by Stefani, Z.
INSUFFERABLE PROXIMITY
-BY Z. STEFANI-
©Copyright Z. Stefani 2013
The Night Continues…
Mother of the Year
Feeling Better
Aggravation
A Little Wager
Wits’ End
The Trial
Back To Work
The Coffee Incident
The Case
The Opportunist
Doomsday
Jealousy Reaches its Peak
The Engagement party
The Engagement Honeymoon
Susan’s Day at Court
Wedding
Suspicious staff
Captured
Hideout
Epilogue
Wedding
One year later
Third Birthday
The Night Continues…
“I’ll be back!” Gavin screamed like a lunatic as three officers led him out of the house.
“Shut up.” One of the officers barked as he jacked Gavin up by his arm.
During the abrupt movement, Gavin noticed the lack of tension on his right wrist. He instantly settled down as he realized the handcuff wasn’t properly locked. He just prayed the officers hadn’t noticed as well. Either the original officer had neglected to lock it due to all the chaos, or the handcuffs were faulty. Either way, Gavin intended to take full advantage of their negligence. Gavin played it cool as they headed down the middle of the lawn. Two of the officers escorting him had walked away moments after Gavin stopped yelling. They assumed that because he had settled down that he must no longer be a threat. Gavin managed to suppress his smile over their foolishness.
Gavin was scanning the area, looking for a possible place to hide. If he were able to break away, he would hide out until he had a chance to run. That’s when he heard Julian and Heaven talking—they were planning their future.
Julian and Heaven stood in the middle of the front lawn. Julian’s long muscular arms were wrapped around her and pressing her firmly against his body. He couldn’t let her go. They shared one silent moment, holding each other for dear life as the chaos continued around them. The sirens blared, the red-and-white lights flashed, and half of the police force was scattered across the front yard, but they weren’t aware of any of it.
“It’s over,” Heaven said, as she looked at Julian, “it’s finally over. Now we can be together with no danger, no Gavin, no contract and no rules.”
“We’re getting married first thing in the morning, Princess,” Julian said as he bent down to plant a kiss on her lips.
“That sounds like a fantastic idea.” She smiled, right before he kissed her.
“I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” he vowed.
“Good, because I’m not letting you out of mine either,” she whispered against his chest, refusing to let go of him.
“Mr. King?” They turned in unison to watch a ginger-haired officer approach them.
“Yes?”
“Could I speak to you for a moment sir—in private?” The tall man with the wild red waves and wide green eyes asked discreetly.
“Of course.” Julian turned to Heaven and kissed her cheek, “Don’t you move a muscle.”
“Hurry,” she whispered.
Out of the corner of Gavin’s eye, he watched as Julian walked away from Heaven to speak with the officer. Gavin almost salivated when he turned back to see Heaven standing alone. He could not resist his opportunity to strike. He wasn’t one hundred percent certain he would be able to have this chance again. He looked around him to see where every officer was. Most of them were waiting for him at the front of the yard, near the police cars and ambulance. There was a large expanse of yard separating them, and Gavin knew it would take the officers a minute to reach him. None of them were paying attention to him; they assumed the officer holding him had it all under control. They were obviously excited by the night’s events and discussing it among themselves.
Julian stood with the officer, but he was trying to keep one eye on Heaven and the other on Gavin.
“I wanted to ask you a few questions, Mr. King,” the officer began once they were away from Heaven. “I just didn’t want to scare your fiancée any further; she looks a little shaken up.”
“I appreciate that, it’s been a crazy night,” Julian nodded.
“I wanted to ask you about a possible accomplice,” the officer said bluntly.
“Why? Did you find something?” Julian was instantly alarmed.
“No, nothing at all; it’s just a precaution that I like to take. It’s not uncommon in situations like this. I just wanted to make sure that there were no possible accomplices.”
“That’s a good question, but I honestly don’t know,” Julian answered as dread began to form in the pit of his stomach.
“Did you see anyone else in the house?” He pulled out his pad and pen.
“No.”
“Are you positive? Could there have been someone waiting for him? Maybe even just a getaway driver?”
“I don’t know.” Julian shrugged, feeling a bit helpless.
“Is it possible?” The officer raised his brow.
“Yes, it’s possible.” He quickly analyzed the situation and realized that it was more than possible.
“You have a full staff here, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Have you hired anyone new recently? A new maid, a chef or chauffeur, perhaps?” He continued writing.
“No.” Julian was becoming suspicious.
“At any point, did you suspect that Mr. Grant was not working alone?”
“Yes,” Julian answered honestly as the worry began to twist his gut.
“Why is that?”
