by Julia Derek
“Yeah, but I don’t hate him anymore,” I whispered back. “We worked out our differences when we were held captive by those creeps, so that hate stuff is history now. He’s actually a really nice guy when you get to know him.”
Nina nodded, running a hand through her chocolate locks. “Oh, well, that’s good. It would’ve been kinda hard to keep hating on each other when you were both kidnapped. You’d probably keep accusing each other for having something to do with the kidnapping.”
I laughed. “That’s exactly what we did in the beginning actually. When I woke up in that room and saw Chase staring at me, I was sure he’d punk’d me or something with people from work. All of it was just so da”—I paused, looking down at Brando, who was peering up at me with big, brown, attentive eyes—“darn weird.”
Nina cracked up, slapping her leg. “That’s what I would’ve thought too! I mean, what are the chances that you were actually kidnapped?”
It took someone like my sister-in-law, who was a comedienne as well as a successful actress, to be able to see the absurdity of all that had happened. When all was said and done, the best way to deal with it was to laugh about it. While it might be terrible, it was also kind of… funny in a bizarre way. And I had known that only Nina would be able to truly appreciate that fact. These kidnappers had managed to pick two people who hated each other and forced them to be with each other in a locked room. What were the chances of that? I mean, it had soon become clear to both Chase and me that this woman was a sadist who enjoyed toying with us, but I really didn’t think that she’d also known how much the two of us had disliked each other. Which would make it even more insufferable for us to be in that room together.
Or had she known?
I laughed and shook my head. No, of course she hadn’t known that. Well, if she had, in that case she had gotten the opposite result, as it hadn’t taken long for me and Chase to realize that we actually liked each other. I smiled and my eyes found Chase. He was now talking to my brother as well as to my mother, and the three of them were laughing about something.
I was so glad to see that both my mom and brother were so accepting of Chase, despite all the horrible things I had told them about him.
“So you like him, huh?” Nina asked, pulling me back to reality. I jerked and turned to face her.
“What do you mean?” I played stupid. I didn’t know if I was ready to spring on the world what else had happened to me and Chase— between me and Chase—having just arrived in L.A. I had been planning on letting my mother know first, then everyone else. But I could tell that there was no way I’d be able to get away with lying to Nina. Not the way she was looking at me right then, as though she could see right through me.
“That you like him,” she said again. She gave me a conspiratorial little grin. “I can’t blame you. The guy is smoking hot. Look at how your mom is behaving when she’s talking to him. She’s smiling and batting her eyes at him like she’s a young girl. If her hair was out, she’d be playing with that right now as well.”
I looked at my mom and realized that Nina was right; she was looking all enamored with Chase the way she was primping and preening. Oh, God. Knowing my mom, she was completely clueless of this fact. She was definitely not the type of woman who’d flirt with her daughter’s love interests.
Well, I shouldn’t be very surprised. I had always known women were attracted to Chase, so why wouldn’t my mother be? She was a woman after all.
Brando started wriggling and whining in my arms then.
“I think he wants his mommy,” I said and handed the adorable little boy back to Nina. She took him and as soon as she started cooing to him, he settled down and began giggling instead.
Nina sighed happily, then looked at me. “You need to be around more often. He’s never this well-behaved normally.”
“Ha, ha, I just might.” Though, it was obvious that it was Nina herself who had this effect on my nephew, not me. She was just being polite.
I joined my mom, brother, and Chase, for the first time wondering where Gabi and Nick had gone. I scanned the area and soon found them seated in the nearby airport cafeteria. Gabi saw me spotting her and waved.
They must have wanted to give me and Chase some time alone with my family, I thought and waved back.
“Hey,” I said to my mom, sticking my arm through hers. “Are you guys done living it up soon or what?”
She turned to me, a big smile on her face. “Well, it’s easy to live it up when you have such a charming man to entertain you like Chase here.”
Yes, this guy definitely continued to surprise me. He may be hot and smart, but in the short time that I had known him, I couldn’t remember too many people mentioning that he was also a charming guy. None, in fact. At the office, he had mostly been known to stick to himself and work hard, barely smiling ever. I chuckled to myself. I must be a good influence…
Chapter Eighteen
The abduction felt like it had never happened now that Chase and I were in lovely Los Angeles instead of in gritty New York. Palm trees, perfect-looking people and beautiful, warm weather had that effect on you—we were in paradise after all, and nothing bad ever happened to you there now, did it?
But as we woke up the next morning and had breakfast on the patio behind my mom’s house, enjoying the bright sun that shone from a cobalt blue sky, we promised each other not to go anywhere alone and to always carry our firearms with us during our time here on the West Coast. We still hadn’t decided just how long we would stay. For the time being, it was better to take things day by day and see what happened.
My mom, to her credit, hadn’t batted an eye when I told her that Chase would be sleeping with me in my room. I think it had been pretty clear to everyone that Chase and I were more than just friends without me actually spelling it out to them, and they all just went with it.
At the moment, she was joining us for a coffee before she’d head to a friend’s house and help plan a charity event. After having a last sip, she put the cup back on the plate and stood. Then she looked like something had just dawned on her.
