Heather blinked, her tan brow wrinkling. Comprehension dawned followed by excitement. “Is that for me?”
“Dream on, Heather,” I said and coughed a laugh even though I didn’t have any mirth left. “It’s for Julia. I should’ve asked her the minute I realized she was the one. But I was too afraid she’d think I was crazy. That she would think I wasn’t over you. I was over you before I even asked you to marry me, I just didn’t know it. And Heather…”
I strode past Heather and to the door, then tugged it open.
“What?” she asked, fear finally shining in her eyes. “She’ll never say yes. She doesn’t want you anymore,” Heather called out. “She doesn’t want you.”
“I don’t care about your bullshit anymore.” I strode out the front door, ignoring Heather’s taunts, her desperate attempt to keep me from the woman I loved. She could find her own way out. I only stopped to glance over my shoulder one time to see her standing on the front porch, dejection sagging her shoulders. It pissed me off that she drove me to hurt her further. If she’d just faded away after she fucked Mark, none of this would have ever happened. “By the way, I never loved you.”
I was in the car and down the road within minutes, driving hard and fast in the direction of Julia’s place.
She probably still thought I was there. At her house, dealing with the media. That was where she’d go to find me, if she did want to find me, and she’d have to go home sometime even if she didn’t want to face me yet. Face us.
I’d make this happen, I’d make her see that we were meant to be together and that Heather and the media and all the other bullshit was just that. A rancid, stinking crock of bullshit.
I pulled up outside her house and looked at the front door. The trees in her garden were still, no breeze this afternoon, though there were clouds overhead. I got out of my car and walked up to the front door, tramping over the grass, pulse racing.
I raised my hand to knock, then paused, listening carefully.
Is that a TV?
I peered in through the window, between the gap in the curtains, but the interior of the house was dark. Then I saw it. The shadow of a man. A shadow that didn’t belong. I stepped off the porch, warning bells ringing in my head, and hustled around the corner of the house, skipping around flower beds. She wouldn’t thank me for trampling those.
I rounded the back and stared at the door into the kitchen, tucking the ring box into the back pocket of my jeans, breath hitching my chest.
Julia wouldn’t come in through the back of her own house so something was very wrong here.
I creaked up the back stairs, slowly, carefully. Fearing the worst. I fisted the back door, a gentle bump to open it just enough for admission. I slipped through the opening, working my broad shoulders, scraping the back of my jacket.
As I crept across the tiled floor, I listened for any signs of life. Snatches of a conversation, canned laughter from the living room. Definitely a TV on in the house. Movement, the squeak of a sofa and I froze, tensing.
I waited, but nothing happened.
I slunk out of the kitchen and down the hall, keeping my back flush against the wall in case there was trouble from either side. Stopping short of the entrance to the living room, I peered around the jamb.
And there he was in all his fucking registered sex offender glory.
Carter Jenkins, perched on the edge of Julia’s sofa watching a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond and grinning from ear to ear. He laughed at a joke on TV, a one liner from the grandpa.
I stepped into his line of sight, upper lip twitching. “Hello douche of the century,” I growled. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”
Carter looked up just in time to see the fist whistling toward his mouth.
Chapter 25
Julia
I walked up the path to my door, checking the street for movement. It was later in the afternoon, and the neighborhood was blessedly quiet. Whatever Adam had done to get rid of the press had worked wonders.
I saw Adam’s car parked in my driveway and my heart raced. He’d come back. After everything we’d been through, letting go wasn’t an option right now. I’d basically lost my entire life over this so I couldn’t lose him too. Ours was an epic love. Once in a lifetime. If we could get through this, we’d make it through anything.
I hurried up my front stairs and brought out my keys.
A thump radiated from inside. I froze, heart racing triple time with my front door key jammed in the lock and my hand on the doorknob. Then I turned it and found the door unlocked. In my haste to get away earlier, I must have forgotten to lock the door.
“Motherfucker!”
