the hell are you` message. I needed rescuing. I looked up and my eyes scanned the room, then I looked back. Was that who I thought it was?

  "Where are you going?"

  I ignored Chad and weaved through the crowd until I got to where I had sworn I had seen him, but what would Archie be doing at an event like this? God, it was happening again. I was missing Chase so much I was imagining his brothers.

  I wondered what he was doing. Where was he? Who was he with? I had a Chase-shaped hole in my heart and it was getting bigger as time passed. Was it possible to still be in love with someone even though you would never see them again?

  My phone buzzed in my clutch and I pulled it out. Jenkins.

  Corner of Vickers and Grant - be there in 5.

  That was only a couple of blocks from here. I glanced up, seeing Chad with my parents. Now it was time to do the famous ditch. I finished my wine, putting the glass down, and headed for the exit. I wanted nothing more than to let loose tonight.

  I wasn't planning on doing anything stupid, just drink and sleep somewhere that I was not tied to.

  I stepped out into the hot night air. My first taste of freedom and, after tonight, I knew it would be my last. It wasn’t like Joe was going to be taking my ankle monitor off again anytime soon.

  Chase's Point of View

  The bar was full of lowlifes. It was our type of crowd, and I wasn't standing out with my tattoos or leather vest. This was the type of place I belonged to. Dan and I were playing pool and I was losing badly. I would blame it on the liquor, but the fact was my mind was somewhere else. My thoughts were on a blonde with curves to kill for and a smile that just caused you to grin when you saw it.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket and considering I hadn't heard anything from my brothers about Jenkins, I was expecting it to be them.

  But it wasn't.

  No, it was a notification saying Chloe had sent a message. I read the thread, she was looking for Jenkins. Hopefully he was breathing through a tube by now and not picking up my girl. It didn't help that I couldn't be there and lay claim to her. She was mine, simple, and if I was there, any bloke around wouldn't dare look at her, let alone hit on her.

  I was putting my phone back in my pocket when it buzzed again. This time I was clenching the phone a bit tighter.

  Corner of Vickers and Grant - be there in 5.

  How the hell was he still able to drive? Screw that. What was he doing conscious? No wonder I hadn't heard anything - they still hadn't done anything about it. The boys had some explaining to do. I asked them to do one thing. ONE THING!

  I dialed Oliver's number. He took longer than normal to answer.

  "Hey Chase."

  "Start explaining." I was keeping my voice calm when I felt like a raging bull. I put my hand up to Dan and put the pool cue down, heading outside.

  "We couldn't find him."

  That wasn't acceptable. "Well, I'll give you a hint. He is going to be at the corner of Vickers and Grant Street in five bloody minutes picking up MY GIRL so you better start bloody telling me what you're going to do about it!" I was outside now; one of those idiots raging on the phone instead of dealing with the problem themselves.

  "Chase, we looked everywhere. We couldn't find him. I guess we will keep an eye on them but it isn't like we can do much else now that he is with Chloe."

  I was grinding my teeth. This was the situation I w
anted to avoid and this was why I gave the orders to knock Jenkins the hell out so I wouldn't have to worry about him and Chloe together in a club.

  "Can you get there before Chloe?" I was desperate, clinging to the chance we still had time to do something about it.

  "No. Archie is at the function. I'm guessing he will be following her but we will just make it in time to follow the car. I guess you are just going to have to trust her, Chase."

  I did trust Chloe. If she still thought we were something, anything, then I knew she wouldn't do anything but the problem was, to her I was gone. To her I was a memory. She thought I had left, leaving her with my mess. I was just some biker that rode in and rode out.

  "Get eyes on her in the club. If she gets too drunk, step in. I don't care if we blow our cover. I don't want her making decisions drunk." If I couldn't stop her from moving on, I could at least make sure she didn't do anything stupid while intoxicated, anything she might regret anyway.

  I hung up and walked back into the bar, heading back to Dan. He was still at the pool table.

