Being Chased (24 page)

She went back to her room and called
Lily, telling her what had happened with Chase and about the note she'd gotten. Lily had freaked out for a few minutes before Julia settled her down, telling her it wasn't any big deal. Now if she could only convince herself of that, things would be just peachy.

"
Julia! That's so unselfish of you. You must really love him. You know what they say..."

"No, Li
l, what do they say?"

"You have to lose a fly to catch a trout!"

Julia rolled her eyes at Lily and her ridiculous animal sayings. "Sure, Lil."

"I'm sorry things are bad for you right now, but maybe you should get your mind off everything. Do you
wanna go see a movie tonight? Claire and her new boyfriend are going. And I've actually got a date!"

"Who?"
Julia asked, surprised. Lily was major-league picky about who she dated, so this was huge news.

"A guy named Garrett who works in my office. He's not like gorgeous, but he's so funny! He cracks me up all the time!
And he always makes sure that I've got fresh coffee in the morning. Isn't that sweet?"

"Good for you, Lil
. He sounds like a nice guy." Julia's heart clenched as she remembered Chase and her drinking coffee and eating breakfast together at the beach house. She was missing him already and it'd been what, a whole fourteen hours?

"Okay, call me later and let me know if you want to see the flick with us! Take care, panda bear!"
Julia couldn't help but chuckle. Lily was anything if not consistent in her silliness.

To keep herself
occupied, and her brain from exploding from thinking about Chase, Julia decided to clean her room. She started with her dresser, pulling everything out then putting it back in in pretty much the same damned order it'd already been. Her closet was next. She went through it getting rid of clothes she hadn't worn in six months. Wasn't that the rule? She'd have to go down to the Goodwill Store and drop off the bags she'd collected. Next came her bathroom. Peggy had already cleaned it, but Julia went over it again, making it shine like a new penny. Jesus. She was bored out of her mind but at least she hadn't thought about Chase in the past twenty minutes. Annnnd now she had. Shit.

It was after three so she made herself a sandwich.
Allen had retired to his office and Chase still hadn't come back. What if he'd quit? As in, he hated her and didn't want to be around her anymore much less try to protect her stupid ass, quit? She sat at the bar eating as every scenario flashed through her head: he'd probably called and told Allen he couldn't work for him anymore because his daughter was a hateful, horrible hag; or he'd found another job guarding a beautiful, young woman who appreciated him and made him feel like he mattered to her; or he was never coming back because he didn’t really love her, having just said it because she had. Oh, God. That would devastate her. She sighed then put her plate in the dishwasher. As she was about to open the door to her room, the front door opened. She turned and saw Chase walk in and when his eyes met hers, the look on his face was so intense, so damned sexy, it made her want to go to him, tear his shirt off, throw him down, straddle him and... 
Stop
! Jeez! Well, the "plan" was working like a charm, wasn't it?

"Hey," she said timidly.

He just stared at her as he walked toward her. Holy shit. She was paralyzed where she stood. As he approached, it was if he was devouring her with his eyes. She felt her body react to him as her heart sped up and she got damp between her thighs. Wow. The closer he got, the harder her heart beat. A thrum ran through her veins as she anticipated feeling him against her, his hands on her, his lips tasting her. But then he turned and went inside his room slamming the door in her face.

Oh.

She stood there breathing hard, staring at his closed door. 
Ladies and gentlemen, our next stop will be Loserville where those of you who've recently thrown away the best thing that could ever have happened to you will disembark. Thank you for traveling Dumbass Coach Tours.

This sacrificing for love bullshit was no fun at all, damn it.

Lily called Julia several hours later telling her they were all going to the seven o'clock movie and that she just had to come so she could meet Garrett. Lily begged her even though the Chase situation was as messed up as it was. Julia told her she'd try to be there but she didn't know if Allen would let her, which made her feel like she was thirteen again. Ridiculous. After hanging up, she decided she was going regardless of what Allen said. Screw the kidnappers. If they wanted her, they were going to have to work their asses off to make it happen.

"
Allen, I'm going to see a movie tonight with Lily and Claire," she told him as she stood at his office door.

He looked at her over the rim of his glasses like she'd just told him she wa
s pregnant with quadruplets.

"I don't think so. I'll not have you going out for
 
any
 reason much less frivolous trips such as movies."

"You know what? I'm a big girl,
Allen. I can make my own damn decisions. The only reason I've stayed living here is to keep the peace. But maybe that hasn't been such a good idea. I should've moved out years ago. But, nooooo. I had to be the obedient daughter who puts everyone in front of herself, trying to keep the masses happy. Well, screw that! I'm going, and that's final! And don't worry. If I get snatched, I don't expect you to pay one red cent to get me back. I know the money matters more to you than I do, and, by the way, you're an asshole because of that, so you can take that to the bank, 
Dad
!"

