Living Dangerously (31 page)

Heaving for air, sweat stinging her eyes, Julie rolled to all fours. She wasn’t sure her legs would support her. Cal lay in a ball nearby, her hair matted with blood. Julie moved back, gaining distance, but Cal didn’t move.

Oh
,
God
. Now what?

Julie swallowed back bile. She glanced at Troy’s body on the ground ten yards away and fresh despair crashed in her chest. She had to help him, but she didn’t want Cal anywhere near the gun still on the ground. Julie crawled toward the gun, and Cal sprang out with her hand. Adrenaline shot through Julie’s veins as a burning pain sliced her arm. She recoiled as a four-inch blade peeked out of Cal’s hand. Cal lunged again and Julie pushed backward toward the house, the nightmare not over, crawling on all fours—a dead lobster—trying to get away.

Blood dripped down Cal’s hairline as she staggered to her feet, her smile evil and intent. “You honestly thought you could beat me? That shows true grit, girlfriend. It’s the only thing I can honestly respect about you. But let’s be honest, we all know I’m a better actor. Hell, I’ve done a great job of pretending to be your friend for years now. I think that deserves an award.”

Julie felt something at her elbow, thought it was another rock, but as she adjusted to pick it up, hope soared in her chest. Cal’s gun. “Put the knife down.” Her voice shook as much as her hands.

“Gladly. I’ve been wanting to put it down for days now.” Cal changed the grip on her knife. From stabbing to throwing. Julie fumbled behind her and grabbed the gun. The shock on Cal’s face gave way to pure hate. “No!” She drew back to throw and Julie pulled the trigger.

The recoil shot all the way to her shoulder. The bullet threw Cal back a step but didn’t stop her. She lunged again and this time Julie kept pulling the trigger. One, two, three, four bullets.

Cal stood there. Stunned. She looked down at the growing patches of blood on her blue tank top. She wobbled, her eyes glazed over. She hit the dirt on her knees. The knife slipped out of her bloodless fingers. “Not fair,” she mumbled right before hitting face first into the dirt.

Julie scrambled backward, farther away from Cal, her heart slamming against her ribs. She threw the gun as far as she could toward the trees and stood up, unsteady. She circled Cal, kicked her thigh, but got no response even though Julie watched her ragged breathing. An old tire swing sat along the side of the house and Julie ran for it. Using the knife, she sliced the rope from the tire. Seconds later, she yanked Cal’s hands behind her back and picked up her leg for good measure and hog-tied the bitch, thankful to have learned that trick during the run of her sitcom.

She wouldn’t have wasted the time, but as long as Cal still breathed, she remained a threat.

Julie scrambled to Troy, stumbling over her own feet. “Troy!” She screamed his name as she skidded to his side and took in the blood pooling on his shirt and under his head.

Sirens wailed in the distance. Her T-shirt had a fresh tear from her fight with Cal, and she ripped a chunk of it to cover the wound bleeding from his abdomen. “God dammit, don’t you die,” she cried. Why was his head bleeding when Cal got off only one shot? Julie gently lifted his head and found the reason. Troy had slammed into a rock after he’d been hit. The gash on his head bled profusely. “Don’t you fucking die.” Tears slid down her cheeks. She ripped more of her T-shirt and held it against his head as she cradled him in her lap. She’d brought this on him by calling Cal. He’d told her not to tell anyone where they were, and he was bleeding now because she hadn’t listened.

His eyes fluttered open. He set his cold hand on top of hers. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I never meant to hurt you. I swear to God. I never wanted that.” He coughed and blood gushed out of the wound.

“Don’t talk, dammit. Don’t say a fucking thing.” She didn’t want to hear an apology, not when she owed him a bigger one. She could barely talk through her tears. “I hear sirens. Help is coming.”

“Love you, Julie. Love you.” His eyes slid closed and Julie shook his shoulder.

“Don’t you die.”

Blood. So much blood. It ran down her arm, stained her hands. His blood. Her blood.

He didn’t respond and the despair in Julie’s chest hurt worse than any bullet, any knife wound. How many times did the man have to get shot for her before she realized he loved her and wanted to protect her?

“Troy. Please, please don’t die. Please. I love you.”

His eyes opened into slits and his hand squeezed hers a fraction before his head lolled to the side.

“No!” Julie screamed. “No!”

