Mike gave her a nod and headed back down the hall.
Jordan started to move forward, but Chase reached out to stop her. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said gruffly. “And not only for almost running you over.”
Jordan tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, I heard that part last night. Please tell me. What exactly are you sorry for?” She pinned him with her glance.
There was no easy way to answer her. He was trying to be honest, but he had no desire to hurt her any more than he already had. “Jordan, I’m sorry for everything. It shouldn’t have happened. I wasn’t really thinking then.”
Her shoulders sagged beneath his touch, and she looked down the hall before turning back to him. “Then I guess that answers that.” She paused. “I don’t want it to be awkward between us. I’m trying to move forward. Just please don’t ‘stop thinking’ around me again. This—” she pointed her finger back and forth between them, “—whatever this is…was, isn’t as easy for me.”
Chase swallowed the words he wanted to say. They’d only confuse her more without sharing the whole disturbing story. “You have my word.” His tone was tinged with regret. He regarded her for a moment. “What time do you want to leave for the trial?”
“In about half an hour? It’s downtown,” she answered.
“I’ll meet you—”
“At the back entrance.” She gave him a small smile after finishing the sentence. “I’ve pretty much got the drill down now.”
Chase sat in the back of the courtroom while Jordan testified. Despite the tension in the room, she remained calm and answered each question succinctly. He stifled a yawn and tried to readjust his position again. There were only so many ways to sit in the stiff benches, and his body had grown tired of them all several hours ago.
Jordan sipped from a glass of water as the prosecutor approached the stand.
“Dr. Clayton, tell me some of the things you saw in the police report that would suggest to you that this wasn’t an impulsive act related to an inability to reason or control his behavior.”
“If you look at the timeline, the action didn’t occur in one night—as you might see when an individual gets angry and kills someone while involved in a lover’s quarrel or drug crime. The timing of the murder suggests it was carefully planned out so no one would notice the victim’s absence for several days. In addition, the crime scene was cleaned with materials the defendant brought with him to the house, and the disposal of the bodies was conducted in such a manner that would involve advanced preparation. For example, he dug the holes he’d use as grave sites earlier that week.”
The prosecutor took a few more steps forward. “Are the actions you described suggestive of a brain injury?”
“No, they’re not.” She shook her head.
“Tell me why.”
“The actions are more indicative of characterological traits that have been present over a long duration of time. The nature of personality issues is that they’re long-standing.” Her demeanor was relaxed as she proceeded to explain her conclusion. “In looking at the defendant’s past history, he demonstrated behaviors that reflected a general disregard for the welfare of others and any negative consequences of his actions. He’d manipulate people in order to fulfill his own desires, establishing relationships with women so they’d assist him in his crimes or befriending his clients in order to gain access to their personal banking information or credit cards…”
Chase listened to her expand on the characterological traits of the defendant and speculated that at least a few would apply to the perp who was threatening Jordan. But despite the stress she’d been dealing with, she presented the same now as she had when she’d first taken the stand almost seven hours ago—appearing self-assured but not arrogant or defensive. His chest swelled a little as she neatly sidestepped a trap the defense council set up. He’d done his share of testifying with the state patrol, so he had to give it to her. She was much better than he’d ever been.
Like he needed one more reason to admire the woman he was assigned to protect.
“Finally,” he said when she headed toward him after meeting with the prosecutor one last time. “I was beginning to think we might be sleeping here tonight.”
She laughed, seeming too tired from the long day to do anything else. “Yeah, I kept thinking we’d continue into tomorrow, but I think the judge was ready to wrap it up.”
She motioned for him to follow her, and he gladly followed her out of the courtroom. He was ready to move on from this day in more ways than one.
§
Jordan watched Chase’s forearm muscles flex as he steered the SUV onto the expressway. As soon as they’d shut the doors, he’d promptly pulled his tie off and rolled the sleeves of his button-down dress shirt up. His olive-toned skin contrasted with the light-blue material.
She reclined back in her seat and closed her eyes before her thoughts led her places she didn’t want to go right now—not ever, really. She’d stopped herself from telling him exactly how she felt, knowing the entire staff was around the corner. There was no point in risking being overheard and creating unnecessary drama at the office. So far, they’d managed to keep everything running smoothly, despite the frightening threats made toward her. Besides, Chase didn’t seem interested in her response. He’d clearly drawn his conclusions without her. His first apology last night had left her confused and hurt, and the second one today had made her as glad as he was that they’d stopped when they had. Being someone’s regret wasn’t something she ever wanted. She shoved the unpleasant memory out of her mind and tried to focus on the present. Moving forward, she reminded herself.
“You going to sleep on me?” he asked.
She opened her eyes part way and slid her gaze over to him. “I wish. I’m so ready to crash, but I’m also starving.” Her stomach chose then to rumble in agreement.
Chase lifted the corners of his mouth. “Sounds like it. I’ll swing by and grab us something to go. Do you have a preference?”
“Couldn’t care less. Whatever you want is fine with me.” She still hadn’t bothered to adjust her seat upright. It felt good to simply sit back for a moment and let him make the decisions. Between court today and the events of last night, she was done thinking.