  "Guessing by the look on your face, we are changing drinks to something stronger than beer?" Dan looked at me.

  I nodded my head. I needed to get drunk. It was the only way I was going to get through tonight. "Get me drunk, brother but promise me you won't let me call her no matter how desperate I get." I had made a promise to myself, that I would let Chloe move on if she wanted to. This was me keeping that promise.

  Dan nodded his head. "Don't worry, you're safe with me. No drunk-dialing will be happening. Now, I'll go get us something stronger while you rack the balls up. I'm on eight by the way, you are still at three." He was enjoying beating me. I normally didn't lose at anything.

  But lately I was losing everything, including the only girl I had ever cared about that wasn't family.

  Chapter 39

  Chloe's Point of View

  Jenkins’s friends were a lot like him. They either went to the gym or were trained by Jenkins. I was drinking with some of the best fighters in town and man, could they drink.

  "Come on, Marshall, keep up." Jenkins whacked me on the back then his hand lingered on my bare back before it ran down the length of my spine. I should be feeling unsettled. I should be feeling nervous being touched by another man but I wasn't. Jenkins and I were friends. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. I trusted him and he was the only second man I ever trusted.

  "You guys are insane," I yelled over the music, throwing back a shot.

  Cameron, one of Jenkins’s friends, was staring at me across the small table. I had met him before at the gym. What was it with men acting weird around me tonight? Even Jenkins looked at me weird when he picked me up as if I was a completely different person and he was seeing me for the first time.

  I also noticed he wasn't letting me out of arm’s reach, insisting on coming to the bar with me. I was more than capable of getting my own drinks. When he wasn't walking me through the thick crowd of people to the bar, he was getting the drinks for us.

  I should be impressed with how much of a gentleman he was being. I should be turning into liquid around a man like him but I wasn't because the only man I wanted wasn't even in the state.

  I reached for another shot. Drowning my sorrows was a better option than facing them.

  "You wanna dance?" Jenkins’s hand was still on my back.

  I knew I had had a lot to drink. I was slightly unsteady. My words were coming out somewhat slurred. I had had that much to drink that my anxiety of being in the crowd was gone. I wasn't nervous about the possible chance of dancing and I didn't care if I would be brushing up against other people.

  Yep. The liquor had taken the edge off. Jenkins’s hand was still on my back, and I reached for another shot and threw it down. I didn't care if I was ending tonight spewing in the brushes. I was having a night away from my life and I was having a night off from my depressive life from being the girl hung up on a guy that had moved on and the last thing on his mind would be her.

  Yep. Night of freedom.

  I gripped Jenkins’s free hand and nodded my head. Jenkins and I were just friends, although him and Oliver were nothing alike. Jenkins still reminded me of him. I guess I felt the same towards Jenkins as I did Oliver. Friends. Someone you could trust and you knew weren't going to hurt you.

  We moved onto the dance floor, and I had had that much to drink I swore I saw Oliver in the corner. I guess I had been thinking of him. Makes sense to think I've seen him when he was on my mind.

  "Have I told you how hot you look tonight?" Jenkins yelled in my ear as the music pounded through us. We had come to a stop in the middle of the dance floor, and his hands were running down my sides.

  I shook my head, smiling at him, gripping his shoulder. I went up on my tippy toes to yell in his ear. "You haven't and thank you."

  "Every guy in here is staring at you."

  "Even you?" I wrapped my arms around his neck, and the music flowed through my body as we moved to it.

  "Especially me." His grip on my hips tightened. "Someone has to keep you safe."

  "From what?" I couldn't think of anything I needed protection from.

  "From you ending up in one of these dude’s beds." He pulled me against his chest. "Friends don't let other friends sleep with men drunk."

  "I'm not that drunk!"

  "I'm holding you up." He looked at me, amused. I ran a hand down his toned arm. I hated to admit it, but he was holding me up. We were so close I could feel his heart beating, his hands tightening on my hips, pulling me even closer. I saw it in his eyes before he did it. I could see the desire, I could see the passion and I could also see he was intoxicated and was about to cross a line I wasn't ready to cross.

