Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3) (25 page)

“
Please
tell me he does not know what Jason did to me.”

“
He
didn't know it was you. He only knew it was someone at the same
school as you,” he answered. “I hired a private
investigator.”

“
Are
you fucking kidding me?” she yelled.

He
knew she was beyond pissed, but she was safe. That was all that
mattered. She would either get over it or never speak to him again.

“
You
spent money to hire a private investigator to dig into my personal
life?”

“
I
did, and I would do it again if I had to. If you would have been
honest with me, I wouldn't have had to do it.”

“
I
got through it all once. I planned on getting rid of him, without any
of you guys knowing. I wanted all of you to be proud of me not
disappointed. John was there yesterday. He has to know that I was the
one Jason went to jail because of. What if he tells Gavin?” she
asked, as she got off of the bed.

“
None
of us would be disappointed in you because some jackass hurt you. Why
do you keep saying that? John won't say anything to Gavin about it.
He said that is your job. The private investigator got me more
information on Jason and what he had done to you. I had just gotten
the information the morning the baby was born.”

“
Was
that the meeting you were talking about at the hospital? It was a
meeting about me. What did he give you about that court case? There
were pictures of me and very personal stuff in there. Shit, Ethan. I
can't believe you read that stuff,” she said.

Julie
slid down to the floor and cried. He got off the bed and went to her.
With his arm around her, he continued to talk.

“
I
didn't read it. He explained the basics of what happened and gave me
the folder. I never opened it. I didn't want to read anything you
wouldn't want me to. That was your business. I promise you, I never
opened it. I had enough information on where to find Jason. He hadn't
contacted you since the phone call, besides the flowers. They were
from him. Lisa went into labor and I had to fly out the next day. I
was going to figure everything out while I was gone and take care of
Jason as soon as I got back. John was going to check on you while I
was gone. Jason must have been watching your house and figured out
who I was.”

“
He
said he was going to kill you. I was so scared. I don't know why I
ever went out with him in the first place. I didn't want you or
anyone else involved. I shouldn't have called you. What if he would
have killed you? It would have been my fault. I can't risk anyone
else getting hurt,” she sobbed.

“
He's
in jail,” Ethan said softly. “He can't hurt anyone.”

“
He
won't be there forever. I don't know why he insists on hurting me,
but he'll be out again one day. I need to move away from here. I need
to be by myself.”

“
You
aren't going anywhere. It's going to be a long road. You need all of
us with you. It's time for you to accept some help. I know you don't
want to, but we all care about you. We will all be there for you.”

“
I
don't want to go back to my house. It scares me. I can't live there,”
she said. “His blood is on my bedroom floor.”

“
I
want you to stay here for now. You can stay in the guest room if you
want. I just need to know that you're safe. You need to talk to
Gavin. I know you don't want to, but he needs to know. He is going to
hear it from somewhere, and it would be much better coming from you.
You know he's going to be hurt and mad. He loves you very much. With
John being a cop and Josh being a firefighter, you know he's going to
find out. It's not fair to them, to have to keep that from him. I
will be there when you tell him or you can do it alone. If you want,
I can have Josh and Lisa have dinner. You can tell him there. Not in
front of everyone, but we'll be there in case you need us.”

“
How
did the meeting go? Did he call you? When will he be home?” she
asked.

“
He'll
be calling me in the next couple of hours. He won't be home until
Friday. Do you want to do it Saturday or Sunday?”

“
Sunday,”
she said. “I hope you didn't lose too much money because of me.
Can I stay here until I talk to him? I will move in with him and
Becky until I find a place.”

“
You
can stay here for as long as you want,” he replied. “The
money's not important. I'm just glad everything's okay.”

She
got up without a word and left his room. He sat back on his bed and
let out a deep breath. Ethan started to drift off to sleep when his
phone buzzed. He was shocked to see a text from Lisa.

“
Is
everything okay? Josh asked me a couple of questions about Julie last
night. He wanted to know if she had talked to me about a man lately.
What is going on with you two? I can't lie to my husband about giving
you her address or giving her your number. Does he know something
about you guys?”

Josh
probably heard something at work, Ethan thought. He hadn't been one
of the guys to respond. What would she have done if Josh would have
been there too? Lisa thought Josh was asking about him.

“
Everything
is fine. That's not why he was asking. I can't say anything right
now, but I need you to do me a favor. You and Josh need to have
dinner on Sunday. Tell everyone it's so we can all see the baby.
Figure something out. I'll bring the food. Just our group. Don't say
a word to anyone about me asking you to do this.” he sent.

“
Okay,
but this is it. I'm not being a part of anything else between you
two.” she replied.

“
Okay,
thank you.”

The
next few days were stressful. Ethan worked from home, and Julie was
taking some time off. She didn't want to have the marks on her wrists
while she was working around kids. Her face looked much better, and
she used makeup to cover up the marks that were still there.