She stormed out of his office, walking to the living room and snatching up her purse from the hall tree by the door, leaving, slamming the door behind her. Fuck
Allen. Screw Chase. And to hell with everyone else. By God, she was fed up with it all. Outside the Tower, she hailed a cab telling the driver the theater's address. Laying her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes wondering how her life had gotten so out of control. Um, probably had to do with the fact that she was being hunted like a damned animal. Yeah, that might very well be it.

On the way, s
he called Lily to let her know she'd be meeting them. Lily told her they were all at a restaurant but would be there soon, so after arriving at the theater, she went inside to use the restroom before going back outside to wait on everyone.

In the meantime,
Allen told Chase Julia had left. Chase let out a string of curse words. What the hell was she thinking? God, she was going to give him a fucking ulcer with this running out shit, especially now that things were clearly dangerous.

"I'll find her," he told
Allen as he left the apartment.

Goddamn it.
What was she thinking? As he got in the car he called her cell phone, which, of course, went right to voicemail.

"
Julia, why don't you stop acting like a fucking child and answer your goddamned phone? Allen is going nuts. Call me so I can at least be there to do my job." Shit. She was so hardheaded.

When
Julia listened to his message she was pissed. Who the hell did he think he was to talk to her like that? She grew even angrier as she called him back, jumping right in when he answered. "First of all, I am
not
 acting like a child. I was using the restroom and couldn't get to my phone. Second of all, I'm sure Allen's going nuts wondering how much cash he's going to have to dole out if I get taken. And third, why do you even care, Barney Fife?"

"Really? Is that what I am now?
Because I'm doing my job? Nice. Why don't you get over yourself already?"

Damn. The tone of his voice was ice cold. There was no feeling at all in it.
No emotion. Guess that's what she deserved. She'd been the one to push him away. And wasn't she brilliant for this awesome idea she'd come up with? But he'd been right. She 
was 
being a bitch to him and he didn't deserve that. He was, after all, doing his job as he said. And this temper tantrum she'd thrown? Pretty damned Einstein, wasn't it? She sighed then said, "I'm at the Empire 25 on West 42nd."

"Thank you."
And he hung up.

Wow. So t
his was how it was going to be, huh? But what'd she expect? She sighed again as she sat on a bench outside waiting for her friends.

As she waited, she couldn't help feeling like she was being watched.
Oh, God. What if one of the kidnappers had followed her? What if they were going to take her now? Shit! All she had with her was a can of mace in her purse that Chase had given her. Like the little can would ward off a man who weighed twice as much as she.

She watched
the people coming and going, trying to see who it was that she felt looking at her. The hair at the nape of her neck stood on end as her body went into high alert. But surely no one would try anything out in public like this, right? As her panic level rose, she finally met the eyes that'd been watching her. She squinted, not being sure that she was seeing right, but as the set of blue eyes made their way toward her, she realized who it was.

Josh
. Her ex. Yay.

"Hey,
Julia. Long time, no see," he said, smiling down at her.

"
Josh. Right. Yeah, that shit'll happen when you steal money from people."

"Now, babe. You know I'm going to pay you back. Plus interest."
He smiled his charming smile at her that didn’t so much charm her anymore.

"Yeah? Well, let's see... it's been over two years... s
o, at six percent applied to two grand, that'd be..."

"Babe, I thought you'd be over this by now. I fully intend on paying you back. Promise. I've got a big job coming up and I'll be able to pay you in full."

She stared at him, incredulous. First off, she'd really thought she'd been in love with this guy? And second, she'd really thought she'd been in love with this guy? How could she have been so stupid? He was such a sleazeball. And she'd actually slept with him? Ugh. Shudders ran through her body as that cheery thought grabbed her.

"Oh, well, I'm sure you do. Well, it was nice seeing you,
Josh."

"Aw, that's it,
Julia? Really? I've missed you, babe. I really have. I've been so lost without you."

"Uh huh.
Hence all the desperate calls to get me back. Wait. Nope. Didn't happen." She rolled her eyes. Please. This guy was a total idiot. And she felt so dumb for ever being with him.

"I tried, babe!
But you changed your phone number! I couldn't get a hold of you!"

"Well, that's what happens when people get screwed over. They tend not to want to have contact with that person anymore." She stood up, trying to move away from him but he grabbed her by the arm.

