by Maya Hughes
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Juliette Miles?” A shiver ran down her spine. There weren’t many people who knew her by that name.
“Who is this?”
“Hi, I’m one of the case workers here at the court house. I was calling regarding Jon Briar.” His name sent a wave of revulsion coursing through her system.
“Yes?” she squeaked, clearing her throat.
“I’m so sorry we weren’t able to get to you sooner. Our caseloads are all ridiculous and the file was buried. I was calling to tell you that his parole officer informed us that he was moving and that it turned out it was within a fifty-mile radius of your last known location.”
“How does that even happen?” Rox seethed, clutching the phone so hard, she was afraid she might break it.
“There was a mix-up with the paperwork and no one reconfirmed your location or they wouldn’t have approved his move, an oversight.”
“No shit!” Her hands shook and she wanted to throw something—hard. How do they just let something like this happen? It wasn’t like anyone had been able to protect her before, why had she thought they would start now?
“We wanted to let you know and inform you, so you could prepare yourself in case he made contact. The police have been searching for him because he missed his last two parole officer meetings.”
“He made contact all right. He trashed my boss’s car, called in a gas leak, started a real gas leak, and then attacked me last night!” Her voice getting louder and louder with each word.
“He did? I’m so sorry. I didn’t have anything in my file to say anything about that.”
“How long ago did he move?” How long had he been watching her? Following her? Did he know where she lived? He hadn’t approached her at the apartment so far, just at the bar. She thought back to all the coverage the bar had gotten because of the relaunch. Spotlights with Mark featured and a few she’d reluctantly been included in. Mistake, such a mistake.
“About three weeks.”
“Three weeks? Three weeks? And you’re just calling me now!” What the hell?!
“I told you before Ms. Miles. Our caseloads are heavy and your file was shuffled in with others. I’m sorry we didn’t get to inform you earlier. Are you okay?”
“Sure, if the gash on my forehead and finger marks around my neck are okay, then yes I’m okay.”
“Did you report it to the police?”
“Yes, of course I did!” She paced in the kitchen, her pulse pounding. A lot of good it had done her reporting it. They hadn’t’ found him yet. Hadn’t stopped him.
“I was only asking because in the previous case you refused to testify. I wanted to make sure there was a record of this for when he was arrested.”
“I spoke with the police, they got the full run down and said they would contact me if there were any other developments.” Testifying last time wouldn’t have done anything more than subject her to more time in his presence. They hadn’t needed her testimony anyway. Things are a lot more cut and dry when there’s a body on the scene, not a tearful girlfriend.
“Wonderful. If there are no other issues, I’ll let you go.”
“Nope, no issues other than my murderer of an ex-psycho trying to kill me,” she said, hanging up the phone in disgust. She wished it was an old-fashioned phone, so she could slam down the receiver a few times. He’d been out for weeks. Who knows what he had been up to? Still, for some reason, she felt a hell of a lot safer here in the bar than she’d felt at home, especially with the security measures Mark had put in place. If she was inside she was safe, at least she felt safe.
6
Chapter
The handover with the lunch crew went smoothly as always. She still couldn’t believe the day she was having, hell the month at this point. She hopped on her bike, revved the engine and pulled out from the front of the bar. She’d taken to parking in the front, instead of in the alley after what happened with Jon. Even in the daylight, she didn’t want to be back there where she’d been attacked.
She didn’t know what strings Jon’s parents had to pull to get him out of prison early, but she wanted to punch them both in the throat. She’d never understood how they couldn’t see what kind of monster he was. But she guessed it was hard to own up to the fact you’d raised a psycho. Her relationship with his parents had been great at the start. They seemed like the perfect family. Beautiful house, tastefully decorated, his mom was always so warm and welcoming. Growing up without a mom, she’d lapped it up and loved her attention.
She’d take her out shopping all the time and they had a great time together. Rox didn’t know if they knew about Jon and what he was doing to her. She finally mustered up the courage to tell his mom one afternoon when they were sitting on the patio having lemonade and sandwiches, while the guys were out playing golf. She still remembered the conversation she’d had with his mom after a particularly painful night, where she’d been accused of flirting with a waiter at a restaurant they’d gone out to. It was always someone. A gas station attendant, a waiter, barista, mailman, pretty much any man that she spoke to or interacted with was another fight waiting to happen.
She pulled down her sunglasses to show his mother her black eye and she’d never forget the look on her face. She turned a particularly bright shade of red and her eyes were aflame with anger. At first, she’d thought his mom was angry with him, but her next words let Rox know just where she stood with his family.
“What did you do to make him so angry?” she snapped.
“I…I didn’t do anything. We went out to dinner, he thought I was flirting, but I wasn’t.” Her heart pounded. Would she tell Jon? Was this going to cause another fight? Why had she shown his mother? Why had she thought she would be on her side?
“I should have known that someone like you wouldn’t be able to keep my son happy. Don’t flirt in front of him, dear. You’ve only brought this on yourself.” His mom reached down into her bag and pulled out a compact. She turned Rox’s hand over and placed it in her palm. “This compact has all of the colors you’ll need to cover that up. We wouldn’t want people to talk, now would we?” she said, squeezing Rox’s hand closed around the compact.