“I almost forgot,” she said. “Dylan called when you guys were still asleep to tell me he has some extra tickets for the Lakers game tonight. Front row seats. He wanted to know if you wanted to go.”
I turned to Chase. “Wanna go?”
“Sure. Who can say no to front row seats at a Lakers Game?” He grinned happily.
“Okay, then we’ll go,” I replied.
“I thought so,” Mom said. “Well, then call Dylan and tell him as soon as possible or he might give them to someone else. Victor and Jen will be there as well.”
“Oh, cool!” I exclaimed. “Can’t wait to see them.” Victor was my father’s younger brother, a plastic surgeon and now also best-selling author, and to whom both my brother and I were close. Jen was his wife.
My mother kissed me on the cheek, careful to avoid my bruise, and said good-bye to Chase. When she was gone, I explained who Victor and Jen were to Chase.
“You’ll love Victor,” I finished. “He’s such a guy’s guy.”
“Well, I can’t wait to meet him,” Chase said. Then he gave me a long, pensive look.
I frowned at him. “What’s wrong? Don’t worry. Victor only found out about you after we were kidnapped, so he doesn’t really have any pre-conceived notions of you.” Unless my mom had told Victor about my complaints—which was more likely than not, I realized—but it was better not to even bring that up to Chase.
I really needed to do a better job of calling my uncle and his family to see how they were doing, I reminded myself. We hadn’t spoken once since I left for New York. Only my mother, brother and a couple of my girlfriends had been privy to the weekly reports of my new life.
“That’s a relief, I suppose,” Chase said. “But that wasn’t what was on my mind.”
I immediately caught on to the somber note in his voice and the hesitant, almost anxious expression on his face.
&nbs
p; I put a hand on his to encourage him to speak up. It seemed it was something he was having a hard time with.
He gazed out over the large, kidney-shaped swimming pool that was only a few yards away from where we sat. “I meant to tell you about it when we were locked in that room, but it just didn’t feel right.”
He smiled a little, one of those smiles that didn’t reach his eyes. “It might never be a right time, but I should at least let you know.”
“Let me know what?” Now I was really curious. “What is it, Chase?” I took his hand between both of mine and squeezed to keep him talking, but at the same time I had begun to worry that he was about to confess that he was slowly dying from cancer or something as glum as he suddenly seemed.
He turned to face me again.
“You never once played basketball again after high school, did you? You couldn’t bear it.”
I stared at him, taken aback. And confused. “How did you know I used to play basketball?”
Chase lowered his eyes and didn’t say anything. Then, just as I was about to repeat my question, he spoke:
“I used to see you when I was in California picking strawberries one summer many years ago. I was at the beach with a couple of the guys I worked with and you were there with some girlfriends. I think I fell in love with you the moment I first saw you. But you didn’t even see me. You and your friends were busy talking to some other guys.” Chase looked toward the pool again. “Guys who went to the same school as you.”
“Go on,” I urged him, spellbound by what he was telling me. And I wasn’t sure it was in a good way. My heart was beating faster in my chest.
“The guys I worked with knew who you girls were. They were mostly immigrants from Mexico who lived permanently in L.A. and often went to that beach.”
“The one in Malibu?”
“Yes, it was a beach in Malibu.” Chase took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eyes then. “Anyway, they told me which school you girls went to, so I did some online research to find out your name.” An embarrassed little smile curled the corners of his lips. “I got a little obsessed with you, I suppose. So whenever I got a chance, I tried to find you. I needed to see you again.”
“You were stalking me?” I didn’t know whether to laugh or to get upset.
Chase nodded. “I guess that’s one way to put it. My intention was always to talk to you and then ask you out. But I never got the chance. The few times I found you, you literally didn’t see me. I think I would have had to go up and shake you for you to notice me. Then the summer was suddenly over and I had to go back home. But I still kept thinking about you for at least another year. And then I read the story in the newspaper about what had happened at your school, how all you girls on the basketball team got away with what you had done.”
Before I could stop myself, I buried my face in my hands. Oh, God, he actually knows about Nina and Hannah. Suddenly, the fact that he had known me from before and had been following me around didn’t feel like such a big deal. So he’d had a crush on me and I hadn’t even realized he existed. Which sounded about right. When I was fourteen, fifteen, guys like Chase hadn’t been my type. Besides, I had been madly in love with a boy in my class then, one of the guys on the basketball team with whom I’d ended up having a short relationship until he dumped me, breaking my heart. He’d been the only boy existing for me for the next couple of years as I’d kept hoping he’d regret his decision.
I lowered my hands a little so that I could see Chase again, not wanting to face him completely yet. I needed to know what else he knew first.
“I knew that one of you girls had alerted the cops and saved one of the victims’ lives,” he continued. “I was hoping that had been you, but I knew the chances of that were small. You were so many after all. Anyway, when I learned that all of you got off with only probation, I started to resent girls like you. I was convinced the only reason you got off with such light sentences was because you were all from rich, influential families. This is why I behaved the way I did to you when you of all people came to work with my team. I had become convinced that the only way a person like you had gotten to where you were in life was because of your background. It couldn’t possibly be because of hard work and integrity. Not after what you had done.”
