by Lola Drake
“Jules, wait.”
“Don’t worry, Jake, I know you have stuff to do. No need to see me in. I’m sure Michael will take good care of me.”
He knew she only used that sugary sweet voice to push his buttons, but it still worked. He slammed the car door behind him, following her up the steps and grabbing her arm. “Don’t walk off by yourself in any exposed area like this, you got me? The guys in Martinez’s gang are smart enough to realize if you’re not at your house you might be here.”
“So? What do you care?”
Jake pulled her to a halt, but she refused to look at him. “You know I care.”
“Ok, fine, you’d care if I died—mainly because Aaron would never forgive you.”
“No. You know there’s more to it than that.”
“Oh, I do?”
Jake wished she would go back to the grating sugary voice instead of the painfully bitter one he heard now. What did she want him to say? So they’d had one night together. A pretty incredible night. In fact, if he was truly honest with himself, he didn’t think he’d ever experienced anything quite like it before with any woman. But so what? They’d had fantastic sex. It took more than that to make a relationship. With his job, he didn’t do relationships. Surely she couldn’t be expecting some declaration of love already?
At his continued silence, Juliet jerked her arm free and continued toward the building. Feeling pathetic, Jake trailed behind her to Wetherby’s office.
Wetherby rose to his feet instantly, holding out a chair for Juliet. She flashed him a dazzling smile as she sat. Jake gritted his teeth.
“Thanks for arranging all of this so quickly, Michael. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course, of course. It’s no trouble. I’m just sorry you’ll have to wait here for a bit until an officer can take you to the safe house.”
Both of them glanced over at Jake, who hadn’t moved from his stance in the doorway. Wetherby obviously expected him to volunteer to drive her, but Jake didn’t say anything.
Wetherby quickly filled the awkward silence. “Now, when you see the house, remember it’s just for the next week until the preliminary hearing. Don’t get too used to the luxury.”
“You have a luxurious safe house?” Jake asked skeptically.
“Yup. It’s in Beverly Hills. The bank foreclosed on it recently, and we made a deal with them to use it for the next week. It even has a pool,” Wetherby added with a wink. “After that we’ll move you somewhere else. We just need the week to arrange for something more permanent.”
Juliet nodded, her eyes darting between Wetherby and Jake. Jake couldn’t stand it any longer. “OK, then, I guess I’ll get going.”
Wetherby seemed surprise by the announcement. Then he took one look at Juliet’s face and mumbled something about getting a file as he fled the room.
“Didn’t you tell Aaron you took some personal leave from work so you could protect me?”
“Yeah, but you won’t need me now that you’ve agreed to witness protection.”
“So that’s it? You do realize this is probably goodbye for at least the next year or until whenever the trial happens.”
“It probably won’t take that long.”
Juliet didn’t even dignify that with a response. With a sigh, Jake stepped forward, opening his arms to her. She remained seated.
“I don’t know what you expect here, Jules.”
“I don’t expect anything.”
“That’s bullshit and we both know it.”
When she turned away from him to look out the window, he could have screamed. Instead, he knelt down in front of her chair, took her chin gently in his hand, and forced her to look back at him.
“I do care, Jules. But do you want me to leave my life too and come stay with you for the next year after one night together? I mean, that’s crazy. You know that’s crazy. Right?”
“Jake, I’m not asking for a proposal. I didn’t even ask for the next year. Just the next week. Maybe a chance to see if there’s something more here than a one-night stand.”
“I’d never think of you as a one-night stand.” He reached up and tucked her hair back behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her soft cheek. “You and I… We live really different lives. I don’t know if I can give you what you want.”
“Isn’t that what dating is all about? To find out if two people can give each other what they want?”
Jake started to answer, then paused. Had he ever thought of dating that way? With most of the women in his life, he had known from the beginning it wouldn’t last. Juliet watched him expectantly. Even annoyed with him, she took his breath away. He kind of liked that she stood up to him.
Unable to resist, he kissed her. It took a moment of coaxing, but she responded, clutching his neck to bring him closer. Even when he heard Wetherby return to the room, he continued kissing her for another moment.
“Sorry, Michael,” Juliet mumbled when she finally noticed him. Jake couldn’t resist giving him a smug look.
“No problem at all. Agent Parker, would you like to drive Juliet over to the safe house?”
Jake took one look at Juliet’s big beautiful eyes staring up at him and found himself saying, “Yeah, I can drop her off there.”
Wetherby started to hand him the address and directions, but Juliet stopped him.
“Don’t worry about it, Jake. I know you want to get going. I’ll be fine.”
He raised an eyebrow. What was she playing at? She’d been furious a second ago when he announced his intention to leave.
“I don’t mind driving you over there.”
“You’re just going to drop me off. It makes more sense for me to go with one of the officers staying there with me. After all, the fewer people who know the address the better, right?”
Jake had no idea what she wanted him to do. Was he supposed to argue and insist on taking her? Did she really want him to go? In some ways, he had preferred it when she was furious. At least then he knew where he stood.
