The Blitzed Series Boxed Set: Five Contemporary Romance Novels

by JJ Knight

  “We could leave now,” I say. “He couldn’t follow.”

  Ted puts his hands on the gearshift to move into reverse, but I say, “Wait.”

  He settles back. “We’ll wait.”

  The wind rushes through the trees in front of our windshield. I shiver. What is Denham doing in there? Demanding to see a list of all the four-year-old girls?

  He can’t know she’s here. He just can’t.

  My phone buzzes. I pull it from my dance bag.

  It’s a text from Danika.

  Who is this man shouting in the halls about your daughter?

  My vision goes black for a moment. Oh my God. What is Denham doing?

  I fling open the door and start running for the building. I can hear Ted’s footsteps behind me. “Wait up,” he orders. “I’m here for exactly this situation.”

  I don’t slow down. By the time I hit the steps, though, Ted has caught up. “Let’s be careful here,” he says. “Crazies can do crazy things.”

  I nod. He tugs the door open.

  Danika is in the foyer by the hall that leads to the studios, a phone in her hand. She sees me and waves me over.

  Into the phone she says, “I don’t know what he wants, but I’m concerned about the safety of the children here.”

  She looks at me and points to the phone. “The police.”

  I peer around her. Denham is standing on one of the benches by the dance rooms. The hall is otherwise empty, and I can see parents have moved into the studios to avoid him.

  “What I WANT to KNOW,” Denham yells, his voice loud and hoarse. “Is WHERE the hidden CHILD has gone! She belongs to LIVIA MASON. She is FOUR YEARS OLD! And I know SOMEBODY here knows WHERE she IS!”

  “I can probably take him down,” Ted says.

  Danika looks over at him, then at me. “Who is that?” she asks. Then into the phone, “Thank you, we’ll watch for the squad car. I’ll stay on the line.”

  “A bodyguard,” I answer.

  Danika’s eyes travel the length of Ted’s body, up and down. “Looks like it,” she says, then turns back to the hall.

  “Suze!” she calls to the woman at the front desk. “Get on the intercom and tell everyone to stay in the studios.”

  Suze nods, her blond hair bobbing. She looks terrified.

  “I don’t think he’ll hurt anybody,” I say to Danika.

  “You know him?” Danika looks at me.

  But before I can explain, Denham spots me.

  “THERE is LIVIA MASON!” Denham shouts, pointing in my direction. “THE CHILD will look like HER!”

  I start to head for him, but Danika’s arm shoots out to stop me. “He’s crazy,” she says. “Don’t go near him.”

  “I know him,” I say. “He lived with my family for a while when I was a teen.”

  Danika’s eyes search my face for a moment, then she says into the phone, “I have someone here who can identify him.” She hands me the phone. “Tell them his name.”

  I shakily take the phone, watching Denham. He’s quit shouting, watching me. “He’s not dangerous,” I say, although I probably shouldn’t. I don’t know that. “His name is Denham Young. He’s twenty-one. I don’t think he lives here in San Antonio. He lived with my family five years ago in Houston.”

  Denham hops off the bench and heads my way. The bodyguard steps in front of me. “Don’t even think about approaching her,” he says, his voice low and menacing.

  On the phone, a woman asks, “How long did you know him?”

  “Your boyfriend hire this goon?” Denham asks.

  I can’t manage all these conversations at once. “A few months,” I say into the phone, then pass it back to Danika. I don’t answer Denham.

  Denham tries to look at me around the rather formidable width of Ted. “Tell me where she is, Livia. I have a right to know where my baby is.”

  “You can’t do this here,” I say shakily. “This is just where I dance. Nobody here even knows about her.”

  “You know what he’s talking about?” Danika asks.

  I want to melt into a puddle on the floor. Everyone is looking at me. Danika. Suze. Ted. Denham. Thankfully the parents can’t hear with the soundproofing.

  “Denham, let’s just go,” I say. “The police are on their way and your record is already pretty bad.”

