Julie told herself that, but she hadn’t really believed it until now. Until she’d listened to Hattie draw her last breath at the hands of Sebastian’s men.
A sob pushed past her lips a heartbeat before she felt him. Muscular arms reached for her and pulled her close and she found herself enveloped in the strong, secure warmth that was Dylan Garrett.
It was an embrace she’d felt many times over the past ten years. Back at Texas A & M when she’d been particularly frustrated over a poor test score. In the first year of her marriage when she’d been lonely because Sebastian had been working long hours and spending less and less time with her. In the past few months when she’d been particularly frightened because the man she married, the man she’d thought she’d loved, had become her pursuer.
Sebastian. A criminal. A murderer.
She shivered and Dylan’s arms tightened. For the next few moments, the cold gripping her eased and the future didn’t look quite as grim.
That’s the way it always was with Dylan. He made her feel safe and protected and loved. Not loved as in till death do us part. He loved her like a friend, just as Hattie loved her.
The way Hattie had loved her, but the old woman was gone now. Dead.
Because of Julie.
“I want you to take a deep breath and calm down.” Dylan’s words came from far away, pushed past the pounding of her heart and drew her away from the terror that held her captive. And the grief.
“Julie? Can you hear me?” He spoke again and the reality of his voice sent a calming warmth through her.
“I...yes,” she managed with quivering lips.
She did as he instructed and finally the sobs subsided. She swallowed and wiped at her cheeks. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I never expected... I mean, I did expect it. I knew it. I knew what he was capable of. That’s why I left, why I’ve been running, but deep down I guess I never thought he would actually go that far. I didn’t really believe it.” Her gaze lifted and locked with his. “But she’s dead, Dylan.” She bit her lip against another bout of tears. “Hattie’s dead and it’s my fault.”
“First off, it’s not your fault.”
“I led him to her. She helped me and he found her and killed her because of it and there was nothing I could do to stop it—”
“Hold on,” he interrupted her. “I want you to slow down, start at the beginning and tell me everything. And forget the blame. It’s not your fault.” He said the words with such conviction that Julie almost believed them. Except she knew better. If Hattie hadn’t been her friend, hadn’t helped her during a time when she’d had nothing and no one, the old woman would be alive right now.
“She wanted to help you. It was her choice. She knew the danger involved.”
“How could she when I really didn’t? I mean, intellectually I knew Sebastian was capable of this, but in my heart I never truly believed it.”
“No one did.”
“I should have. I heard for myself that day in his office what sort of man he was. He’s involved with the mob, for heaven’s sake. I should have known what he’d be capable of.”
“What’s done is done. We can’t change it. We can only deal with the situation now, which is why I want you to tell me everything. We have to know what we’re up against.”
“What I’m up against,” she corrected. “This isn’t your fight, Dylan. You shouldn’t be here right now. It’s too dangerous. I know I called you, but I panicked. I—”
“This is my fight. You need help. So stop beating yourself up and tell me what happened. From start to finish.”
Julie drew in a deep breath and forced her thoughts back in time, to the moment she’d sat down on the couch. She told him about the phone ringing, about Thomas waking up and the dread in her stomach when she’d heard Hattie’s words.
He found me. They want the locket, Julie...the locket.
As Julie told Dylan about Hattie’s labored breathing and then the silence, she watched as the concern on his face faded into nothing short of pure rage.
“She did her best,” Julie finished. “More than her best to keep my whereabouts safe, but he found the cell phone number, I’m sure of it. He probably knows where I am right now.”
“Maybe,” Dylan said. “But I doubt Sebastian was at Hattie’s—he would have sent hired thugs. He wouldn’t risk his own cover.”
At one time, the reality would have sent a full-blown panic through her, but she was tired. So tired.
And mad, she quickly realized.
The anger rolled through her and she embraced it, letting it fill her with a new sense of determination—a strange emotion to a woman who’d spent the past year afraid of anyone and everything.
Fear had kept her running all this time. Fear for her son’s life. For her own.
The thing was, neither she nor Thomas really had a life.
The realization came as she sat there on the apartment floor, with Dylan next to her, and Hattie’s last words ringing in her ears. They hadn’t been living at all. Merely existing. Surviving. Just when she settled in one spot and established some sense of normalcy, something happened and off she went looking for the next safe place. When she found it, the pattern started all over again.
Thanks to Sebastian.
In the name of money, he’d robbed her and her son of their home, their security, their identity, their future. Now he’d taken Hattie from them, and there was only one thing Julie could do about it.
What she should have done in the first place.
“He’s not coming after me this time,” she said with more determination than she’d felt in a long time.
But then he’d finally pushed her to the edge. Julie Cooper had reached her limit. It was the end of the line. Time for action rather than reaction.
“He sure as hell isn’t,” Dylan growled, “because you’re getting out of here. Now. I know just the place—”
She shook her head. “I didn’t mean that. I meant that he’s not coming after me because I’m beating him to the punch.”
“What are you talking about?”