After several minutes, Chase pulled into a deli and parked the SUV directly in front of the glass door. Through the slits of her eyelids, she could see there was only one other car in the parking lot. Not registering anything as a potential threat, she let her eyes drift shut again. But even with them closed, she could feel him staring at her. She shifted toward him.
“Sorry. I didn’t know if you were actually sleeping this time. Your stomach didn’t seem to have any input either way.”
The evening sun was just bright enough to illuminate his sexy grin as he teased her. Ugh. Truth be known, her traitorous stomach was busy doing somersaults as if an Olympic gold were at stake. It must have forgotten the need for food. But there was no way she was letting him in on that.
“No, I’m good. Still awake.”
“Okay, then. “Do you want to wait here while I run in? I’ll be right in front of the door while they fill the order.”
She nodded absently. Sitting in the car and watching the sun sink behind the tree line, she tried to maintain her resolve to keep her mind still. She didn’t want to think about the hit on her life, or her bodyguard. Before long, she saw Chase push open the door carrying several bags, his confident stride showcasing his muscular physique now illuminated by the early moonlight.
She grabbed the bags from him as he jumped in the car. They were quite heavy, considering he was supposed to have picked up only two meals. “Seriously? How much do you think I eat?”
He arched an eyebrow at her. “Do you really want me to answer that? Because I’m not sure there’s a good one.”
“Yeah, you should probably scratch that question. My parents used to joke that I had hollow legs and that’s where all
of the extra food goes.”
Chase’s eyes grazed over the length of her legs to the hem of her skirt, leaving a trail of heat along his path. When he reached her upper thighs, she realized her skirt had ridden up since she’d been reclining in the seat. Several inches of nylon-covered upper thigh was now on display. A flush crept into her cheeks as she did her best to balance the carryout bags while tugging at the wayward hem.
Chase shifted in his seat and abruptly directed his attention to merging into the oncoming traffic.
After deciding that her hemline had returned to a respectable position, she looked over at him. “So, what are we having?”
“Hmmm?” He muttered distractedly, checking the rearview mirror.
“You know, the ten-pound bags you have for dinner, what’s in them?” She wondered where he’d disappeared to.
Surely, her bare legs hadn’t left him that unnerved. From the way he’d won over the women on her staff his first day, she was pretty sure he’d seen more than his fair share over the years. She shook her head in an effort to brandish the thought away. After their recent encounter, she had no desire to picture him with a woman he’d chosen to be with. It would only leave her questioning why he didn’t pick her. She looked out her window as they drove by the turnoff into her neighborhood.
“Chase?” she said in an uncertain tone.
He still hadn’t answered and was glancing in the rearview mirror again. She checked her side mirror, noticing a car approaching them from behind.
“What is it? Are we being followed?” she asked. Her chest tightened as she gripped the bags in her lap.
“It would seem so. He’s been behind us for the past five turns,” he said. “And I made sure a couple were just around a block a few miles back. I need you to hang tight while I try something.”
Chase entered the right turn lane and turned on the right blinker. The car eased in behind them, though it was too dark to make out the features of the driver. When the light changed to green, Chase gunned the engine and sped into the adjacent lane going straight instead. He was able to get ahead of the other cars on the road.
Jordan looked back, hoping the car following them wouldn’t make it. Then the screeching of brakes tore through the night, and a car swerved over to avoid being hit by their tail. She held her breath until she saw that the other driver was safe.
“Damn it, this guy is an idiot.” In the dim moonlight, Jordan could see that Chase’s jaw was clenched tight as he concentrated on trying to stay ahead of their pursuer. “I’m going to head to the police department. You call nine-one-one and report our location now. Maybe there’s an officer in the area.” The driver was gaining speed behind them, but Chase’s voice was steady and his tone calm.
Feeding on his strength, Jordan reached down to grab her phone from her purse. She fumbled around for a second until her hands wrapped around the familiar device.
“Hang on.” Chase barely got the words out before the SUV took another sharp turn and centrifugal force plastered her against the center console.
The phone she’d just retrieved flew out of her hand and hit the floorboard. Ironically, the three bags on her lap stayed put. As the scenery flew by her, she noticed they’d turned onto a less crowded side street that would lead them downtown. But they were still minutes away from the station. After hoisting the bags over her shoulder into the back seat, she began rummaging around the floorboard again for the lost phone. Headlights growing brighter behind them let her know the driver of the other car was almost caught up to them.
“Sit up,” Chase instructed. “I think he may try to hit us.”
She popped up right as the car swerved around to their left. A hard jolt charged through her and she grazed the side of her head on the window beside her. Did we collide? Gravel hit the undercarriage of the vehicle as the BMW spun onto the shoulder of the road. Turning the wheel in the same direction, Chase wrangled to gain back control. The edge of the woods came looming toward them. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the crash. But there was no impact. Instead, they jerked to a sudden stop. She peeked out to see that they were now perpendicular to the line of trees. The vehicle had rotated enough to avoid hitting them head on. She craned her neck around to look for the other car but saw no hint of movement.
