Chase & Chloe

by Simone Elise

  It made my blood boil that he had the guts to come after her after what he did to her. He might want her back, but she was mine and not one other living soul was having her on my watch. As long as I breathed, I would look after her, and he wouldn't be getting anywhere near her.

  I should have put a bullet in him instead of a beating.

  I knocked again and no answer. I did tell her not to answer the door while I was gone.

  I pulled out her room key that I took earlier, just in case she didn't answer her door or she was asleep. After last night, she needed sleep. The door opened up and I walked in, expecting to see Chloe asleep on the bed. I didn't expect to walk into an empty room.

  I walked over to the table to find a note.

  It's better this way. No need for you to get into trouble because of me. Chloe.

  I crumpled up the piece of paper in my hand. Which part of `she was mine` didn't she get when I said it to her? I would be protecting her. I would be deflecting the police from her. It was my job, not hers. She didn't need to run because I would make sure she had nothing to run from.

  I pulled out my phone and dialed Chloe's number. If she was smart, she would pick up. It went straight to voicemail.

  Scrolling down the names, I called Oliver. She was taking the hard way and I wasn't about to let her be arrested or worse, get dragged back to that hellhole.

  She clearly didn't understand me when I said she was mine.

  "Yep?" Oliver answered.

  "I need you to run a name for me."

  "Shoot."

  "Maddie Preston. Check trains and buses."

  "Right, you going to wait on the line while I do it?"

  "Yep."

  A few minutes passed.

  “Okay, she boarded a train to the bus station and just got on a bus heading to Sydney." Oliver said.

  "Tell the boys we aren't heading to Adelaide." I opened the hotel door. "We're heading to Sydney."

  “Okay, but who is this Maddie chick?" Oliver was interested. I didn't chase women, but when it came to Chloe, I'd chase her to the end of the earth.

  "Someone I have unfinished business with. Watch the bus, then when we get there, start fishing around to see what hotel she's at." I walked to the elevator, hanging up the phone.

  I would find her, and, when I did, I'd make sure she understood what I meant when I said she was mine. Mine to love, mine have, mine to protect and mine alone.

  Chapter 31

  One Month Later

  Chase's Point of View

  I was in a foul mood, more than usual. Sure, I hadn't been a joy to be around not since she left. I hadn't been able to look at another woman since being with Chloe. They didn't interest me one bit and when the boys dragged me here to 'loosen' me up, I knew they were coming here more for themselves. I was clearly not wanting to be here but they hadn't noticed. We were at a strip club, which was why I was even in a worse mood than my normal foul mood because I was surrounded by half-naked women.

  While the boys were getting lap dances and being dragged off to private rooms, I was sitting in the corner, scrolling on my phone on the federal database looking for Chloe.

  I had learned a lot from the database about her. She was smart, extremely smart. She had won awards for writing and public speaking. Her teachers had awarded her the next up-and-coming, and she had already been awarded scholarships for university. She was an avid reader and I had read every one of her school reports. All glowing. It stuck pride in me, reading it.

  She was also fit, taking numerous awards for track which explained why she so easily beat Oliver and could run so fast on the treadmill.

  I wasn't just hooked on any girl, I was hooked on a smart, intellectual, smoking-hot woman and I had it bad for her.

  I lit up a cigarette and gave the female coming at me the clear look to piss off. Her eyes widened when she saw I clearly wasn't interested. She turned around and headed back to my group of idiot brothers, who were tipping over the amount required. The whores already had their clothes off. I don't know why they were stuffing the women's underwear with hundred-dollar bills.

  The police were still following us. We had all been questioned about Chloe, even the boys had been pulled over to be asked questions. I was trying to put an end to this Joe problem, but what Chloe failed to mention he wasn't just a cop, he was a highly-ranked Detective and he was on a manhunt for Chloe.

