by Dale Mayer
She grinned. Not only wasn’t she alone, apparently Chase wasn’t either.
Then she saw the gun in the man’s hand. “Shit.”
Chase squeezed her fingers reassuringly.
Of course, he was military. Guns were his thing. But that didn’t mean the bullets weren’t going to fly and no one was going to get hurt. That’s the last thing she needed right now, thank you very much. She almost laughed at the snark in her head. Must be nerves.
“I’m going to try and scare him off,” Chase said.
“Wouldn’t you rather capture him instead?” she whispered urgently, trying to hold him back.
“Sure, but not when you’re here.” He picked up a book from the coffee table and dropped it on the floor. The figure outside froze. Then in a hard voice Chase called out, “Vanessa, was that you? Is something wrong, honey?”
The shadow melted against the wall outside. While she watched she could hear vehicles turning the corner of the block and racing up the street toward them. With a squeal of brakes the vehicles stopped. The question was were they here for the gunman or were they Chase’s friends? When she glanced back over at the shadow she realized it was gone. Chase raced out after him. Before she made it out to the patio herself, Chase was already on the far side of her neighbor’s patio and grappling with someone. Several shots were fired and the small wiry male appeared to jump.
Her floor was three stories from the ground, but there were fire escapes and heavy drainage pipes at various places making an exit much easier than an entrance. Jumping the distance between the two verandas easily, Chase returned to her side. And that decided one issue. It was time to move. The last thing she wanted was another stranger breaking in. Her place was cheap and comfortable, but it was obviously not secure.
“He got away,” she exclaimed to Chase.
“Maybe and maybe not,” he said. “He actually shot himself accidentally. He did make it down to the ground but that doesn’t mean he’s escaped.”
Just as he spoke there was a series of shots and then a car squealed as it tore up the street outside. Chase walked to the edge of the deck and looked over. At his side, she peered down to see a body lying in the middle of the street. It took her mind a few minutes to register what had just happened. Then she got it. “They shot him?” she asked incredulously. “Their own man?”
“Yes.”
“But they could’ve rescued him. Helped him get away.”
“No. He failed.”
*
Chase stared grimly down at Monkey’s body. He didn’t need to be any closer to see he was dead. There was enough blood pooling around his body to make sure there was no surviving that hit.
Monkey had failed. Failure was not and never had been an option in Gregory’s world. Had Ronnie made the connection of what his eventual fate would be time for me to move if he stayed with Gregory? No one won all the time.
But Chase had no intention of losing, and there could only be one winner in this game. His phone buzzed. He pulled it out to find a text from Markus asking, What the hell just happened?
Instead of trying to text an answer he called him. In the distance he could hear sirens approaching. He quickly filled Markus in on the events of the last fifteen minutes. “The cops are on their way.”
“Stay out of it. We’ll go through official channels for this one.” Chase put his phone away and turned to see Vanessa staring at him in shock.
“They actually killed him,” she whispered. “None of this seemed real before, but now…”
He winced. “I’m so sorry, sweetie.” He motioned down to the street below before leading her back inside. “As you can see, this is all too real.”
“It’s time for me to move,” she snapped. “I’m not staying here anymore. I loved this place before but not now.”
“I’m so sorry.” He reached out a hand toward her as if to give comfort, but she shrugged him off and stormed into her bedroom. When she slammed the door he realized just how upset she really was. Then who could blame her? Look what she’d been through tonight alone.
His phone buzzed again. It was Markus. Chase answered his first couple of questions, but the last one was harder. I have no idea where to go from here, he finally said.
As soon as he hit send he wished he hadn’t but it was too late. While he was still staring at his phone and deciding what to add, it buzzed again. This time it was Brett texting. What the hell? I just got back after a night on the town with the folks to see all hell breaking loose. What do you need and how can I help?
That made him feel better. Brett had taken a few days leave and had gone home for the weekend. And Brett wasn’t joking when he set out on a night on the town with his folks. Brett was part of a very large extended Greek family – his mother having married into the family over a dozen years ago. When that family partied – it was an all-night affair.
Brett’s mother wasn’t in very good health. He’d asked for a few days off to go home for her birthday. Chase was not about to bring him back unnecessarily.
But… Brett did have an empty house a few miles away. Chase quickly texted him back and said he needed a place to lay low. He’d be bringing Vanessa with him. He added more about the intruder who was also shot on the street.
His phone rang almost instantly. Chase winced. He really hated all these explanations. But there was no keeping a lid on his past anymore. He quickly brought Brett up to date.
“I’m on my way back,” he said instantly.
“You need to spend time with your mom. You may not have that again.”
“Ha, my mom could outlive us all,” Brett said in exasperation. “The doctor is happy with her at this point as her declining health has stabilized somewhat. I can be home by tomorrow.”
“You have one more day leave and one more day and that won’t make a difference here. But if we could stay at your place while you’re gone, that would be great.”
