Military Romance Collection: Contemporary Soldier Alpha Male Romance (52 page)

Chapter 5

Chase watched Erin’s reaction as he opened the door to the VIP suite. Her eyes grew wide, and her lips parted slightly. He wanted so badly to kiss her right then and there, but he held back. She was vulnerable, and he didn’t want to scare her or coerce her. If he got a taste of her, it would be her decision.

There was a bowl of fruit on the table he knew Brock had freshly delivered, and he checked in the fridge and found it stocked with soda, water, and a few other beverages. And there was plenty of coffee and an assortment of creamers and sweeteners. It looked like all Erin had to wait for was the clothes Tanya intended to send up.

“I would have been fine in a regular room,” she said, opening the door to the bathroom and peering in. Chase knew she would find an oversized tub, a glassed in shower with a rainfall showerhead, as well as track lighting and a stack of fluffy towels.

He scoffed. “There are no regular rooms in this hotel. The difference here is the travertine countertops, the size of the rooms, and the quality of the sheets on the bed. But even the non-suites and non-VIP rooms are luxury.”

“No wonder all the girls talk about it,” she muttered, but Chase caught it. He’d brought one or two of them here before, just to get them off the streets, but none of them had been high-end escorts like Erin.

“Okay, I’m going to order you some medicine, and Tanya should have the clothes up to you any minute. Is there anything else you need before I go?” he asked.

She whirled around and stared at him, looking like she was about to have a panic attack. “You’re leaving already?”

He’d intended to, assuming Erin would want her privacy. But if she wanted him to stay, she had no inclination to leave. Chase would rather stay with her anyway, assure she was comfortable and safe. Of course, it was partially selfish, too. He felt a sense of peace just looking at her, being near her. He couldn’t explain it, but Erin held some special quality that drew him in. Maybe spending a little more time with her would help him figure out what it was.

“Did you want me to stay a little longer?” he asked quietly. She seemed easily startled right now, and he couldn’t blame her. She’d probably figured that john would kill her because no one would stop to help. And if he hadn’t interfered, he very likely would have. The idea chilled Chase to the bone, and he felt the familiar rage building inside again.

She huddled into his vest again and said, “I don’t think I want to be alone right now.”

“Then I’ll stay,” he answered immediately.

“Thank you,” she said. She looked down at herself and frowned. “I’m sorry. I still have your vest.” She handed it to him and shivered instantly. Chase took it and threw it haphazardly on the couch nearest him and stalked to the bathroom, pulling the thick, soft robe off the hook behind the door. He slipped it on her arms and headed over to the thermostat, turning on the heat.

“You should warm up pretty fast now,” he told her. “Why don’t you sit down, get comfortable?”

She seemed torn, her eyes darting back and forth between the couch and the bathroom. Eventually, she said, “I want to take a shower first. I feel…disgusting, like his hands are still on me.”

Chase had a sudden inclination to go to the hospital, toss any guards on the room down the hall, and finish the beating he’d started. “Whatever you need to do to feel better, you should do.”

She nodded but didn’t go into the bathroom right away. She gave him a skeptical look. “And you’ll still be here when I get out?”

Chase had to take the fear off her face. He walked slowly toward her and looked down at her, realizing she’d taken her heels off. She was tiny, birdlike, and that only made her more vulnerable. Crooking a finger carefully under her bruised chin, he tilted her head up so she could meet his eyes. “I give you my word I will not leave this room until you tell me to go.”

She relaxed visibly, her shoulders dropping and her tight expression smoothing. Chase wanted to wipe away the injuries like a tear from her face, and there was nothing he could do except wait here and keep her from being alone as she requested. She suddenly wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head against his chest, and though he was stunned, he was more than happy to embrace her. “Thank you, Chase,” she whispered. She laughed shortly. “Would it be cliché to say you’re my hero?”

Chase laughed out loud. It sounded ridiculous and felt good at the same time. “I think that’s giving me a little more credit than I deserve. But I’ll take it.” He sniffed her hair, finding hints of peach and cinnamon. He swallowed a groan, and he pushed her back, holding her at arm’s length. “Go now, take your shower, and by the time you’re done, I bet the clothes will be here. If not, you can wrap right back up in that robe until then.”

