CHASED (A Standalone Billionaire Romance Novel) Read online

  They’d made my life hell but I’d ignored it all, keeping my eye on the prize. I felt good about myself and a little too good about the thought of using my old tricks to try and land my new crush.

  And then one day he’d disappeared and I never saw him again. I was miserable and angry that he’d just disappear like that without even a goodbye, and I’d been tempted to fall back into my old ways and bury myself in the noise that is the popular kids, but no, I’d taken it on the chin and kept going, much to mom and Brian’s dismay.

  So when one day I’d stayed late at school trying to earn extra credits on an English paper only to find that one of my tyres was flat…I’m a girl and for someone who didn’t even know what a jack looked like I can tell you I didn’t have a freaking clue how to fix the situation. Plus my phone had died somewhere around last period.

  I’d decided to walk home, even though it was really far because hey, it wouldn’t kill me right? Wrong! About half a mile into my journey it started getting dark and I’d realized maybe I should have gone back inside and used a phone to call someone.

  Then a car had approached and I’d thought hey, I can get a lift or at least ask to use their phone. Wrong again.

  As soon as the car stopped beside me I saw four hulking masked men pile out and I’d known I was in deep trouble. I’d dropped everything and taken off, thanking my years of track and Cheer squad for the fitness and physical speed I needed to sprint away and keep running till my legs burned and my heart felt like it was trying to crawl out of my throat.

  I started slowing eventually, my body completely out of steam, my heart hoping, foolishly believing that I’d lost them and that my screams would have made them run.

  My heart pounded so loudly that I couldn’t hear anything else but its frantic beat in my ears. And then I’d heard the pounding of their footsteps behind me and I’d known I was wrong.

  The new spurt of adrenaline had made me speed up and I’d frantically looked around for a house, any signs of civilization that could save me, but all around me was nothing but trees and a long deserted stretch of dark road.

  I was alone, running on empty and so terrified to be caught that I’d done the most stupid thing imaginable. I darted for the line of trees to my left, hoping to get lost in the inky blackness. My sneakers hit the soft grass and slipped in the remnants of the light drizzle that had blown over hours ago, but I corrected quickly and plunged in, squinting my eyes to avoid a direct hit with the trees surrounding me.

  And still I heard the hard pounding of footsteps behind.

  By that point I was wheezing and I knew I was done. I’d run no more than a mile at that point-usually I could do four and then another two at a slow jog-but the fear was making me seize up and my legs had started cramping.

  So I hurled myself right, fell to my knees and crawled into a line of bushes, curling up in the dark and holding my breath to stop my whimpers from escaping.

  I can’t say how much time passed, minutes maybe but they felt like hours as I heard more footsteps and the men crashing through the foliage. They never said a word but slowly and methodically searched, their torches making me shrink back further under the leaves.

  Dampness had seeped through my thin sweater and jeans and I’d started shivering as time went on, the tears streaking my cheeks adding another layer as the air turned colder.

  And then the most frightening thing happened. I heard nothing. No footsteps, no leaves rustling. Everything was dead silent but for the choppy breaths I couldn’t control.

  It was terrifying because I didn’t know what to do. I was frozen beneath that bush in total fear, my muscles screaming at me to make a break for it while my mind yelled to stay put and wait.

  I obeyed my mind but only because my body was done.

  Feeling a little less harried I’d worked on calming my breaths and slowing my heart rate, relaxing my stiff muscles. I’d relaxed too son because while I was focusing on me, I failed to hear the soft crunch of leaves and didn’t know he was on top of me before a hand tightened around my left ankle and yanked me out.

  I’d screamed and fought with what little I had left but it was no use, my attacker was a lot stronger and wasn’t half limp with exhaustion. He’d simply batted my hands away, clocked me one good one that shook my brain and made me woozy, and then thrown me over his shoulder.