That was when she knew she was truly alone. He had connections, he had money, and his family didn’t care what he did to her as long as he was happy. It wasn’t like she could go back to her dad. A shiver ran down her spine at that thought and a single tear escaped her eye as she sat there with his mother. She pulled her hand away in disgust at Rox’s display of emotional turmoil.
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. Just do everything in your power to make Jon happy and this won’t be a problem anymore,” she said, patting Rox on her hand. That was the last time she ever brought it up to his mother. She knew where the chips fell.
Pulling into her parking space, she shut off the bike and headed to her apartment. It wasn’t the prettiest place, but she’d gotten used to it when she first moved in and they accepted cash, so that ticked all her boxes. Her midday break from the bar between prep and evening service was nap time. Napping had to be one of the best innovations ever. Pulling her keys out of her pocket, she climbed the last couple of stairs to her apartment. Sleeping during the day made it a lot easier to stay up late for the dinner and late night rush, and it also made her less anxious than sleeping at night.
Reaching for the doorknob, she wrenched her hand back like she’d been slapped. Her front door was already open, not just open, but busted in. The door knob was hanging off and it looked like someone had tried to push it closed again. Oh shit! She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed 9-1-1.
“Hello, 9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
“I’d like to report a break in.”
So much for Jon not knowing where she lived. Fuck! Of course, the odds were that if he found her at work then he could find her at home. He’d probably been following her for who knows how long. That turned her stomach as she imagined him watching her come and go, co
mpletely oblivious to the fact that he might be there lurking in the shadows.
The cops came and checked over the place. There wasn’t much to report other than the fact that she was 99% sure it was Jon who did this, he was recently paroled and nothing was missing. The cops asked her if she had a place to go, while her landlord replaced the door and lock. Rox didn’t have anywhere, but she wasn’t going to tell them that. She reassured them that she would be fine and after they ensured that there was no one there, she was allowed back in.
The first sight when she walked in the door had her involuntarily dry heaving. Glad that she hadn’t eaten anything that morning, she pushed the door shut and surveyed the apartment. There was a nice vase filled with beautiful red roses, which made her skin crawl. Those were the same flowers Jon would buy her after every ‘incident’. Always apologetic, always so sweet afterward. She would shake like a leaf as he professed his love for her and the fact that it would never happen again. It always did.
Sidestepping the bouquet, she ran to her bedroom, grabbed a bag and chucked some clothes and other stuff she would need in there. She would have to let this place go. She couldn’t come back here alone. She had a key to the bar. Mark had a bathroom in his office with a shower and a comfy couch she’d crashed on more than once during the day when things got hectic. She’d be able to crash there for a while and no one would know. Plus, with a place that was usually packed or well secure when empty, she’d feel much more comfortable there than here. Especially now.
With the last of her stuff packed, she hefted the bag onto her shoulder and ran out of the apartment. She hooked the bag onto the back of her bike, revved the engine and peeled out of there. This was a reason she didn’t like to get attached to places. You never knew when you would have to leave them behind.
7
Chapter
Sitting behind his desk at home, Liam went through all the investment documents he needed to send to Mark in NYC. His real estate contacts had sent over a few locations for them to decide on for the new bar and Mark would be viewing them and giving him his assessment. He was jealous of Mark who was embarking on a new adventure. He’d get to build something from the ground up, make it his own and run it the way he wanted. Liam’s life had become anything but that. Everyone was always trying to get him to do things based on manipulation, whether it was his kind-hearted jackass of a brother or not so much in the case of his ex.
Going through the documents he’d had to have signed by his ex, Yvonne, Liam shook his head. After two years together, you’d have thought she truly loved him. It was a kick in the teeth to learn it was all a ruse to get him to marry her. The palimony payments she’d be getting and the non-disclosure agreement she’d had to sign meant he’d never have to see her again. His lawyers advised that the monthly payments over three years and the non-disclosure were the quickest and easiest way to handle things.
Pushing the papers aside, he uncovered the small custom onesie he’d had printed up. ‘My daddy can hack your daddy’s computer.’ She’d lied about so much and why? It didn’t even make sense, he’d already bought the ring. She didn’t know that, but he’d planned the perfect evening to propose. A yacht down at the marina, their favorite dishes made by a chef on board and a sunset cruise. It seemed his preparations weren’t on her timeline and he wasn’t moving quickly enough. She’d shown him a positive test and everything. She thought a pregnancy would get him moving in the right direction.
It had, he’d been over the moon about it. Until he overhead her conversation after coming home early from work one night.
“It’s awesome. I can eat whatever I want.”
He smiled standing just outside the doorway to the bedroom, glad she would stop obsessing about her body for once.
“I’ll need to get a little fat in the beginning, at least make it look good. Then I’ll tell him I lost it. I’m sure that will light a fire under him. He’ll feel so guilty, he’ll definitely propose. If he doesn’t get to it soon,” she said, almost giddy.