She nodded and turned toward the bathroom. She didn’t close the door right away, and Chase considered that it might be an invitation. But he wasn’t going to test the water, no matter how badly he wanted to. Instead, he sat down on the couch and hung his head, sorting through the events of the evening that swirled through his head. He heard the click of the door closing and smiled. If the invitation had been open, it was closed now.

***

Chase clocked out late Friday afternoon in a foul mood. His face was almost healed, but he didn’t really care. He had other things on his mind than going out and getting laid.

He hadn’t heard from Erin in three days.

He’d stayed the night with her in the hotel room, sleeping on the couch in his clothes, and he’d taken her with him to the police station, where they both gave their statements. Then, he’d taken her back to her apartment, where she’d assured him she would be fine and thanked him for everything. They had exchanged phone numbers, and Erin promised to call him.

But she hadn’t, and she hadn’t answered his calls, either. He’d called three times, at different times of the day to make sure he wasn’t catching her at a bad time. He’d left voicemails the first two times, but he got frustrated the third time and just hung up. Now, he was angry and worried, and he intended to go to her apartment to confront her.

He was going to call the hospital and, if necessary, the police to see if Erin’s attacker had been released on the way to the parking lot.

But it seemed that he was still at the hospital, pending release into police custody with the doctor’s signature. At least Chase didn’t have to worry about that jackass going after her. Still, that didn’t mean she was safe. And if she was, after the instant connection they’d had, why wouldn’t she have at least talked to him once, just to put some closure on things?

Chase had carefully avoided situations that could lead to trouble, not just because he was trying to follow the rules for the Cobras – and to show his appreciation for Brock’s help – but because he wanted to be able to help Erin if she needed it. Now, he wanted to go out looking for a brawl to release some of his pent up aggression.

And disappointment.

Trying to get out of the hotel before anyone saw him and tried to drag him over to the clubhouse or get him involved in some night out, Chase went through the kitchen, into the empty hallway behind it, and out the back to the parking lot. He jumped on his bike, pulling on a hoodie and throwing his vest over it, and he revved the engine, racing away from the building.

He took the Strip as fast as he could get through the traffic and took 95 North toward the apartments he’d taken Erin to three days ago. He sped down the highway, weaving in and out of the cars and splitting lanes, ignoring the horns blaring at him. Chase made the trip that had taken 45 minutes before in less than 30, with far more traffic. He was lucky he hadn’t been pulled over, but this section of 95 wasn’t heavily patrolled.

He didn’t know much about Erin. They hadn’t talked much when they were together. It had been a comfortable silence as she tried to overcome her attack and he tried to figure out why he was so drawn to her. He did know, however, that she shared a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with another escort, and she hated being on the third floor. He pulled into the complex and drove around to the buildings in the back, finding Erin’s and rolling into a parking space across from it.

He was off the bike quickly and took the stairs two at a time, not even breathless when he reached the door. He knocked rapidly, and after a moment, a curvy girl with long dark curls and dark eyes opened the door. Chase assumed she meant the hooded gaze to be sultry, but it reminded him more of some of the druggies he’d known in his earlier days on the streets.

“You David?” she asked.

“No, I’m not. I’m looking for Erin. Is she home?” The girl instantly repulsed Chase, and he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt because she had to have a good quality somewhere for Erin to agree to live with her. But she didn’t strike him as a good person.

“She’s not here.” The woman started to close the door, but Chase stuck his foot in the way. “Hey! Get out of my place before I call the cops.”

“Where is she?” he asked, more demanding now. He wasn’t going to let her just slam the door in his face.

She shoved at the door, but he didn’t budge. With a smug look she said, “That’s none of your business.”

But Chase wasn’t going to be deterred that easily. “Come on. You’re her roommate, right? So, you know about her run-in with that guy’s fist the other night.” Now, she looked nervous, and he wondered why. But he continued, “I’m Chase. I’m the one who smashed his face in and put him in the hospital.”

She narrowed her eyes at him skeptically and then shook her head with a snort. “Well, well. The knight in shining armor. Where’s the white horse you rode in on, boy?” she asked. She didn’t open the door any further, but she stopped pushing on it.

With just as much attitude, he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Out there, but you’ve got it wrong. It’s black, and it’s a hog.”

She laughed, and the sound was rich, completely in contrast to her icy personality. “Okay, I can’t hate on you. You’re too cute and too quick with the retorts. Plus, you saved my girl when I was the one who screwed up.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, instantly on his guard. What was she talking about?