  “I don’t care how much I inconvenience you,” Denham says. “This isn’t about you and me anymore. It’s about our child.”

  “Our child is gone,” I say.

  Danika’s head whips around. “You had a baby with this man? You’re barely nineteen!”

  Even Ted’s expression flickers slightly as he continues to act as a shield between me and Denham.

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” I tell him. “I’ve kept this secret for four years, and you’re destroying my life.”

  “Your life is a lie,” Denham says. “And I aim to find my daughter.”

  “Not on my property, you won’t,” Danika says. “The police are on their way, and I’ll be filing a restraining order against you immediately. Step foot in our parking lot, and I’ll have you arrested every single time.”

  Denham finally tears his gaze from me to look at her. “I have no beef with you, lady,” he says. “But I’m going to find out where my baby girl is.” He pushes past Ted, who turns to keep himself between me and Denham. “And there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.”

  He stalks out of the door and down the steps.

  “He’s leaving,” Danika says into the phone. “But I want to make sure he’s not just going to his truck to get a weapon or anything crazy.”

  I know Denham won’t do anything like that. He’s just determined. And even though he is going about it the wrong way, I get what he wants. It’s what drove me to look for Gabriella myself, to set up that fake profile, to watch her grow up.

  Once you have a child out there in the world, it’s hard to not think about them all the time. And Denham is going crazy with what he didn’t even know he’d lost.

  Chapter 16

  Danika stands by the windows and watches Denham start up his truck and drive down the street. “He’s gone,” she says into the phone. “But that doesn’t mean he won’t be back.”

  She looks over her shoulder at me, her spiky blue hair lit by the sun streaming in. The creases around her eyes and mouth are more prominent while she’s under stress. She’s like the mother hen to all of us, the owner of the academy and the one who is willing to help any of us when we’re in trouble.

  “All right. Thank you.” Danika hangs up the call. She turns around to me, Suze, and Ted, who are standing nearby, plus a couple parents who have ventured out of the studios.

  “Should we send everyone home?” Suze asks.

  Danika turns back to the windows. “Probably most of them will go on their own,” she says. “We’ll need to send an email out to every family who attended this session, assuring them we are handling the situation.” She glances at me. “Livia, when the officer gets here, we’ll need to talk to him.”

  “I’ll let everyone know it’s safe to leave,” Suze says, hurrying back to the front desk.

  Ted moves close to me. “I can stand watch here,” Ted says.

  “That’s good,” Danika says.

  Parents and children start streaming out of the hallway. Danika greets them, hugging the children, assuring everyone things are fine now, it was just some confused man.

  A few older children remain in the rooms, their parents having run out to do errands during their class. Danika heads back to talk to the instructors, leaving me and Ted by the windows.

  “I didn’t see that coming, but I should have,” I say to him.

  “I see why Blitz wanted you protected,” he says.

  “He wouldn’t hurt me,” I insist.

  “He seems pretty desperate,” Ted says. “If he’s willing to make a scene like that and risk getting arrested, there’s a good chance he’d try to kidnap you or something.
”

  “But I was in his truck yesterday,” I say. “He could have taken off then, and he didn’t.”

  “He’s been stewing in it,” Ted says. “He’ll just get himself more and more worked up.”

  I don’t have anything to say to that and watch out front until Danika returns.

  “Where is that officer?” she asks. “Good thing we didn’t actually need his help!”

  “You were downgraded when the situation resolved,” Ted says. “Non-emergency stop.”

  “Oh,” Danika says. “Why don’t you have Suze direct the officer to my desk when he gets here? Suze will know where to send him.” She gestures back at the front desk.

  “Will do,” Ted says. He stands stalwart by the door, his hands clasped behind his back. “If you have any other entrances, you might want to secure them.”

  Danika turns to Suze. “Go lock the backstage doors and make sure the loading dock bay is secure.”

  Suze nods and grabs a set of keys from her drawer.

