Bought by the Lone Cowboy

by E. Walsh

"Come on, Chloe. Pick up the damn phone."

  * * *

  Chapter Ten

  "I can't believe you screwed him!" Angie cried. "What the heck are you thinking?!"

  Chloe winced and huddled further into her chair. At the next table over a middle-aged couple gave her dirty looks. Chloe avoided eye contact.

  "Keep your voice down." She mumbled. "I know you work for a paper but you don't need to broadcast everything."

  "Sorry." Angie lowered her voice but not that much. "But fucking Jack Bennett that many times? I didn't think he'd have the stamina at his age."

  When Angie had driven the away Chloe hadn't wanted to go home. It felt too bleak and lonely all of a sudden. She had insisted on driving round, which Angie had agreed to do, brushing off Chloe's concerns that she was going to miss a big deadline, claiming that her friendship was more important right now.

  They had ended up at a diner a few miles from Chloe's apartment. It was small but the place was clean and they served the most amazing burgers and chicken meals. Chloe had visited on a regular basis when she was at university. Now the food felt like a comfort.

  But even after eating all the food she was still miserable. And it didn't help that Jack had been calling her constantly for the past half hour. She hadn't picked up any of them. She was tempted to turn her phone off but she wanted to see his name, to know that it was him.

  Stupid, she knew, considering what there was and wasn't between the, but she couldn't stop herself from doing it.

  She was in big trouble.

  "I'm in danger of falling for him, Angie." She said quietly, staring at her half-empty glass as she turned it this way and that in her hand.

  "Because he fucks like a god?"

  "Because he's Jack Bennett."

  Chloe blinked back the tears. Admitting that she was in love with someone in such a short space of time only happened in stories.

  That didn't happen in real life. At least not to her. Chloe had always thought people who felt emotion too easily fell in love in a matter of hours but she was now falling into that category.

  "There's this spark between us, Angie, and it's getting stronger. I'm unsure around him because of the attraction but at the same time I've never felt so comfortable with a man. We worked for some time this morning and it was really good. We didn't need to communicate; we just knew.

  It was really nice and we were happy working with each other." Chloe snorted. "Not like my last boyfriend, who thought my writing was a waste of time."

  Angie shook her head and sat back, surveying her friend.

  "Sounds like things have gotten way out of hand very quickly." She said solemnly. "He's far too old for you, Chloe."

  "I know." Chloe gulped and closed her eyes. "But that doesn't stop me wanting him. A lot."

  Angie was silent for a moment.

  "You need to get away from him. Clean break." Chloe opened her eyes to see her friend looking at her with an expressionless face. "What's happened to you in the last twenty-four hours is more than enough for anyone. You just need to get out of here for a while and clear the air. Chances are this was just a one-off thing for Jack and he won't remember you when you get back."

  Chloe didn't like the sound of that. She wanted to be remembered. It had been a day she wouldn't forget in a hurry. She hoped Jack wouldn't forget it, either.

  But Angie was right. Until she knew Jack's feelings she would have to leave and take a break somewhere. Let things die down. Then she would come back and see what Jack thought and felt about her.

  Although she had a feeling whether she left it now or until later she would end up with a broken heart.

  Her phone, which was on the table, started vibrating again. It was another one of Jack's calls. Chloe looked at his name and tried to wait for him to stop calling. But she couldn't do it. She needed to hear his voice, even if for one last time and in an argument. She scooped up her cell and stood.

  "Sorry, I've got to take this."

  Before Angie could protest Chloe hurried away towards the restrooms. Closing the door, she checked the cubicles before ducking into the furthest one. Finally she pressed the answer button.

  "Jack?"

  "Thank God, Chloe." Jack's relief was audible. "I've been trying to get hold of you for the last hour."

  Chloe swallowed. He didn't sound cross. Agitated, yes. But more scared than cross.

  Jack Bennett, scared?

  "I've had things to do." She said quietly.