“Anything, you know that,” came the instantaneous response. “Figure out a plan. I’ll be back before you actually get a chance to implement it. Make sure you count me in.”
“You take care of your mom. Give her a hug for me.”
Brett’s laughter rolled free. “She was asking why you weren’t here and how come you don’t have a wife and babies yet.”
“Because I don’t have a girlfriend,” he said good-naturedly. “And you know how I feel about children.”
“Won’t matter. When the time comes and you find that perfect woman you’ll want a family.” Brett’s tone of voice was comfortable and calm as if they’d had this argument many times over. Which they had. “Mom’s just getting tired of waiting for us.”
“Us?” Chase protested. “There’s no us in this.” He snorted. “She’s your mom. You get married and you have a dozen kids. That lets me off the hook too.”
“Two. One boy, one girl. But even if I have a big family, that won’t get her off your case. So just be prepared.”
“They don’t come to order, you know.” Chase shook his head but he was grinning like a fool. In truth Brett’s mama was short, round and ran the family on both sides of the marriage with as much love and affection as they would tolerate. He’d spent many a lovely weekend with the family having been instantly engulfed by them after the first meeting.
“Grab yourself a couple hours if you think it’s safe then get your asses over to my place. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Brett hung up.
Chase put his phone down on the coffee table for easy access then fluffed up the pillow at the end of the love seat. As he went to lie down he realized Vanessa stood staring at him. He hadn’t heard her door open.
“A dozen kids?”
He laughed. “That was Brett – one of my best friends and part of my unit. His mom has been urging the two of us to get married and have babies before she dies.”
Vanessa’s gasp of sympathy was followed instantly by a wicked grin. “She sounds like a lovely woman. I do hope she’s in good health and has a
long life ahead of her. I’m not sure you guys are very ready to get married. The military doesn’t have great odds for relationships, do they?”
“A year ago or so I’d have agreed with you,” he said stretching out on the love seat, his knees over the far edge. “But lately I have to admit, my friends have been making me reconsider that belief.”
“In what way?” she asked curiously. “I haven’t seen too many successful long-term relationships myself. Almost everyone I work with is either divorced or single.”
“Are they military families?”
“No.” She wandered across the living room to stare out the glass doors. “That’s a good point. Still, most marriages are in a sad state right now.”
“Maybe and maybe not.”
She turned to look at him. “Then I’m sure your single life is very exciting. It would take a special woman to make you change that.”
He studied her across the darkened room and realized this woman intrigued him in many ways. She also brought out his protective instincts. She stood before him, her arms across her chest, one foot raised and stroking across the other. A vulnerable look on her face made his heart ache. There was something going on inside. Something painful.
“Have you ever been married?” he asked gently.
She raised her gaze to his, her eyes shadowed. Then shook her head. “No, I didn’t get that far.”
“How far did it get?” He couldn’t stop himself from probing. There was something there. Something she didn’t want to share. And he should leave it alone. He’d had secrets of his own. Opening them up now was anything but comfortable.
Chapter 8
“We were engaged. I managed to get away a couple weeks before the wedding,” she whispered.
Chase slowly sat up. “Managed to get away?”
She dropped her arms and stared at him defiantly. “Yes. He beat the crap out of me then took off to go to the pub with his friends. I packed up a few essentials and ran.”
Chase was on his feet, snagging her up into his arms and holding her close before she stopped talking. “Good. I hope the asshole’s in jail.”
She shook her head. “No, he left the country instead. His background was Russian and he had a lot of family there. He went home. I never told the cops. I just wanted it over.”
“That doesn’t mean he’ll stay over there,” Chase scolded. “If he ever does come back then you need to contact the police. Who knows what he’d do if he ever does return.”
She gave a broken laugh. “That’s partly why we fought. He wanted to move home to Russia, and I had no wish to go.”
“Sorry, so he burned his bridges and ran. Good riddance.” His hands gently stroked up and down her back. “Is that the source of the nightmares?”
She shuddered. “Yes.”
“How long ago was this?”
“About ten months ago. Long enough to have gotten over it.”
“It can take a lot longer to get over something like that.” He led her back to the bedroom. “Can you go back to sleep again?”
She shook her head. “No. I was just thinking about going to a coffee shop to get out. The walls are crowding me in.” She looked around. “I had a hard time living alone, and I forced myself to live alone after the beating and I finally came to love it here. But now with the intruder…”
He grabbed her shoulders, turned and twisted her toward the bedroom. “Go pack. We’ll stay at Brett’s house for a few days while he’s away. It’s my mess and I can’t have you getting injured.”
“Where is his house?” She did like the idea of getting away for a few days, and if the house was empty that was even better. They could have gone to a hotel but that had a strange sense of intimacy to it unless they had different rooms and then she wasn’t going to feel safe.
“About ten minutes away from here.”
She brightened. “Then I’ll just go collect a few things.”
He stood at the doorway and watched her. “Do you have any sick leave or holidays coming?”