"Where you going? I know you've missed me, too, Julia." Before she could use one of the evasive moves Chase had taught her on him, he pulled her to his body, kissing her hard. She struggled, trying to push him away, but she was trapped in his arms. His hand moved down and squeezed her ass. She felt as if she were about to throw up in his mouth, which would’ve been
so
pleasant, when he was wrenched away from her. She heard a horrible crunching sound and then Josh cried out. Catching her breath, she saw that Chase had Josh in a headlock and blood was gushing out of Josh's nose. All she could think was that Chase sure liked that nose move, didn't he?

"Ge
t the fuck out of here, asshole!” Chase had let Josh go and was now glaring at him.

“You broke my fucking nose! Let’s see what the cops have to say about this shit!”

“ You even think about pressing charges and you'll be up for attempted rape. Got that, fucker?" Chase took a step toward him, and Josh backed away, hands up at his sides in a surrender pose before he slunk off like the piece of trash that he was. "You alright?" Chase asked turning back to Julia, his gray eyes icy.

"Yes,"
she replied in a small voice. God, he was so angry. And what would've happened if he hadn't shown up? She started shaking realizing what Josh might've tried. "Chase, look, I—"

"Save it. You wanted to see
a movie? You're seeing a goddamned movie." He took her arm and led them to the ticket booth, purchasing two tickets to the seven o'clock show then escorted her inside. inside. "You want popcorn, 
Princess
?"

"
Chase, stop."

"What? You're so high and fucking mighty now that you can take care of yourself, right?" he hissed at her.

"You don't understand. I felt so trapped. Allen—"

"I don't want to hear anything personal anymore. I'm here to do my job,
end of story."

She look
ed up at him with her big, hazel eyes looking all sad, and it literally broke his heart to be treating her this way. That is if he'd still had a heart since she'd pretty much stomped the shit out of it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He ignored her as they stood in line because he'd decided that he wanted popcorn whether she did or not.

The girls and their dates arrived
and they all "hi'd" each other. Lily introduced Julia and Chase to Garrett. Julia liked him right away. He was kind of nerdy but seemed to be nice as could be. Claire introduced them to her date then they got refreshments.

*
***

"Yeah, I found her. That asshole ex-boyfriend of hers was messing with her. Yes.
Yes, sir. I took care of him. Yeah. Totally my pleasure." Chase had broken away from the group for a few minutes to call Allen and let him know he'd found Julia. After he'd hung up he saw that everyone was standing in the lobby talking, waiting for the movie to start, so he just stepped back and observed, keeping an eye out for any threats.

Julia was talking to Lily and Garrett thinking they made the perfect couple. They were even finishin
g each other's sentences. She'd never seen Lily acting all giddy the way she was with Garrett, and Julia was happy for her. Lily deserved someone who'd make her happy. She also noticed that Claire gave new meaning to the word "smitten." She was gushing all over her new boyfriend, having to be touching him somehow at all times. Julia inwardly snorted thinking maybe she should check outside to see if any porkers happened to be soaring by since she'd never seen Claire serious about any one man before.

In the meantime, Chase tried not to look at Julia. He really did.
But, damn it if she wasn't like the North Pole and his eyes were the needle of a compass constantly being drawn to her. If he'd never gotten involved with her, his emotions wouldn't be pinballing inside his skull right now. This was exactly the reason why he'd promised himself he'd never get attached to another woman again after Tracy had pulled the bullshit she had. He was so angry that it was all he could do to keep from going all MMA on someone's ass, beating the ever-living shit out of them. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice... and I'm the biggest idiot in the world.

Feeling his eyes on her, Julia glanced at Chase and was instantly sorry that she had. He w
as staring at her, his eyes boring into her so hard it made her breath hitch. She turned away immediately, clearing her throat, acting interested in a movie poster. He was so mad. She hadn't wanted things to turn out this way.

But
when someone tells you that they love you, it’s probably not good to reply that maybe there’s someone else out there for the both of you. Unless you're purposely wanting them to hate you for an eternity, which was how Chase felt about her now. But she'd only been trying to protect him. Wrong thing to do. Had he been serious that there was no going back now? Looking blankly at the poster, she almost bit her bottom lip in two as she prayed he hadn't.

“Let’s go!” Lily said to everyone heading to their theater.

Julia sat down next to Claire thinking  Chase was right behind her, but when she turned, she saw that Lily was on her other side and he was nowhere to be found. Then she heard him talking to Claire’s date and realized he was sitting in the row behind them.

She turned to her right and their eyes locked. There was something strange about the way he was looking at her. Something was wrong with his eyes.

Soulless.

That's what they were, she decided as he glowered at her. Wow. He was really done with her, wasn't he?