Answers For Julie (Book Nine In the Bodyguards of L.A. County Series)

by Cate Beauman

  She nodded, touched by his sweet words. “Thank you for being here. For holding my hand.” She kissed him.

  “Of course. Get in and we’ll get you warmed up.” He closed her door after she took her seat and hurried around to his side, started the car, and followed the masses back to the Porter mansion.

  Julie stared at her steepled fingers as sunshine poured through the windshield, hurting her tear-strained eyes.

  “I think we should go.”

  “Hmm?” She looked at Chase.

  “I think it’s time to go back to Washington. Time for you to get back to your life.”

  Her heart sank impossibly more. “You have to go back to Los Angeles.”

  “No.” He took her hand. “I’ll come with you for a few days—make sure you’re settled in and get you over the hump with the press.”

  A few days. A week, maybe a little more, and Chase would go back to his life and leave her to her own. “I guess I haven’t given Washington a lot of thought.”

  “There’s nothing left here, nothing more you can do in Newton.”

  She sighed. “I imagine you’re right.”

  “It’ll be good for you to get back to your classes, Bryce and Mindy, skating lessons.”

  And get away from Noah, she knew he wanted to add. “All of that seems so foreign, so…far away.”

  “It won’t after you get into your routine.”

  She nodded, looking out the window toward the mansion gates as the weighty sense of depression came barreling back with a vengeance. “Okay.”

  “How about tomorrow? We could leave mid-morning or early afternoon.”

  “Sure.”

  “I won’t leave until I know you’re good.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