“Goodbye, Jake.” Juliet stood, going on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I guess I’ll see you in a year, maybe. Or in another ten for a reunion.”
With that, she turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her. Jake stood there with his mouth open. What did he do now?
Chapter Five
I Need a Hero
Juliet stared at the clock. How could a simple red digital number taunt her so? She knew the ‘3:51 a.m.’ flashed simply to irritate her. Pulling a pillow over her face, she screamed into it, then threw it across the room. After that nightmare she’d never fall back to sleep. Closing her eyes, she saw Martinez sitting at the defense table as she testified, then leaping to his feet and shooting her over and over while she sat helpless on the witness stand.
Michael had told her to try to get a good night’s sleep so she’d be alert for the preliminary hearing in the morning. Somehow she had a feeling she’d be alert even if she didn’t sleep at all. Sheer terror would take care of that.
Opening the bedroom door, she heard the low voices of her two guards. Would Martinez really leave her alone after the trial? Could she go back to her old life or would this witness protection thing become permanent? Closing the door again, she rummaged through her purse for the new pre-paid cellphone Michael had given her. He didn’t know if the gang had her number to trace her cell phone signal, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
She longed to call Jake, if only to hear his voice for a few seconds. Remembering how he looked at her that last day in Wetherby’s office filled her with satisfaction. He cared. It had shown in his eyes in that moment before he kissed her. When she’d told him she’d see him in a year or ten, he’d been absolutely dumbfounded. Still, she had thought that might haved inspired him to contact her by now. It hadn’t.
Lying down again, she eventually fell back asleep with the phone clenched in her hand. When it rang before her alarm went off, she sprang out of the bed in surprise. Could Jak
e have gotten her number from Michael?
“Hello?” she answered.
“Good morning, Juliet. Are you ready for your big day?”
“Who is this?”
“My brother is Miguel Martinez.”
Juliet froze, her mouth going dry.
“Do not hang up. You see how easily we got your new number. Our spies are everywhere. We can find you and kill you that easily too.”
“You can go to hell.”
He laughed, a cruel sound that seemed to touch her through the phone lines, piercing her bravado. “I could do that, but I would have to take your friend Carly with me.”
“Carly?”
“She’s a hottie. I could have some fun with her.”
“What do you want from me?”
“You’re going to get away from those protectors of yours and come meet us. Then after you’ve missed court, we’ll let you both go.”
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?”
“You don’t. But what choice do you have? If you don’t show up, we’ll have some fun with your friend and then kill her.”
Juliet closed her eyes, gripping the phone so hard she heard some plastic crack. “OK, don’t hurt her. I’ll meet you. But I want it to be in a public place.”
“You have some cojones on you. We’ll meet you in public, but you can’t call anyone. We’re monitoring your phone. If you answer any calls or make any calls we’ll kill her before you get here. We have someone watching your FBI friend, too.”
“Fine. Give me a bit of time to sneak out. I’ll have to get a taxi too, since my car isn’t here.”
“Call me at this number when you’re in a taxi and we’ll tell you where to go.”
“Can’t you tell me now?”
“So you can tell those protectors of yours? I don’t think so.”
With that, he hung up. Juliet stared at the phone. Did they really have the technology to monitor her calls? Didn’t they need to have a bug or something on the actual phone to do that? That’s always how it worked in the movies. Unless they had traced the phone, and had someone on the street with one of those high-tech listening devices or something? But if they did have someone on the street, this could all be a trap and they could kill her as soon as she left the house. Meeting them in public wouldn’t help much either. After all, this whole mess started because she witnessed them shooting three people right on a public beach. Not to mention they’d publicly shot up her house and set it on fire.
Quickly getting dressed, she knew she had to take the risk. She couldn’t let them kill Carly. Maybe once she was on her way and knew the location of the meeting she could send Jake a text message. She could even warn him someone might be following him so he took precautions. That should work.
Silently, she opened her bedroom door. This time she didn’t hear anyone, so she crept as quietly as possible down the stairs. She had seen the guards use the security code when they first showed her around the house, so she punched it in and slipped out the door.
Two guards stood at the end of the driveway near the gate. How could she get around them? Juliet moved towards the side of the house, crouching down to stay out of sight of any windows. One tree grew close to the fence around the property. If she could climb high enough, could she jump it?
Not knowing what else to do, Juliet sprinted for the tree, grabbing some branches on the far side. She couldn’t use her broken arm, but with her good arm she managed to swing her legs up onto the first low branch. After hauling herself up, she could rely mostly on her left arm and legs.
Branches scraped against her cheeks and clothing. At last, she stood above the top of the fence. The closest branch that would support her weight stopped about a foot from it. Scooting across it, she tried to get her feet under her. Eyeing the ground with trepidation, she realized just how much this could hurt if she messed up. But then what would happen to Carly?
Pushing herself off the branch as hard as she could, she managed to clear the fence, only to do a belly dive onto some bushes on the other side. She let out a laugh of relief. Luckily the bushes had broken her fall. About time something went her way. Other than her throbbing arm and a few deep scratches, she felt fine. Running through the neighbor’s backyard, she exited their driveway and prayed her protectors had stayed within their own property line so they didn’t see her.