Looking a little upset, she told him, “Look, I’d gone out with the guy on several occasions. He pays well, and he’s always been a gentleman. I couldn’t make the date the other night, and I convinced Erin to take it for me. She said she needed the money. So, I arranged it, and James seemed cool with it, too. He actually sounded excited when I sent him Erin’s profile. I wouldn’t have expected him to get violent.”

Chase couldn’t believe it. “What, are you crazy? If you’ve got a regular, you don’t pass him to someone else! You reschedule. They’re never the same with someone else. Something you do or don’t do, or maybe freedoms you give that someone else doesn’t, can set a guy off. Your business is dangerous enough without taking that kind of risk!”

She looked him up and down, obviously offended. “What are you, some sort of pimp?”

“No, but I’ve known a lot of women in your line of work, and not because I spend a lot of money hiring them. And I know the unwritten rules of the business because of it. You’ve got to be smarter about it than that.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know it’s not the best practice, but like I said, I talked to James, and he was cool with it. At least, that’s what he told me. I already apologized. I don’t know what else I can do.”

“Maybe you could just be safer. And tell me where I can find Erin, or when she’ll be home,” he told her. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with her for three days.”

“Oh! Right, when she went to replace her phone, she had to get a new number. The other company wanted like six hundred dollars. She switched companies and paid like one fifty. Here, I’ll give you the number. Hold on.”

Now, Chase felt ridiculous. He should have known it was something like that and not felt rejected or concerned. The woman came back to the door and read the number off a scrap of paper. “I’m Laura, by the way. If you ever feel like giving me a call, you can have my number, too.”

There was nothing about Laura that Chase found attractive or seductive. It took a certain kind of man to deal with her attitude, and he couldn’t get past it to see her beauty. “Thanks, but I’m in kind of a hurry. I’ve got to get back to the Strip and get to work. I came on my lunch break.”

“Whatever. Good luck.” Laura was obviously offended, and this time, Chase pulled his foot out of the doorjamb and turned his back on it before she slammed the door closed. He skipped down the stairs, but he didn’t call Erin just yet. If she was out working, he didn’t want to be rude. At the same time, he very much wanted her safe, and the only way to assure that was to get her to quit. He hadn’t met an escort yet that gave up the profession easily, and he doubted Erin would leave it without protest. But that was going to be his mission now.

Chase didn’t drive like a bat out of hell on the way back. He didn’t have quite as much panic going on, and he knew he had a good number to reach Erin now. He needed to go somewhere and think, come up with a plan that would help convince Erin to quit turning tricks. He turned on Vegas Highway and took the Flamingo exit. He knew the clubhouse was the best place to go right now, but he wasn’t going in his work uniform. He needed to stop by his apartment on the way and change into something more comfortable and more appropriate.

Chapter 6

Erin had walked up and down the Strip several times, doing a little shopping while she got up the nerve to go into the hotel and ask for Chase. She’d given him her number and had him text her, knowing that when she got a new phone, she could recover her messages. She hadn’t counted on having to switch the number she’d had for the last eight years because of adjustments to how the plans worked.

She’d done nothing but think about him for three days now, but she figured that, by now, he’d either forgotten her or grown impatient and angry from her lack of contact. She needed to know, and she really wanted to find out what this longing for him meant. She’d spent so little time with him, despite his staying the night, that she assumed it was just a hero complex. Her gratitude and the fact that he’d saved her made him safe, and she probably felt indebted to him subconsciously.

But what if that wasn’t it at all?

With three shopping bags in her hands and her purse hanging off her shoulder, she finally stood facing the ornate entrance to the hotel and, with her head held high, she strode through the doors held open, giving a nod to the doorman. She told herself not to think about her face. It was healing, but it was hard to look in the mirror and still see the blue, black, and purple on her cheek and under her eye, the slash across her cheek that would take even longer to heal.

She’d covered a lot of it with makeup, but Erin also knew a lot still showed through, and it made her very self-conscious. But she tried to put it to the back of her mind and act as normal as possible. She walked up to the reception desk, and the woman behind the counter smiled at her brightly. “Good evening, miss. How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for Chase Kilbourne. Is he here?” she asked, trying to sound like someone who knew him well. Erin wasn’t sure she pulled it off, considering she had no idea what that was supposed to sound like. She didn’t really have close friends. Laura was as good as it got, and even she wasn’t someone Erin considered she knew well.

