by Debra Webb
And what good had it done her?
Not one bit.
She grabbed the tray and wheeled around to make the delivery of both the beer and the apology she owed the detective. Julie froze. Standing near the entrance, Austin surveyed the place. I’m-too-sexy-for-a-brain Barbie, clad in the shortest, tightest black dress Julie had ever seen, clung to him like an errant vine in an otherwise meticulous garden. Astonishment and disbelief rushed through Julie with such force that it took her breath away.
The shock and disbelief instantly morphed into outrage. How dare he! Someone had to have told him she was working here. Austin would never have been caught dead in a place like this otherwise. He considered himself well above mingling with the regular working Joe’s.
“How about I get that one for you?”
Marie moved up beside her. As if things weren’t bad enough already Austin chose one of Julie’s tables to occupy. His girlfriend all but climbed onto his lap.
“No.” The single, icy word came from Julie. “I can handle it.” She passed the bottle of beer to Marie. “The hot, dark-haired guy at table nine is waiting for that one.”
Julie didn’t look at her friend before she headed across the room. If she even glanced her way, Marie would know that Julie was in no way prepared for this encounter. No matter, she had to face the ugly reality sooner or later.
“Well, well,” Austin said in that haughty tone he loved to use on those he considered lesser life forms—which she’d recently learned included most of mankind, “of all the people out on a Friday night, imagine the odds of my running into you.”
Barbie puckered out her lips and looked petulant. Austin smiled at her and whispered something in her ear. She giggled and Julie’s fury reached the boiling point.
“May I take your order?” she asked sharply.
Austin stared up at her in feigned surprise. “My order? Are you actually working here?” He looked around the bar and then at her with amusement glittering in those green eyes. “Sweetheart, if things have gotten that bad, why didn’t you just tell me?” He whipped out his thick wallet. “How much do you need?”
Barbie, her eyes wide, her expression smug, reached into his open wallet, snagged a one hundred dollar bill, and then waved it at Julie.
Something snapped deep inside her. “What do you want?” she demanded, glaring at Austin, no doubt with murder in her eyes.
His smile disappeared instantly, sending a warning knifing through Julie. “Maybe...” He leaned forward slightly “...if you’d known the answer to that question we wouldn’t be in this situation right now.” He tucked his wallet away and hugged Barbie closer to him. “Maybe I wouldn’t have had to turn to another woman.”
Red flashed before Julie’s eyes. Rage, so profound that her body quaked with it, roared through her. “Don’t try and pawn off your sexual inadequacies on me, Austin. I was there for you.” Her disgusted glare slid to the woman. “Clearly, it takes a slut to make you feel like a man.”
Barbie squeaked a sound of disbelief. “Did you hear what she called me?”
Austin narrowed his gaze, his tone turning deadly. “Sign the papers, Julie, or you will regret it.”
She met his glare with lead in her own. “No way. I won’t sign without a proper settlement. After throwing away almost four years of my life on you it’s the least I should get.”
“Don’t cross me, Julie,” he cautioned, his tone turning lethal. “This little game has amused me so far, but enough is enough. You don’t want to make me angry.”
“Go to hell, Austin.” She gave him her back and started to walk away.
Austin was on his feet in two seconds flat. Julie wouldn’t have known he’d moved if the wooden chair he’d vacated hadn’t hit the floor and the crowd hadn’t gone eerily still and deafeningly quiet.
She whirled around just in time to have him grab her arms. Her tray hit the floor, alerting anyone who had missed the crashing chair moments earlier. Every patron in the place stared and time itself seemed to stop.
“Sign the papers,” he growled for her ears only.
“Not until you start playing fair,” she said more calmly than she had a right to.
“Austin, I’m not having fun anymore. Let’s get out of here,” Barbie complained as she came up beside him and started to cling once more. “She’s a downer.”
“Sign the papers, Julie,” he threatened, his fingers digging into her upper arms, “or face the consequences.”
She shook her head firmly from side to side. “No way.” There was nothing quiet or calm about her voice this time. Everyone in the room heard her when she continued. “Take your new friend and go, Austin. I’ll see you in hell before I’ll sign those papers without a proper settlement!”
Something changed in his eyes... something visceral and savage glittered in those icy green depths. For the first time since she’d met him, Julie felt fear... absolute fear.
“I think that’s your cue to leave, pal.”
Julie’s gaze shot to the man who’d spoken. Detective Duncan. Austin released her and turned to go toe-to-toe with the detective.
Knees nearly too weak to hold her, Julie swayed.
“I would advise you to mind your own business, my friend,” Austin warned.
“Keeping the peace is my business.” Detective Duncan planted his hands on his lean hips, revealing his police badge attached to his belt.
Austin smiled. “Aren’t you a conscientious civil servant? I think I’m quite finished here, Detective…?”
“Duncan,” he responded. “Detective Blake Duncan.”
“Jules.” Marie was tugging her backwards. “Let’s go to my office.”
Julie’s heart was pounding. She wanted to cheer. Austin’s face was tight with fury. Not once in the three plus years she had been married to him had he been publicly humiliated this way.
