Human Blend (23 page)

“You see numbers, too?” Austin asked Julie.
Julie was frozen in fear. She didn't know what Luke would do with
this new information.

Marcus either lied or had no idea. Judging
by Austin's own reaction, he had no idea either
, Julie
thought.

“This is my lucky day. Now you and your
little boyfriend here can make me money,” Luke said to Julie.
“Anybody else I need to know about, sweetheart?” Luke asked,
stepping closer to Julie.

“Actually, boss, there is one other person
she's been shacking up with,” Fred chimed in.

All eyes were on Fred now. “Doctor Eli
Elsworth. I've seen her in some tight embraces with this guy too,”
Fred elaborated. Julie began to sway,
No... not Eli
, she
thought. Luke pulled her into an embrace. “Wanna tell me about this
one? You two-timing me and your boy here?” He asked her.

Julie wanted to shout out that Eli and she
were just friends; that he helped her. She couldn't; Luke would use
that information to get back at her. “No, he's nobody,” she
lied.

Luke grabbed her face and made her stare at
him. “You're a bad liar,” he said. “Where's this guy live?” he
asked Fred, still watching Julie's eyes.

“Right next door, very convenient for those
midnight rendezvous,” Fred laughed.

Austin put his head down. He knew that what
they were saying were all lies. Doctor Elsworth was just helping
Julie out. He did not entirely trust the doc's intentions, but he
did trust Julie. Even with the lies she had told, it was just to
protect him. He believed that with all his heart.

“Chase, go see if the doctor wants to join
our little reunion party,” Luke said and smiled as he saw the tears
form in Julie's eyes. That told him all he needed to know.

Chase left the apartment door open as he
knocked on Eli's door. “No answer, boss,” he called back in.

“Get the key from the dead woman,” Luke
ordered.

“What dead woman?” Julie's voice shook as she
spoke.

“C'mon, I'll show you,” he grinned and lead
Julie out the door and down the hall. Julie's apartment door was
left open, and Austin watched as they stopped in front of Mrs.
Gosley's apartment.

Chase opened the door wide before going in.
“No!” Julie cried out and struggled in Luke's hold. She saw the
bodies of the two dead women. The woman on the floor she did not
recognize. She fought to go to Mrs. Gosley, whose lifeless form lay
slumped over, still bound in a chair. “Why?” Julie cried.

Luke knew that both women were beyond
revival, so he released Julie. Julie stumbled in, and grabbed Mrs.
Gosley's head, and raised the woman upright in the chair. “No.” She
cried as she saw the bullet wound in the middle of the old woman's
forehead. Julie could feel no life energy in her; she was beyond
healing. “I'm sorry... I'm so sorry,” Julie wept and hugged Mrs.
Gosley's body. She reached over and felt the woman lying on the
floor. She, too, was beyond saving. Julie's pants were now covered
in blood as she knelt near the women.

“You know this is what happens when you try
and leave me,” Luke said, pulling Julie to her feet.

“Please, Luke... no more. Please, let's just
go. I promise... I'll be good, “ Julie said in between sobs.

Chase walked past them and toward Eli's
apartment. Julie was pretty sure that Eli was still at the
hospital, but that did not stop the panic from setting in.

“We could just go away, me and you,” Julie
said, moving in closer to Luke. She decided to gamble on the Lure.
Although she had no idea what she was doing, she had to try
something. She pushed the Lure out and felt it encircle the two of
them. She began kissing Luke. “We have to leave. We don't need
Austin or Eli,” she said as he began to respond to her kisses.
“Just us, Luke, just us,” She said as she felt his passion
grow.

“Laney,” he growled, pulling her tight
against him. Julie fought the urge to pull it back within herself
as his hands began to roam her body.

“Now, Luke, we have to leave now,” she
urged.

“No,” Luke said, pushing her down onto the
sofa in Mrs. Gosely's apartment. Julie didn't understand.
He
wasn't supposed to be able to say no
, she thought.

He reached for her pants and began to undo
them. Julie scooted away from him and pulled the Lure back in. She
had been foolish to try something she didn't fully understand.

Luke seemed dazed as the urgency left him.
When he regained control, he narrowed his eyes. “What kind of crap
was that? Learn a new trick from your boyfriend?” Luke said,
pulling her to her feet. “Know this... when I want you, I will take
you,” he growled, his face inches from hers.