My hands slid up my face again, the fingertips ending up between my eyebrows, and I lowered my gaze. There was no way I could look at Chase now. Not when he knew what a spineless, cowardly person I truly was deep inside. Now I could definitely be sure that what little thing we had between us would end eventually. A quality person like Chase, someone of integrity, would never want to be with someone like me.
“Elisa,” he said softly and peeled off my hands from my face. My eyes had become filled with tears now. He looked at me intently, holding my hands firmly.
“But I’ve learned that this isn’t the case,” he said. “I’ve realized that I overreacted. I honestly don’t know all the details of the trial. All I knew was that you’d been part of the girls’ basketball team who’d beaten up those poor girls and then I just drew my own conclusions. Maybe you were just a bystander. Now that I’ve finally gotten to know you a little, seen what kind of a person you are, I’m sure you weren’t much more than a bystander. You don’t have it in you to be a true bully.” He smiled at me. “And I never did stop having a thing for you either, no matter how much I tried to convince myself of this.”
He wiped the tears that were falling down my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.
“Please don’t cry, Elisa. We’ve all done things in life that we aren’t proud of. Me too. Like stalking innocent little girls.”
The way he was looking at me, with eyes full of kindness and compassion, enabled me to talk at last.
My chest heaved with a big sigh. “Yes, what my friends and I did to Nina and Hannah is definitely something I’m not proud of,” I said. “If I’d been braver, that other girl would have also been alive now. But at least I can be happy about having saved Nina. I know you probably think I’m making this up, but I actually was the one who alerted the authorities, which made the other girls stop.”
Chase’s entire face brightened. “Really?”
“Yes, I was.” I thought about that. “Well, only technically speaking of course. All I did was pretend I heard someone coming into the hangar where we all were, so they had no choice but to stop or be caught in the act. And then I pretended to have lost my phone in there, so I ran back into the hangar and called 911.” I cupped my face as I thought back to that horrible moment, and this time it was my turn to gaze out over the nearby swimming pool. “But I should have done something sooner. Much, much sooner. Like tell my mom and brother and uncle what was going on at school and they’d surely have done something to make it stop. They can’t stand bullies.”
Chase took me in his arms and pulled me close. “Well, it’s nothing you can do about that now. What’s done is done. At least you did the right thing in the end, right?”
I sighed against his chest. “That’s true. But it still keeps bothering me.” I gazed up at him. “But you’re right that those other girls got off because of all their money and influence. Especially Tara and Chrissy, who were the ones who were the real bullies. Everyone else on the basketball team was too scared not to do what those two wanted or they’d risk becoming bullied themselves. It was like living under two tyrants. The worst kind of tyrants… Oh, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget the way Chrissy kept laughing when she got in a jab at Hannah and Nina.” I paused. “You do realize that the Nina I’m talking about is the Nina who’s now my sister-in-law, right?”
Chase sucked in a breath and a frown creased his forehead. “No, actually I didn’t. Wow… Talk about a small world.” He kissed me on the crown of my head. “So you couldn’t have been that bad then if she’s forgiven you.”
“Yeah, maybe. But I” —I stared at Chase and covered my mouth with both my hands. “ Oh, my God…” I mumbled into my palms.
Chase grabbed my shoulders and the frown in his forehead deepened. “What? What just happened?”
I lowered my hands slowly and smiled at him. “I just remembered where I’ve heard that laughter before.”
Chase’s eyes widened. “What laughter? Are you talking about the mystery woman’s laughter?”
“Of course I am! It was Chrissy’s cackling laugher I heard! No one in the whole world has an uglier laugh.” I chuckled, shaking my head. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe it took me so long to figure that one out…”
“Chrissy? Who’s Chrissy? Wait, are you saying it was one of the two main bullies at your school? Chrissy and…” Chase looked dumbfounded.
“Tara. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying! Trust me, she hates me for what I did to her and Tara. Well, I’m not so sure how much she cares about Tara, but I know Chrissy cares about how she ended up looking to everyone. Even if they got off lightly, both her and Tara’s reputations were still tarnished. I didn’t get any punishment at all because I was the one who told on them. And, believe me, they never let me forget what a traitor they thought I was for the rest of high school… Not that they dared doing anything to me since they were on probation, but I could definitely feel how much they wanted to. Especially Chrissy.” I wrapped my hands over one another and bit my knuckles. “Oh, my God, it was her…”
Chase’s fingers dug deeper into my shoulders. “So you’re absolutely sure of it?”
I nodded and smiled again. The more I thought about this, relived that laughter in that room, the surer I was. It was Chrissy…
“Yes,” I said. “Unless she has an evil twin with exactly the same laughter, I’m sure of it.” I shook my head at myself, still in wonder at what I had discovered. “I always used to wonder if she’d one day find a way to get back at me for what I did… But then I totally forgot about it.”
His hands loosened their grip and left my shoulders. “Well, in that case we have found a pretty good reason for why you were abducted. Now all we need to do is find out why she also took me.”