A police cruiser turned the corner followed by an ambulance. Julie lifted her hand to wave them over and everything went topsy-turvy. Blood gushed freely from the wound on her arm. She fell to the side as police and paramedics gathered around her and Troy.

“He needs help. You have to help him.” Her words sounded miles away and so foreign.

“Holy shit,” one of the cops said. “This is Julie fucking Fraser.”

They were the last words she heard before everything went black.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The pounding in Troy’s skull matched the beat of his heart and every fresh thump was new agony. He pried open heavy lids to see the blurry white walls of a hospital room. Fuck. Not again. Although it beat the fiery walls of hell, so maybe he shouldn’t complain. Remembering he’d woken up earlier to a nurse hovering over him, he turned his head a fraction. A huge mistake. His skull threatened to topple off his shoulders.

He needed to get his shit together, find some answers. First and foremost: where was Julie and how was Julie? He remembered the blood flowing from her arm before he’d passed out.

A nurse entered the room. Her very bright smile contrasted to her very dark skin. “Hello. Welcome back.” She stopped at his bedside and looked at the monitors before meeting his gaze. “How’s the head feeling?”

“Like a bomb exploded inside.” The words barely passed out of his drier-than-dirt mouth. “Water?” Please, God.

She smiled and let him have a sip from the cup on the tray table. Lifting his head set off more alarms between his ears. “I just saw your doctor a few minutes ago. I’ll go find him.”

Troy would’ve called her back to ask about Julie, but she escaped too fast.

No sooner had she cleared the door than his uncle—father—Zach came in, concern clear in his dark eyes.

“Well, that took about ten years off my life,” Zach said, taking the chair next to the bed. His relief came out in a long sigh. “I didn’t realize that private investigating was this dangerous.”

“It isn’t,” Troy mumbled. “It’s usually very boring and quiet. How’s Julie?”

Zach nodded. “She’s a tough one. She’s okay.”

“Is she here?”

“Yeah.” Zach nodded. “Down the hall. They gave her the biggest room on the floor. Word got out that she was here, and cards and flowers have been trickling in steadily.”

He had to see her. Troy made a move to get up, but the blast of pain from his gut and head made it impossible. It didn’t help that the room spun around him like a Tilt-A-Whirl.

“Hold on,” Zach said with a steady hand on his shoulder. “You’re not going anywhere for a little bit. You just got out of surgery and recovery.”

“Surgery?”

“Yeah. That bullet made a mess of your insides, but they cleaned you up. And that rock you fell on gave you a solid concussion but you’ll be fine. You’re just like a Mills. Hardheaded.”

Troy couldn’t muster a smile. “Did you see her? Talk to her?” Exhaustion crept in on him and he could barely hold his eyes open.

“Yeah. She’s taking the heat for this. Blames herself for not listening to you in the first place.”

“What happened to Carrie Ann?” She’d killed the man Troy had found.

“She’s here too. In serious condition, but she should pull through.”

“I’m glad...” Julie’s voice came from the door and Troy gingerly turned his head. “I’m glad I had cruddy aim, but hate that it took four bullets to slow her down.” Leaning against the door frame, wearing a hospital gown with her arm wrapped in thick white bandages and tucked into a sling, she watched him.

“Does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore?” That was really the only thing Troy wanted at this point. A clean slate with her.

She moved in slowly and sat next to him, her hip connected with his. This close, he got a look at the bruises on her neck and jaw and wished she had shot Carrie Ann fatally. “Since you’ve taken not just one, but two bullets for me now, it would be hugely bitchy of me to be mad at you.”

“True,” Zach murmured behind her and Troy scowled at him.

Julie chuckled. “It is true.” She adjusted his sheets, then met his gaze.

Floored at the emotion he saw in her eyes, Troy vowed then and there to never fuck up as bad again. “You know, I’m the one who has to say thank you now. You saved me this time.” He remembered seeing Carrie Ann’s gun aimed straight at his chest, and Julie flying through the air to tackle her just as the shot rang out. “Thank you. See, I knew you were tough.”

She canted her head to the side and gave him her quirky smile. “Two more times and we’ll be even.”

“Bite your tongue,” Troy said. “I’ll be happy with a nice quiet life after this.” His throbbing head testified to that.

“I don’t know how quiet it’s going to be,” Julie replied. “But I’ll take the press over a bullet any day of the week.” She ran her thumb over his jaw in a tender caress. “I think we should start over. From now on, when it comes to my safety I’ll listen to you.”