  Blood had poured from my split lip as I hung limply and felt his shoulder knock the breath from my lungs with his every footfall as he broke into a trot.

  All too soon we hit the road again and the five of them proceeded to tie me up, duct tape my mouth and shove me in the trunk. Being trapped in there, anticipating what they had in store for me was terrifying and I’d rubbed my wrists raw trying to get free by the time the car slowed and then stopped.

  Four doors opened and shut, and then I was looking up at five black hockey masks that seemed to grin at me. They hauled me out, shoved me around a little and shoved something into my arm.

  Almost immediately I felt myself go drowsy and no amount of panic, adrenaline or denial could stop me from swaying and then passing out. I don’t remember much about what happened after but for the insistent flashing of lights before waking in a field, naked and aching.

  Marooned, my memory blinking in and out and my muscles making me stumble I’d somehow managed to get to the road and start walking. I only got about six steps before my legs gave out and dumped me on my ass.

  Thirsty, starving and traumatised I’d crawled on my hands and knees, sobbing and desperate to get somewhere safe. It took so long my knees and forearms turned bloody and I was ready to lay down and die there on that road.

  I didn’t though, and not because I didn’t lie down and give up because I did. No I survived because a truck driver just happened to be on that road at dawn and he’d seen me and stopped.

  I will be forever grateful to that man because he picked me up even though I was crying and near hysterical by that point, and got me in his rig and under a blanket and then drove me to the hospital.

  The rest of it is about the same. I was dehydrated, bruised from the way I’d been shoved around and severely traumatized.

  My mom of course blamed me for being foolish and raged about my inability to stop crying. Dad was furious because…well I don’t know since dad never said a word, just looked at me with dark eyes.

  After they discharged me I went into a very dark depression and would freak out at the slightest sound. I hid in my room, not caring about anything at all, hell I skipped so many showers I’m surprised my mom didn’t take me out back and dump flea powder on me before hosing me down.

  And then, when I couldn’t take it anymore I swallowed two bottles of mom’s Valium and sleeping pills and woke up again in the hospital, only this time Grandma was there.

  And that there is the moment that I was truly saved.

  That there is the moment that instead of giving up and letting this beat me, I took her advice and thumbed my nose at every bastard in the world.

  She taught me a lot after I finally sprung myself from the loony bin mom dumped me in, the biggest lesson being to never give up and let the enemy win.

  And I won’t let them win either because remembering it all has forced me to examine it in a way that I could never let myself before and I remember one thing. Nobody had spoken that night, their silence having added to my fear, except one.

  One of them had rasped a full sentence that I’m forcing myself to remember; ‘this is what happens to uppity bitches who don’t do what they’re told’.

  One simple line and I know who said it.

  Gareth Knox.

  I’m scared now, disgusted that I’ve spent years in these peoples company, like they’ve gotten one over on me and won. Not for much longer though, because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my cold husband it’s that losing is not an option.

  For this reason I hope Chase is ready, because I’m not a quitter and he’s in a whole lot of trouble if he thinks I’
m going to take this lying down.

  But first, I have some plans to make for the five animals who tried to ruin me.

  Chapter 31

  “I need help.”

  Hensley and Dec tense where they’re sitting at the kitchen table, wolfing down the fried chicken and greens that I made for dinner, Chase isn’t home yet, something he’s been doing the last few nights since I told him to go screw his fist, so I’m graced by not just one hottie in my kitchen but two.

  Who are now very appreciative and more than willing to snap to attention the moment the words leave my lips.

  “What you need sweetheart?” Dec asks, pushing his plate away and groaning when I serve them each a piece of the cherry pie I’d Googled and a cup of coffee.

  I sit down and pull my own tea-blech-to my lips, meeting their eyes over the rim, sort of steadying myself before lowering the mug.

  “This does not concern Chase so if you feel some sort of loyalty that will force you to tell him then tell me now and I won’t even continue.” I say, keeping my voice as steady as I can.