  I had looked at the photos of his 'injuries,' the ones I had forced on him. Yeah, I had given him a beating, but for him to flat out lie and say a girl did that to him? It pissed me right off. Couldn't he be a man and come after me himself? He said she did it with a bat. He was going to need a bat when I track him down.

  I inhaled on the cigarette. I was living on cigarettes and beer. Oliver was still tracking the Maddie Preston name but, since coming to Sydney, it hadn't shown up anywhere and it had been a month, which led me to relying on police information and they had little to nothing.

  Chloe's name had been searched multiple times, nearly daily, which meant I wasn't the only one searching for her. Her stepfather was keeping a close eye on it as well.

  But they were still coming up with nothing.

  The last entry put in her file was an arrest warrant, then nothing.

  "Hey Chase, you going to join us?" Archie had wandered over with a female under his arm. "You know this night was for you?"

  "No."

  "Come on. The women are hot."

  They had nothing on Chloe. "Piss off, Archie."

  Just thinking about that night Chloe and I spent together had me reaching for another cigarette. She was so bloody perfect and I promised myself I wouldn't give up on her but, right now, I didn't know where she was.

  She could be anywhere.

  I ran my hands through my hair, feeling more frustrated than normal.

  I had to get out of here. I picked up my keys and threw a twenty on the table for the beer.

  "Where you going?" Archie watched me get up.

  "Out of here."

  "But you've been drinking."

  "One beer. I'm under the limit." Not that it was something I would abide by, neither would Archie when it came down to it, but he was just making up reasons for me to stay. As they said, 'I wasn't myself.' This was meant to fix me, but the only fix I needed was from a blonde with vivid blue eyes and the perfect body that fitted mine.

  "Come on, Chase!" Archie groaned. "You haven't partied hard in months."

  He was right. I hadn't been drunk since that night with Chloe, and I hadn't so much as looked at another woman. Something had switched inside me. My sole purpose was to find her, and I couldn't do that if I was half stoned or drunk.

  So I did give up the women and drugs. Yeah, I hadn't been in a great mood, but that wasn't the reason. It was because I was missing Chloe. She had given me a taste of perfection, and now that was all I was craving.

  "Night." I walked past him, leaving him with the rest of them. They would party hard and show up sometime tomorrow.

  I walked out into the fresh air to my bike. There were people everywhere; everyone having a great Saturday night.

  I straddled my bike. I'd head back through the city just in case she was out, just in case I'd see her. It was a pathetic option, but I was taking it.

  ***

  I was outside smoking, reading the paper. It was early morning and I didn't expect to be seeing anyone until late afternoon, so I was surprised to see Oliver walking towards me.

  "Hey, Chase."

  "Oliver." I looked back at my paper. He must want something to be up before the others. "Late night?" I didn’t hear them get back.

  "Nah, haven't gone to bed yet." Oliver grinned and dragged a chair over to me, straddling it.

  I arched an eyebrow at that. "What has you up?"

  "Maddie Preston."

  My eyes snapped to him. Did he know something? Had she finally showed up? Suddenly, my stomach was turning
and twisting, and I felt like I was going to be sick.

  "What about her?" I cleared my throat and did my best to not let my emotions show, but Oliver would be able to read my reaction clearly. I was freaking out, and it was obvious.

  "I was looking at the picture of her boarding the bus."

  I hadn't seen those photos. "And?" I doubted her boarding the bus would be that interesting. I was hoping he had found her.

  Oliver gave me a challenging look. "She's blonde."

  "Yep."

  "Looks like another blonde I know."

  He was on to me. I shifted in my seat, feeling very uncomfortable under his stare.

  "That so."

  "Yeah, one. We said goodbye too." Oliver leaned forward on the chair. "Wanna explain to me why we are tracking Chloe?"

  No. "Don't have to." I didn't need to defend my actions to him. I also didn't need his opinion.

  "Come on, Chase. You had me tracking the wrong person. If I had known I was tracking Chloe, I would have found her by now. If you tell me why, I might be able to help."

