I close my eyes then open them. Chase. He’s not there. “Where is he?” I yell, the sound bouncing off the walls of the small white room. My entire body is hot and my vision comes in and out. I shake my head, but, instead of seeing clearly, I see colors. A rainbow of color everywhere forces me to blink furiously. “He’s gone! He’s not here!”
Chase
I walk down the hall whistling. The world is not perfect, but having Gillian back goes a long way toward making it possible for me to breathe a little easier. We’ll find the fucker who did this to her, and I’ll ruin him. One way or another, he’ll be paying for what he’s done to Gillian and her friends.
Dana is by my side reading through the list of things that need handling at work. When Gillian fell asleep, I called the girls and told them they could come see her when she woke. When they arrived, I slipped out for my meeting with the second-in-command of Chase Industries. Knowing there are two bodyguards outside her door and a team still in the vicinity relieves a bit of the stress of leaving her. Plus, she has the three crazy sisters to keep her company. I feel relief for the first time in days…until I hear her blood curdling scream.
“He’s gone! He’s not here!” Gillian is screaming into the face of a nurse who entered only moments before I did.
“Baby, Jesus Christ!” I rush over to her and pull her into my arms.
She sobs into my chest like earlier. “You weren’t here. You left me! You promised you wouldn’t fucking leave!” Tears track down her bruised face. Her nose runs, but that’s not what gets to me. It’s the eyes. Her beautiful emerald eyes show everything. Fear, anger, betrayal, three things I never want to see when she’s looking at me. “How could you?” her voice cracks with emotion.
I sit down on the bed and she crawls into my lap like a frightened animal. Over and over she chantsyou promised, you promised, you promised.Every time she utters the word, it crushes my soul a little more.
With as much courage as I can muster, I pull her head from the cavern of my chest and look into her eyes once more. “I didn’t leave you. I wasn’t gone. I was down the hall speaking to a business associate and Dana.” I look over at the door. Dana is standing in the doorway holding the MacBook up against her chest as if she too needs to comfort something. Maria, Bree, and Kathleen are standing stock still and staring unbelievably at their friend. This woman, she’s Gillian, but not the Gigi they know. “See,” I gesture to the doorway. “Dana is right there. She came to meet me and to see you.” I shoot for my most placating tone.
Dana clears her throat, and Gillian looks up at her. Then her eyes go to her friend’s concerned ones. Her face crumbles and tears rush down her face. She hiccups into my chest. “What the fuck is wrong with me?”
That’s the question of the century, and one I fear only Dr. Madison is going to be able to answer.
Once I’ve soothed Gillian, the nurse gives her a dose of pain medication and a sedative, and after a short while, she falls back asleep. Leaving the door open enough that she can see me if she wakes up, I walk over to her friends.
“Ladies, I’m sorry you had to see that.”
Maria’s face contorts from concern to anger instantly. Fits with her fiery Italian-Spanish heritage. I have many people working under me from similar ethnic backgrounds who can also go from cool as a cucumber to red hot in mere seconds. Those are also the most passionate, loyal and dedicated of my employees but also the individuals who give me headaches.
Maria points to the room that Gillian is in. “What. The. Fuck. Was. That.” Her words are a short staccato sound.
I shake my head and let out a breath I’ve been holding. “She’s going through something. It happened earlier when I was going to leave her side. Her psyche seems to be holding on to something that never occurred. It involves me leaving her, or somehow letting her go. I think I just need to work hard to let her know I’m with her. Always. That I’m not going anywhere.”
Kathleen bites her lip and Bree stays still, silently holding onto her protruding belly. Maria on the other hand has absolutely no problems voicing her opinion.
“Nuh-uh. What I saw in there, that was fear. Hard core, absolute misery. She was fine, Chase. We laughed, we cried, we told her how happy we were she was home and it was good. Really good.”
“Then what?” I ask wondering how she went from being with her friends, women she’s known and trusted for years to a terrified, screaming mess.
“We spoke of Bree’s new studio in the Davis Industries building. And then one of us mentioned something about talking to you when you got back and she lost it. Her blood pressure rose, and a full-fledged panic attack overtook her. This was no normal panic attack either.Escuchar esto,” she said,hear thisin Spanish. “I’ve seen Gillian have many panic attacks over the years dealing with the backlash of the Justin situation but nothing like that. What I saw there was a woman who was literally destroyed over the thought thatyouwere gone.” She points an accusing finger at my chest.
My shoulders slump, and Kathleen brings me into her arms and hugs me. “It will be okay. She’ll get through this.”
I pull away and look into her brown eyes. Kind. So kind. I know now why Gillian is so taken with her. With all of them. Even though I’m not used to sharing my space, and the desire to lock Gillian away with me for years to come is tempting, I also know these women are good for her. They give her something I cannot. That thought alone sends a sizzle of irritation along every synapse. The three of them, hell even Phillip, love Gillian like a member of their family. They’d do anything for her, and because of that alone, I will make certain all of them are safe. For her.
“That’s a great segue into what I need from the three of you. And Phillip,” my gaze locks onto Bree’s.
“Anything,” Bree says holding my hand. She looks at her two friends and they nod. “Whatever it takes.”
“You know McBride is still out there.” Maria’s hands go into fists at her sides. I gotta admit, I love how protective and physical she can be. “I need all of you to move back into the Davis Mansion.” The three women respond with completely opposite reactions.
Kat shrugs and says okay. Bree groans, slumps her shoulders and nods. Maria’s eyes narrow and a hand comes up to her hip. “Do you really think that’s necessary? I just started connecting with my apartment. The one that has security and a doorman, plus the three of us still have bodyguards.” She points down the hall where three giant men in suits lean against a wall.
“And you’ll keep those men, too, for as long as it takes to find McBride. He’s dangerous. Really dangerous. And now he’s going to be out for blood. All of ours. If anything happens to one of you, Gillian would be devastated. As it is, she’s barely hanging on by a thread.”
“Come on, Maria, what’s another two, three weeks. Tommy’s working with the FBI, and Chase has a horde of personal investigators and bounty hunters on his tail. They’ll catch him really fast, but if this makes Gillian feel better, more at peace so she can heal, we have to be there for her,” Kat says. I couldn’t have given the speech better myself.
Maria rolls her eyes but nods.
I lock my gaze on Bree’s concerned ones. “Bree, please notify Phillip of the plan. I want him and his daughter at the mansion tonight.”