That was Adam’s voice. I looked around in confusion, then tumbled inside. I left it open and darted down the hall, yelling, “Adam? Are you okay?”
“I’ll kill you,” he yelled and another thump. Someone screamed in rage, something clattered and broke.
People laughed. An entire audience of people laughing.
I sprinted into the living room but pulled up short in the doorway. The TV was on, explaining the too-loud laughter, but the rest of the room was a mess. My distressed wood coffee table was shattered, one leg balanced against the remnants of my sofa.
Papers were strewn across the room, a ripped magazine torn underfoot.
And in the center of the whirlwind of chaos was a tangle of hands and legs, arms and feet. Carter Jenkin’s bright red face was coated in blood, his nose broken. Adam’s eye was blackened, already swelling shut.
They took swipes at each other, screaming and fighting. Swear words and horrible sweaty grunts echoed off the walls.
“Jesus Christ!” I shrieked. “What are you doing? Get off each other!” Would the shit storm of this day never cease?
I hurried forward and tugged on Adam’s arm, desperate to detach him from Carter’s grip. It was enough of a detachment to give the other man an opening. Carter pummeled Adam in the stomach.
Adam doubled over, gripping his stomach, and Carter wormed out from underneath him, swearing under his breath.
“Shithead. I’ll sue you for this,” Carter growled, touching the blood streaming from a cut beneath his eye. “You’re going down, Spencer.”
“Fuck you, asshole,” Adam spat. “Ever heard of breaking and entering? It’s a felony. I’m welcome here and you’re not.”
“Door wasn’t even locked, asshole,” Carter spat back.
“What are you doing in my house?” I asked, glaring daggers at Carter. “You’re not supposed to be here. I hate you.”
That sure as hell shut him up.
“Door doesn’t have to be locked, asshole. That’s right, breaking and entering and felony destruction of property. And assault,” Adam panted, straightening from the blow and looking down his nose at Carter. “If I’m going down, so are you. I’ve got just as much damn money as your fucked up father and a lawyer that could keep you in court for thirty years.” Adam made to step forward again, raising his split knuckles.
“Stop it, just stop,” I said. All I wanted was for this all to be over. They were acting like kids on the playground. “He’s not worth the trouble. Let me call the police. I plan on pressing charges.”
“Seems like you won’t have to,” Carter growled as sirens blared in the background.
Their shrill wailing drilled into my consciousness and I rushed to the window to look out. Several cruisers rounded the corner and howled to a stop outside. Police officers got out, three men and one women in uniform. They looked up at the front window and I stepped out of sight, my stomach burbling with nerves.
Carter made a run for the back door as if he could flee armed officers on foot.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Adam grunted, grabbing the man by the throat mid-stride and ramming him against the wall. He pounded him in the stomach. “You came here to hurt her, didn’t you? Get your revenge because you’ve got a court date set up? Well, how about another date with the man in a black robe, huh?”
&n
bsp; “Fuck you, Spencer. You’re going to rot in jail for this. Forget your cushy NHL career, has-been.”
“No, stop,” I whimpered, but the words were lost in the tirade of blows from Adam. The choked laughter in between them from Carter, even as he groaned with pain.
“I was going to get her to see reason, yeah,” he snarled between laughs. “If she drops the charges, I won’t have a black mark on my fucking record.”
“No,” I whispered, horror closing my throat. Terror wrapping around it like a boa constrictor. “You’ll never get me to drop the charges against you. Never.”
But Carter had no remorse. The cowardice he’d shown before, the outright fear of persecution was suddenly missing. He looked over at me, meeting me gaze for gaze. “I’m sure you’ll eventually see things my way.”
“You mother –” Adam raised his fist again.
“Freeze!” A police officer was framed in the doorway, his weapon drawn and pointing directly at Adam. “Drop him.”
“He’s the one who broke in –”
“Drop him,” the officer repeated.
