Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3) (23 page)

A
few minutes later she walked back into the room as if nothing ever
happened. None of them brought it up again.

“
Look
Lisa, you need to get this little man moving. I have to fly out
tomorrow with Gavin. We'll be gone for four days. If he doesn't make
an appearance, we'll have to wait until the weekend to see him. Can
you put in a good word for us?” Ethan joked.

“
I'll
see what I can do,” Lisa replied.

They
all sat for a few more hours. Julie was tired and snuggled up on the
couch with her head on Gavin's leg. Ethan wanted so badly to have her
curled up against him. He wanted to hold her while she slept. What
are you thinking? He let out a sigh. What the hell?

Julie
stayed in the room with Lisa and Josh while they had the baby.
Everyone else had to wait in a room down the hall. Ethan wanted
everything to be okay for the baby. Once he knew the little guy was
born, he would feel so much better. There was still the issue of
Jason. Being in the hospital, he knew Julie was safe and let himself
relax enough to take a small nap. All he could think about was being
gone for four days with Julie at home alone. He had just gotten the
information from the investigator that morning. Ethan was going to
take the stuff on his trip and go over everything. He would have John
drive by and make sure she was okay each day. When he got home, he
would have all of the facts and she would be forced to talk to him
about it.

The
door flew open. Julie hurried in to announce that baby Jack had been
born and everything was great for mommy and baby. She had the biggest
smile on her face. Ethan wanted to make her smile like that. Could he
ever be the man she deserved? The man that would do everything he
could to keep her safe and protect her? She deserved to feel good
about herself and know that the man she was with would never do
anything to hurt her. He could see in her eyes the love she had for
the baby that had just been born. Could he ever be a family man?

Julie
was so tired when she finally left the hospital. It seemed like Lisa
had been in labor forever. Staying up so late the night before didn't
help either but was totally worth it. When she got home, she went
straight to bed. The only lights she turned on were in her bathroom
and bedroom. How could she be so exhausted?

She
closed her eyes and thought about the day that had just passed. How
could she almost say she loved him? It had to have been how tired she
was. What had he meant when he said he could never be good enough for
her? How could he ever think that? It was her who would never be good
enough for him.

She
opened her eyes to the sun beaming through the window. When had she
fallen asleep? She really must have been exhausted. When Julie
grabbed her phone to check her email, she noticed a text. Maybe it
was from Ethan, she thought with a smile. He would be flying out soon
with Gavin. Maybe he was saying goodbye. The text was from an
unfamiliar number and had come in early the evening before. How had
she missed it? She felt her hands shake. How could she still fear him
after so many years had passed? Her eyes widened as she read it.

“
You're
mine bitch. Stay away from him. I saw him leave your house this
morning. He'll never have you. You are mine. It would do you good to
remember that.”

Julie
dropped her phone on the bed. Tears filled her eyes as her body
shook. Why? What was she going to do? He had to have been the one to
leave those flowers. How did he know where she lived? Why wouldn't he
just leave her alone?

She
was so scared and had no idea what to do. Should she call the police?
What were they going to do? She had managed to keep him away from her
family. There was no way she was getting them involved. Julie didn't
know who could help her or what to do. Her mind kept going to Ethan.
If Jason had seen Ethan leave her house, did that mean he knew who
Ethan was? She was worried for his safety. Would Jason go after him?
Julie had to keep Ethan safe. He never asked to be a part of her
past.

Julie
picked her phone up and went to his number. She didn't know what else
to do. He had to know. She had to warn him.

“
Hey,
what's up?” Ethan asked.

He
sounded like he was out of breath.

“
Where
are you?” she asked, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

“
I'm
at the airport. Where are you? What's wrong?” he asked.

“
I
thought you might still be at home.”

“
What's
going on?” he asked in a harsh tone.

“
Have
a good trip. I'm sorry for calling. I have to go,” she said.

Julie
knew he would be safe while he was out of town. She wanted to hurry
and get him off the phone. At least she was the only one in danger.

“
Don't
you dare hang up this phone. Did he call you again?” he asked.

She
heard a crash sound, but she couldn't tell if it came from inside the
house or not.

“
What
was that noise?” Ethan yelled.

“
I
don't know. I'm in my room. I got a text last night, but I didn't see
it until today. I'm scared, Ethan.”

“
I'm
on my way.”

“
Go
with Gavin on the trip. Don't say anything to him. I'll call the
police,” she said.

“
Call
them. Stay where you are. I'm on my way. I'll call you right back.
Call them now,” he snapped.

***

Ethan
was so scared. If that punk put one hand on her, he was going to kill
him. He had to get there as fast as he could. She had to be okay.

“
I
have to go. Here's everything you need for the meeting,” Ethan
snapped, as he shoved his laptop bag at Gavin.

“
Where
are you going?” Gavin asked. “I need you at this meeting.
Do you know how huge this deal is? I can't believe you're not going.
Is it that girl again? You need to think about things. This is
millions of dollars. Are you going to throw it all away over some
pussy?”

“
I
don't care. I have to go. It's not what you think. I'm sorry,”
Ethan snapped.