  "Like how to tell me you were walking out without saying goodbye and the short visit was nice but no more?"

  Chloe winced.

  "I wasn't going to say that..."

  "We'll talk about you running out on me later. Right now you need to go somewhere safe. Janna's sister has gone missing and Janna's sure she's going after you."

  Chloe pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. She was too tired to figure out what was going on.

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Janna wasn't the one obsessed with me. Her sister was." Jack was talking fast. "She was staying close to protect me from her. I don't know why I didn't put it together but her sister is my stalker. She's the one who's been sending the threatening messages and chasing all my girlfriends away."

  Chloe was reeling from the news. All the time the stalker had been someone in Jack's family? She didn't know whether to believe it or not. So she focused on the one thing that did stand out.

  "I'd hardly be called a girlfriend, Jack. More like a fuck buddy."

  "Don't talk about yourself like that, Chloe. If you'd stayed long enough then you would've been." Jack sighed. "I may be too old for you but I know a good thing when I see it. I wasn't going to let you get away."

  Chloe took her cell phone away from her ear and stared at it. Had she heard correctly? She brought it back to her ear.

  "You serious?"

  "Yes. And Janna's sister knows this. She's been talking about going after you and making sure we don't get together. You're in danger, Chloe."

  Chloe didn't believe it but Jack sounded scared enough to believe it himself. She sighed, deciding to humour him. Then when they met she would have it out with him about their 'relationship'.

  "Okay, I'll go to the nearest police station. What's her name?"

  "Angie Patel. She married when she was eighteen. She's now divorced but she still goes by the name Winters."

  Chloe froze. A cold chill crept up her spine. That couldn't be right.

  "Did you just say Winters?" She croaked.

  Jack's answered was drowned out by the cubicle door being kicked open. Chloe screamed and shrank away, raising her arms up to protect herself. She lowered them enough to see Angie standing over her, a nasty sneer twisting her lips.

  Angie reached out and plucked the cell phone from Chloe's stunned fingers.

  "I'll take that." She grinned and ended the call. "Can't have you telling them where we are, can we?"

  * * *

  Chapter Eleven

  Chloe couldn't believe it. Angie was Jack's stalker? She had claimed not to know him at all, not even his books. She had been lying to her the whole time.

  Now she was trapped in a cubicle with Angie blocking the only way out. Chloe stood, standing close to the other woman, and stared her down.

  "What are you going to do now, Angie?" She asked quietly, her voice shaking. "Kill me?"

  "I'd love to." Angie didn't seem disturbed by the suggestion. "It would serve Jack right for choosing yet another woman who wasn't me."

  "You're that desperate to have him?"

  Angie's expression darkened. She glared at Chloe, her jaw clenched.

  "I was sixteen when Janna married Mikey Forde. I fell in love with Jack then and there. But he didn't see me as anything but family, a little girl. I went away to university and did some growing up. I sent him letters, emails - anonymously, obviously - declaring my undying love but he ignored them."

  "You chased his girlfriends away." Chloe pointed ou
t. "You even threatened his wife when they hadn't seen each other for going on twenty years."

  "There's always chance of a reunion." Angie spat. "I wasn't going to let that happen. I thought I'd stopped him looking at any other woman with my letters. I thought he'd be waiting for me when I got back." Her mouth twisted angrily. "But then I came back from college to find her was dating this blonde bimbo. There was talks he wanted to marry her. So I got rid of her."

  "By decapitating her dog?"

  "She needed to know she wasn't wanted."

  Chloe felt sick. Angie was talking as if she was talking about the weather. She really believed that she hadn't done anything wrong, that she and Jack were meant to be. Suddenly the walls seemed to be closing in.

  "Why didn't you just tell Jack outright instead of going this way about it?" Chloe asked. "Jack calls you a stalker. That's what you are."

  Angie shoved her hard in the chest. Chloe fell back and onto the toilet. Thankfully she had put the seat down. She steadied herself and looked up at her former friend, who was breathing heavily.

