"I'm… so… sorry…" Her whole body was wracked with her sobs. "My… thoughts have been so… scrambled. I don't… know… what I was thinking. I… never want… to be without you… either. Twenty-four… hours… was enough."
He kept his arms wrapped tightly around her. "Shhh. It's okay, baby."
This brought on another wave of tears. "You… called me… 'baby'… I… didn't think… I'd… ever… hear… that again."
He chuckled. God, he loved her. He kissed the top of her head. "We need to get out of here before some pimple-faced teenager comes in looking to restock the Skittles and gets more than he bargained for." He righted his clothes, helping her with her own. He bent down and kissed her, cupping her face in his hands, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "It's all going to be okay, baby. I promise." He touched his lips to hers then opened the door of the storage closet, looking around to make sure the coast was clear then grabbed her hand, pulling her out with him.
"I need to go to the bathroom. I'm sure I look like a mess," she said, looking sheepishly up at him.
"You're gorgeous. Always." He smiled down at her. "Oh. I have something I want you to have. I, uh, picked it up this morning when I was out, but I didn't know if you'd take it after what happened." He looked at her and raised his eyebrows, reaching into his front jeans pocket, pulling out a bracelet.
Julia's forehead wrinkled as she looked at it looped around his finger then back up at him. He'd gotten her this even though she'd acted like an ass toward him? God, she was a horrible person.
"It was my grandmother's, and I wanted you to wear it for me." He clasped it around her wrist. Julia looked at it, seeing that it had several tiny charms and baubles on it.
"It's beautiful, Chase. You… got it for… me… even though I…" Here came the tears again. "I'm… terrible. I'm a total… and complete bitch… How can you… even stand to look… at me? I swear… to God… if you threw… water on me… I'd melt…"
He chuckled again, holding her to him, whispering that things would be okay, that he loved her and all was well. "Just wear it for me, please. Why don't you go to the restroom. I’ll wait here for you." He leaned down to brush his lips against hers then winked at her. He felt so much better now. The last twenty-four hours had all but exhausted him. He smacked her butt as she turned toward the bathroom, making her yelp then chuckled as he walked down the hall a ways and leaned against the wall to wait for her, not wanting to look like a perv who was hanging out at the women’s room.
Julia walked into the bathroom as if on cloud nine. She was so glad they'd gotten things cleared up. She let out a sigh as she approached the mirror to look at herself. Ack! Her face was splotchy from crying and her eyes were swollen and red.
"He must love me if he can still want me looking like this," she murmured to herself and rolled her eyes. The door opened and a woman walked in, dressed all in black leather. She looked so familiar. Was she some kind of supermodel? Julia smiled shyly into the mirror at the woman who nodded back at her. The woman smoothed her gorgeous, burnt orange hair with her hand then applied another layer of the dark red lipstick she was wearing, which, Julia thought, looked surprisingly good. Most redheads couldn't get away with that dark a red.
"Excuse me, but do I know you?" Julia asked the woman. She swore she knew her from somewhere.
"I don't know. Do you? Julia?"
Julia half-smiled in confusion, looking at the woman, trying to place her. "You know me?"
"Oh, yes. I know you."
****
Chase stood waiting, smiling to himself at how things had worked out. Damn, Julia was stubborn. But after he'd thought about what had happened, he knew in his heart what she'd been trying to do. Thank God he'd gotten over his anger and looked deeper into it. He should've known she'd try to be valiant, trying to save him. That was just the kind of person she was. Well, now she knew that she needn't feel that way and they could move forward.
"Hey, don't you attend NYU Law School?" a big guy walking by asked him.
"Uh, yeah, I do," Chase said, turning to look at the guy.
"I thought I'd seen you around. What do you think of that one professor? Oh, I can't think of the name." The guy maneuvered to where Chase was facing him so he had his back to the bathroom.
"What class does he teach?"
"I'm not sure. I'm in my second year. It's the class about, um, oh, it's Evidence. Yeah, that's what it is."
Chase narrowed his eyes at the guy. "Yeah, Professor Ford. He's pretty tough."