He
grabbed his other bag from the chair next to him and took off
running. The file on Julie was in it. There was no way he wanted
Gavin to see those papers. Julie could share that with him when she
was ready. Ethan was so glad he was at the airport. It was much
closer to Julie's place than his house was. He got in a cab and
yelled for the driver to go. When he called Julie back, she didn't
answer the phone.

“
Shit!”
he yelled. “Get there as fast as you can.”

The
driver sped down the road. Ethan was relieved there was no traffic.
Please be okay, he thought. What was Jason capable of? Why couldn't
the guy just move on? He dialed her number nonstop. When she didn't
answer, he called John. Had she had a chance to call the police? Did
Jason have her? He made it there in record time. As soon as the cab
pulled up, Ethan threw a hundred dollar bill into the front seat,
grabbed his bag, and ran for the house.

The
front door wasn't locked. He walked in to see furniture thrown
everywhere. Had she confronted him? What the hell happened? Ethan
heard her yell from her room.

“
Let
me go, Jason. Why are you doing this?”

When
he got to the door, it was locked. Running on pure adrenaline, he
threw his shoulder into the door as hard as he could. The hinge
busted and the cheap door popped open. The fear he saw in her eyes
sent a shooting pain straight to his heart. Help her, he thought. You
have to save her from that piece of shit. A creepy looking guy stood
over her. Ethan saw red marks and scrapes on the side of her face,
and her wrists were tied to her headboard.

“
If
you know what's good for you, you'll leave now,” the guy said,
as he turned to face Ethan.

He
had dark eyes and a beard starting to grow. It looked like he hadn't
slept in days. The look in on his face was something Ethan couldn't
place. He was either high or drunk off his ass.

“
Get
away from her, Jason.” Ethan snapped.

At
that moment, Ethan was happy for the time he spent in the gym trying
to forget his past.

“
How
do you know my name? Who do you think you are? This is my woman. She
always has been. There is no way some rich ass is going to take her
from me. She is mine. Do you hear me?” Jason yelled.

Julie
curled her body up on her bed as she sobbed.

Jason
had stepped back a bit as he yelled at Ethan. She tried to move away
from him, but her arms were tied to tight for her to move. She pulled
as hard as she could to try to free herself but stopped when the
ropes cut through her skin. Ethan walked toward Jason.

“
Why
do you even want her? She's not worth anything. She's just a dumb
bitch. If she would have listened to me like she was supposed to
years ago, we wouldn't be here right now. Leave us alone,”
Jason said as he lunged toward Ethan.

Ethan
drew his hand back and punched him in the face. Jason's eyes darkened
as he jumped at Ethan and took him to the ground. When Ethan hit the
ground, he felt a pop in his wrist as pain shot up his arm.

“
Fuck!”
he yelled.

All
he could think about was keeping Julie safe. She was crying
hysterically. There was no way she was going through what she did the
last time. He would never let anything happen to her again. With all
he could, Ethan flipped Jason onto his back and straddled his chest.
Anger surged through his veins as he punched Jason in the face. He
kept running through what the investigator told him Jason had done to
her. She had been hurt badly and went through it all alone. He
couldn't take it. How could anyone hurt her? Something snapped in his
head and he unleashed it all.

“
You
will never fucking touch her again,” Ethan screamed, as he
punched him again and again. “I will never let you hurt her. Do
you hear me? She will never be yours. You better stay the fuck away
from her.”

Jason
stopped fighting back, but Ethan couldn't stop himself. He continued
to punch him harder.

“
Stop,
Ethan, Stop!” Julie yelled. “I'm okay. Please, stop.”

He
heard her pleading with him. Ethan shook his head and looked down.
There was red liquid everywhere. His hands were covered in Jason's
blood and his hand was swelled and purple. Ethan looked up at her.
The fear in her eyes was replaced with concern.

“
I
don't think he's going to get up. Please untie me. I want to look at
your hands. You have to make your flight. Gavin is going to be so mad
at me. I don't want you to miss your meeting,” she cried as her
head hung down.

Ethan
stood up and walked to her, just as a police officer ran through the
door with his gun drawn. John was the second officer into the room.

“
Shit,
Ethan,” John gasped. “What the hell happened? Julie, are
you okay?”

Ethan
hurried to untie her wrists before anyone else saw them.

“
John,
you need to go out there. It's bad enough Ethan is seeing this. I
can't have you in here,” she cried.

“
Is
this him?” John asked. “Is this the piece of shit that
did that?”

“
Yes,”
Ethan said, as he motioned to the guy on the floor.

“
What
the hell happened to your hands?” John asked.

“
His
face,” Ethan replied. “I had to help her. He was hurting
her. I think my wrist is broken.”

Ethan
held Julie in his lap while the police went through everything. Jason
had gone through her things and trashed her house. They couldn't tell
if he had done it the night before or that morning. Ethan was so
relieved that he had gotten there before Jason was able to hurt her.
She held her arms around his neck tight as she cried. Jason was beat
up pretty bad. They weren't sure how bad his injuries were. The
paramedics took him out of the house.