  She nodded again and gave him a small smile, knowing that’s what he wanted.

  ~~~~

  Chase stood in the middle of the living room, half-listening to Brandon, the President of BosGuard Security Firm, go on about the benefits of working for his company. He didn’t want to be recruited or talk shop. He wanted to take Julie upstairs, pack her bags, and make the sadness vanish from her eyes, even if it was only for a little while.

  Luckily Neve’s memorial reception was winding down. Over the last half hour, the majority of her mourners had offered their condolences and wandered out the grand entrance. He was biding his time—another ten minutes, twenty at the most, then he and Julie were taking their leave. Tomorrow they were heading home to Washington, but maybe tonight they needed to get out of here. For the better part of three days, she’d been hiding behind the walls of the Porter Mansion. Perhaps a meal out or a movie on the big screen would do her some good. Avoiding the media was going to be a bit of a problem, but finding escape from prying eyes wasn’t impossible.

  She sipped her water and slid him a glance, sending him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. He tossed her a wink, wondering how long it had been since she flashed him one of her huge grins that crinkled her nose and transformed her face from beautiful to stunning. Tonight they were definitely going out, and they weren’t coming back until he made her laugh at least once.

  He watched her reach for a mini quiche on the waiter’s half-empty tray, pleased to see her eating something. He’d forced a piece of rye toast and a few sips of sweet tea on her this morning before she got up to get ready for the day, but she’d had little else.

  “Excuse me,” she said to the waiter. “Does this contain nuts?”

  “No, ma’am. All of the food being served today is nut-free.”

  Julie nodded. “Thank you.” And bit in.

  “…if you wanted to stop by the office,” Brandon continued.

  He tuned back into the man who didn’t seem to understand subtle hints. “Actually, I’m leaving tomorrow.”

  “Oh.” He pulled a card from his wallet. “If you ever think about moving east, I hope you’ll consider BosGuard.”

  He took the paper Brandon gave him, not intending to keep it long. “Thanks. I appreciate—”

  “Chase.” Julie gripped his arm.

  His gaze whipped to hers, noting the panic in her tone. “What’s wrong?”

  She cleared her throat and coughed. “I—I need my pen.”

  He frowned. “Your pen?”

  She swallowed, clutching at her throat. “I need my EpiPen.”

  Her bottom lip started swelling as she spoke, and he struggled not to panic. “Where’s your purse?”

  “I gave it to Ferra.” She coughed again. “In the coat closet, I think.”

  “Call nine-one-one. She’s going into anaphylactic shock,” he said to Brandon, hurrying toward the coat closet the family used. “Move please. Move.” He shoved people out of the way to get to what he needed and opened the closet door, spotting Julie’s coat. He found her small purse in the pocket and opened it, rifling through, dumping the contents to the floor. But her EpiPen wasn’t there. “Fuck.” He ran back to Julie sitting in a chair, coughing and wheezing while Ferra held her hand, reassuring her that everything was going to be all right. “Where’s the second pen?”

  “My suitcase,” she choked out.

  He yanked her up in his arms and started running, taking the stairs in twos, and barreled down the hall with Ferra following behind.

  “What can I do, Mr. Chase?”

  “Make sure the ambulance is on the way.”

  “Yes. I’ll be right back.”

  “Hang on, Jules. Hang on.” He laid her on the floor, yanked open the closet door, and pulled out her suitcase, finding the pen in the box. “Here we go.” He gripped the cylinder the way Gram and Nana made him practice a hundred times when they found out Julie had severe allergies and pushed the needle into her thigh, counting off ten seconds. He watched Julie breathe easier almost immediately. “Are you okay?”

  Her teeth chattered as she nodded. “My heart’s racing, and I’m sweating.”

  “The adrenaline’s kicking in.” He sat down next to her, gripping her wrist, feeling the rapid stutter of her pulse against his fingers as he monitored her vitals.

  “My God.” Elaine rushed in with Thomas at her heels. “My God. Julie, are you okay?”

  She nodded.

  “Ferra just found me.” She took Julie’s free hand. “The ambulance is coming. Thomas called for help.”

  “I did,” Thomas confirmed, pale and visibly shaken. “You’re sweating, Ms. Julie. How about an open window?”

  “Yes. Please.”

  “What can I do?” Elaine wanted to know.

  “How about a cool cloth,” Chase suggested.

  “Yes. Yes, of course.” She hurried into Julie’s bathroom and came out seconds later with a damp washcloth, wiping it across Julie’s forehead. “Here you go, sugar plum. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I feel sick to my stomach and jittery, but I think I’ll be all right.”

  “What on earth happened?”

  “There must have been nuts in the quiche. I think I tasted walnuts in the crust.”

  “Nuts in a quiche?” Elaine shook her head. “I’ve eaten a million of Ferra’s quiches and I don’t ever remember her putting nuts in them.”

  Julie shrugged. “I don’t know then.”

  Chase clenched his jaw, scrutinizing Julie’s every move as his heart beat in the same frantic rhythm as her pulse, eager for the EMTs to show up. She’d taken her shot, but that didn’t mean the adrenaline would last forever. Finally, the wail of the ambulance raced their way.

  Elaine scrambled up, joining Thomas by the window. “Good. Good. Ferra’s showing them in.”

  Moments later, several footsteps started their way.

  “Right in here,” Ferra directed, leading the rescue team toward them.

  “How are you doing, Ma’am?” one of the men asked.

  “Okay.”

  Within moments, the rescue team had monitors attached to her chest and an IV started. “This is a steroid to follow up the Benadryl we just injected,” the ma
n said, pushing a syringe full of fluid into her line.

  “All right.”

  “Let’s get you to the hospital and get you checked out.”

  “Thank you.” She rested her head on the stretcher, still shivering. “Will you meet me there?” she asked Chase as they wheeled her down the hall.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “I’ll meet you,” Elaine said.

  “Here you go, Mr. Chase.” Ferra held out Julie’s coat and his own as he reached the bottom step.

  “Thanks.”

  “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how she got ahold of something that would make her sick,” Ferra choked out.

  He stopped, taking her unsteady hand. “We’ll get it figured out.”

  “She ate a quiche, Mr. Chase. I made them myself. There are no nuts. No nuts at all, Mr. Chase.”

  “She’s going to be okay.” He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, his heart going out to the sweet woman who clearly felt terrible.

  Ferra nodded. “You make sure the doctors take good care of her now.”

  “I will.”

  “Let us know how she’s doing, our poor little lamb.”

  “Okay.” He met Noah’s gaze on the way out the door, noting that big brother didn’t seem the least bit worried about his sister. He held Noah’s stare as he took his spot in the back of the ambulance, until the paramedic closed the door and started toward the hospital.

