“She’s been through a lot the last few days,” Chase said, putting his arm around her. He realized his words were the understatement of the century. “Why don’t we give her some time to think things over?”
“Oh, of course!” Richard said, appearing to have suddenly realized she was starting to lose it. “I’m so sorry, Sabrina. I should have been more thoughtful of what you’ve been through.” He smiled gently. “You should have stopped me.”
Sabrina frowned slightly and studied Richard’s face before taking a deep breath and relaxing slightly. Chase pushed aside the twinge of jealousy. “I’m pretty tired.”
Richard glanced at Chase. “Ethan?”
Chase nodded. While Sabrina slept, he’d spoken to Ethan and asked if he’d be willing to watch over her, essentially be her bodyguard, while she thought things over, and probably even after a decision was made. Lucky man, but Chase had a lot of appointments during the week and couldn’t drop his commitments. Ethan’s schedule was more flexible. Besides, it wouldn’t be easy to be around her constantly and keep his hands to himself. Ethan was very professional when he needed to be.
“While you’re deciding, I’d like Ethan to be with you whenever you go out.”
“Like a bodyguard?” Sabrina asked, glancing at Ethan, who smiled warmly at her.
Chase nodded. “Yes. He’s very capable of keeping you safe.”
“What if my Master comes after me?”
“Your Master is still human,” Chase said. “Ethan will shoot anyone who comes near you with malicious intent.” Or beat the shit out of him.
“Okay.”
Chase was pleasantly surprised that she agreed so easily. But when he studied her face, he saw that she was exhausted and would probably have agreed to anything to get them to leave her alone.
He nodded to Ethan, who hopped up and left the room to get his things.
Chase stood and helped Sabrina to her feet. “Let’s get you home then.”
“I can go home?” she asked, looking surprised.
“Did you think we wouldn’t let you go home?” he asked. She nodded and he hugged her. “Let Ethan do his job and you can go anywhere you want.”
“One last thing before you go, Sabrina,” Richard said, standing. “I’d like you to come to one of the Gatherings, preferably soon, so you can see what it’s like. You and Chase can talk it over and figure out when.”
Sabrina nodded, and Chase ushered her out of the room.
Chapter Forty-Six
The sun had set by the time Chase parked in front of Sabrina’s building and walked with her and Ethan up to her apartment. Even though she had slept for twenty-four hours, she was still exhausted. Then again, she had spent the last few days being tortured and raped, and then, after she felt better, a couple hours learning about stuff that made her think her brain was going to explode.
When she had been taken, she’d dropped her purse and didn’t have her key, so she knocked on the apartment door. It opened a minute later, Jayson immediately engulfing her in a bear hug.
“Oh, Sabrina, we were so worried!” Liz exclaimed as she pulled Sabrina away from her brother and hugged her.
When Liz let go, Sabrina looked between her two dear friends, remembering that Neil had threatened them if she didn’t cooperate. She nodded and gave them a small smile, but didn’t know what to say.
“She’s had a rough couple of days,” Chase said from behind her. “I think she needs to rest.”
“Oh, of course!” Liz said, backing up so the three newcomers could walk into the apartment.
Ethan dropped his backpack near the door, then greeted Jayson with a handshake and Liz with a hug. “You sure you two don’t mind me hanging around?”
“Not at all,” Jayson said. “As long as you’re okay with the couch.”
Ethan shrugged. “I’ve slept on worse.”
Sabrina walked slowly to her room and looked around. It felt like it had been ages since she’d been in here, even though it had only been a few days. When she’d left here the last time, she’d been excited to go out on her first date with Chase. Now? She wasn’t sure about anything. Chase seemed to think she’d be more comfortable being with Richard. After all, he said “her kind” often were.
She sat down on her bed and stared at the quilted pattern on the covers. Why did things have to be so complicated? She’d only wanted to get away from Ramon and Khyan, to get to Boston, dance, and see Chase again. Yes, she had escaped and was dancing, but her dreams of Chase, which had reignited when he’d returned, seemed to be slipping away again.
She should just be thankful she wasn’t still with Neil, being tortured and raped. And she was. She would forever be grateful to Chase for rescuing her.
Now two paths lay before her. Well, were there really two? If one path involved someone who didn’t really want her, was that an option? Maybe Chase was the type to keep his promise, even if he truly didn’t want to. No, he was that type. It really wasn’t fair to him, though, was it?
When someone knocked on the door, she looked up to see Chase standing there. “You okay?”
Sabrina shrugged. “It’s weird being here again. It seems a lifetime ago, but it was really only a few days, wasn’t it?”
He walked in and sat on the bed next to her. “I imagine being in the situation you were in kind of distorts time, doesn’t it?”
Sabrina nodded. “Time doesn’t exist in hell,” she said softly. “When I was . . . back home, I’d lose track of time. They didn’t like that I’d be confused as to what day it was. Ramon would come in and expect me to be ready to go to dance class because several days had passed, but I had no idea.”