“And from now on, I won’t keep anything from you,” Troy promised.

“I can live with that.” Julie took his hand and linked their fingers. “I figured something out while you were in surgery.” At his questioning eyes, she continued, “Remember the night I called you? The day of the luncheon?” she specified. “I spent the afternoon with Drew and Cal. Drew fixed some iced tea that tasted nasty. He must have drugged me. I remember Cal falling asleep first, but she could’ve been faking it. I don’t know. My point is that Drew had time to mess with my car.”

“I remember you had a headache,” Troy said.

Julie nodded. “I felt like I had hang—” Her phone rang and she fished it out of the sling. “It’s Ari. We’ve been playing phone tag. He left a message that they need me in wardrobe fittings in a few days.” She shook her head. “I can’t do this movie.” She pressed the talk button, but Troy snatched the phone out of her hand and disconnected the call. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean you can’t do it? I thought you wanted this role more than anything?”

She nodded. “I do, but I’m not leaving you here alone.”

Her words stunned him. “You’d give up the role of a lifetime for me?”

“Well. Yeah. It’s just a movie. You’re what matters to me. I’m not going to leave you in a hospital and fly across the country to work when you need me.”

It hit Troy like a two-ton wall. The love he felt for this woman filled him full. That she would sacrifice something she’d lobbied so hard for, just to be with him, gave him a sense of completion he never expected.

There was no way in hell he was going to let her give up her dream for him. That could crush their new relationship faster than the bullet that hit him. He didn’t want resentment or guilt. He wanted honesty.

He took her hand, looked into her bluer-than-blue eyes. “Go make your movie. I’ve got Zach, and I’ll probably be out of here in a few days. Don’t say no to this because of me. That would make me feel like shit.”

Her brows quirked together and she shook her head. “I don’t like it. Look, if I’ve learned anything in all this, it’s about what’s important. You are important to me. I don’t want to neglect you.”

“Do you plan on retiring just because you met me?” he asked.

She canted her head. “Well, no, not retiring, but I can be choosier about the roles I take and how often I work.”

“So be choosy. After this role,” Troy said. “Look, I’m going to have to learn to share you with the world. I get that. We may as well start now. Go make your movie.”

Her beautiful smile crept on her face. “Are you always this bossy?”

He grinned. Didn’t matter that his head was splitting or his gut was on fire, he loved looking into her sparkling eyes and seeing her emotions. “Pretty much, yeah. I just do a good job of keeping it under wraps.”

“Ha. Not really.” She held out her hand. “Gimme that. I need to call Ari back and tell him I’ll be there for the fitting.” She took her phone and found his number. “There’s a real good chance he’ll get a look at me and fire me. I’m so bruised and scarred, I’m not sure makeup is going to cover me.” She lifted the edge of her hospital gown and showed him where the stitches on her thigh had been removed. “They took the old ones out here, and put new ones in here.” She pointed to her arm. “Basically, this whole movie thing might be a moot point.”

“He won’t fire you. You’re...” he was about to say America’s Sweetheart, but caught her warning look, “...golden,” he said instead. She was also his heart and soul.

One
month
later

Julie stepped into the entryway of her new gated home in Beverly Hills and dropped her suitcase. The sprawling one-level house didn’t differ too much from her old ranch-style house with the exception of all the land. She had a big front yard and a bigger backyard, complete with park-like grounds, a pool and tennis court. She’d only seen the place from the pictures her mother and Abbey had sent, but she’d fallen in love with it.

Elena, Abbey and Troy had overseen the move while Julie had been shooting the film on location in Chicago. The twenty-one-day shoot had been the most aggressive schedule she’d ever worked. Back-to-back sixteen-hour days had fried her brain. She needed to recharge.

Troy had wanted to pick her up from the airport, but a last-minute problem with a client had held him up. Abbey had a callback for a part in a dance movie and instead of bothering her mother, Julie had called Fido and he’d picked her up. Solo. It was a little anticlimactic to the whirlwind of the past month.

Julie sniffed the air. Garlic. Something smelled really good. She kicked off her shoes and padded slowly toward the kitchen, checking out her new home and mentally cataloguing the furniture she’d change. “Hello? Is someone here?” she called. The three people she trusted most had a key.