  He had a point, but I doubted he would be able to find anything on the database about Chloe that I didn't already know. "I need to find her." I sat up in my seat, dropping the paper on the table. It was a need, not a want. I needed her.

  "Well, lucky for you. I have."

  "What!" Had he just said what I thought he said?

  "Like I said, you should have told me we were looking for Chloe."

  "How did you find her?"

  "She’s wanted." He shifted on the seat, moving forward. "And it helped that she handed herself in this morning."

  I was up on my feet. "She did what!"

  "She was taken in by a Detective Joe this morning. Well, he logged the file in anyway."

  Her stepfather.

  Why the hell would she go and do something stupid like that? Didn't she know she had options? I was an option. She could have relied on me. I would have found her and I would have rescued her.

  Well, she would need a lawyer as there was no way was I letting her go back to him. I could organize a lawyer as we had a good one. Mrs. Brooks was expensive, but she was good. She had gotten me off charges I was actually guilty of. A case like Chloe's would be a breeze for her.

  I was scrolling through my phone for her number. Good thing was she traveled, so she would come here.

  "What are you doing?" Oliver asked, peeking over to my phone.

  "Organizing Chloe a lawyer."

  "Mrs. Brooks?"

  "Yep."

  I was about to dial her number when Jess's face lit up on my screen. Of all times for her to be calling, right now wasn't the best timing, but I couldn't just ignore it. She wouldn't be calling at ten past seven in the morning unless it was important.

  "Hello?" I answered. Chloe needed me right now. Right now she would be in a jail cell dealing with that monster of a man. The man I should have put a bullet in.

  "Chase." Jess was sobbing.

  "Jess, what's wrong?"

  "I've been arrested."

  "For what?" What had she got herself into now? I expected it to be a drunk-driving incident. Being the eldest in the family, they always turned to me when things were going to shit.

  "For murder."

  Suddenly, I was needing Mrs. Brooks for a whole other reason.

  Chapter 32

  Chase's Point of View

  The girls flew in that afternoon. Jess was released on bail and flew to us. Mrs. Brooks also flew in and now the whole family was gathered to hear where Jess stood. She was being charged for the murder of Harris Roberts. The man I killed. Her boyfriend.

  Why the police were only now picking up on it was beyond me.

  "We are in a tough situation," Mrs. Brooks sighed, taking off her glasses.

  We were in a conference room at a hotel. I had booked it for this purpose so we could all be together while discussing Jess's case.

  "Jess didn't do it. Pretty simple to me," Marc barked at her. Marc and Mrs. Brooks never got on. She had represented him and he ended up doing two years.

  "Yes, that might be the case. But," Mrs. Brooks kept her voice professional and pulled out a file from her briefcase. "Her fingerprints were found at the scene. They have motive and a star witness."

  "A star witness." I spoke up, "No one knows what we did, only the people in this room. There was no witness."

  And if someone had witnessed it, they wouldn't be framing Jess for it, they would be pointing the finger directly at me.

  She looked down at the file. "A Chloe Marshall has been named."

  Did I just hear her correctly? Everyone turned to look at me. I didn't understand.

  "What did you say?" I looked at Mrs. Brooks.

  "A Chloe Marshall has been named as the witness." Mrs. Brooks looked at me oddly.

  My hearing wasn't failing.

  I swallowed hard. This couldn't be happening. Chloe wouldn't do that to me. She wouldn't do that to Jess.

  "Our best option is to plead guilty," Mrs. Brooks said, causing an uproar. I was still focused on those few little words. Chloe Marshall. I was snapped back into the moment when Marc entered into another argument with Mrs. Brooks.

  "How long?" Jess muttered, and when no one answered her, she said loudly. "How long will I be facing?"

  Mrs. Brooks looked at her with pity. "Thirty to forty years."

