"So, let’s do that all over again tomorrow and the next day, too, ‘cause it was so much fun!" she said to Chase as she walked into her bedroom, a towel wrapped around her.
He chuckled. Smartass to the end, that one. "No way, baby. If it means I have to be without you again, no fucking way." He walked to her and pushed her wet hair behind her shoulders, bending down to brush his lips across hers. "I'm so glad you're okay," he said then hugged her, kissing the top of her head.
She wrapped her arms around his waist like he might disappear if she didn't hold on as tightly as she could. "I knew you'd come. I never doubted it." Her head rested against his chest as she started softly crying.
"You're safe now, baby. It's all over. I'll never let anyone hurt you again." He held her, blinking back his own tears. If he'd lost her he didn't know what he would've done. Well, after he'd killed every motherfucker involved he didn't know what he'd have done next.
"Are you okay?" she asked, looking up at him, worried that he’d be affected by what he’d had to do.
"Yeah. I'm good. Look, I did what I had to do. And I'd do it all over again if it meant getting you back safely." He smiled at her. He wasn't proud that he'd had to kill a man but he’d had to do it before, and he meant what he said about doing what it took to get her back.
"If you need to talk about it…"
"I'm fine. Get dressed. Your dad wants to talk to you for a bit then you need to get some rest."
"What's up with Allen, anyway?"
"He loves you, Julia, and all of this woke him up, I think. He knows he hasn't treated you the way a father should, but he's willing to make it up to you. I think you need to give him that chance."
"Weird."
"It might seem weird but just hear him out, okay? Get dressed. I'll be in the living room." He kissed the top of her head and left the room.
After putting on some sleep pants and a t-shirt, she went to the living room. Chase had heated up one of Peggy's muffins for her and had set it and a glass of milk on the coffee table for her. He'd been standing waiting for her and he led her to the couch to sit. Allen was standing at the patio doors looking out on the city, his back to them. Julia sat and practically gobbled the muffin down.
"Gah, I've will-wee mithed Peggy'th cooking," she mumbled between bites.
"Slow down. There's plenty more," Chase said, chuckling at her.
She downed the glass of milk, closing her eyes after she'd finished it, sighing deeply, so glad to be home. Chase reached over and wiped off her milk mustache with his finger, smirking at her and shaking his head.
"That was good. Thank you," she said looking sheepishly at him.
Allen had walked over and stood in front of the coffee table looking down at her. She looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "Julia, I-I wanted to apologize for the way I've handled things." He choked up.
"It's okay, Allen," she said quietly, not being able to recall one time she'd seen her father about to cry. She knew he'd cried after her mother died, she could tell from the look on his face at times, but he'd never openly cried in front of her.
"No, it's not okay, Julia. I've been a total asshole."
Her head shot up in shock as she looked at him. Wow. His admitting that was huge as she’d not heard him very many times admit to any wrongdoing.
"I know I've treated you unfairly and you didn't deserve that. After your mother… passed… I was so lost. I know you were, too, but I didn't know how to fix things, so I just withdrew." He sighed deeply, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "I want to try to make things up to you. If you'll let me."
He looked so hopeful and apologetic, ashamed even, that Julia didn't have it in her to tell him no. "Of course, I will. Would this 'making things up to me' include my getting my own apartment?" Might as well strike while the iron was hot.
Allen cleared his throat. "Well, um, I, uh, don't know right now, Julia. I mean, you were just taken from me. I'd like a chance for us to get to know each other again. Then we'll go from there, okay?"
She could do that. "Okay."
"Can I get a hug?"
She rose from the couch, going around the table to hug him. He grabbed her so fiercely she was once again puzzled. She didn't think she'd ever been as surprised by someone as she'd been by him in the past two hours.
"I'm tired," she said drawing away from him.
"I know you are. Why don't you get some rest? It's almost six a.m."
"Chase? Would you stay with me?" The fear she'd felt still clung to her.