For a moment, he thought he had heard her incorrectly. What the hell was she talking about? Then it started to feel like the walls were closing in on him, crushing him down. The sinking, desolate feeling that punched him in the stomach was almost enough to bring him to his knees. This was a woman he loved, who he thought loved him, was ready to marry and she was faking a pregnancy? And prepared to fake a miscarriage. He slid back down the hallway, all the blood draining from his head, standing there frozen in shock.
He didn’t even stay to confront her, knowing that it could get ugly. If she was capable of lying about being pregnant, who knew what other lies she could come up with. He went straight to his lawyers, had them draw up papers and kicked her out of his house. She’d tried to say she really was pregnant and threatened to go to the press over it. That was when the agreement for three years of palimony was plopped on her lap and she promptly gave up the act and took the money and ran. He didn’t have to pay it, but it kept her from trying to screw things up with his company and ensured he'd never had to see her again.
He hadn’t told Lucas about all this. Couldn’t stand the embarrassment and looks of pity from his happily married twin. These types of things had always come so easy to Luc. Maybe that was why he had wanted to get married and start a family with Yvonne in the first place. He was always left behind when it came to Lucas’s accomplishments, so maybe he’d pictured Yvonne as his chance to catch back up in the game of life, even surpass Lucas with the new addition.
He’d been so close to throwing his life away on her. Who knows what she would have pulled if they’d been married and he’d been ready to do it without a pre-nup. What an idiot. That was only a couple of days before Mark approached him about The Bramble. A change of pace, change of scenery, change of lifestyle was what he needed and he’d jumped right in. And a certain exceptional chef was making it harder and harder for him to focus because of her food and everything else about her. He didn’t know how to get her to stop hating him, but he was determined to find out. Every day was a test of his patience not to storm into the kitchen and demand to know what the hell he’d done to make her hate him. His phone vibrated across the desk.
Lucas: Meet me at Doppel in 20 minutes. I need to talk to you.
Liam: I’m not coming back.
Lucas: Just get your ass here!
Liam: I’ll meet you somewhere else.
Lucas: Meet me here or I’ll have your phone hacked and send male strippers to your location every day for the next month.
Liam: How the hell would you do that?
Lucas: I have my ways…
Liam: Fine, I’ll be there.
Pulling up to the building, Liam knew this was not a great idea. Meeting here was only going to cause problems. He hadn’t been back since his meeting with Mark where he decided to become an investor and co-owner of The Bramble. A sinking pit formed in his stomach as he opened the front door. It used to be one of the most exciting parts of his day. Not so much anymore.
Everyone in the office sent up a cheer when he walked in the doorway of the open plan office. They clapped and gave him hugs as he walked back to Luc’s office, cursing Luc the whole way. This was his plan all along. Luc knew that once he came back into the office everyone would be on him, making him feel guilty and he’d decide to come back. He’d underestimated Liam’s resolve in taking a break.
He was peppered with questions about when he was coming back and what he was up to. He grimaced as he tried to come up with something good to say, but just let them know that he was helping a friend by managing their place for a while. What they didn’t know was that he hoped it would be permanent. He pushed his was into his brother’s office.
“Why did you want me to come here? You knew everyone was going to be asking questions about where I am and when I’m coming back?” He knew the answer, but wanted to hear his smug brother say it.
“Exactly, I thought that maybe if you saw how much you mean to the team, you would rec
onsider your sabbatical.”
“It’s not a sabbatical, Luc.” He resisted the urge to roll his eyes—barely.
“We’ll see.”
“You don’t think I can do it!” He’d always been the follower. Luc was the suggestions guy and Liam went with the flow, but he wanted to go with a different flow now.
“I never said that, but I know you and I know you’ll never be satisfied in that place.”
“How the hell would you know?” He ground his teeth.
“Liam, you know you’re made for more than that. Without you, this place wouldn’t have worked.”
“I did the technical stuff and left the business side up to you. I’m sure if you weren’t pushing that angle, we’d still be in that sweaty co-working space hot desking it every day.” It was true. Liam had the tech know-how, but without someone out there gathering up clients and making business contacts, things never would have taken off.
“Yes, but if I didn’t have your products to sell, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference,” Luc said, leaning against his desk.
“You’ve always underestimated yourself. That’s what I think you’re doing now. We’re on the verge of something great, Liam. Something huge for the two of us and I don’t want you to back away from it just because you’re afraid of succeeding.” Liam’s head whipped up at that.
“Is that why you think I’m stepping back? Because I’m afraid of success?”
“It’s your M.O. We’re twins, remember? Every time you’ve ever had the chance to pull ahead, you freak out and bail.”
“Name one time,” Liam said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Swimming, eighth grade.” Luc said, poking his finger into the desk. “You could have beaten me in the finals, instead, you pulled back and let me win.”
“I did not. I had a calf cramp.” The thought of standing up in front of the crowd in his speedo made him never want to get out of the pool. The walk out to the starting block was bad enough. Once he was in the pool, he felt right at home, but outside, he was like a beached whale.