Chase reappeared at the door. “Nobody home,”
he said.

Luke dragged Julie by the arm back to her
apartment, with Chase following close behind.

Austin immediately noticed that Julie's
clothes looked more disheveled than before. He held in a gasp as he
saw the blood stains on her pants. He tried to catch her eyes, but
she avoided looking at him.

Luke threw her onto the sofa. “You stay put,”
he scolded as he ran his hand through his hair. Julie curled up as
small as possible.

Luke paced for a few moments before he
finally spoke. “Where's your car?” he asked Fred.

“It's behind the building. I came in through
the back,” Fred answered.

“Okay, good. Chase, you and Fred are going to
wait for that doctor what's-his-name in his apartment. Find out if
he is like these two. If he is, bring him,” Luke instructed.

“If he isn't?” Chase asked.

“Kill him,” Luke ordered.

Julie raised her head but Luke's glare made
her keep her mouth shut.

“Joey and Vinnie will come with me and these
two. Chase, take care of business here and then follow, got it?” he
asked.

“Got it,” Chase answered, giving Fred a
glance. Fred knew from that brief look that Chase was just given
orders to kill him.
Good thing I'm not as stupid as you
,
Fred thought.

“Go,” Luke ordered. Chase and Fred stood up
and went into Eli's apartment, closing the door behind them.

Luke towered over Julie. “Where's my money?”
he asked her. “In the bedroom,” she answered meekly.

“Get it,” he ordered.

Julie stood and walked toward the bedroom.
Luke was right behind her.

In the bedroom, she opened up the bottom
drawer of the dresser and pulled out the bag containing the money.
Luke grabbed it from her and opened it. “You're gonna have to work
off what you spent,” he told her. Julie kept her head down; no
words could make a difference now. Luke grabbed her chin and pulled
her face back up. “New rules. When I talk to you, you look at me.
You answer me when I ask you a question. You try any of your mind
game crap again and I swear, I will come back here and murder
everyone you ever said hello to. Do I make myself clear?” he
ranted.

“Yes,” Julie whispered as the tears ran down
her face.

Her tears brought an even bigger smile to his
face. It meant she was broken. She'd be putty in his hands. In the
past, the times that he had brought her to tears were his favorite
memories. “That's the Laney I've been looking for,” he said and put
his arm around her waist. Grabbing the bag, they walked back out
into the living room.

“Let's go, boys,” Luke said, walking straight
for the door with Julie. Vinnie and Joey followed behind them, each
one flanking Austin.

Austin wished he could talk to Julie. She had
such a vacant look on her face when Luke and she had come out of
the bedroom.

They arrived at the car. Austin's hopes were
dashed as Luke got in the front seat, with Julie in the middle.
Vinnie got in the back with Austin, and Joey was behind the
wheel.

“Home, Joey,” Luke ordered.

“Where's home?” Austin asked. Luke laughed
and put his arm around Julie. His reply to Austin was a smirk as
Julie's head rested against his shoulder.

Julie closed her eyes. She needed to shut
down and not think about anything.
Maybe when I wake up, it will
have all been a dream... a really bad dream
, she thought and
drifted off to sleep.

Fred and Chase were waiting in Eli's
apartment. “You know, sometimes these doctors work late hours,”
Fred commented.

“Yeah, so?” Chase responded.

“I'm just saying, could be a long wait,” Fred
mentioned.

“What's your point?” Chase asked, already
bored with the conversation.

“My point is...” Fred said, taking out his
gun and pointing it at Chase. “Why put off the inevitable?” Fred
replied, firing the gun. Chase dropped to the ground, clutching his
stomach.

“You... son of a...” Chase stuttered before
dizziness and nausea lead the way into unconsciousness.

“Idiot,” Fred said. It was at this point that
he heard a shout.

“Julie!” the voice yelled. Fred moved closer
to the door and listened.

Chapter Eleven-- Outside Help

Earlier

At the hospital, Eli tried to keep himself
distracted with little success. Visions of Julie's face and the
look she wore kept filtering into his thoughts. He was trying very
hard to respect her wishes to be alone. “Ah, I can't do it,” he
said, finally putting away the papers he had been working on. He
hung up his lab coat and headed for the door. Upon opening his
office door, he was surprised to see Marcus standing there. His
fist had been raised as if ready to knock.