Adam let go, and Carter slumped to the floor with a grin, his fire suddenly gone. He closed his eyes and groaned, rolling his head from side-to-side. Looked like Heather wasn’t the only one who deserved an Oscar.
I stroked my arms, trying to warm them from the arctic chill that was Carter Jenkins.
“Officer,” I said and the man in uniform looked at me as if he hadn’t noticed me there. Another of his colleagues entered the room, studied the carnage. “The man on the floor was in my home without permission. He broke in and he just threatened me. I’d like to press charges.”
“You look familiar,” the officer said, narrowing his eyes. He squinted at me, then at Carter. “Wait, weren’t you the woman on the billboard who –” He looked at Adam and realization dawned in his features. They hardened a second later.
“Yes, I’m Julia Wales,” I said, raising my head and tossing my hair back, refusing to be ashamed of who I was in spite of all that’d transpired. “This is my home and Carter Jenkins broke in. Please remove him. Adam was only doing this to protect my physical safety.”
The police officers shared a look, a frown actually.
The one in the doorway knelt down and jerked Carter to one side. He clipped cuffs around his wrists.
“Thank you,” I said, sighing with relief. At least that was out of the way, now we could clean up this mess and –
The second officer stepped up to Adam and brought out his cuffs. “Sir, place your hands on the wall and spread your legs.”
“No,” I said. “No, he didn’t do anything wrong. Leave him alone.”
Adam did as he was told and the officer began a swift search, patting him down in search of a weapon.
“Leave him alone! He didn’t do anything wrong,” I said again, voice escalating with fear.
“Quiet, Julia,” Adam hissed, shooting me a warning look.
The police officer paused, jangling the cuffs and looking from me to Adam and then to Carter.
“Mr. Spencer, you’re under arrest.”
Chapter 26
Julia
“How do you know how much it costs to bail him out?” Sue Ann asked, jogging alongside me in her sky high stilettos. She’d just come from the boutique. The picture of class, her blow out whipped around her eyes as she clutched her Michael Kors trench closer to her body.
I was a mess in comparison, my long hair ratty and disheveled. I’d basically thrown on an old stained shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans, and my make-up… not even worth discussing. I’d even forgone mascara since I’d just cry it off anyway.
The old version of Julia Wales hung on by a thread, my tenuous sanity all hinged on the fact that Adam – gorgeous, sexy and falsely accused Adam – had wound up in jail trying to protect me from a total scumbag. How had it come to this? Darkness clung to me like a necromantic curse.
“I used the online court website thing. One of those ‘How To’ articles on the web.”
“A wiki site?” Sue Ann asked, her tone deepening with skepticism.
We stopped on the sidewalk, and I welcomed the frigid bite of the wind against my exposed skin. At least the icy claws of Duluth were letting me know I was still alive. Because inside… I felt dead. Numb.
I gnawed on my lower my lip as anger flushed my cheeks with heat. “What else am I supposed to do, Sue? He’s in jail because of me. It’s been an entire day! I don’t know where to go, or what to do. Why hasn’t his lawyer gotten him out? I’m just, I don’t –”
“Hey, honey, calm the hell down,” Sue Ann said, making soothing gestures with both hands, patting the air and then reaching out to grab me in a one-armed hug. “Just calm down. It’s going to be all right.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, but it popped right back up again. “That’s the thing,” I said, “I don’t know if it will be all right.” I rested my forehead on Sue Ann’s shoulder and allowed weakness to overtake me. Even though I prided myself on my strength and my business acumen, in this case, I was at a loss on how to handle myself. I glanced sideways at the frothy waves of Lake Superior. In the past, they’d always calmed me. Now, I’d like to walk to the shore and throw myself into the undertow.
A few tears escaped my eyelids, but I couldn’t even move to brush them away. I snuggled deeper into Sue’s warmth and support, breathing in my friend’s papaya-scented shampoo.
I backed off slowly, wiping the tears from beneath my eyes with my wrists, sniffling the entire time. “I used to be so in control. I had it going on, you know? Work was perfect. And now this has happened, and I just don’t know if I’ll ever get it back again. My mojo.”