Chase glanced at Allen who nodded his approval and Chase took her hand. Weariness hit her suddenly and she became a zombie as he led her to her bedroom. He pulled the covers back and sat her down on the bed, turning her to lie down then covered her, tucking her in.
"No, please lie next to me, Chase," she said when he moved to sit in the chair by her bed.
He went to the other side of the bed, kicking off his shoes, then climbed on and lay next to her outside of the blankets. He held her in his arms as she nuzzled against his chest, his hands running lightly through her hair. Hearing her breathing even out, he realized she'd fallen asleep. "I love you," he told her before he drifted off himself.
****
"Best waking moment ever," Julia said. She'd awakened to see that Chase was still with her. Finally, they'd gotten to wake up together.
Chase blinked his eyes open, looking around, realizing he was still in her bed. He looked over to see her lying on her side, her elbow bent underneath her, her head resting on her hand. He looked at his watch seeing that it was after noon. "Hey there, beautiful," he said, smiling at her, brushing the backs of his fingers over her swollen cheek.
She scoffed. "Right. I'm sure I'm looking very attractive right now."
"You do. You look tough. All badass and shit." He winked at her.
She smacked him on the chest. "And here I was watching you sleep thinking how much I love you, how handsome you are and that you're my hero. Well, ix-nay on the ero-hay."
He scowled, his lips moving into a pout, which she found adorable. He looked like a little boy who'd just been scolded. She giggled and wrapped her arm around him, pulling him by the back of his head to her so she could kiss those pouty lips. When the kiss got a little more heated, she winced.
"I'm sorry, baby. Did I hurt you?" His rested his hand on her hip.
"Mouth is just a little sore." She looked at him apologetically.
He'd kill that fucker all over again if given the chance. He knew he'd have to come to terms with all of it soon, but he also knew he had no regrets for what he'd had to do.
They lay there a little longer holding each other then finally got up to eat something. When they walked into the kitchen, Allen was sitting at the bar reading the newspaper.
"Good afternoon," he said, looking up at both of them. "Did you sleep well?" He reached for Julia's hand, squeezing it tightly then let it go.
"Yeah. I was totally worn out," she said, smiling sweetly at him, still amazed at the change in him. Maybe he was sincere about things changing between them. She never thought he cared about anything she did, let alone how she'd slept.
"Sit. I'll get you something," Chase told her as he got a plate out.
"I talked to my attorney this morning, told him everything. He advised we all just keep it to ourselves. Basically said we'd done nothing wrong. Chase, justifiable homicide would've been the charge and he assured me you wouldn't have been punished in the least; more than likely he said you'd have been lauded for ridding the world of one more worthless criminal."
Chase placed a sandwich in front of Julia along with a bottle of water. He looked at Allen and nodded. He couldn't describe how he was feeling if he'd had to. He had no remorse, really, just a little sadness at the taking of a life. However, he did know he'd recover. He leaned against the counter eating his own sandwich.
"The paper says the police arrived at the house last night a little after four this morning," Allen told them. "Says they f
ound a man and a woman dead in the basement and another dead man cuffed to the gas meter outside. The gun was in the woman's hand. They think it was murder-suicide. Paper says the police received an anonymous tip that they were the kidnappers."
So Felix had had his men get rid of all of them. But what about Josh? What'd happened to him? Chase wondered.
"I received a call this morning from my accountant telling me that my money had been wired back to my account. I talked to Franklin and Collin and found that their money has been returned, too."
"That's good. I wonder who made that happen? Surely not that Felix guy," Julia said, taking a drink of water. She turned and motioned for Chase to come sit by her.
"I'm not sure. Josh was there, right? Doesn't he have a degree in computer science something or other? Felix is his uncle, you know."
Julia gasped. "He is? Well, maybe Josh is the one who put the money back. He was always good with computers. I'll bet they had money from their other kidnappings that he was able to wire to Felix or something. That's why they gave back yours? So they wouldn't get in trouble?"
"Could be," Allen mused.
"What about the Maggie woman? Who was she and how did this even get started?" Chase asked.
