Under His Protection (15 page)

“Do not rub it in that you’re getting some and I’m alone,” Ruby said as she emerged from the storeroom, carrying a dozen of the ‘sexy policewoman’ costumes that had arrived today.

Ivan didn’t say anything, but his lips quirked up as he gave Julieta a quick kiss on the mouth before retreating to her office. The store’s security setup was in there, with cameras showing the outside and inside of the store at various angles. She knew he was uber-concerned with keeping an eye on everything today—and so was she—but she also figured that he wasn’t used to Ruby’s brand of, well, everything.

Ruby grinned. “Didn’t mean to scare him off.”

“Liar. You like scaring men.” Julieta rolled her eyes as she headed for one of the display cases. She’d tucked a file Ivan had given her on the shelf under the cash register. Since it was quiet and almost closing time, she wanted to look at it one more time. Even if she knew it would just frustrate her.

“Anything special you want me to do before closing?” Ruby asked as she made room for the new arrivals.

“Not today. Just make sure the display case at the front is wiped down and run the end of day reports. I think I’ll close up in fifteen minutes if no one else comes in.” Normally she ran the reports, but this past week Ruby had really stepped up and Julieta realized she needed to start delegating more duties if she ever wanted to take a real vacation or just have a life. She loved her job but it was incredibly nice to be able to depend on someone else.

She opened the file on the glass top and started scanning the names and addresses from the neighborhoods surrounding where that freak had dumped the last phone he’d used to text her. It was probably pointless since she’d read over the thing dozens of times and didn’t recognize any of the names, but she wanted to be doing something. As she started scanning it, her cell buzzed in the nearly seamless pocket of her fifties style black and red dress that flared out from her waist. She’d worn it today because Ivan liked her cherry red heels and they matched the dress.

Her fingers grazed the pepper spray she’d tucked in there as she pulled her phone out. Without looking at the screen she knew it was her mom because of the ringtone.

“Hey, Mama.”

“
Mi linda
, how are you feeling? Everything okay?”

She smiled at her mom’s concern, grateful she had such a good mother. “I’m good, I promise. Ivan is here with me and we’ll probably be closing up shop soon anyway.”

“Why don’t you two and Ruby come down to the restaurant after you close? I’ve already got a table saved for you.” Oh yeah, her mama wasn’t asking.

If she’d saved a table, this was more or less a demand. “Ivan and I will be there but I’m not sure about Ruby.”

Her mom made a soft tsking sound. “Tell Ruby that Montez will be here. He’s stopping by too. She’ll come.”

Montez?
“Do you mean Sandro?”

“No, I know the difference between my sons. You just tell her and see if she doesn’t come.” Her mom had that knowing tone of voice that made Julieta’s eyebrows shoot up.

Her oldest brother had been scarred badly in Afghanistan and as far as Julieta knew he didn’t date anymore. And she also didn’t think Ruby had ever met her oldest brother. Her mom must be confused. But she knew better than to argue with her. “Okay, I’ll tell her.”

“Good. Listen, this is probably me being a paranoid mother, but I got a call from the unemployment department today. They contact employers regarding former employees who file for… Well, that’s not important. The call made me think of something. Do you remember Buck Howell?”

“No.” But the name sounded vaguely familiar. She glanced down at the file in front of her, moving out of the way as Ruby stepped up behind her to start running the reports.

“Well, he’s a server we had who was incredibly inept. He’s the one who spilled that hot coffee all over you.”

“Oh right, the creepy one.” She’d never known his name, he hadn’t even been at her parents’ restaurant long.

“It’s probably nothing, but we fired him after that incident. We waited until closing and it wasn’t because of the coffee incident, it was because he was a terrible employee, always late, forgetting to put in orders, and breaking stuff when he was here. He was really quiet, almost too quiet, after your father and I let him go. He just stared at us before taking his tips and leaving. I hadn’t even thought about him, but I was just out on the patio delivering bread and saw him drive by our restaurant twice. He’s headed back down to your side of the block. It…could be nothing, but I wanted to tell you.” Her mom’s voice shook slightly, telling Julieta that the man must have really bothered her when they let him go because it took a lot to rattle her mother.