One of the bar’s three hundred pound, muscle-bound bouncers appeared next to Austin. “Let me show you the way out, sir.”
Austin turned his glare toward Julie for a moment before he relented and walked away with Barbie curled around him like a snake.
As soon as he was out the door, the crowd resumed their conversations. Julie’s head was still spinning.
“Thank you,” she said to the detective. There were no words to adequately convey how good it had felt to watch Austin get his for once.
“Just doing my job, ma’am.” He flashed a smile and returned to his table.
“Come on, Jules,” Marie urged. “Hang out in my office and have a glass of wine.”
Unable to stop staring at the detective, Julie felt herself being pulled toward the kitchen and the office beyond it.
As soon as she could no longer see Detective Duncan, the adrenaline receded and she drooped with emotion. “Why is Austin doing this?” She couldn’t think, couldn’t slow her mind’s sudden, frantic whirling. “Why did he come here?”
For that matter, why was the detective here? She didn’t remember ever seeing him here before. Maybe he’d hunted her down when she hadn’t returned his call.
Marie ushered her into the chair at her desk. “Skip’s bringing you a glass of wine. Stay right here, drink the wine and calm down. Everything is going to be okay.”
Julie nodded, knowing Marie needed to get back to the bar. She didn’t have time for this. Tears welled in Julie’s eyes. She did not want to cry. Austin wasn’t worth it. She braced her face in her hands and fought the urge. Her shoulders shook with the effort. Why didn’t he just settle as he’d promised he would in the prenuptial agreement? The one dollar he’d offered in his petition for divorce was ridiculous. It wasn’t as if she was asking for the moon. The amount was paltry compared to his net worth.
“Hey, Jules.” Blond and tanned, Skip breezed into the office; glass in hand, along with a full bottle of Chardonnay. “I figured a glass would never do it.”
She had to smile. “Thanks.” Skip was such a nice guy. A great guy and a super waiter.
&nb
sp; He left the bottle of wine on the desk and patted her on the back. “He’ll get his.”
Julie sighed. “You know what, you’re right. He will get his.”
Skip winked and left her to the task of calming her nerves. She filled her glass and downed it, scarcely pausing for a breath. Her feet and legs ached. She’d really tried to make this job work. It wasn’t fair that Austin had invaded her new reality to taunt her.
It just wasn’t fair.
But then, life wasn’t always fair.
She shuddered as she remembered his threatening words. He was wrong. She wasn’t going to regret it... she already did.
Chapter Five
Saturday, June 27, 2:00 a.m.
Julie had one glass of wine too many and ended up asleep on Marie’s desk. By the time her friend woke her, the bar was closed and Julie had arm prints on her forehead.
“I’m so sorry, Marie,” she offered as her friend drove her home. Julie didn’t even have her car back. The last two nights her neighbor had let her borrow the Buick, but tonight she’d had plans. It was pitiful. Even a seventy-two-year-old woman had plans on Friday night.
“Don’t worry about it,” Marie assured her. “It wasn’t the first time my customers witnessed a domestic dispute. I doubt it’ll be the last.”
Thank God for good friends.
Marie waited until Julie had unlocked the door to her apartment and waved goodbye before driving away. Julie went inside, a little bit of a buzz still slowing her reactions. She didn’t drink often. Apparently for good reason. Even a power nap hadn’t cleared her head completely. Her sleep had been haunted by dreams of the gallant detective who’d come to her rescue.
Another man is exactly what you need, Julie. God, she was a mess.
“Lock the door,” she muttered. She turned the latch and then tossed her keys on the counter that served as a dining table and divided the living room from the kitchen. Had she ever been this exhausted?
Without bothering with lights, she headed straight for the tiny bathroom. She just wanted to slip into the tub and soak for a while, then drag herself into bed. She didn’t want to look at the crummy place she now called home. The dinky kitchen cupboards were basically bare. She ate lunch and dinner at the bar whether she was hungry or not. Marie insisted she didn’t want her to starve.
Right now, Julie only wanted that hot bath. She didn’t want to think about how out of sorts her life was or how alone she felt. She didn’t want to think at all.
She closed the bathroom door and rested against it for a moment, allowing the darkness and the quiet to soothe her. The inordinately cold air abruptly penetrated her senses, making her shiver. It was so cold in here. Was her thermostat broken?
Maybe it was just her. She needed that hot bath. All she had to do was move. Push off the door. Twist the knobs to start the water flowing.
The distinct creak of a floorboard sounded in the hall outside the bathroom.
Julie froze against the door.
Her eyes widened.
She knew that sound.
This apartment didn’t have carpet. Hardwood floors throughout. In certain places, the floor creaked.
Fear exploded in her veins.
Someone was in the apartment.
She whirled around and slammed the lock on the bathroom door into place.
The knob turned.
Her heart surged into her throat.
The door shook on its hinges. Whoever was out there, he wanted in. Oh God!
The fight or flight instinct kicked in.
She had to get out of here!
Julie scrambled into the tub. She shoved the blinds out of the way and twisted the window’s lock.
The intruder’s weight slammed against the door.