  "I love Jack and everything he stands for!" She snarled. "No one else understands him like I do."

  "If that's the case, how come he never mentioned you while I was with him? If he did love you then he wouldn't have slept with me."

  "And you shouldn't have opened your legs for him when he was looking at the wrong moment." Angie shot back. "Men always fall for a pretty girl who can promise them a good time."

  "It was not like that!"

  "I know it wasn't. That's the problem." Angie's expression was grim. Chloe didn't like the look. It felt somewhat ominous. "From the first moment he looked at you in that lecture hall I knew you were different. There was something between you two when you were together after the lecture that was stronger than with the other women. I knew you would be a danger." She shook her head. "I had to get rid of you."

  At least Chloe now knew for certain who had attacked her the night before. But that didn't make her feel any better about her situation now.

  She tried one more time to reason with the woman.

  "But I'm your friend." She protested. "We roomed together for three years, took the same classes. We did everything together."

  "But you didn't know I was related to your favourite author, did you?" Angie smirked and shook her head as if she was dealing with someone with fewer brain cells. "And you had no idea that he had always been mine."

  Chloe had a feeling something was about to happen and she knew she had very little time left. Jack didn't know where she was. The police didn't know what was going on. She was on her own. In that moment she knew she was going to die and no one knew where she was.

  "He'll see you as too young." She said desperately. "Just like he did with me."

  "You got around it. So will I." Angie sighed and rolled up her sleeves. "I'm sorry, Chloe. Our friendship was fun while it lasted but it's got to end now."

  "It doesn't have to." Chloe shrank back as Angie leant over her. Her heart was pounding the blood round her head enough to deafen her. "I won't say anything."

  Angie paused a moment.

  "That's right, Chloe." She said quietly. "You won't. Because you won't be able to speak."

  She reached out with her hands. Chloe knew she wouldn't be able to win in a fight; Angie had taken martial arts classes and was very strong. She had paired up with Angie a few times and had been easily overpowered.

  She had no chance.

  So she did the one thing she was able to do.

  She screamed.

  Angie growled and punched her, knocking Chloe off the toilet seat and sending her sprawling on the ground. Suddenly the door to the restroom banged open and there was a lot of shouting. Angie turned towards the commotion and someone reached in and dragged her out, Angie kicking and screaming, thrashing about trying to get a grip on someone.

  Chloe lay dazed on the floor. She had hit her head on the cubicle wall and her head was spinning. The blood pounding around her head was all she could hear.

  Then, just on the edge of hearing, she heard a familiar voice.

  "Chloe? Chloe, you okay?"

  Chloe looked up. Jack was kneeling beside her, reaching for her. Chloe managed to push herself up and flung herself into his arms. Then the floodgates opened as Jack held her, stroking her back. She sobbed into his shirt as Jack rocked her gently on the floor of the restroom.

  "I've got you, honey. I've got you."

  * * *

  Chapter Twelve

  "Can I come in?"

  Chloe looked up and saw Jack in the doorway, an expectant look on his face. She smiled and reached out to him.

  "Please."

  Jack didn't need to be asked twice. He came into the room, closing the door behind him and went straight over to the bed.

  Chloe wrapped her arms round his neck as Jack gathered her into his arms and hugged her, burying his face in her neck and letting out a heavy sigh.

  He squeezed her a moment longer before drawing back and sitting on the edge of the bed, taking her hand and linking their fingers.

  "How are you feeling?"

  "My throat has been checked and my head. Everything's come back okay, but they want me to stay overnight to make sure."

  "That's good." Jack brushed his thumb across her knuckles. It felt really soothing. "Janna told me she came to see you."

  Chloe nodded. Angie's sister had visited her a few hours before to tell her that Angie had been checked in to the secure unit for a long-term stay and the police were looking into whether she was able to stand trial for attempted murder and aggravated stalking.