"Yeah, he really is."
The hair on the back of Chase's neck stood on end. Ford was a woman. This guy had no idea what he was talking about. Was he trying to distract him? Shit! Chase turned to run toward the restrooms but the guy grabbed his arm and zapped him on the neck with a stun gun, which made Chase hit his knees for a few seconds as his muscles locked up. As soon as he gained control of himself, he ran to the bathroom, opening the door, calling for Julia. No answer. Running in, he checked the stalls but saw no one. He exited and ran down the hallway toward the door that opened to the outside, going out in time to see the guy who’d just stunned him getting into a black Cadillac after he'd shut the door on a screaming Julia then it took off.
"No!" Chase screamed, running after them. As they peeled out of the parking lot, he turned and ran, zigzagging through cars, then jumped in the car and sped out onto 42 Street, almost hitting a taxi in the process. “Come on! Come on!” he shouted at the vehicles that were taking their sweet time and not getting out of his way. He couldn’t even see the car Julia had been thrown into up ahead anywhere and he knew there was no way he could catch them. He slammed his hands against the wheel and screamed, "Goddamn you!"
Chapter 23
"Wh-who are you?" Julia asked the woman who sat next to her. The big guy to her right who’d grabbed her scared the shit out of her, so she found herself scooting as far from him as possible without actually touching the redhead. Another huge guy was driving, his head the size of a milk crate. Jeez.
"Oh, I'm sure your father knows," the woman replied, appearing to be bored as she tapped her manicured fingernails on the knee of her crossed leg.
Julia refused to cry. She wasn't giving these people anything. Yet she was scared out of her mind.
Who is she? I know I’ve seen her before. But where? I'm going to die, aren’t I? I've seen their faces. Why would they let me live when I've seen them? They won't. And Allen will never pay to get me back. Oh, God, Chase. He’s going to be so upset that they got me. He'll blame himself, thinking it’s all his fault. But at least he's safe. A sob bubbled up in her chest but she pushed it back down. No tears. She'd give them nothing.
"Put the blindfold on her. Can't let her see where we're heading," the woman ordered.
They drove for at least half an hour. Julia had counted to sixty in her head around thirty times, knowing it wasn't totally accurate, but it did help to soothe her and keep her from losing her mind. When the car stopped, one of the big guys yanked her out, holding her by the arm and took her into a building. She hadn't heard any traffic close by, so she knew they were somewhere remote. Once inside, she was led to a door which opened and then she was taken down some steps.
"Don't take the blindfold off till I shut the door," the big man said then she heard him walk up the stairs, slam the door, and lock it.
Julia immediately took the blindfold off and was surprised to see another woman sitting on a cot looking at her. The woman had long, blond hair that was in a ponytail that was fairly messy. Julia assumed she'd been held in the room for a while.
"Who are you?" the woman asked.
"I'm Julia Cooke. How long have you been down here?"
"I-I don't know. There's no sunlight or clocks or anything. My watch fell off when they grabbed me." The woman started crying. Julia sat on the cot next to her, putting a hand over one of hers.
Be brave. Julia took a deep breath. "We're going to get out of here." And although she knew that was probab
ly a lie, what the hell? This woman deserved a little bit of hope thrown her way. "I've got people looking for me. I'm sure you do too. They'll find us." She patted the woman's hand. "What's your name?"
"Sherry. Sherry Larson," the blond woman said through her sobs.
Julia's mind went on a memory trip just then. Sherry Larson. She'd heard that name before. Larson. Larson... Larson Industries! Allen was friends with Harry Larson, and this was his daughter. Julia knew she'd seen her before at different events or benefit dinners. She was dating, oh, what was his name? Gage... something. Gage's father was another corporate suit who Allen had ties with. Wow. Small friggin' world.
"My father knows yours. And I've seen you before. The last fund raiser at Christie's. You were there, right?"
"Yes." Sherry looked more closely at Julia now and a hint of recognition sparked in her eyes. "Oh! Yes! Julia Cooke! Okay, I know you now. You're dating Jack Moore? I saw you there with him."