  "That won't be happening." I was back with it now. I would talk to Chloe and I would make this go away.

  Jess looked at me with red eyes. "Mrs. Brooks knows what's best, Chase."

  "In this case, she doesn't. I'll fix it. Without that witness statement, this doesn't stand a chance in court. Correct?" I looked at Mrs. Brooks. She nodded her head.

  "Without the witness statement, they would have nothing to back up their claims." Mrs. Brooks said. "But corrupting witnesses does have penalties as well, Chase."

  I stood up, "Oliver, find out where Chloe is." I'd settle this. I cared for Chloe. Hell, I think I was in love with her and, after everything that has happened, I was sure she felt something towards me. She wouldn't do this to me, she wouldn't do this to my family. She knew what my family meant to me; my sisters especially.

  And, in this case, if Chloe really did want to charge someone with murder, she could charge me, not my sister. Why she was making up lies, I didn't know, but I was going to get to the bottom of it.

  ***

  Oliver had tracked her to the Novotel Hotel, Room 23. She had been released on bail as well, but, according to the check-in information, her stepfather had booked the room, so I knew she wasn't alone.

  I had a key to the room and was waiting in the hallway. Oliver was making a fake call to the reception area to get Detective Joe to the lobby.

  I waited for the door to open. It did, and I turned my back and pretended to get into the room I was standing at. I felt the man I had beaten walk past me. My back was to him so I waited until he was in the elevator, then I made my move.

  Now it was time to get answers and, as I stuck the key in the door, it hit me. I was going to see her, finally see her. I closed my eyes and unlocked the door. After one long month, I'd be face to face with her.

  The door opened up and I stepped in. There she was, leaning against a table. Her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, her eyes red. She looked even smaller, if that was possible. She looked like she hadn't slept in weeks.

  Her eyes went wide when she spotted me, and she blinked as if she didn't believe what she was seeing.

  "Chase, what are you doing here?" Panic was in her voice and she moved across the room quickly. "He'll be back any minute!"

  "I don't care." And I didn't. It was the last thing on my mind. I didn't care if he came back. I could take him again and this time, I might not leave him breathing.

  "You can't be here." She put her hands on me, pushing me back.

  "No, Chloe, you need to listen to me." I gripped her shou
lders, steadying her. "You can't testify against Jess."

  Didn't she realize this would tear my family apart? I could do the time, Jess couldn't.

  "What? Why?" She frowned up at me.

  "You're joking, right? She's my sister, she’s my family. She means the world to me and you are flat out lying."

  "No Chase, you don't understand." She shook her head. "I have to."

  "No, you don't."

  "It's the only way." She looked at the open door. "Now you need to go."

  She couldn't be serious right now? I didn't want to believe that the woman I loved was willing to rip my family apart. I didn't want to believe that the woman I gave my heart to would do this to me. I had to talk sense to her.

  "Leave, Chase."

  "Not until you tell me you won't lie."

  She looked at me tearfully. "It's the only option." Her words were like a soccer punch to my guts. I worshiped her, I had spent countless hours thinking about one thing - her but now she was really standing here saying her only option was to rip my family apart, to put my sister behind bars.

  "Well, tell them I did it." If she was going to lie, she might as well tell some of the truth.

  "Why the hell would I do that?" She looked at me as if I was crazy.

  "Because it's the truth!"

  "They don't care about the truth." She crossed her arms, wobbling on her feet. "You need to go before he gets back."

  So, this was what it felt like to have your heart ripped out. This was why I shouldn't have let her in. This was my fault. I had done this.

  "I wish I never met you." I gritted out, my heart pumping betrayal through my veins. "I wish I had never found you in that car." I was towering over her now and she was just staring up at me, lifeless. "You know what I really wish, Chloe? I wish your stepfather hit you harder that night so you couldn't have left." My harsh words whipped down at her, but that was nothing to what I was feeling. My words could never inflict as much pain as I was feeling right now.