Without another glance back, she ran down Rexford towards Santa Monica Boulevard
. Then, suddenly, it dawned on her. Where the hell was she going to get a taxi in Beverly Hills? She knew the Beverly Hills police station lay just ahead on the corner. Maybe her protectors wouldn’t think to look for her near there? Crossing the street, she decided to go toward the public library. It wouldn’t be open this early, but at least it would give her an easy place to wait. She took out her phone and dialed.
“You in a taxi?”
“This is L.A. There aren’t any taxis driving around right now. I need you to get me the number of a taxi company.”
“Are you fucking serious?”
“What do you want me to do? You told me not to call anyone so I figured I should check with you.”
She couldn’t help but enjoy pissing him off. Jake had insisted Michael get her a smart phone, so she had Internet access and could easily find the number herself. But she wanted to play terrified captive, which wasn’t all that far from the truth, and annoy him with his own rules.
“Fucking hell, hang on.” He disappeared for a moment, then got back on the line and gave her the number. “Hurry the fuck up. Tell the driver to take you to PenmarPark in Venice.”
All of a sudden it hit her. She had Internet access. They might be able to monitor her calls, and she wasn’t sure about texts, but would they think to watch her email this morning? She had to take that chance. She had to alert someone to this meeting. In case the guys had no intention of letting her and Carly walk out of there alive––and she strongly suspected they didn’t––she needed help. After calling the taxi, she quickly composed an email to Jake and prayed he’d check it before it was too late.
****
Jake paced back and forth in his kitchen, his cereal getting soggier by the second. He longed to hop in his car and race to the courthouse to meet Juliet. He could keep her safe and calm her nerves. Yet he’d meant what he said, he didn’t know if he could give her what she wanted. And she deserved that more than anyone else he knew. Juliet didn’t know it, but Aaron had talked about her a lot over the years. Juliet had a truly good heart. She wanted marriage, kids: the whole nine yards. Could he give those to her? Could he make her happy? If he let her down…
He could at least call her and wish her well. Maybe once he heard her voice he wouldn’t feel this crushing need to see her again.
The phone rang before he reached it.
For a brief second he hoped it might be Juliet calling him, but then he saw his caller ID: Detective Harris.
“What’s wrong?”
“Juliet’s missing. One of the men at the safe house just called me.”
“How the hell did they get to her in the safe house?”
“I don’t think they did, Parker. There’s no sign of a struggle, and the alarm didn’t go off. I think she left voluntarily. Do you think she’d get scared of testifying and run away?”
“No way. If she changed her mind she’d call one of us and say so. She’d never just disappear.”
“That’s what I thought. I have a contact at the phone company pulling up her recent call log. I should hear back in just a minute.”
“Fine. I’m going to call my partner and get him started tracing her phone. I’ll be in my car.”
“Don’t do anything stupid. You need backup.”
“I’ll call you from my car and keep you posted on the tracking.”
“Fine. Hang on.” Harris spoke to someone else in the background. Jake grabbed his keys and headed for his car, keeping the phone pressed to his ear. “OK, my contact at the phone company called back. Ju
liet got a call from a burner phone about 6:00 a.m.”
“That makes no sense. If the gang called and threatened her, why would she leave the safety of the house?”
“I don’t know.”
Jake hung up and started his engine, quickly putting his earpiece in to call his partner. He had to find Juliet. If the gang had somehow convinced her to leave the house, who knew what sort of threat they held over her, or what they would do once they had her. No matter what they said, the gang would never let her leave a meeting alive.
****
Juliet’s eyes scanned every possible direction as she entered the park. Hardly anyone patronized the area at such an early hour, especially since the rec center didn’t open until ten. Her phone had been ringing constantly, but she didn’t know what kind of technology these guys had. If they could really monitor whether or not she answered any calls, then she didn’t want to take the chance. Still, she knew Jake or the police could track the GPS on her cell phone, so she switched it to silent but left it on. Hopefully Jake had seen the email too, so he wouldn’t have to bother with the tracking.
Two men sat on the bleachers watching her. One, who looked to be in his early twenties, sported a slight mustache but had shaved his head. Tattoos covered every inch of his muscular arms. A bulge, down at the bottom of his jeans, made her suspect he had a gun in an ankle holster. Terrific. The other guy couldn’t be much more than fifteen or sixteen, with a clean-shaven baby face and big brown eyes. Even so, he had some of the same tattoos, and those eyes had an emptiness that made her shiver.
Glancing at her watch she saw it was just after 8:00 a.m. The hearing would begin at nine. Depending on the judge, Michael might be able to get a continuance until he found her, otherwise the case could get thrown out and Martinez would be released until the DA had more evidence to present. That’s why she doubted these men would let her live, although hopefully they’d keep their promise to release Carly. Unless Martinez intended to flee the country once he got released, the DA could simply get a new arrest warrant and start the prosecution again. Only by killing her could they permanently weaken the case and keep Martinez out of jail.