Allen explained to him that Maggie's father, Richard Devlin, had been a friend of his, a successful businessman who’d run in his circle, and Richard had known Franklin and Collin, too. Richard had lost his wife, also, so he and Allen had a deep connection.
"Okay, that makes sense. It took me a while to place her but then I figured it out, knowing I'd seen her here that night. Then I realized I’d seen her out at several dinners and functions over the years, she just looked different then with black hair," Julia said.
Allen continued explaining that Richard had died of an illness several years ago, leaving Maggie millions, which she'd spent extravagantly, making poor investments, and ended up losing it all. Richard had been linked loosely to the Irish Mob, it'd been rumored that Maggie had dated Sean "The Muscle" Laughlin at one time before he'd gone to prison on racketeering charges, so Allen had made sure to keep a little distance from Richard knowing he might've been involved in some illegal activities.
"Maggie came to several of us at one time or another over the years trying to get us to join her in what we found out later was a Ponzi scheme she'd designed. That’s why she was here that night, trying to get me to invest. Seems everyone she had kidnapped were children of all of us who’d turned down her little endeavor." Allen shook his head. What a waste. “When I turned her down that night, she was so angry, stomping out of here, cursing me out like a sailor, telling me I’d regret it." Allen looked at Julia guiltily.
“Dad,” Julia said, tilting her head to the side and looking sadly at him. “You couldn’t have known.” She stood up and hugged him where he sat on the barstool.
“I’m so sorry, Julia,” he said as his voice caught. He held her and kissed the side of her head. “You called me ‘Dad.’” He took in a shuddering breath.
Julia closed her eyes as she hugged her father. “Of course I did. That’s what you are. My dad.”
****
By Monday, things had pretty much gone back to normal. Julia had made arrangements to work from home for a week, not wanting to face her coworkers, namely Audrey, and be subjected to the questions about what’d happened or the looks she knew she’d get because of the shape her face was in. Chase had driven her to her office so she could pick up some files while everyone was on lunch. On their way back to the Tower, he squeezed her hand where she sat up front with him.
"You think Allen's going to keep me hired on still? I mean, they're gone. The people I've been protecting you from the past two years are no longer a threat."
"I don't know." She hadn't thought that far ahead. If Chase wasn't working for her, they could openly date. But then she might not get to see him every day like she did now. And if he wasn't guarding her, he'd have to get another client which might mean even more time away from each other.
Coming into the Tower lobby, Julia saw Ben and ran to him, hugging him as hard as she could.
"Julia," Ben choked out, sighing as he hugged her tightly. He'd gone on vacation before her ordeal, so he’d had no idea what had happened until Allen had informed him that morning.
Julia started crying. "Ben."
He pulled back, looking down at her with tears in his eyes. "When your father told me today what happened, I almost fell apart, little girl. Big, tough guys like me don’t cry, you know. Don't you dare do that to me again."
Julia laughed through her tears. "I won't. I promise." She hugged him around the waist again. "I love you, Ben-ediction."
"Same here, Joli." He kissed the side of her head letting her go.
In the elevator, Chase put his arm around her, holding her close to him.
"Ugh, I'm such a crybaby." She chuckled, wiping away her tears.
"No, you're not. You've been through a lot. It's okay." He kissed the top of her head.
When the elevator opened, they went to the door, Chase punching in the code to enter.
"Is she okay?" Allen walked to them, worry all over his face at Julia's crying.
"Yes, she just saw Ben." Chase sat her on the couch going to get her some water.
"It's okay, honey." Allen sat next to her, holding her hand as she continued wiping the tears off her cheeks with her other.
Chase handed her an opened bottle of water and she took a drink. "Thank you, Chase. I'll be fine, Dad." Chase sat down next to her, his arm naturally going around her waist.
"You're okay now?" Allen asked.
"Yeah. Think I'll survive."
"That's good." Allen chuckled then stood up looking down at them. "Now, I've got a question for you two, something I've had on my mind for some time."