Julia chuckled. "No, Jack and I are just good friends. His dad and mine have known each other forever and we always get tossed together at all the dinners."
"Well, he's very handsome." Sherry started laughing, a laugh that kept going until it was almost hysterical. Julia watched this almost in horror as the woman lost it. When Sherry saw Julia staring at her it just launched a new round of crazy giggles. When Julia got up to walk across the room for a minute, Sherry finally caught her breath. "I-I'm sorry. It's just that I've been down here for God knows how long, I'm probably going to die, yet I'm talking about how good looking some guy is." This dispatched a new round of delirious sniggering.
Julia let Sherry have her bats-in-the-belfry moment. She deserved it at the very least. The poor woman had probably sat here for days in this, what the hell was this anyway? Basement? Julia looked around. It looked like a basement. She walked toward a corner in the back that had a lot of clutter in it. Was that some kind of door behind all this stuff?
The door at the top of the stairs opened so Julia walked back toward Sherry. The red-haired woman came walking down, her stiletto boots clicking on each step.
"Placed me yet?" she asked, smirking at Julia.
"No. I haven't," Julia replied.
"We need your father’s phone number." She handed Julia a piece of paper and pen.
"Of course, but don’t count on getting anything from him," Julia muttered.
"What was that? Aw. You and Daddy not get along? Well, this might not be as lucrative a deal as we'd originally thought. But your father has been quite cooperative." She nodded at Sherry. Sherry glanced up quickly then turned away from Ms. Redhead. "He's deposited the money into our account, and as soon as we can verify that it's gone through and he hasn't tried to trace it or anything, you'll be free to go."
"B-but now I've seen you," Sherry stammered, still looking away.
"Oh, yes. That's true. Hm. What to do. What to do," Red replied sardonically as she tapped her finger against her chin.
What a bitch.
The door opened upstairs and one of the big, scary men stuck his head in. "Kid's here. Says he's got some information for you."
"Oh, good. Tell him I'll be right there." Creepy Guy nodded, smiling sadistically at Julia before he closed the door. Red looked back at Julia, taking the paper and pen from her. "You two be good while we figure out what to do with you." She sneered at her and walked toward the stairs.
"I have some other numbers you could call," Julia blurted out. She unknowingly twisted the bracelet on her wrist that Chase had given her.
Red turned. "Oh?"
"Yes. You're right. My father and I don't get along. And I honestly don't think he'd be willing to pay anything for me." Just saying this made Julia's stomach roil. God, how miserable her life with her father had been.
"And whom do you suggest we call?" This had piqued Red's interest. If she played her cards right, she and the goons might be able to make even more money on this one.
"Collin Cooke or Franklin Moore. I think either of them would be willing to pay for me." Even though it greatly saddened her to think that these other men would pay for her release more willingly than her father would, Julia held her head high, her chin jutted out in pride so that Red couldn't see how much it pained her.
"And these men would be willing to do that for you because they're your lovers?" Red knew who the men were but couldn't resist getting a jab in at Julia.
"God, no! One’s a cousin; the other is a close family friend."
"Let me consult with my associates and I'll get back with you." Red turned and headed back up the stairs, her black-leather-covered ass swaying from side to side with each step.
"Who the hell does she think she is, trying to be so businesslike? With those muscleheads? Please. And does she really think she’s sexy? She's old enough to be my mother. She reminds me of my cousin Hadley, just an older version." Julia rolled her eyes. Gossip wasn’t her style but that bitch had pissed her off.
"I've seen her somewhere before," Sherry responded.
"I know. Me too. I just can’t place her.” Julia walked back over to the corner she'd been looking at before Red had made an appearance. "Hey, I think there might be a way out of here."
"What? Really?" Sherry jumped up, going over to where Julia stood.
"Well, there's a bunch of junk against this wall, but if you look back in the corner, it looks like there's a door or something there."
"You're right. I haven't even looked around I've been so upset."
"Tell you what, you keep an eye and ear open, and I'll look into this. See if it just might be a way to get out, okay?"