  "I have to go to the bathroom." I quickly let go of him and sped-walked off through the crowd, leaving him in the middle of the dance floor.

  I might have been drunk, but I managed to head to the back exit. I didn't take a breath until I took a step outside. The warm air swept around me and the door swung shut as I leaned up against a brick wall.

  I slowly turned around, keeping one hand on the wall. I had avoided the kiss. There was only one man I wanted to kiss, and it wasn't him. What was I thinking that I could just be friends with a guy?

  Then I was filled with thoughts of Chase.

  What was he doing right now? Was he okay? Did he still think about me? Was I ever on his mind? I clenched my eyes shut and heard the door open behind me. I was unsteady on my feet. Just as the ground was coming at me, arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me back up.

  There was something familiar about the feel of those arms, like I had been in them before. My eyes stayed shut as I attempted to regain my balance.

  "Thanks," I muttered and reached out for the wall. My hand ran down it, and the man helped me ease my way until my bum was on the floor of the alley. His arms left me. I opened my eyes and heard the door open again. I glanced over my shoulder. He was gone.

  Most guys would have taken advantage of a situation like this. I was alone in an alley. Yep. Things could have worked out differently.

  I looked up the alley and noticed two men, one standing on each side of the alley like they were guarding something. Whatever. As long as they didn't come this way, I was safe.

  I pulled my phone out of my bra. I knew his number by heart even though I hadn't dialed it. How many times had I typed it in though? So tempted to just press dial. Every time I looked at my phone, my fingers ran over the numbers, and it was my brain forcing me not to dial.

  But right now my brain wasn't telling me not to. Instead, it was coming up with reasons why I should. For the first time ever, my brain was backing up my heart.

  I wanted Chase.

  I needed Chase.

  I ran a hand through my hair. I was desperate to hear his voice.

  So do I do it? Do I call him? Do I just swallow my pride and do it? I unlocked my phone. My fingers dashed across the screen
and his number was there.

  Chase.

  It was after three in the morning. Would I wake him? Would that be okay? Would he answer? He didn't even know my number. He might not answer. Who answers random numbers anyway? Was there even a point?

  Screw it. I didn't care anymore. I was desperate so I pressed dial and put it up to my ear.

  Chase's Point of View

  "What do you mean she's passed out in the alley?" I shouted into the phone.

  "She's not passed out, she’s just taking a breather." Marc answered me. "I helped her sit down, Archie and Declan are guarding the entrance of the alleyway, and I've got the back door covered. Oliver is watching Jenkins. I'm telling you, everything is okay."

  Nothing was okay. Everything was screwed up. I should be there. I should have ripped Jenkins’s hands off her. Chloe looked incredible tonight, and any man with eyes would have seen that. No wonder Jenkins made a move.

  "What's she doing?" I ran a hand through my hair, feeling exhausted and on edge at the same time.

  "I don't know, I'm inside. Look, Chase, she’s drunk and I think on the way to passing out. Give her another twenty and we will be taking her to a hotel room to sleep it off."

  I hung up.

  Chloe was in an alley. By herself. Did she not read the headlines? Did she have no idea she was a waiting rape case?

  Thank Christ the boys were there. What the hell was she thinking?

  I put my phone, cigarettes, and keys on the table and took a steady breath in. She was okay. She might be drunk, but things could be worse. She could have let him kiss her and she could have kissed him back. Hell, they could be doing a lot more than just kissing.

  My phone rang on the table. I reached for it. Maybe Chloe had passed out already? Picking up my phone, I glanced at the caller ID and was about to answer it, then I did a double take. I knew that number. I knew it by heart. I didn't need caller ID to be told it was her.

  She was in an alleyway, on her one night of freedom, with every man wanting her attention, and she was calling me?

  She was thinking about me. Right now.