She bit back a shriek and pushed on the stubborn sash with all her might. It wouldn’t budge. The damned thing was painted shut.
She was trapped.
As hard as Julie pushed, the window would not open. Her arms trembled with the effort. She heard the sound of groaning wood and whirled around. The bathroom door would give way any second now.
The knob twisted violently.
Her breath evaporated in her lungs.
He was going to get her. The crime rate was high in this neighborhood.
She didn’t want to die like this... or to be... oh God... raped.
The door abruptly stopped shaking... the knob stopped twisting.
Silence.
Her heart pounded so hard in her chest that the blood roared in her ears like a freight train.
What was he doing?
The floor creaked.
She frowned.
More silence.
He’d moved away from the door.
Why?
A new rush of fear plunged through her. How would he try to get to her now?
Then she heard it… banging on the front door.
“Ms. Barton, I know you’re in there!”
The landlady.
Julie’s knees went weak even as confusion screamed through her brain. It was past two a.m. What would Mrs. Allison be doing at her door? Where was the intruder?
Did she dare leave the bathroom and open the front door? Had the intruder left by some other route? Had Mrs. Allison scared him off?
Julie climbed out of the tub and moved soundlessly to the door. She fought to control her breathing and the trembling rampant in her limbs. She had to listen. Had to be calm.
She pressed her ear to the bathroom door.
Nothing.
Silence.
“I saw you come in!” Mrs. Allison drummed her fist against the front door again. “Why aren’t you answering the door? What’s going on in there?”
Julie could scream. The landlady would hear her and call the police, but it might be too late by the time help arrived.
If she waited until Mrs. Allison was gone, there would be no one to help her.
Holding her breath, her heart thundering, Julie unlocked the bathroom door. The sound echoed like a shotgun blast in the ensuing silence. Slowly she opened the door, her chest heaving with relentless terror. Summoning the last vestige of courage she possessed, she stepped into the dark hallway.
Nothing.
Thank God.
She rocketed toward the front door, hitting the nearest light switch, and grabbing her cell phone en route. No one came up behind her or attempted to stop her from wrenching the front door open and bursting out onto the stoop.
“Mrs. Allison!” The woman had headed back to her own place. Julie half stumbled down the steps after her. “Mrs. Allison!”
Her landlady paused and turned to shuffle back up the walk to where Julie stood at the bottom of her steps.
“I thought you were hiding from me,” her landlady accused.
Julie shook her head. “I was...” She swallowed hard. “I was in the bathroom. I was about to take a bath and I didn’t hear you knocking.” She didn’t mention the intruder. Maybe she’d imagined the whole damned thing. As God was her witness, she would never drink again. The receding terror combined with the fading effect of the alcohol left her as weak as a kitten.
“Well.” Mrs. Allison crossed her arms over her bosom. “I just wanted to tell you that a policeman came around looking for you this evening.” Her already beady eyes narrowed. “You in some kind of trouble? I don’t permit tenants who have troubles with the law.”
Julie managed a shaky smile. It must have been Detective Duncan. Her landlady had probably told him where she worked. So maybe he had been looking for her since she hadn’t returned his call. “No, ma’am, I’m not in any kind of trouble.” She took a couple of calming breaths. “I’m sorry you felt compelled to sit up this late just to give me that message.”
Mrs. Allison still looked suspicious. “I don’t like when the law comes snooping around. You just see that there’s no trouble. I won’t have it.”
Julie nodded adamantly. “You have my word, Mrs. Allison. You don’t have to worry about any tr
ouble from me. The policeman who came to visit you was probably the...” Damn, she couldn’t explain about the accident without the worry that her landlady would tell her neighbor and there would be no more borrowing the Buick. “The... ah... one I talked to about a car.”
“Yeah, Thelma said your car got repossessed.”
Thelma was the neighbor with the Buick. Were there no secrets around here? It was nice to know some of her instincts could still be counted on.
“I’m afraid that’s true,” Julie confessed.
Mrs. Allison huffed a big breath. “Just pay your rent on time, stay out of trouble with the law, and I’ll be happy.”
Julie forced another smile into place and called a goodnight to the nosy old woman’s retreating back. She turned and faced her open apartment door. Did she dare go back in there?
She certainly didn’t need to call the police unless absolutely necessary. Not and risk being thrown out of the only home she had.
Screwing up her courage, Julie clenched the phone like a loaded weapon and moved up the steps. She depressed a nine and then a one on the keypad to make calling for help easier. Inside, she turned on the overhead light before moving fully across the threshold. The living room looked clear. She eased inside and pushed the door shut behind her. She shivered again. God, it was so damned cold in here. She’d have to check the temperature on the thermostat.
Eventually.
After listening intently for a few seconds, she moved toward the kitchen area turning on each light she passed. She drew up short when she found the sliding patio door open. She stood stock-still long enough to ensure that no sound came from inside or outside the apartment other than the usual sounds of traffic in the distance.
Fumbling in her haste, she quickly slid the patio door closed and locked the damned thing. For the good it would do, she mused, since it had been locked when she left for work this afternoon. Damned crappy lock.