“I guess that’s the risk when you put your heart on the line. Your head too,” Sue Ann observed, scratching my chin with a perfectly manicured fingernail. “Girl, you’d better believe that it will work out all right. The rewards can be great, and you’ve paid your dues. In business and in love. It’s your time, Jules. Have faith.”
“Yeah,” I replied, gathering my strength, tugging at my stained shirt, my credit card burning a hole in my front pocket. Faith. I used to be brimming with it. Now, the feeling had proved elusive.
“And you’re not the only one taking risks. Seems like Adam is putting his shit on the line too, and that’s a pretty big deal. I mean, didn’t he just have his heart broken? And he’s an NHL superstar. But you… you’re special to him. And anyone can see it.”
I couldn’t form the words to agree, scared of what it all meant for my future and for me. The drug allegations, the bad press, everything. It had all fallen to pieces around our ears, just because we’d fallen to pieces with each other. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. True love wasn’t supposed to be this hard with so many barriers. When doubt crept in, it curled up to stay awhile.
“You believe he’s the one for you, right?” Sue asked, grabbing me by the forearm and snapping me out of my semi-depressed reverie. “After everything that’s happened?”
“Yes,” I said, without even thinking about it. “I’ve never even come close to feeling this way before.”
He was the one for me. The way he protected me. Touched me. Adam had set my soul on fire, and I couldn’t look back after what we’d been through. The path forward was all about our emancipation from the trouble we’d gotten ourselves into. There had to be a spot of light guiding our way out. It was almost as if I could see the sliver of hope but couldn’t quite grasp it.
“Then what are you waiting for?” Sue Ann asked and pointed to the white blocky building that housed the St. Louis County Jail. “Do it. Before his swanky lawyer gets here, and he wonders why the woman who loves him didn’t beat the man to the punch.”
“Right,” I said. I hurried forward, my boots scraping the concrete, the skin on my arms prickling at the breeze.
I darted up the front stairs with Sue Ann trailing behind me and burst inside. The interior was cramped. Not enough open space to assuage my
internal interior decorator. An anxious me looked around wide-eyed and hurried to the nearest counter.
A female officer sat behind it and pushed her glasses up her nose with her middle finger. “Something I can help you with, miss?”
“I want to post bail for Adam Spencer,” I said in a garbled whine. It just came tumbling out of my mouth, a worried sewage back-up of words. This was so not me. I didn’t even recognize this mixed up, nervous girl. I was a grown woman with my own business. Somehow, the love of my life had turned me inside out.
I was vulnerable with him but even more vulnerable without him.
The cop sniffed and leaned forward, squinting at the computer screen in front of her. She typed with the index finger on both hands, then paused. “Miss, it appears someone has already posted bail for Mr. Adam Spencer. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“What?” Sue Ann asked.
“Who?” I frowned, my fingers travelling to my pocket, brushing inside to feel the edge of my credit card.
“Me,” a woman’s voice cut through the tension from behind.
Sue Ann and I turned together to face the blonde bitch in heels.
Heather McNeal’s platinum blonde hair fell loose so that it framed her heart-shaped face, those full lips spread in a sarcastic smile. She pouted, her eyes twinkling with pleasure. And victory. “I posted bail for my fiancé, of course. Who else would? You? Someone who’s trying to ruin his career?” Heather pressed her hand to her chest. “I don’t think so. Any woman who really knows Adam would realize how important hockey is to him. And you put that in jeopardy.”
Sue Ann turned toward Heather and pointed a tapered finger. “You need a lesson in manners, Heather,” she said. “Ever since the third grade, I’ve wanted to be the teacher.”
I placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped my best friend from doing something we’d both regret, in a county jail. A molten hot glare from the officer behind us caused my heart to race. I needed to stop Sue Ann before she erupted and flowed like lava over all three of us.
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