She gathered her courage and drew it around her like a protective shield. Her gaze met Dylan’s. “I’m going after him.”
CHAPTER TWO
“YOU’RE DOING WHAT?” Dylan stared at Julie and tried to comprehend what she’d just said.
“You heard me. I’m going after him. I’m putting a stop to all of this.” Her gaze lifted from the child resting in her arms. “I can’t do it anymore.”
“You can’t do what? Stay alive? Because that’s what you’re doing right now. You’re surviving and you’re keeping your son safe.”
“Safe?” She shook her head. “Like Hattie? She was as far removed from San Antonio as she could get. Lord, she was miles from civilization. Her place is far back in the swamp and he still found her. And he’ll find me. He’ll find us.” She stared down at the small boy in her arms and touched his chubby cheek.
The sight sent a rush of warmth through Dylan. He loved to watch her look at Thomas, touch him, trace the outline of his perfect little ear with the very tip of her finger.
It wasn’t fair that the little boy’s whole life had been a secret from the start.
“I won’t run anymore. I won’t live in fear of the day he’ll burst through that door the way you just did. I know what he’s capable of now.” A tear slid from the corner of her eye and wound a path down her cheek.
Dylan felt the urge to reach out and catch the drop, to touch his own fingertip to her closed eyelids and erase all the bad things she’d been forced to endure, and it took all his effort to resist.
But he did.
He had to. Old habits died hard, and Dylan had been resisting his feelings for Julie far too long to change now. Besides, with the powerful emotion roiling inside him, he was desperately afraid he’d do something he would surely regret.
Like pull her into his arms and kiss her until she went all soft against him.
But right now he h
ad to talk some sense into her.
“Are you crazy?” he demanded. “You can’t just sit here and wait for those guys to catch up.”
“I’m not going to.”
“Good,” he said, relief rushing through him. A feeling that was short-lived when he heard her next words.
“I’m going after him.”
“You are crazy.”
“Actually, I feel pretty sane.” She gave him a shaky smile and he was reminded of the time they’d gone bungy jumping during spring break. She’d been so determined to do something daring, to live life in the fast lane as she’d dubbed it time and time again.
Anything had been fast compared with her calm, sheltered upbringing in Wisconsin. As the daughter of a dairy farmer, the most excitement she’d seen during her youth was weekly sing-alongs at the local church.
Julie had been determined to try everything she’d been missing, and she’d spent college doing just that. Accumulating new experiences to make up for lost time. Trying her hand at any and everything, no matter how difficult. She’d been determined and totally in awe of life.
He’d always loved that about her.
Hell, he’d loved everything. He still did, and she didn’t have so much as a clue.
“In fact,” she went on, “this is the sanest I’ve felt in a long time. I’ve got a plan.”
“I don’t think I want to hear this.”
“Hattie mentioned something about the locket I gave her. It was a gift from my mother, and it was all I had to give her as payment for taking such good care of Thomas and me. She said the men wanted it.” Her gaze collided with his. “Why?”
“Damned if I know.”
“Me, either.” She shook her head. “But I’m going to find out.”
“You’re going to get yourself into a mess of trouble.”
“I’m already in trouble. And so is Thomas. And so are you.” Her gaze went to his bleeding knuckles, courtesy of the smashed window. As if the wound seemed to register for the first time, she started to get up. “I’ve got a first-aid kit—”
“Forget it. It’s fine. Let’s finish this. You’re not going after Sebastian.”
“I am,” she said, ignoring his words and climbing to her feet. She placed Thomas on the floor and retrieved the kit from the bathroom. Settling on the couch, she patted the seat next to her and motioned him over.
“You’re not,” he said again, gritting his teeth and standing his ground.
“I have to.” She waved a bottle of antibiotic cream at him. “You’re not safe. Neither is anyone else who’s ever had the misfortune to know me. Don’t you see? It has to come to an end sooner or later. I’m just speeding things up by facing the situation now.” Her gaze locked with his again. “I’m going back to Hattie’s to find that locket.”
“What if Hattie misunderstood? What if the locket doesn’t mean a damned thing?”
“What if it does?”
Dylan knew as he took in her stubborn expression, determination glittering in her eyes, that no matter what he said, it would not be enough to keep her from heading to Louisiana. She was going to waltz into the lion’s den.
And damned if he was going to allow her to do it without him.
He drew in a deep breath, crossed the room, sank down onto the couch next to her and held out his bleeding hand.
“All right then. Louisiana, here we come.”
* * *
HE WAS GOING to make her pay.
Sebastian Cooper slammed the phone down and bolted to his feet. He paced the length of his posh office located in the heart of downtown San Antonio and damned himself for letting someone else handle the situation for him.
He should have been the one to question the dying old woman. He would have gotten the truth out of her one way or another before she croaked.
Sebastian always got what he wanted.
But it was too late now. The stubborn old woman was dead and he was no closer to finding the locket.
Thanks to his dear, sweet, pain-in-the-ass wife.
She’d given the old bat the locket in the first place.