“Are you all right?” Chase asked. She could hear the concern in his voice.
“I’m fine,” Jordan said, her breath catching. She felt disoriented, but other than some pressure from the seat belt, she was relieved to realize she was okay. Physically, anyway. “Where’d it go?” She didn’t see the other car, but she didn’t trust that the maniac was truly gone.
“It’s okay.” He rubbed her shoulder. “He passed us after he ran us off the road. I tried to get a tag number, but there was no way from our position.” His hands returned to the steering wheel, and she immediately missed the comfort of his touch. “You sure you’re okay?” He looked over at her as he put the vehicle in reverse and eased the SUV back onto the road. “I thought your head hit when we turned.”
“It was only a bump.” She rubbed the spot that had grazed the window. There was no wetness that could be blood. Only a small knot. Verifying her head wasn’t injured, she abandoned her assessment in favor of monitoring their surroundings as they began driving. The BMW seemed no worse for the wear, and she was thankful his car offered more protection than hers would have. “You don’t think he’ll come back, do you?” Her voice shook as she asked the question.
“I don’t think so. But I’m not sure. I have no intention of sitting here and waiting to find out. I’ll call Detective Larson once we’re back at your house. I’m sure he’s gone for today, but I’ll leave him a message with the gist of what happened and fill in the details tomorrow. He’ll want to file a report so the incident will be on record.”
“We aren’t going to the station?”
“No point now. Larson can file the report tomorrow. There’s no evidence to preserve tonight that won’t be there in the morning. I’d rather get you home.”
She didn’t argue. Being at home sounded much better to her. The sooner she was off of the roads, the better. Would she ever feel safe again?
Jordan hadn’t gone into work that morning. Between the events of last night and the nightmares that followed, she was in no shape to be there. She’d briefed Karen over the phone, and she, Mike, and Derek had all come over to her house during their lunch hour.
“I’m sorry. You’ve been through so much. I can’t believe this is really happening.” Karen gave her a tight hug, tears glistening in her eyes.
“Me neither,” she said, shaking her head. She pulled a chair out and motioned for her friend to sit.
Everyone else followed suit.
“I feel terrible about being out today, but for the first time since this all started, I don’t think I should be at work.” Her voice cracked and she fought back tears of defeat. “I’m not sleeping. I can’t concentrate. All I can think of is what this guy is going to do next. It’s consuming me.”
Karen grabbed her hand and held it in her own. Jordan was grateful for the gesture.
Mike rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What about leaving town for a while?” Jordan began to protest, but Mike raised a hand to stop her. “Hear me out. Not for long. Maybe just until the cops have made an arrest or even have a suspect.”
“Weren’t you the one who said that wasn’t a good idea because he could follow me?” She wasn’t trying to argue. In truth, she didn’t have the strength. But it felt like they were going in circles, or more like this creep had them jumping through hoops in an obstacle course with no endpoint.
“That was then. It’s gone too far now,” Mike said, his voice firm. He’d torn the label from his bottle of water as he spoke and was now shredding it into a pile in front of him.
“I agree with Mike. There are too many unknowns,” Derek said. “It’s hard to figure out what to do when we don’t have much to work with. This guy has managed to evad
e being caught at every turn. It’s uncanny, really, that he’s left nothing for the cops to trace back to him.”
“Yeah,” Chase said. “Makes me think he may be involved in some type of law enforcement or investigative work.”
“But why hire the hitman then? If he could have carried his plan out better himself?” Derek looked at Chase for an answer.
“Don’t know. If I did, maybe we’d have a better handle on who he is.” Chase shoved his chair back and stomped over to her fridge to refill his glass.
Jordan looked over at Derek. He opened his mouth then closed it as if he thought better of saying what he’d intended. Probably a smart move. She could tell by Chase’s forceful movements that he was frustrated. He hadn’t shared that theory with her before. She wondered if he’d given Detective Larson his hypothesis. Not that it changed anything about her current predicament. Nausea turned in her stomach as her friends continued to debate suggestions.
“That’s why I think she needs to leave,” Mike said. “We can’t stop something or someone we have nothing on. We still don’t even know what this creep is after. It just pisses me off.” He slammed his hand down on the table, sending the slivers of paper fluttering into the air.
Jordan flinched.
Karen squeezed her hand, offering reassurance while giving Mike a stern look.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I think we all feel pretty helpless right now.” He used the side of his hand to scrape the bits back into a pile.
Jordan looked across the table at him. “Don’t worry about it. If it were one of you, I’m sure I’d feel the same way.” She gave him a weak smile.
“So, what do you think, Jordan?” Karen asked. “I know before that you believed it would be letting him win if you left town. Do you still feel that way?”
Jordan remembered making the comment back then. So much had changed since that conversation. Before, worrying about the hit and who’d ordered it had been more of a nuisance to her. Now, it still felt like she would be letting him win by leaving, but the feelings of defeat were nothing compared to the worry over what might happen if she stayed.
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