The woman gave her a regretful look. “Unfortunately, you just missed him. His shift ended half an hour ago, when I came on. I can get a message to him, if you like. He’ll be in at noon tomorrow.”

Erin thought about leaving a number for him, but that didn’t seem right. Not at his place of business. “No, that’s alright. I’ll try to catch him tomorrow.” Disappointed, she walked away and stood in the lobby for a moment, trying to decide what to do next. It was getting late. She should probably go home. She had no desire to work tonight, so she certainly wasn’t going to call any of her johns. She was still a little gun shy and didn’t feel like risking her life again when she had a gut feeling things would just go wrong.

But home wouldn’t be much solace, either. Laura had taken to entertaining small-time clients at the apartment, even though Erin protested fiercely. The problem was, it was Laura’s name on the lease, and she had every right to do what she wanted there. If Erin had a problem with it and wouldn’t leave, Laura could simply throw her out.

If Laura had a john there, he would be the worst kind of scoundrel, paying pennies on the dollar of what they usually made. And the two of them would likely try to pull her into something sick and twisted. She certainly wasn’t up for that. With no other options, though, Erin was pretty much sentenced to house arrest with that depravity for the night. She’d just have to lock herself in her room to avoid contact with anyone else in the apartment.

She strode down the street toward the MGM Grand. It was easier to hail a cab over there, for some reason. “Hello, Erin.”

The voice behind her sent chills down her spine, and it made her freeze for just a second. But stopping was the worst idea. James Canterbury was fast enough and strong enough that Erin didn’t think even the severity of the injuries Chase had inflicted on him would keep him from grabbing her and finishing what he’d started.

She walked faster, not taking the time to turn around and look at him. It would only slow her down or make her trip and fall, sealing her fate. But he stayed close enough behind her that she could hear his taunts. “You didn’t think I could afford to hire a whore but couldn’t get a good lawyer, did you? All I needed was to get out of the hospital, get to the courtroom, and have my lawyer get my bail set so I could get out. It took a few hours, and now, here I am, coming to collect what you owe me.”

Still facing forward, Erin growled venomously, “I don’t owe you anything, you son of a bitch. Leave me alone before I call the cops again and have you picked up for stalking me and threatening me.” She picked up her speed again, almost running now.

“If you think for one second you can scare me away, you’re wrong. I’m going to get what I paid for.”

“I’ll send you a refund. Stop following me.” She shouldered her way through a group of people, hoping he would have to go around them at his size and she might gain a little ground. She just needed to get to the front of the hotel, where she could have one of the doorman deny him access while she called the police.

But he was too fast, and he grabbed her arm, sending her into a panic at the familiarity of the situation. He jerked her back against him, and she felt something sharp against her side. He was serious this time. “Now, you do what I say, how I say, and when I say it. You got that?”

This time, Erin wasn’t in a dark alley, and she refused to be a victim again. She had more tools at her disposal, and she was going to use them. Snarling as she used her fear to fuel her anger, she said, “You don’t own me, and I’m not going to let you hurt me again.” Praying he wouldn’t get the knife in her before she could pull away, Erin lifted her foot and shoved the heel of her boot into the same spot she’d pierced with her heel as hard as she could. James shouted and loosened his grip, and Erin pulled away, but she wasn’t quick enough, and his grasp tightened again before she could get away. She spun to face him, dropping her bags and extending her arm as she raked her nails across his face.

But he shoved her arm away, twisting it in the process, and he threw a punch at her with the hand that held the knife. She felt the blade on her ear, the searing pain that followed. How was he doing this in the middle of the crowd with no one seeming to notice? He lifted his hand to take another shot, and Erin did the only thing she knew to do. She screamed at the top of her lungs, “Fire!”

James froze as several eyes turned in their direction, and to Erin’s great relief, two pairs belonged to a couple of cops about twenty feet away. They both reached for their guns and started toward her, but James had just enough time to wrench her arm, twisting her elbow, and slash the blade at her again. This time, it drew a line down the side of her neck, and the pain was excruciating. One of the cops grabbed James from behind, stopping him from stabbing her, and the other pointed his gun and told him to let her go.

As soon as she was freed, Erin stumbled back several feet, horrified and disgusted. She was shaking again, and the edges of her vision blurred and blackened. She sank to the ground to keep from fainting and falling over, and she sat there, waiting for the paramedics to arrive.