"Okay. Just be careful. If they see anything's been disturbed, who knows what they'll do."
Julia started moving things, making sure not to make too much of change in where they'd been. If she could just get back to the wall, she could maybe get through the door to see where it led. Sherry paced nervously, chewing on her fingernails, a habit she'd finally broken a year ago. Well, old habits die hard, don't they?
****
"What do you mean they took her?" Allen screamed into the phone. Chase had called, telling him what had happened. "Did you call the police? Where are you?"
"Don't call the police, Allen. If you've read the other news stories, the police have only made things go bad." God, I'm a fuck-up.
"What are we going to do now?" Allen's voice shook. Chase couldn't tell whether it was with fear or anger. Probably both. And he had every right to be experiencing both emotions. Allen had hired him to take care of his daughter, and just as things were heating up, what'd he do? He'd fucked up. Plain and simple.
"Call your driver and meet me at CEP." Chase had called his dad telling him what had happened. Hank had gotten right on it, telling his son to have Allen come in but not to involve the police or anyone else for that matter. Better to keep this to themselves. Didn't need more people fucking shit up.
Allen sat in the back of the car staring at his phone willing it to ring so they could get this going. If anything happened to Julia, he'd never forgive himself. He should have been there for her all those years and he hadn't. If he didn't get the chance to make it up to her, he'd didn’t know what he’d do.
****
On the drive to CEP, Chase was operating on autopilot. If he even dared to stop and think about what was happening, he knew he'd lose his shit. Best to stay focused. Not think at all. Just do. No emotions. No feelings. That was the safe way to deal with this. Stay alert. You'll find her. He clenched the steering wheel with his hands, cursing under his breath.
"Julia. I'm so sorry. I promise I'll find you. And I won't stop until everyone involved pays."
****
"What? It better be good." The Boss glared at Josh.
"It is. First of all, I'll tell you where we're at in this. The bodyguard is freaking out. So damn glad you got the fucker back for what he did to me." Josh looked at Liam and Brady, his two blackened eyes staring them down, not to mention his swollen nose that stuck out from h
is face. Liam sneered and Brady stared at him like the soulless creature he was. Josh mentally rolled his eyes at the scary fuck. Didn't dare do that shit openly, though, or his nose would become a gusher again. "You can ask for a lot more money from Allen Cooke. Believe me, I know. The guy's definitely loaded, but there was a life insurance policy through Lloyd's of London on his wife. Are you ready for this?"
"Yes. Spit it out!" Red was growing impatient.
"Ten million! So, on top of his net worth through his business and investments, he's sitting on quite the windfall... if you want to call his wife's dying a windfall..." Josh mumbled the last part. Shit, am I developing a conscience now? He frowned. He wasn't used to feeling bad for anyone but himself.
"Problem. The Cooke girl seems to think dear old Dad won't pay up. She told me she has other options, though.” She looked at her two meatheads. “Try getting through to her father. If he's worth that much, we can make bank. Maybe his pride will make him pay if we call the other men she mentioned."
Liam and Brady nodded their heads at the Boss's wisdom.
"Well? Call him!" she screamed at them, jolting them out of their cogitating. They left to go into the kitchen to make the call. The Boss looked at Josh through her lashes, making his stomach do a flip flop. She wanted him again. Fuck. The good thing was he hadn't eaten anything so he'd only have to deal with dry heaves after. Great life you’ve carved out for yourself here, buddy boy.
****
"Julia!" Sherry hissed. The basement door opened and someone was coming down the stairs.
Shit! She was still moving things around. She'd wedged herself between two highboards, trying to push an old bedspring away to get closer to the door when she heard Sherry calling her. Sherry stood up and walked as far away from where Julia was as she possibly could so that whoever was coming down the stairs would keep their eye on her instead of seeing what Julia was doing. Julia made it out of the damned obstacle course just as Brady hit the bottom step. He hadn't seen her, so she slowly eased away from the corner toward the other side of the room. He caught her movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to glower at her.
Being Chased Page 25