  When Liv and I had talked about this she’d warned me that Brick and his men have some sort of deep bond thing with Chase. They’re not all friends but he’d done something for them that means they will forever be in his debt, though he’s tried to disabuse them of that without fail.

  Seems they think of him as one of them and will do anything for him, and by extension me too, but I need this to be just about me and she says that may not be possible.

  “If it endangers your life or in any way means you leave Chase then you shouldn’t continue.” Dec says after sharing a look with Hensley.

  They both nod at each other as if coming to some understanding before saying this so I know that they’ll at least listen.

  “You can decide if you want to help me or not. If not I need a promise that what I tell you stays between us.”

  They share another look and I can almost hear the gears grinding but both of them look at me and nod once.

  “It stays between us. No matter what.”

  Relief hits me and I blow out a breath at their promise, feeling a little less intimidated. I mean of course I’m intimidated, these two are super hot and deadly from what I’ve seen, and besides all that, they are bad assed military machines. I couldn’t ask or better protectors and now, if they do this for me, saviours.

  If this works I might finally be able to lay these ghosts to rest and maybe save me and Chase too. He can search for the guys who abducted me, I’ll finish what was started over a decade ago.

  “What’s this about Remy?” Hensley asks when I get a little lost in thought.

  “When I was in high school I dated a guy, my ex-husband Brian Carson.”

  The look they give me is not kind and I get the idea they know who he is and feel about as warm and fuzzy about him as I do, and considering my feelings fall more towards slasher flicks and baseball bats, well…

  “Yeah. Anyway, sometime in that year I got a rude awakening and was forced to see the mess I was and start changing. I changed, a lot and by the time I was done I sorta realized he was not the guy I wanted to be with. I broke things off with him but he didn’t take it well. He was sort of grooming me to be his long term girlfriend and then the perfect politician’s wife.”

  “Asshole.”

  I grin at Dec and incline my head.

  “Quite. So anyway, I cut him loose and he did not take it well, but there was nothing he could do about it. At least I didn’t think he could.”

  Their eyes narrow at that and I swallow. I’m not going to go into detail here but I think they should at least have enough to understand how serious this is for me.

  “So anyway, I was not in a good place when…that’s not important, let’s just say I suffered a major loss and I wasn’t very smart about some things. I had a late class one day and ended up walking home when my car had a flat that my prissy ass couldn’t change or call for help because my phone died.”

  They grin and I roll my eyes.

  “On the way a car stopped and let me just say that I knew I was in deep shit. There were five of them, all wearing masks. They chased me down like a dog, threw me in the trunk and shoved a needle in my arm. I woke up in a field around dawn, naked and pretty messed up.”

  Okay, now those grins are just gone and wow, they look about ready to start tearing heads off. I’d be afraid if I thought for one minute that I could be a target, but I’m not, so I kind of gloat inside about what will now happen to Brian and his friends.

  “I woke up and crawled till my knees bled but I was so weak I just…a trucker found me and took me to the hospital and I, things didn’t go well for me after that. But that’s not important right now. What is important is that my stupid brain thinks it knows who those guys were.”

  “Names.” Hensley growls, his eyes going so light I swear they look like they’re glowing.

  Dec doesn’t seem to be any better off and I hear his knuckles crack when he clenches a fist.

  “No killing.”

  “Rem-”

  “Nuhuh. All I want you to do for me is get some information so I can put a few plans in place. Just information.”

  “But-”

  “Please. This is important to me guys. It’s my one chance to put those ghosts to rest so I can be free of it and I need to do this my way, not by handing it off to a man to fix. Please.”

  God help me, I didn’t tell Doc about this when I’d called her because one, I’m afraid she’ll warn the cops since if this works I’m going to watch five men scream and two, she’ll tell me some bullshit about violence not being the answer.

  Too bad. I feel violent so there for it must be some sort of answer, maybe just not her version of the right one.