  ~~~~

  Chase held Julie’s hand as he watched the rhythm of her heartbeat roll across the screen monitoring her vitals. The blood pressure cuff relaxed its grip on her arm, giving off a normal reading, and he could only thank his lucky stars that the EpiPen and cocktail of Benadryl and steroids the paramedics administered at the mansion had been enough to stave off the worst of her allergic reaction. Even after two hours of observation and several reassurances from the hospital staff, he kept a close eye on her, plenty shaken up after their unexpected trip to the ER. Her lips appeared normal now, and the puffiness around her eyes had subsided, but the whole situation never should have happened in the first place.

  He raised her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles as she slept, wondering as he had several times how Julie ingested the potentially lethal ingredients. More than once, she’d admonished herself for taking the waiter at his word, but Ferra couldn’t explain how pulverized walnuts made it into the crust of her famous mini quiches, especially when she’d tucked all of the nuts in the house to the back of the pantry the moment Neve alerted her to Julie’s allergies. He’d witnessed the cook’s hyper vigilance when it came to food preparations and Julie’s health, so how did such an error occur today?

  She was worth more dead than alive. She probably still is. The words echoed in his head, and he gripped her hand tighter, remembering the surge of unspeakable terror when he couldn’t find Julie’s EpiPen—the EpiPen she always carried that somehow turned up missing on the day she needed it most. Sloppy kitchen work and vanishing medical devices—either they were dealing with one hell of a strange coincidence or someone was trying to finish off what they hadn’t been able to accomplish twenty-five years ago. His instincts screamed that it was the latter of the two.

  Exhaling slowly, he thought back to Neve’s graveside memorial, trying to put more of the puzzle pieces together. While he’d done his best to offer Julie comfort, he scrutinized the more than a hundred mourners who came to bid Neve a final farewell. Becky Maglio and her husband had been in attendance, Aaron Dubois as well, but it was the people closest to Neve he studied carefully. Thomas had taken one of the four chairs, stoically sitting at Elaine’s side, his face pale and his hands gripped tight in his lap. Ferra, who gave up her seat for Julie, stood close to his side, quietly crying for her beloved Ms. Neve. Elaine had dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue while she held Noah’s hand in the other. As the service carried on, their fingers laced, which he found strange, but it wasn’t all that unusual for those in mourning to reach out to others when they typically wouldn’t. But it was Julie’s brother who captured his attention with his lack of grief for his own mother.

  He remembered studying pictures of a young Noah smiling in his mother’s arms—the same boy who hugged his sister decades ago. There were no traces of that happy child in his cold stares and harsh words. It begged the question: Just how deeply did Alyson’s disappearance affect her sibling? Did Noah hate Neve as much as he did Julie? Surely he’d had nothing to do with Alyson’s kidnapping twenty-five years ago, but what about attempted murder now?

  But what if it wasn’t Noah? Unwilling to take any chances, he’d filled Ethan in while Julie was being admitted, asking his boss to cross-reference the 1990 and 2015 ball guest lists. As soon as they were home and Julie was settled for the night, he would add those in attendance at Neve’s burial. Three events where Julie had been a target: kidnapping, a nasty shove to the ground in the dark, and potential attempted murder. Someone was messing with Julie—

  “You know what I’m thinking?” Julie said, interrupting his thoughts.

  He smiled at her as she blinked sleepy eyes at him. “I thought you were sleeping.”

  “No. Just lying here, letting my mind race.”

  He nuzzled her hand against his cheek. “What were you thinking?”

  She sat farther up in the bed and interlocked their fingers. “That we should stick to our original plan. Tomorrow you should go home to California, and I’ll head back to Washington.”