Sebastian rubbed his throbbing temples. Of course, that hadn’t started the permanent headache he’d been nursing for more than a year. Julie’s running away had done that.
She’d up and disappeared and he’d been worried. He’d had to be worried. Everyone had expected it of him. Truthfully, she’d inconvenienced him more than anything. He’d had two charity functions the following weekend and she’d been expected to attend with him.
He’d managed to save face, but he hadn’t forgiven her.
His temples pounded all the harder and bitterness welled inside him. His throat burned and his fingers itched to slide around her throat and squeeze.
At first, he’d been merely interested in the locket. If Julie didn’t want to do her duty as Mrs. Sebastian Cooper, he could easily find someone else. But as time had progressed, his headaches had intensified and his anger had stirred.
He pictured Julie’s face and heat surged through him. Now he not only wanted the locket back, he wanted to punish her for causing so much trouble.
For listening in when she’d had no right. His business was his business.
She’d overheard too much and she’d left. He knew that now. But when she disappeared he’d had to call in the cops. Having the cops digging around could have caused him trouble.
But all that would soon be over. While he didn’t have the locket, his men had learned Julie’s cell phone number and had tracked her down.
She was living in the tiny little town of Boot Hill, probably sporting a different hair color, not to mention using an alias. Julie and her baby.
He thought briefly of the child, but he didn’t feel any of the soft emotions most fathers felt. Sebastian hadn’t gotten to where he was by being soft. It took guts and an iron will to run a financial consulting business as ruthless and successful as his. The competition was fierce, but Cooper Consulting had still climbed to the top of the hill and stayed there for the past several years. Thanks to Sebastian’s head for numbers and his competitive edge.
Even in the early days, when his company had been small and insignificant, he hadn’t hesitated to go head-to-head with the big boys. He’d played hard and pushed them all out of the ring, determined to be the only one left standing. The force when it came to business consulting. The king of the hill.
He’d succeeded.
Sebastian always succeeded, and while he still hadn’t found the locket, he wasn’t going to let defeat get the best of him. He would find it, and then his worries would be over.
J. B. Crowe, notorious crime boss, was the only thing standing in Sebastian’s way when it came to controlling the illegal businesses operating in the San Antonio area. He was serving time now, but what Sebastian had on him would lock him behind bars for the rest of his life. And Luke Silva, his right-hand man, would be there by his side.
Then Sebastian would step up and take control.
Control. That’s what it was all about. He liked being the one in power. The boss.
Julie had escaped him for a little while, but Sebastian was on to her now.
He stared at the address he’d written on his notepad and smiled.
Yes, he was on to her, all right.
* * *
“I REALLY DON’T think this is a good idea.” Julie stood in the doorway and glanced around the inside of the small motel room.
A double bed filled most of the space, flanked by two scarred nightstands. A small table and two chairs sat near the doorway. With the psychedelic-patterned bedspread and the green shag carpet, it wasn’t exactly luxury accommodation. But then she hadn’t expected much more when they’d pulled into the parking lot of the Boxcar Inn, the only motel in Willis, Texas. Willis was a desperately small town smack-dab between San Antonio and Houston and the last place Julie had expected Dylan to stop.
That was the trouble in a nutshell. Not the limited accommodations, but the fact that J
ulie didn’t need accommodations.
She needed to keep driving.
She turned toward him. “We can’t stay here.”
“This is the only room they had.” He kicked the door shut behind him and tossed his keys to the small table. “You and Thomas can take the bed. I’ll be fine in one of these chairs.”
“I didn’t mean here. I meant here—this place, this town. We should keep moving.”
“We need to sleep.”
“We can sleep in the car. We’ll take turns driving.”
“Real sleep,” he said. “In a real bed.”
“But the car is fine. Actually, the front seat looks bigger than this bed. Probably more comfortable, too.” She turned back toward him just in time to see the light that flashed in his eyes.
Pleasure.
“A double’s all they had. Don’t worry.” He winked. “I’m not plotting anything other than a few hours of sleep. You’re safe with me.” He shrugged off his jacket. “I’ll just bunk out in one of these chairs.”
“I know I’m safe with you, and you can forget about sleeping in a chair. This bed is plenty big for all of us.” At her words, the strange glimmer faded and his mouth tightened, as if she’d disappointed him somehow.
Crazy. She was definitely exhausted and seeing things. Why would Dylan be disappointed at the notion of a soft mattress?
Before she could contemplate the question, he added, “I need a shower. A cold shower,” he muttered. “Unless you want the bathroom first?”
She shook her head and tried to ignore the strange tingle in her nipples at the sight of his large hands fingering change. Punchy and delusional.
Even so, he really did have nice hands, his fingers long and tanned and—
“If Sebastian’s men are on our trail,” she blurted, anxious to derail her train of thought from the path it was taking, “it seems foolish to slow down, don’t you think?”
“They’d be coming from Louisiana. They’ll be expecting you to run the other way, away from them. They won’t figure you crazy enough to head straight for them.”
Dylan's Destiny Page 2