She froze in the act of pulling out several pairs of pants. “How long is this going to go on?” She hadn’t considered this could be more than a day or two. “I can’t afford to lose my job.”
“And you won’t,” he assured her. “But a few days off so Ronnie and his men can’t track you to your job might be a good idea.”
“Track me?” she said in a faint voice. “How could they track me?”
He made a gesture at the apartment around them. “It’s not that hard to find out who owns an apartment.”
“I don’t own it,” she said. “I rent it.”
“Good.” He studied her face. “It shouldn’t be too difficult to find you another place when this is over.”
“I’d like that.” She hurriedly packed then dragged out a second suitcase to put her office clothes in. When she was finally done she raced to the bathroom and filled a small bag of toiletries. By the time she turned around Chase had moved the suitcases out of the hallway. His bag was already zippered and stacked with hers.
“You think they’re watching the apartment?”
He shook his head. “Not now. But Markus is. So he’ll let us know if anyone tries to follow us.”
As they walked to the elevator then down to the lobby she found it hard to not look around searching for Markus who was apparently keeping an eye on the place. She didn’t want to make it obvious, but at the same time how could anyone be hidden and yet still look after them?
Chase carried all three bags while she led the way to her car where he placed all the bags in the back then he got in on the passenger side. “Don’t you have your own vehicle to take care of?”
“Markus will drive it.” He put on his seat belt. “I’m not leaving you alone until its safe.”
She shrugged and turned on the engine then backed out of her spot. She looked over at him as she drove to the exit. There was still a few hours until daylight, but it was easy to see in the cloudless sky. “Where to?”
*
By the time they made it to Brett’s house Chase knew the chances of her getting some more sleep tonight were slim. They parked inside the garage and closed the big door behind them. He quickly unloaded the bags and led her into the house and up to the spare room. “This will be your room.”
He turned to walk out and she cried, “Wait, where’s your room then?”
“Across the hallway. I’ll sleep in Brett’s room.”
“And when he returns?”
“Then I’ll sleep on his couch downstairs. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
He went to leave when she murmured, “What if I’m not?”
He turned to study her. “Are you scared to be here alone?”
Maybe that wasn’t the best question to ask. Her spine straightened and her chin jutted out.
“I’m fine. Go away,” she snapped, shooing him away with her hands. “I’m going to try and get a couple hours sleep.”
“Okay, if you’re sure. Otherwise we can go out for a long walk along the beach then have breakfast somewhere.”
Relief made her face overly bright and her brightened her tone of voice as she cried, “Yes. Do you think it’s light enough to walk?”
But he understood. He’d lived with fear long enough. “It’s definitely light enough. There are some beautiful trails close by.”
He held out his hand and said, “Come on, let’s go.” The words weren’t even out of his mouth before he felt her fingers close over his. He laughed, dropped a kiss on her temple and tugged her downstairs toward the front door. “It’s a beautiful night. Let’s enjoy it.”
Chapter 9
By the time they returned to the house she felt like it was a whole new day. Chase was a charming man, and he’d been great at easing her fears. She understood his suggestion about taking time off, but her caseloads were so heavy she knew it would be a burden for her coworkers. Still, she had the rest of today to decide. As they walked back into the house he dropped the ke
ys on the counter and said, “Now what would you like to do?”
“You don’t have to entertain me, you know.”
He gave her a mock look of hurt. “I wasn’t trying to. I’m just really enjoying spending time with you.”
She beamed at him. He said the nicest things.
“After that big meal, honestly, I’m tired,” she confessed. “I was thinking about lying down for a few hours.”
“Good idea.” He motioned at the table. “I’ll work here on my laptop.”
“Did you need a nap?” Then she realized what she’d said and heat flooded her cheeks. “I meant – aren’t you tired?” she quickly added, stumbling over her words.
Heat flashed, his eyes danced and that dangerously sexy grin slid out. Damn. It had been a long time since her fiancé… Yet Chase was the first man who made her reconsider her lonely single life. He was lethal with all that sex appeal. Could she trust him now after the beating she’d taken? She really wanted to, but…
“However, if that’s an invitation…”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “It wasn’t.” She turned and walked toward the staircase, a grin on her face in spite of it all.
“If you change your mind…” he called out to her. “You know where I am.”
She ignored him and headed up to the bedroom. She pulled back the top blanket and lay down on the bed, covering herself up. She was asleep within minutes.
*
He shouldn’t have teased her but he loved getting a rise out of her. Besides, she blushed so beautifully. She was also nervous as a colt. And he could understand why. But he wasn’t a woman beater, and he prided himself on always being in control when it came to physical violence. He had to be with his job.
He buried himself in his work, but it was only twenty minutes before he heard her cry out. He raced up the stairs and realized she’d left the door open. He could see her tossing and turning inside. He knew last night would have just aggravated all the old nightmares, bringing her subconscious fears to the surface yet again. Nightmares were like that – they simmered just below the surface waiting for a chance to terrorize you when you were at your most vulnerable.