She
only came out of her room to eat or shower. He wasn't sure what to do
or say. Ethan knew that she was overwhelmed by everything that
happened. She was going to have to tell her brother, and she was
scared. He was sure it didn't help that he had gone through her phone
and hired an investigator. It was only right to give her some space.

John
went by the house to check on them both each day. He brought them
food and whatever else he thought they might need. She hugged him and
thanked him for everything. Ethan was so happy to have such a great
brother. He was the only real family Ethan had, and he was always so
good to him.

Gavin
had given Ethan so much grief over missing the meeting and lectured
him about how he would never have let a woman get in the way of
business before. The first meeting went well and the second was
scheduled for Friday. Gavin wanted Ethan to fly out for it, but he
refused. There was no way he was leaving Julie alone. His work phone
had been forwarded to the house, so Gavin had no idea that he wasn't
at work. Ethan had never put work behind anything or anyone. It had
always been his top priority.

“
If
I get this deal this week, I'm not sure you should get a cut of it,”
Gavin snapped at him.

“
I
don't care,” Ethan replied. “You can have the whole
thing.”

Ethan
sat back in his chair and pushed his hands through his hair. What the
hell was he saying? It was millions of dollars. It seemed to shock
Gavin just as much as it shocked him.

“
What?”
Gavin shouted.

“
I
mean it. It's all yours. I've got to let you go. Good luck.”

With
that, Ethan hung up the phone. He couldn't believe those words had
left his mouth. Ethan grabbed his phone off the desk and walked out
of the room. He went down to his gym in the basement and turned the
music up loud. There were some things he needed to work through, and
working out was the only way to do it. When he got upset or
frustrated, he always went to his gym.

He
had been down there for two hours when Julie walked through the door.
Ethan turned the music down and looked at her. She was so beautiful.
Her hair was down against her shoulders. She had on gray sweats and a
pink top. He could see the worry in her beautiful eyes. The sparkle
had been missing from them the entire week. He wanted so badly to
wrap her in his arms and keep her safe, but she barely even looked up
at him.

“
I
made us something to eat,” she whispered.

She
turned slowly and walked back out of the room.

They
sat through another quiet meal. She looked down at her plate the
entire time. Why was she closing herself off to him, he wondered?

“
Do
you want to watch a movie?” he asked.

“
I'm
just going to do the dishes and go back to my room.”

“
You
know you can talk to me. I just want things to go back to the way
they were between us,” he said frustrated.

“
You
saved my life. I will never forget that. I just need to get through
Sunday. After that, everything can go back to normal. You won't have
to deal with me anymore.”

Ethan
slammed his cup down on the table, pushed his chair back, stormed out
of the room, and slammed the door as he walked into his bathroom. He
turned the shower on as hot as he could and stepped under the water.
Why was she pushing him away?

***

If
she didn't think he could get any hotter, she was mistaken. When she
walked into his gym and saw the sweat running down his naked and
oh-so-sexy back, it took everything she had to stay where she was.
His muscles were clenched tight as he held the weights. She had never
seen anything that good in her entire life. Was his damp skin as
slick as she imagined? Would he taste like salt and man if she ran
her tongue along his neck? She could feel dampness between her legs
just from looking at the most handsome man in the world.

He
had actually been her knight in shining armor. Ethan had saved her
from what could have been the most horrible experience of her life.
He was everything she had ever imagined and more. She thought back to
that day. He had not thought of himself for one moment. The way he
went after Jason, without even thinking about what could have
happened to him. Everything he did focused on her and keeping her
safe. What if something would have happened to him? She would never
have forgiven herself. He deserved so much better than her. One day,
he was going to find an amazing woman who would love him and treat
him good.

She
had made sure to stay in her room and out of his way as much as she
could. He had already done so much for her. She didn't want to be any
more of a burden than she already was. He had lost so much money
helping her. She heard him on the phone with Gavin. He had given
Gavin the entire deal they were working on. She never should have
called him. He was the only person she could think of, as she sat
scared for her life. Ethan was the only one she trusted. She couldn't
burden him anymore.

He
didn't even want her anymore, she thought as she did the dishes. That
was why she hadn't told anyone what had happened before. They
wouldn't want her if they knew the truth. She had chosen to date the
wrong man, and she knew they would be embarrassed of her if she told
them what had happened. It would have been just like Ethan. He hadn't
tried to spend time with her, and he hadn't tried to go and talk to
her. She had slept in bed alone. All she wanted was to be next to
him, wrapped in his arms, safe. She felt so alone. He said it
himself; he just wanted things to go back to the way they were
before. They would never be that way again. She could never sit there
while he picked on her and pretend that she didn't have feelings for
him.

Julie
wanted to run away so badly. She wanted to be by herself. After she
cleared the air with Gavin and told him everything, she planned to do
just that. None of them would have to see her anymore or be reminded
of what a disappointment she was. She was going to pack up her stuff
and move out of state, where nobody knew about her past and Ethan
could have his life back, the way it was before.