  She had also apologized for Angie's behaviour as if it was her fault. Chloe had felt sorry for her having to cope with an unstable sister while suffering from losing her husband and looking after two kids as well as making sure Jack was kept safe.

  It had taken a toll on her and Janna had looked exhausted now everything was out in the open.

  "She's told me all about Angie." She shook her head in disbelief. Even now it was hard for the news to sink in. "I can't believe I knew her for six years and I never knew any of that about her. Not even that she was married, even if it was for a few weeks. She said her surname was her stepfather's."

  Which had been another lie. Chloe now wondered what part of Angie's stories were actually true.

  "I knew her for eight years and I didn't even realize that she was obsessing over me the whole time."

  Janna had told Chloe about Angie's childhood. When Angie was a child she had witnessed her mother getting stoned to death in Pakistan for attempting to leave her husband for another man. Janna had been nineteen and living in America at the time.

  The moment she heard that her father, who was a paedophile as well as a bully, had Angie all to himself, she had gone to Pakistan to take her back.

  Unfortunately she didn't know how much damage had been done but whatever had happened had changed Angie and she was different ever since.

  It wasn't a pleasant tale and Chloe could sympathise.

  "I understand things that happened to her and that it was traumatic for her." Chloe rubbed her hand over her face. "But that doesn't excuse what she did. No medical condition should be an excuse for someone's actions."

  "Janna said you were very understanding despite your anger towards Angie."

  "I worked in a mental health ward, remember? It's nothing I haven't heard before." Chloe sighed. "Most of the owned up to the fact they used their health problems as an excuse but knew deep down that it was their fault. But a lot refused to admit they had done anything wrong. Angie falls into the latter."

  Jack nodded. He squeezed her hand.

  "Janna also said she offered to pay for your medical bills but you turned her down."

  "I can pay for them myself. I've got the money. But I did accept the offer to meet up for a coffee." Chloe smiled at him. "She's not a bad person, really, Jack. She was just a bit over-protective of both sides. She didn't know where to put
her loyalties."

  "I understand. We've had a long talk about it and we're going to see what we can do to start afresh and rebuild a new relationship." Jack paused. "Speaking of long talks, you and I need one."

  Chloe's heart clenched. This was what she had been dreading. She swallowed and tried to act calm.

  "Do we?"

  Failed at the first hurdle with the shakes in her voice. Jack shuffled on the bed closer to her and leant towards her. He didn't look anger. He just looked confused, hurt. Chloe felt bad for hurting him like this.

  "Why did you run out on me?" Jack asked quietly. "Did you think I'd turf you out and say 'thanks for the ride, hope to never see you again'?"

  "Something like that." Chloe bit her lip and swallowed the bile that was building up in her throat. "I was confused. I just needed to get out of there."

  "You should've stayed where you were." Jack reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I was going to tell you that I was willing to explore any relationship with you if you were willing. I know it's only been a day since we met but I'm falling for you, Chloe." He gulped and looked vulnerable. "I didn't want you to leave me."

  Chloe stared. Had she heard him properly?

  "You're falling for me?" She murmured.

  Jack grunted.

  "I'm glad that got into your head."

  Chloe didn't respond. She leant over and kissed him. Jack kissed her back, cupping the back of her head as he deepened it, cradling her like she was the most precious thing in the world. Chloe managed to draw back and rested her head on his shoulder, Jack's arms going round her.

  "I ran because I was scared." She whispered. "I was starting to fall for you as well and I was frightened at how quickly it had happened. I just need some space."

  "I understand." Jack was stroking her hair. "Just don't run out on me again. I don't think I'll be able to cope with it."

  Chloe smiled and hugged him tighter.

  "I'm not planning on doing it anytime soon,” she said.

  If Jack was willing to explore what they had between them then so was she. Maybe being in a relationship with him wasn't as scary as she thought. Either way, she was going to make the most of it.