“Hold on…” She moved the phone away from her mouth and turned to Ruby. “Will you lock the door and turn the sign to closed?”

Ruby nodded and as she headed for the front, Julieta adjusted the phone. “Thanks for telling me, Mama. I’m closing now and I’ll give the name to Lizzy and Ivan.”

“When you talk to Lizzy, tell that girl she better bring little Maddox in to see me next week or I’ll be calling her mother.”

Smiling, she shook her head. Lizzy’s new baby was adorable. “I will. And we’ll be down to see you soon.”

After they disconnected, Julieta couldn’t get rid of the nagging sensation in her gut. She knew the name Howell from somewhere. Looking over the file, ice filled her veins as she turned the page. A Leora and Glenn Howell owned a house not far from where the phone had been dumped. A middle-class neighborhood, one of the older ones in Miami so it was established. No Buck Howell though. Still… She picked up the file and rounded the counter. She wanted to show it to Ivan. Maybe Lizzy could find out if Buck Howell was related to them.

Before she’d taken two steps an explosion of glass and metal rent the air. Ruby screamed, the fear behind it raking over Julieta’s skin. A car surged through one of her front windows, destroying everything in its path.

It swerved in her direction, sending racks of clothes and jewelry flying as it flew straight at her. There was nowhere to go. Her heart jumped in her throat and she dropped the file. She dove over the display, trying to find cover. A mannequin head rolled along the floor as an engine roared loudly.

Her mind whirled as she curled into a ball beneath the display. Ivan, Ruby, she needed to check on them. The engine still rumbled ominously, but it was idling. She heard a door open and glass crunching as she pushed to her feet.

“Julieta!” Ivan shouted from somewhere to her left. She hoped he wasn’t trapped in the security room.

“I’m okay! Ruby, are you all right?” Shaking, she grasped the edge of the display counter and finished getting to her feet. This was too surreal.

As she cleared the counter to stand, all the air rushed from her lungs in a whoosh. The man her mom had been worried about was pointing a gun directly at her, his green eyes wild with rage. He was so close, if he pulled the trigger she’d die in seconds.

“You think you can hide from me?” he snarled.

She just stared at the barrel of the gun, frozen in terror. This maniac had crashed through her store for…what? He couldn’t think he was getting away which meant he wanted to kill her. She started to shake, a lead ball forming in her stomach. Oh God, why hadn’t Ruby answered? Had she been hit by his car? Where was Ivan? Was he okay?

“Answer me!” he screamed, his question jerking her out of her haze.

Her gaze snapped up to his. “I’m not hiding.” The words were out before she could think about censoring herself or trying to come up with a good answer. Not that she thought there was actually a good answer for a situation like this. Not when she was staring into the eyes of a man who wanted to kill her.

Moving incredibly fast, he stepped around the counter in two fluid steps and grabbed her by the arm. He shoved the gun into her ribs as he pulled her close. “Damn right you’re not hiding. You’re mine.” His eyes seemed to almost darken as his fingers dug painfully into her upper arm.

She didn’t even flinch as a strange numbness invaded her body. She was beyond terrified, but everything around her seemed too surreal, as if she was watching this happen to someone else. Because this couldn’t be happening to her. It just couldn’t.

He yanked her to the right, around the counter but suddenly jerked to a halt, pulling her in front of him so that her back pressed against his chest. As a shield, she belatedly realized.

At the same time that registered, she saw Ivan standing near one of the pillars that had been saved from this monster’s destructive rampage. He had a gun in his hand, pointed in their direction.

“Drop your weapon.” His words were quiet as he stared at Buck, but there was a deadly edge to them.

His calmness helped bring her out of her haze. She had the vague thought that she must be going into shock, or maybe she was already in shock. But did people in shock even realize they were in it?

“Julieta, you’re going to be okay.” Ivan’s deep voice punched further through the haze as the man behind her shoved the barrel of the weapon against her head.