  He shook his head, immediately dismissing the idea.

  “I just think it would be easier. A clean break will give us both a chance to settle back in.”

  “No.”

  Her brow furrowed. “We can meet up in a few weeks, but prolonging the inevitable—”

  “Jules, no,” he said again, making certain she understood his mind was made up.

  She sighed. “I don’t want to draw out our goodbye.”

  “It’ll only be goodbye for a little while.”

  “I just—”

  He stood and sat next to her on the flimsy mattress. “We’re going to make this work.”

  Nodding, she looked down, tracing his fingers with her own.

  He lifted her chin. “You didn’t ask why.”

  “Why what?”

  “Why we’re going to make this work.”

  “Because we both want it to.”

  “Mmhm.” He nodded, resting his forehead against hers. “But there’s more.”

  She cupped his cheeks. “There is?”

  “Definitely.” He kissed her. “We’re going to make this work because I love you.”

  Her eyes softened as they filled. “You do?” she whispered.

  He’d always loved her, even when he didn’t want to, but today he almost lost her. “Oh, yeah.” He nodded. “For most of my life.”

  Her lips trembled as she sniffled. “Well, I love you too.” She grinned and hugged him.

  He held on, kissed her temple. “We’re going to find a way.”

  She nodded.

  He drew her away. “It’s going to be different this time.”

  The doctor pulled the curtain back, interrupting their moment, with Elaine following behind. “Ms. Keller, are you ready to go home?”

  “Yes.” She smiled at Chase, flashing him one of her nose-crinkling grins. “Definitely.”

  “Let’s get you two out of here,” Elaine patted Julie’s foot under the covers. “I’m going to let Thomas know he can warm up the car, and we’ll get you back to the house. I made arrangements to go out a back way so the press won’t bother you.”

  One less headache to deal with. “Thanks,” Chase said, eager to talk to Ethan again and get them prepared to get the hell out of Massachusetts in the morning.

  Chapter Forty

  Julie zipped her suitcase closed, feeling more like herself after a good night’s sleep and the delicious omelets Ferra served her and Chase in bed this morning. Not long after breakfast, she put herself through an easy stretching r
outine and enjoyed a long shower with Chase, savoring the sweet sensations of wrapping her arms around his waist and staring into his eyes while he washed her hair.

  For hours she’d enjoyed the royal treatment. From the moment they stepped into the Porter Mansion last night, she’d been treated like a queen. After Elaine’s tearful goodbye with plenty of hugs and a promise to keep in touch, Ferra had fussed over her, bringing her a huge bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup while Thomas arranged a pile of magazines on her side table, assuring her he could go out and get more if the ones he’d selected weren’t to her liking. Chase had done plenty of fussing too, tucking her into their bed, watching her like a hawk while she ate rich broth and tender carrots, thick noodles, and chicken pieces. But her favorite part of the evening had been when Chase joined her under the covers and held her close, reading her the final chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird.

  It had been nice to be taken care of, but now it was time to get back to being self-reliant Julie—the way she liked best. She grabbed her jacket and put it on, walking next door to the room Chase had used more as an office and dressing area than a bedroom over the past few days.

  “Hey.” He walked out of the bathroom with his bag of toiletries.

  “Hi. How’s it going in here?”

  “Good. Just grabbing the last of my stuff.” He held up his beard trimmer.

  “I’m going to take a walk around the grounds since it’s doubtful I’ll be back anytime soon.”

  He paused with the bottle of cologne in his hand. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No,” she said, smiling. He’d barely left her side since the funeral. “I’m fine.”

  He set his stuff down and cupped her face in his hands, studying her as he had several times since yesterday. “You look good.”

  “I feel good.” She kissed him. “You don’t need to worry about me.” She kissed him again.

  “Maybe I like worrying about you.” He nipped her bottom lip with his teeth.

  “You get a free pass for the day.” She smiled again, giving his cheek a gentle pat. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”