  I follow Danika back through the doors to the recital hall, then turn toward her office. It’s the opposite side of the building from the studios, so everything is quiet.

  Danika settles in her chair, then props her elbows on the desk and rests her head in her hands. “That was something.”

  She seems weary, coming down from the adrenaline rush of the conflict.

  “I’m so sorry that happened,” I say. “He’s been sitting out there for days. I should have told you.”

  “Days?” Her head pops up. “What is going on, Livia?”

  I look down at my lap, fiddling with the sheer fabric of my dance skirt. “His name is Denham Young. He lived with me when I was a teenager. At the time, our family was told that he was my father’s illegitimate son.”

  “Okay,” Danika says. “So why is he here now?”

  “He saw me on television and followed the trail to the academy after the video Blitz made. He’s been stalking me a bit.”

  “You had a baby with him?”

  My hands clasp together in a bruising grip. I don’t have a choice anymore. I have to tell Danika. “He came to tell me that he wasn’t my brother after all. We, well, we sort of had a … relationship back then. I got pregnant and gave the baby up for adoption.”

  Danika sat back. “This is why your father acts the way he does, I take it?”

  I nod. “Denham didn’t know about the baby until he came back. My father sent him away before we found out I was pregnant.”

  “So he never signed anything giving up the baby?” Danika’s face goes pale.

  “No. Blitz is having his lawyer help us with it.”

  Danika rubs her forehead as if she’s nursing a headache. “Do you know where the child is, Livia? Is that why he’s doing this to you?”

  “He’s just guessing. He doesn’t know what I know.” I can’t bring myself to tell her the rest. If she finds out about Gabriella, I just know she’ll stop our lessons.

  “But do you know where she is?” Danika’s eyes are piercing.

  “Yes,” I say. “I’ve followed them on Facebook.” It’s not in me to lie, but I pray she doesn’t ask if she is here at the academy.

  “Then you need some protection or he’ll get it out of you,” she says. “I’m going to get a restraining order against him for the academy, not that I think it will do that much good. We’ll probably hire some security for a little while, until this blows over.” She turns to her computer.

  “I’m so sorry this has happened,” I say. “I had no idea he would find me.”

  She waves her hand. “We’ll deal with it.”

  “Do you want me to stop coming?” I ask, fear in my voice.

  “I don’t know that it will matter. He might show up anyway if he has nowhere else to look.” She starts tapping on her keyboard.

  “Okay.”

  “Stay here until the officer arrives, and we’ll tell him all this,” she says. “I’ll let Bennett handle finding a security team for us. We’ll get them in place by tomorrow.”

  “Ted can stay here through the last classes,” I say. “He’s hired full-time anyway.”

  “When does Blitz get back?”

  “Tonight.”

  Danika nods. “All right. You and Ted stay here until we close, then you can take him with you. We’ll get someone in place after that.”

  She goes quiet, staring at her screen. I sit quietly on my chair, reliving the past half hour, wondering how in the world my life has come to this.

  Chapter 17

  Blitz is on his way to the hotel by the time Ted and I leave Dreamcatcher. I know he’s angry by his texts, which are abrupt and coming at a frenzied pace.

  I am so going to take this guy out.

  I should have creamed him when I had him on the ground.

  This is outrageous. He could have done anything.

  I’m going to pummel him into next week.

  The sky has gone dark by the time we pull up to the valet in front of the hotel. Ted gets out. “I’m taking you up,” he says when I turn to protest. “If anyone has Tweeted that they’ve seen Blitz here, that guy will turn up.”

  I have to give in. Blitz is still on his way. I shouldn’t go anywhere alone, even the inside of the hotel.

  We head up the elevator to the floor of suites. Ted stands in his menacing position, hands behind his back, cracking his knuckles as if he’s going to have to fight somebody as soon as the doors open.

  But the upstairs foyer is empty other than the bartender behind the private bar. “Anyone need a drink?” he asks when he sees us.