She swallowed back the bile in her throat and tried to focus on Ivan.

“Get back or I shoot her right here, right now,” the man shouted again even though Ivan was only ten or so feet away from them.

Without the barrier of the counter nothing was in between them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement to her left. Ruby. It looked like she was laying on the ground underneath a pile of clothes. If she’d been hit by his car she needed help. Panic suffused her, a jag of adrenaline making her hyperaware of her surroundings.

“You haven’t done anything you can’t undo right now. There’s still time to walk away from this.” Ivan’s voice was so damn calm.
How
was he so calm?

She wasn’t shaking, but she felt as if her insides were. Her heart raced out of control, the beat erratic as blood rushed in her ears. As if she’d split apart from the sheer terror forking through her. She was so damn helpless with no weapons…

Her pepper spray. Ivan had been so insistent she carry it with her
everywhere
.

“Fuck you! This bitch is coming with me and you’re going to get out of my way right fucking now!”

Julieta carefully slid her hand into her pocket, her fingers grasping the small weapon tightly. She had no clue how she was moving so smoothly, maybe it was because her whole damn body was so numb.

“All right, I’m moving back.” Ivan stepped from the pillar to a fallen rack of corsets. He didn’t actually go backward though, more like shifted to the side. It gave Buck a better view of his car though. Maybe it made him feel more in control.

She was vaguely aware of people gathering outside the shop and murmurs of panic, probably because they’d seen the maniac with a gun. It was only a matter of time before the police showed up, before sirens blared in the distance. Deep down Julieta knew it would set this guy off. He was clearly walking a razor’s edge. She pulled the pepper spray from her pocket and slid the safety to the side, thankful Ivan had made her practice holding it to get used to the feel of it. She didn’t have to look at it to know how to operate it.

The gun moved from her temple and he started waving it at Ivan. “Move on back, keep moving, over to that wall. We’re getting out of here and you’re not going to do a damn thing to stop me.” He smelled like cheap cologne and coffee, the scent invading her nostrils, making her nauseous. He wasn’t built like Ivan, but he was taller than her and his grip was incredibly strong.

Raw fear punched through her. Ivan had no protection, nothing to block him from a bullet. No, no, no.

Buck fired, the sound blasting loudly near her ear. She flinched, the echo bringing everything around her into sharp focus. Ivan ducked, his weapon still gripped tightly in his hand as her stalker loosened his hold on her arm.

She didn’t even think. Dropping down, she swiveled and brought the pepper spray up. She pressed the trigger, spraying directly at his face.

He screamed and brought one hand up to his face as he started shooting wildly. People outside screamed.

Julieta rolled to the floor, trying to avoid the spray of his madness when suddenly he stopped moving. His body jerked once, twice, and two spots of crimson bloomed on his white T-shirt. Eyes wide, he fell to his knees, his gun-toting hand falling limply to his side as he knelt there, almost suspended in time before he tilted to the side at an awkward angle, his stare on Julieta.

Before she could move, Ivan was suddenly there, holding on to her shoulders and kneeling in front of her. He was mouthing something and it took her a long moment to realize he was asking if she was okay.

There was a ringing in her ear and she felt off balance but she nodded. Or tried to. “Ruby?”

“She’s okay. And you’re okay.” He pulled her into a crushing hug, his big arms wrapping around her so tight he squeezed the air from her lungs.

But she didn’t care. She hugged him back, holding onto him for all she was worth.

“I love you,” he growled into her hair. His voice shook, his big body trembling as he held her close.

“I love you too,” she rasped out against his chest as the sound of sirens finally broke through the air.

Chapter 13

Tensing, Julieta looked over as the door to her hospital room started to open. She hadn’t wanted to come at all, but Detective Duarte had insisted. Ivan had needed to go downtown to fill out a report since he’d shot and killed a man. The detective had wanted to make sure everything was documented and said she needed to come here for a follow up. She’d have come anyway because of Ruby, but she understood Duarte’s concerns.