“He was able to move about too freely. Everyone believed the man was a sniveling idiot. As it turned out—not only was he the saboteur, but he was a professional hacker with enough finesse to bypass the building’s security. I don’t buy it…I never did,” Julian admitted.
The officer wanted to reassure Julian. “I’m personally leading the search inside of your home. I promise we will leave no stone unturned. If anyone or anything is inside, we will know. I just wanted to double-check with you before I went full force.”
Gavin slowed his pace even further, forcing the officer to slow down. He looked at Heaven…alone in the yard. Big, bad Julian King was distracted by the officer and would never make it to her in time. The officer leading Gavin towards the awaiting police car stopped abruptly when his walkie-talkie went off.
“Change of plans; me and detective Owens will be bringing Grant in instead. We’ll be there momentarily.” The voice over the device said.
“Yes, sir,” the officer answered. He made the mistake of letting go of Gavin long enough to speak on the walkie.
Gavin took that split second to slam his elbow into the officer’s ribs and slip free from his grip. He hit the officer with enough force to stun him. He then made a mad dash straight towards Heaven.
“He’s loose!” The officer tried to yell, but he was short of breath. He took a staggering step forward before he managed to yell, “Grant’s loose!”
All available police officers came running up the front yard, but they were not quick enough. Within seconds, Gavin had crossed the short distance that separated him from Heaven.
Heaven turned around as she heard an officer yell, and found herself face to face with Gavin Grant. She took a step back, ready to sprint, but she wasn’t quick enough.
Gavin used all of his power to tackle Heaven to the ground. As they went down, Gavin’s head slammed into Heaven’s cheek. Her head then hit the raised cement walkway with a sickening thud. Gavin had just raised his fist to strike he
r when Julian grabbed him from behind.
Julian yanked Gavin backwards by his fist and dragged him to the ground. He was on top of Gavin in an instant, slamming his fist into Gavin’s head. Gavin tried to swing back, but was too busy blocking his head from the blows.
Julian was slamming his fists into any part of Gavin that he could connect to. Gavin tried to fight back, but Julian was too strong and excessively fast. Julian was in such a blind rage that he wasn’t aware of anything other than Gavin. His intent was to kill the man once and for all. Julian didn’t see or feel the officers trying to separate them. Nor did he see the paramedics rushing over to Heaven.
Heaven lay stunned on the ground. She had seen a bright white flash before the darkness took over. The blackness that had enveloped her was beginning to disappear and blend into the black sky. As reality came back to Heaven, so did the pain crashing through her skull. She heard the scuffle going on around her, but couldn’t register the words or the voices. Her head felt as if it weighed 100 pounds, and she couldn’t lift it to see what was happening. She cried out softly as the pain intensified.
The officers managed to pull Julian off Gavin, but not before he delivered one last blow to Gavin’s jaw.
That was when Julian heard Heaven’s soft cry.
Julian looked to the right to see the paramedics kneeling over her. Reality came back to him like a bullet to the brain. Forgetting about Gavin, Julian rushed over to Heaven.
Gavin fought the officers hard, trying desperately to get loose. He knew it could be his last opportunity to do some real damage. He tried everything in his power to grab one of their guns. He didn’t want to leave here tonight without exacting some form of revenge. He would not be able to live with himself if it ended like this.
“Heaven baby, look at me! Sevigne! Why isn’t she moving?” Julian barked as he slid down to his knees beside her. He could tell from the dazed look in her eyes that she wasn’t fully conscious. As she stared blankly towards the sky, Julian felt his heart begin to race. Her body was too still and her eyes unfocused—she looked dead.
“She’s dazed,” the paramedic said.
“What’s wrong with her? What the fuck did he do to her?” Julian spit the questions out in a fear-induced frenzy. Julian vowed to kill Gavin if Heaven was hurt. He vowed to kill Gavin—regardless.
He looked over to see Gavin fighting the officers. He wanted to rush over there and beat Gavin until his head was a puddle of mush on the ground. He felt his hands shake with rage and his blood boil below his skin. His legs twitched to run over there, but he refused. There was something precious and invaluable to him that was holding him back...Heaven. Despite the fact that it was his opportune time to finally kill Gavin, he couldn’t leave Heaven’s side.
“He tackled her to the ground,” the female paramedic told Julian.
“She hit her head hard, and I think that his head or something hit her cheek as well. I can see the bruise forming,” the other paramedic told him.
Every head injury scenario he had ever read, seen or heard of raced through his mind. People died from head wounds. He checked her pulse and kissed her neck in relief when he felt her pulse beating .
“People die from head injuries.” His eyes grew wide. His brain felt as if it were spinning in his skull.