A tiny bud of apprehension wiggled in her stomach as she thought about Cal, but she shoved it aside as she peeked around the kitchen door. The huge kitchen had black granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and an enormous center island. The kitchen table sat in the far corner flanked by two glass walls and French doors opened up to the nearby pool. Two tall, white candles flickered on the table, but the best sight stood in front of the oven.

Wearing faded jeans and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, Troy checked something in the oven before closing the door. His smile destroyed her.

He whipped off the oven mitts and met her in three long strides. “Surprise,” he said, wrapping her in his arms. She squeezed, but not too hard. He was still tender. “God, I missed you.” He pulled back, ran his hand through her hair, and she leaned into his palm, loving his heat. His mouth came down over hers in a soft, deep kiss that curled her toes. Their tongues mated, danced, retreated and met again. Every cell in her body burned hot and alive as his hands roamed her curves, up, down and back up again. Troy backed off and leaned his forehead against hers. “I can’t keep kissing you without an exact replay of our first encounter.”

She’d never forget the way he’d pushed her against the front door and kissed the bejeezus out of her. “As I recall, I kind of liked that,” Julie whispered against his mouth.

“Yeah, I did too. But pretty soon we’re not going to be alone.”

Julie’s eyes snapped open. “We’re not?”

“No. Your mother and Abbey are coming over any minute. They miss you and want to be here when you go through the house. I actually thought you were one of them.”

“Oh.” Talk about a disappointment. “So, no hot sex on the kitchen counter?”

Troy grinned. “Rain check?”

“Absolutely.” Julie leaned up to kiss him, but stopped. “Hey, wait a minute.” She looked beyond his shoulder. “You cook?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Don’t you?”

She snorted. “Not if I can help it.” She brought him down to her mouth for another smoking hot kiss. “I am so turned on with that news.”

“Knock, knock? Anyone home?” Elena’s voice carried into the kitchen and Julie groaned.

“Told ya,” Troy said at her lips before giving her one last quick kiss. The kitchen phone rang and he grabbed the receiver. He noticed the caller ID as he started to hand it to Julie. “This is weird. Yeah?” he said, taking the call. He put a finger up as he took a few steps away.

Elena and Abbey walked in together and Julie counted her blessings. Her mom, her man and an employee she loved. Considering everything she’d been through, she couldn’t complain. She walked through her house for the first time, loving it on sight. The house fit her perfectly. Four spacious rooms, each with its own bathroom, hardwood floors throughout, and most important, a giant-ass gate that surrounded the whole property.

After her twenty-minute tour, the phone rang again. “This is for me,” Troy said, picking up the receiver in the living room. “I’ve got it,” he said into the phone. “See you in a sec.” He hit the button on the phone that controlled the front gate. “Hope you don’t mind, but I needed Blake to drop off my cell phone. I left it at the office.”

“I don’t mind. He should stay for dinner as long as he’s here,” Julie said.

“You sure you don’t mind? You just got home.” Troy took her hand and linked their fingers. Every inch of him was strong, solid and all hers.

“Not a problem for me,” Julie said, loving the way his thumb caressed the inside of her palm. He sparked flames and made all her hot spots hotter.

“Um... I’m just going to run to the bathroom. Be back in a sec,” Abbey said. She disappeared before anyone got a word out.

Elena chuckled. “I hope she doesn’t hide in there through all of dinner.”

“Something I should know about?” Julie asked.

“Abbey and Blake have a little game of cat and mouse going. Abbey does not want to be caught.”

“She told you this?”

Elena nodded. “In a roundabout way.”

Julie lifted an eyebrow as something occurred to her for the first time. “Is Abbey gay?” she whispered.

Laughing, Elena shook head. “No, honey. She’s not gay. But there is definitely something she’s not telling us. Whatever it is, it’s something obviously very private and very personal. She knows we’re here for her if she wants to talk.”

A car engine shut down outside and Troy opened the front door for Blake. Julie had only met him briefly before she’d flown to Chicago for the film. He was as cute as they come, built solid with stunning blue eyes and handsome smile. Why would anyone run from him?

After a round of hellos and an introduction to Elena, Blake looked around expectantly. “I saw Abbey’s car out front. Is she here?”

Julie filled in the noticeable moment of silence. “She is. She just ran to the bathroom. She’ll be right out. Blake, I hope you’ll stay and join us for dinner.”