Chase reached out and put his large hand on hers. So warm . . .”I’m glad you’re safe now,” he said in a quiet voice. “We’ll do whatever we need to in order to keep you safe, Sabrina.”
“I know.”
They sat together quietly. Sabrina loved the feeling of him next to her, holding her hand, but knew it wouldn’t last. “Neil threatened Jayson and Liz while he had me,” she said softly.
Chase stiffened. “How?”
“He said he’d hurt them if I didn’t do as he said. He knows who they are. They’re not safe, either.” She turned to face Chase. “What if he takes them because he can’t get to me?”
He reached out and stroked her cheek. “I won’t let that happen.”
“How?”
Chase smiled. “Remember what I do? I’m pretty good at it. I’ll take care of them. They’re my friends, too.”
*****
Chase kept his face neutral, but his mind already worked on a plan to keep his friends safe. His gut told him Liz and Jayson were safe. Sabrina was the one they wanted. Hopefully it was pretty clear that kidnapping someone else to get to her wouldn’t work, but just to be sure, he’d call his guys in and have the ballet studio monitored, as well as the areas around it. Maybe Richard could get some cameras up on the street so they could be observed more easily and Corey could keep an eye on them.
He glanced at Sabrina, who studied the quilt on the bed again, like she had been doing when he’d walked in. She looked like she was about to fall over asleep. “I’ll let you get some sleep so you can dance tomorrow, if you’re up for it.” Her eyes lit up at his words and he smiled, certain the excitement was from the idea of dancing, not sleeping. He stood. “Would you be interested in finishing our date on Friday?”
“Our date?”
Chase nodded. “Remember? You . . . left early.”
Sabrina blinked and her cheeks turned red. “I’m sorry for doing that, Chase. I put you through a lot of trouble because of it.”
“I hate that you went through all that, but good things have come from it.”
“Like what?”
“Like we know what’s going on now. We know someone is still after you, so
we can start working on keeping you safe. Permanently.”
She nodded, but didn’t look happy.
“I believe all things happen for a reason and that good can result from them.”
She gave him a bewildered look as her head snapped up. “You think it’s good that all that stuff happened to me?”
“No, not that it happened, but good can come from it.”
She snorted. “How could something good possibly come from what I went through?”
Chase hesitated. He wanted her to rest, but he couldn’t leave the conversation like this. Maybe something simple and to the point. “Do you trust me?”
She frowned. “What?”
“When I first came home, I don’t think you trusted me. Am I right?”
“I suppose.”
“Do you trust me now?”
She blinked and swallowed. “Yes.”
He tilted his head. “I consider that something good,” he said softly. He leaned down and kissed her temple. “We’ll talk more about it on Friday.”
“Friday?”
“To finish our date from last week.”
“You really want to?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
She bit her lip and shrugged.
“Yes, I really want to. We’ll try a quieter restaurant, though.”
She gave him a shy smile. “I had a good time there.”
Chase grinned. He loved that shy smile of hers. “Well, then, maybe I’ll try something a little adventurous.”
“Okay.” She gave a small shrug.
“If you need anything, call me or ask Ethan, okay?”
“Okay.”
He gave her one last smile, then headed out to the living room where Ethan and Jayson were sitting.
“She okay?” Jayson asked.
Chase sighed. “I think so. She’s . . . She learned a lot this afternoon. About the Brotherhood and stuff.”
Jayson nodded. “So she knows what she’s getting into with you?”
“Yeah, something like that.” He didn’t want to tell Jayson about all the danger she was in. It was enough that he accepted Ethan’s presence.
“I can imagine that’s pretty overwhelming. Do you think she’ll be okay with everything you have to do?”
“I honestly don’t know. We’re going out on Friday. Maybe we can talk about it then. I hope.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
The next morning, Sabrina woke with the sun. Physically, she felt better. Mentally and emotionally, she was still torn about Chase. If she were honest with herself, she might admit that, more than anything in the world, she wanted to be with him. Yes, she loved dancing, especially in Boston. Martin was amazing and her fellow dancers were wonderful. It was all she’d ever dreamed. But the fundamental reason she’d come here was to be with Chase. Even though she kept pushing the desire aside, it was still there, a glowing flame in her chest that came alive when he was around.
On one hand, he seemed to be encouraging her to be with Richard and take her place by his side as that Mistress thing. On the other, he’d asked her out, saying he wanted to finish their date from the other night. Would he ask her out if he didn’t want to be with her? Yes, he was the type of guy who would keep his promise, even if he didn’t want to. But was that what he was doing? Deep down, she didn’t think so. He seemed to genuinely care for her.
No, not seem. He did. She sensed it in him, in his heart. It was unlike anything she’d ever detected in a man before.
She sighed. This whole place was full of men unlike any she’d encountered in a very long time. Chase, Jayson, Ethan, Richard, Tom, her fellow dancers at the company . . . They were all good people. It was the only way to describe them. Men like her dad. It had been so long since she’d been around good people, she’d forgotten they existed.