“It has happened, but—“
“Do something now! You don’t understand, I need her; you fix her now!” he barked at the paramedics; his belligerence laced with irrationality. His head was swirling with frustration, fear and wrath. He felt they were taking this a little too lightly while his fear was escalating out of control.
“We will. She’s going to be fine, don’t worry,” the understanding paramedic said.
“Please be all right—please!” Julian grabbed her limp hand as he felt his heart ripping out from the core. He bent low to whisper desperately in her ear, “I can’t do this without you. I can’t go back to that life, I need you, Heaven.”
Through the thick fog that clouded her brain, Heaven could hear Julian’s voice. She took a deep breath and could smell Julian all around her. She loved that smell. Even now, she longed for it as if she'd been deprived for decades. That scent reminded her of love, safety and comfort. Her eyes fluttered, and she cried in relief when she saw Julian’s pale gray eyes looking back at her. She jumped up quickly and wrapped her arms around his neck.
The paramedics tried to stop her. “Whoa, slow down.”
“Oh, thank god. I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to you.” He took a deep breath. He realized by the pain in his chest that he had been holding his breath for a long time.
Julian held Heaven tightly, pulling her as close to him as possible. He didn’t want to let her go. The fact that Gavin had almost killed her was overwhelming to him. For the first time in his life, he fought back the tears. He couldn’t breathe as he thought about what could have happened to her and what Gavin might have done.
Julian was a selfish prick, and he knew that; he had accepted the fact years ago. He had never loved anyone but himself and had lived a life on mindless indulgence. Julian knew that he deserved what he got—but Heaven didn’t. Even though he felt he deserved the worst for his past indiscretions, he had to take into consideration that he had also changed. Nothing in his life was the same anymore. He had finally fallen head over heels in love. He loved Heaven more than even he understood. He had never felt this before, and he would not lose it. He would give his own life to protect her.
How could he have been so wrong about her for so long?
Heaven laid her head on Julian’s strong chest as tears seeped from her eyes. She was exhausted, dazed, shaken and a little scared.
“We got him!” one of the officers yelled.
Everyone turned to see the police had finally secured Gavin. Gavin was on his belly on the ground as the police put the cuffs back on his wrists. They yanked him up and rushed him towards the police car.
Julian held Heaven even tighter upon seeing Gavin stand. Gavin, in turn, stared at them, his eyes consumed with hate, and vowing revenge.
“I’ll get you, both of you, or I’ll die fucking trying! I’ll see you soon!” Gavin yelled before the officer shoved him in the back of the police car.
“I should have shot him when I had the chance,” Julian said, his deep voice laced with hatred.
“He’ll never get out of prison. No judge or jury in their right mind would ever let him walk free,” Heaven said blankly as if she were trying to convince herself.
“It’s not the judge or the jury that I’m worried about.”
“Stay still for just one second, please,” the paramedic asked nicely as he parted Heaven’s hair.
“He’ll never escape,” she said as if reading his mind. She winced when the paramedic put a cloth to her head.
Julian looked to see the blood on the cloth in the paramedic’s hand.
“What the fuck?” he roared. He was ready to rush over to the police car, rip off the door and put a bullet through Gavin’s forehead.
“It’s not too deep; it won’t require any stitches,” the paramedic reassured him. He began to clean the wound.
“Be careful!” he roared when Heaven winced again.
“Calm down, I’m all right.” She pulled his head to her and kissed him.
Julian felt his fury grow cold as the warmth from her lips soothed him.
“I was so scared,” he said as his features softened.
“Julian!” They turned to see Ayden running towards them. “Julian please, let me explain.”
“Now is not the time,” Julian grumbled. With a scowl twisting his handsome features, he stood up and took the last few steps to meet his father.
“I had no idea that Gavin was May’s son,ˮ Ayden tried to explain.
“I’m going to bandage you up now,” the paramedic told Heaven, but she was too engrossed in Julian’s conversation to hear him.
“How could you forget the fact that you had a psych
otic woman stalking you?” Julian snapped as he stepped towards his father. “A woman who was desperate enough to try to kill herself to hurt you. You didn’t think she would ever come back? You didn’t think that was something I might have needed to know considering I was being stalked?”
“Julian, you’ve had so many women act like that in the past, I just assumed—ˮ
“So this is my fault?” Julian raised his brows as his cheek twitched.
“No, I just meant that…I thought it was another scorned ex-lover. I had no idea I had another son,” Ayden tried to explain.
“I don’t think you should stand up yet,” the paramedic told Heaven. She ignored him as she stood up on shaky legs.
Julian narrowed his eyes. “You’ve always been blind when it comes to women.”