  “Fine. Names.” Dec barks, pushing away his uneaten pie.

  I tell them and I can literally feel the air around me freeze with their anger. Gosh, it’s so nice to have them in my life. They may be stone cold killers doing the work they do, but I love them like the brothers I wish I had-my one and only brother being less than useless-and I’m grateful just to know them.

  After that they stand and leave me alone in the kitchen, each bending to give me a kiss on the head.

  “We’ll be there when you do what you have to. Understand?”

  “Yup. Love you guys.”

  Chapter 32

  Chase

  No sex.

  That’s all I can think about lately and it’s driving me so fucking crazy I woke up humping the sheets this morning, my dick so hard I’m embarrassed to admit I kept up the humping for two thrusts before I stopped in horror at the impending orgasm gathering from the base of my spine.

  Shamed at my behaviour-and the insane urge to wake Remy up with my cock already filling her-I’d slammed into the bathroom and treated my dick to an icy shower that deflated him almost instantly. Till I walked out of the bathroom and found her sprawled on my side of the bed, my pillow clutched to her face as if she were seeking my scent.

  Instant boner.

  Damned woman is being so stubborn!

  So what if we’re not sharing our feelings and doing pottery scenes from Ghost! We’re compatible where it counts and we share a mutual respect that many couples don’t have.

  I’m so damned desperate to touch her right now that I’ve considered getting her drunk just to see if she’ll loosen up a bit. Now don’t go all feminist outrage on me, I’m not going to, but mostly because for me it’s not just the release that I crave but that one moment when she’s so open that we connect on more than a physical plain.

  That’s what’s got me on edge, that Remy has completely withdrawn from me to the point of seeming unaffected by my touch when just weeks ago she’d attack me if I so much as looked at her with heat.

  I bloody miss the wench and it’s killing me to sleep beside her without feeling her in my arms. She doesn’t even roll into me anymore so short of pinning her to my side, I’m shit out of luck and up the creek
without a bleeding paddle.

  I know what it will take to get her back in my arms and writhing beneath me. Sharing. She wants to tell me about her past and she wants to know who I am.

  I can’t risk it though because I know that if she tells me something that I can’t get over someone is dying. My temper since the incident with Carson and his goons is not something I want to even contemplate around my wife.

  God, I love calling her that. It implies an ownership that makes me hard and achy with the need for her.

  She’s mine and I protect what I…own, even from myself and I will never let her see that part of me because she’ll bolt, I know she will. Remy is way too soft for a dark, broken beast like me but-

  “Jesus, you’re still sulking? Just talk to your wife and get it over with you idiot.”

  I look up from my paperwork and glare at Gabe when he saunters in and plops into the chair across from my desk, his limbs loose and relaxed. Someone in this place is obviously getting laid. Bastard.

  “Mind your own bloody business Gabriel.”

  His grin is full of smug glee and it takes an effort for me not to vault over the desk and wipe it right off his face, but I resist the urge and try to ignore the blighter.

  “Fiiiine. So how about I bring you up to speed instead. Knox is fully done. The company and assets are now yours. I left Knox Sr. with the house and trust you convinced him to set up for retirement. All that’s left now is waiting for Carson’s senatorial prospects and I’ve got someone on the inside to shake things up.”

  At the words I feel a kernel of satisfaction that’s only cut short at the ongoing frustration that we still have no answers as to who set up Remy and Liv’s abduction.

  “Good. I want answers as to the other.” I growl, feeling my words become more clipped and accented. “I wanted to surprise Remy with her old job back but can’t till it’s safe enough for her to go out.”

  It’s my patch, my attempt to sort of smooth over the cracks. Perhaps if I give her something she wants she’ll cut me some bloody slack here. I know short of spilling my guts to her I’m not looking good in the ranks, and I hate being apart from a woman I have quickly come to realize is so ingrained in me it feels like I’m missing one of my limbs.