  Both Ted and I give a grunting half-laugh to that, and then laugh for real at the other’s reaction.

  “We can wait out here,” I tell Ted. “It’s a secure floor.” I don’t really want to go into the suite with Ted. It feels too private.

  “You got any coffee back there?” Ted asks.

  “I can brew you some right up,” the man says, turning to the back wall. “Anything for the lady?”

  “No, thank you,” I say, flopping onto the leather sofa opposite a television. It’s showing a rerun of I Love Lucy. I remember it from my childhood, before I was banned from television by my father. Perfect, I think. Mindless comedy.

  Ted sits on a stool by the bar, facing the elevators. I wonder how he got into bodyguard work. But I’m not up for conversation.

  I watch Lucy stomping grapes and try to relax.

  The bartender has just poured a cup of coffee for Ted when the elevator opens and Blitz rushes out. He barrels toward the suite, then spots me on the sofa and stops dead. “Livia?”

  I stand up, and then I’m in his arms, lifted off the ground.

  “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you in any way, did he?” Blitz sets me down and looks me over, my arms, my face.

  “He didn’t lay a hand on her,” Ted says. “I would have broken him in two.”

  “Theodore Banks!” Blitz says. “I was hoping they would send you!” They smack each other on the back. “How’s life as a heavy?”

  Ted shrugs. “Keeps me working.” He sits back on his stool.

  Blitz pulls me close, his arm around my waist, as he asks, “So what the hell happened?”

  Ted sniffs. “The buffoon is walking out on the sidewalk when he spots your girl here in the SUV. I think he’s going to approach us, but then he goes in the building instead. He makes a big scene, yelling and screaming in the halls, until the chick that owns the place calls the cops. She had me stand guard until they closed. Livia stayed with me.”

  “Shit,” Blitz says. “Did he get arrested?”

  “Nah, he took off.”

  Blitz holds me tighter. “Livia, what did Danika say?”

  “She’s getting a restraining order on him and hiring security until it blows over.”

  Blitz kisses my temple. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  Ted sips his coffee, then says, “You going to get a protective order for her too?”

  Blitz shakes his h
ead. “I think it’s pointless and will make her name part of the public record, which could make things worse.” He frowns. “I want to keep her under wraps as long as possible.”

  “You think he’s got some loser pals he might bring along next time?” Ted asks.

  Blitz looks at me. “What do you think, Livia? Would Denham call in reinforcements?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know anything about his life now,” I say. “But he was always very good at making fast friends. Loyal friends.”

  “Ride-or-die types,” Ted says. “Assholes with nothing to lose who get a charge out of stirring up trouble.”

  “He’s only been out of jail a few months,” Blitz says. “Do you remember the timeline from the list the lawyer sent? He could be on probation and violating it would send him back.”

  I shake my head. “I didn’t pay that close attention. But he shouldn’t know anybody here in San Antonio. I’m pretty sure he drove up here from Houston.”

  “And we have no idea where he went,” Ted says.

  “No,” I say. “And I don’t have any way to contact him either.”

  “Don’t do that,” both Ted and Blitz say simultaneously, then laugh.

  “Same as old times,” Blitz says.

  “How do you two know each other?” I ask.

  “Wrestling,” Blitz says. “We were both on the high school team.”

  I look back and forth between them. Blitz is muscled and strong, but has a lean dancer’s body. Ted is like a brick wall. “How did that work out?”

  Ted answers. “We didn’t compete against each other. He was a totally different weight class.”

  “I could have taken you,” Blitz says.

  Now Ted’s laugh is a roar. He’s lost all the gruffness he’s had with me all day. “I could squash you like a bug.”

  Blitz holds up his hands. “I could wriggle out of those sloppy meat-hook hands of yours any day.”

  I lean my head on Blitz’s shoulder. It’s nice to have an easy moment after these horrible two days. He squeezes my waist again. “I think we’re going to head out,” he says to Ted. “I should be able to take it from here. Thanks for watching out for her.”