“Hey, Doc, got a sec?” Marcus asked,
strolling in uninvited.

“Actually, Marcus, I don't,” Eli replied.

“It's about Julie, so make time,” Doctor
Samson said. Eli turned to face Marcus who had taken a seat on top
of his desk.

“Mind removing your ass from my desk?” Eli
asked.

“Touchy, touchy,” Marcus chimed, but did as
requested.

“What is it you wanted to say?” Eli asked,
his impatience growing.

“I had something to eat and got to thinking.
Julie wasn't in the right frame of mind to really comprehend
everything I told her,” he explained.

“Really? What gave you that impression?” Eli
asked sarcastically.

Marcus rolled his eyes. “Give me some credit
here, Doc, I'm trying to do the right thing,” he said.

“And, what would that be?” Eli
questioned.

“You know where she lives, right? Take me to
her. Let me talk to her again,” Marcus suggested.

“That is probably the last thing she needs
right now,” Eli said. Marcus tried to argue but Eli wasn't
finished. “You have done nothing but play games with her,
practically teasing her because she didn't know any better. Instead
of taking her under your wing, all you did was make her even more
confused. I could tell by the look on her face, she didn't know
what to do with whatever information you gave her,” Eli ranted.

“Then let me make it right,” Marcus
suggested.

Eli thought for a moment. “I want to be
there. I will not let you make her even more confused,” Eli
said.

Marcus contemplated Eli's request. “Fine,” he
agreed. “You might come in handy with that calming thing you do, “
Marcus added.

“Let's go,” Eli said and headed for the
parking garage where his car was.

Along the way, several nurses tried to get
Marcus' attention. “Doctor Samson? Are we still on for later
tonight?” a pretty, blonde nurse asked.

“You know what, um...” Marcus paused,
forgetting her name.

“Lenna,” the young girl filled in her
name.

“Right, Lenna. There is something I gotta
take care of, if I get done soon enough, I'll swing back and get
you,” Marcus told her. “If not, definitely another time,” Marcus
added. This seemed to appease the young nurse who scurried on her
way.

Eli shook his head and kept walking. “What?
C'mon, she was cute. I'm human, for the most part. I got needs,
too,” Marcus explained.

“You know what, Doctor Samson? Don't talk.
Don't say another word until we get to Julie's,” Eli
instructed.

“Are all elves this miserable?” Marcus asked.
Eli glowered at the doctor who then ran a finger across his lips,
indicating he would be quiet.

The two men drove in silence to the apartment
complex. Entering the building, Marcus stopped. He noticed some
unusual stains on the hallway carpet. “Hey, Doc, you better
complain to the landlord about these stains,” Marcus noted. Eli
stopped and looked annoyingly at him.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

Marcus looked at the apartment door from
which the stains seemed to originate. The door was slightly ajar so
he pushed it open further. “Marcus!” Eli scolded for the
intrusion.

Marcus didn't answer. Seeing the bodies
inside, he ran in. Eli ran to the door and gasped at the massive
amount of blood he saw. “They're both dead,” Marcus said, still
kneeling by the woman on the floor.

Eli knelt down by Mrs. Gosley and lifted her
head gently. Seeing the bullet hole, he closed his eyes. “Edna,” he
whispered.

“Does Julie live in a bad neighborhood or
something?” Marcus asked.

Eli's eyes widened. He ran out of the room
calling, “Julie!”

Eli knew something was wrong when he was able
to open her door. Julie always locked her door. His panic grew when
he saw the spilled groceries and shattered television. “Julie!” he
yelled again, searching the apartment.

“Eli, what the hell is going on?” Marcus
called out as he entered.

“They found her,” Eli said. He realized that
was the only possibility.

“Who's 'they'?” Marcus asked.

“The guys she was hiding from,” Eli said
distractedly. He was trying to figure out what to do next.

“Well, it looks like they got Austin too,”
Marcus said, holding the wallet he found on the sofa. “Should we
call the police?” Marcus asked.

Eli shook his head. “They would take too long
and ask too many questions,” Eli stated. “We have to find them,”
Eli added.