Was he going to ask if they thought Chase should stay on? Good. Now he could still be there and they could see each other every day and he'd be able to pay for his last two semesters of law school. Julia and Chase looked at him awaiting his question. He took a breath, looking from one to the other then forged ahead.
"I couldn't help noticing, but what's going on between the two of you?"
Chapter 28
Oh, shit. Allen's so going to ground me! I just know it! I'm almost twenty-four years old, and I'm going to be sent to my room!
Christ. Allen's going to chop off my dick when he finds out I’ve been sleeping with his daughter.
What do I tell him? Yes, Allen, Chase and I have been having sexual intercourse, making love… er, shagging?
Goodbye, buddy. It was nice knowing you. We've had some good times together, you and I. Hope you know how much you mean to me, big guy. I mean, we bonded early on and we've been going strong ever since. I'll definitely miss you.
Or how about, Yep, you guessed it, Allen. We've been doing the horizontal Mambo. Boinking. Getting jiggy with it. Doing the dirty.
I remember when I was thirteen and we were having a moment alone, but did you quit? No! You were cocky through all the hard times, a real, uh, stand-up guy.
Well, Allen, Chase's been injecting me with his hot beef stick; we've been power scrogging, doing the hibbity dibbity. Boning. Ack!
Things just won't be the same without you… Fuck. I’ve screwed shit up this time.
Allen cleared his throat, looking at them all, Well?
Here goes nothing, thought Julia. "Well, Daddy…" Couldn't hurt to butter him up a little, could it? "You see, we—" Just then Peggy came out of Allen’s office to interrupt. Praise the Lord and pass on Allen's suspicion! Or sharing of sexual positions!
“Sir, Hank Murphy with CEP is on the phone for you,” Peggy told him, handing him the handheld wireless. She saw the relief on Julia’s face and Chase’s whitened face and winked at them with a knowing look before she left the room. Julia couldn’t help but snort. How the heck did Peggy know?
“I’ve been expecting a call from him. Thanks, Peggy,” Allen called after her then held the receive
r to his ear. “Hello, Hank.”
Allen chatted for a few minutes then hung up, giving both Julia and Chase an amused look. “Seems we’ve got a meeting at CEP, kids. Let’s head on over.”
***
"Why don't you all have a seat," Hank said from behind his desk as they walked into his office.
Julia forgot to breathe for a second but finally slumped her way down into one of the chairs in front of Hank's desk. This was worse than just chatting it up with Allen. Mr. Murphy was a badass she did not want to piss off. She could deal with her father being angry, but Hank? Yikes.
Chase knew this was so much worse than just talking to Allen. Shit. His dad didn’t pull any punches. If Allen had told him his suspicions about Julia and him, he was sure to lose this job. Hell, he’d be lucky if his dad even kept him hired on at all. His stomach sank as he realized that if Allen would chop off his dick, with his dad involved, his entire package was doomed. A lifetime of penis envy stared him in the face.
Hank began. "It’s been brought to my attention that there’s possibly something going on between the two of you."
Moment of truth. Might as well face the music.
"Pop, Julia and I never really talked the first two years I guarded her. But the past several months we've developed a, uh, relationship of sorts…" He took in a deep breath. God, he didn’t want to talk about being in love with Julia to his dad. Jesus. Men didn’t do this shit, did they? Talk about their feelings? Next thing he knew, they’d be braiding each other’s hair or some shit. His jaw clenched at the thought.
Julia jumped in. "Mr. Murphy, Chase and I are, well, we're like, you know, um." She couldn't seem to spit it out! She looked at Chase for help.
Hank watched them both intently waiting for an answer. He chuckled to himself at their nervousness. He wasn't stupid. He knew there was something between them. He just wanted to hear it from them, so he patiently awaited their response. The more he remained silent, the more they talked, which amused him to no end. Old interrogation trick.
Chase finally cleared his throat, knowing exactly what his dad was doing. "You see, Pop, Julia and I, well, we're in love."
Being Chased Page 30