She smiled suddenly, feeling lighter than she had in a while. She was surrounded by people who cared about her, who didn’t want to hurt her, who wanted good things for her. It was such a strange feeling, but it fanned the flame of hope in her heart and gave her the will to not give up on possibilities in life.
Before he left last night, Chase had said he believed that good things came out of bad things. It reminded her of a book her mom would read her at least once a year. The Last Unicorn. There was a quote in there that had always struck her heart. Looking back, Sabrina wondered if, somehow, she knew she would have a hard time as she grew older.
“‘The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story,’” she whispered to herself and sat up. It’s still the middle of my story. If I give up, I’ll never get my happy ending.
She would try. Starting today, she would try and remember.
Sabrina dressed for class, then headed out to the kitchen for something to eat. Ethan sat on the couch, looking at his phone, and glanced up when she walked in.
“You look like you’re feeling better today,” he commented as he stood and walked over to the breakfast bar.
She smiled at him before opening the fridge. “Yeah. I think I am.” She pulled out the jug of orange juice. “Would you like some orange juice?” she asked, holding up the jug.
“Sure.”
He walked around the counter and pulled two glasses out of the cabinet. She briefly wondered how he knew where they were, then rolled her eyes at herself. He’d probably been here with Chase many times.
“Thanks,” Ethan said as she handed him a full glass.
She took a sip of juice. “Do you like working for Chase?”
He smiled broadly. “I do.”
“When did you start?”
Ethan looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, after the snafu in Syria, he got discharged and was in rehab for a long time. He told you about that, right?”
Sabrina shook her head. “We haven’t had a lot of time to talk about stuff like that.”
“Well, you know he got hurt.” He shook his head with a chuckle. “You just showing up like that was weird. That was the first time I’d experienced anything like that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I thought you were an angel.” He shook his head. “He’d have died if you hadn’t shown up. He was all sorts of fucked up. I didn’t know how you got there, but I was glad you did. Scared the fuck out of me at the time, but after dealing with the Brotherhood and all, supernatural shit doesn’t surprise me as much as it used to.”
“He really would have died?”
Ethan nodded. “When I dug him out, he was coughing up blood and his foot was crushed. I’d seen enough injuries out there to know when things are really bad.” He exhaled hard. “It was really bad.”
She looked down at the countertop and tried to imagine what would have happened had he died. Nothing good. I’d be back in hell permanently. “I’m glad I was able to help, however I managed to do it.”
“Me, too.” He smiled. “Anyway, he was discharged after that. His foot was really messed up and he could hardly walk for almost a year. And he . . . Well, the couple of times I visited him . . .” Ethan shook his head. “He was a total ass. Really unlike him, to be honest. He’s one of the most genuine guys I’ve ever met, so I was shocked when I saw him. Then again, I understood his anger. I’d be pissed if I went through that, too.” He shrugged. “I helped out as best as I could, with both him and his mom. When he started going to counseling, his anger began letting up. One day, I mentioned how he’d talked about starting his own security firm after he was done in the army. That seemed to cheer him up a bit.” Ethan was quiet for a few minutes, lost in thought. “He started working on it then, but it didn’t take off until he was able to get around better. I think having something, a goal, really helped him recover. It kept his mind off you, too.”
Her eyes widened. “Me?”
Ethan nodded. “He felt helpless. Not only because of his injuries, but b
ecause he couldn’t find you. He knew something was wrong, but had no idea how to help. He doesn’t do helpless very well. He always has a plan. Drives him nuts when he can’t figure something out.” He drained the juice from his glass and put it into the sink. “I was up for re-enlistment, but Chase asked me to work for him. That was about, oh, eight months ago.”
He laughed. “I guess that was a roundabout way for me to say it’s been a while. I was under him in the army, so I jumped at the chance to work with him again.”
“What do you do for him?”
“Pretty much anything that needs to be done. I was infantry in the service, but specialized in weapons. Now, though, I help him plan stuff and get everything ready to go. Basically, we do jobs together and kick ass.”
Sabrina smiled. “Are you sure you don’t mind babysitting me?” she asked. “Doesn’t Chase need you?”
“I can still do stuff from here,” he said with a shrug. “Technology and all that. Besides, I don’t think he’ll be taking any big jobs in the near future.”
“Why not?”
Ethan gave her a look. “You really need to ask?”
Sabrina looked down at her glass. Ethan certainly seemed to think Chase still wanted to be with her. “I don’t want him staying home because of me.”
“He won’t forever. But for now, you’re his priority. Keeping you safe and getting to know you. Then, well, we’ll see how things go.”
“But don’t you want more, I dunno, action?” He seemed like an action-oriented type of guy.
“Not at all. If it means you being safe and Chase’s stress level being normal for the first time in who knows how long, I’ll gladly keep an eye on you.”
“Stress level?”
Ethan shook his head. “Ever since he found out you were missing years ago, it was like he was wound too tight. Granted, there was a lot going on with his recovery and everything, but I know not being able to find you stressed him out.”
“Really?”
“Really,” Ethan said firmly. “Since we got home and he found you, he’s a lot calmer. Happier.
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