Change of Harte (Harte, #2) (Harte Series) (17 page)

Mickey looked at the slender mobile on the floor and then at Julian. He looked back at the phone and sucked air through his nose with a wheeze
.
He roared like a caged tiger as he jumped up and down on the phone until pieces of plastic and metal scattered like electronic roadkill.

Julian tossed his head back and laughed. ‘Not the phone, you fucking idiot. Your security system. We’re live now. Wave.’ Julian turned his attention to what looked like recessed lights overhead and swayed an exhausted arm from side to side.

‘We’re going to leave now,’ Julian said, pulling himself to his feet. ‘And you’re going to watch us.’

Tiny goose bumps rippled across every part of Eva’s skin as Julian limped toward her. Mickey leaned closer to her with the knife still in his hand. She shut her eyes and held her breath. She wriggled her wrists instinctively as soon as the tension was gone and drew a deep breath when the ropes around her body dropped onto her knees.

Eva stood up, pins and needles shooting through her legs from being confined for so long, but she ignored the sensation and threw her arms around Julian, pulling back as she felt him grimace. ‘Oh, my God, are you okay?’ Her hands cupped his face, and she kissed his forehead, his cheek, his lips. Desperate to kiss him better, to take the pain away.

‘You won, Mr. Harte,’ Mickey said.

Eva jumped. She had almost forgotten that they weren’t completely safe just yet.

‘I always do.’

‘Let me congratulate you.’ Mickey hissed and took a single step forward.

Julian put his hands over Eva’s and pulled them away from his face. He cupped her hands in his palms and pressed against his lips. Kissing them softly before pressing them back against her chest. He copied Mickey and took a single step forward. Eva watched as they stood face to face. Time seemed to slow to almost standing still. She could barely draw her breath. Something about this small delay set alarm bells ringing. But her body was a concrete statue. She was screaming on the inside, but she wasn’t moving and no sound was coming out.

Mickey extended his hand and Julian glanced back at Eva before he shook it. Eva knew that look. It was a warning. They needed to get out of there now.

Mickey's hand clasped Julian’s and they shook. Mickey jerked his arm back, still with a tight grip. Julian jerked forward.

‘Don’t forget to take your prize,’ Mickey rasped.

Julian’s body bent at the waist as if he was about to hug Mickey. Their shoulders touched and Mickey broke away leaving Julian slightly wobbly on the spot.

Eva raced to him. She slid her arm around his waist and draped his arm over her shoulder. ‘Now. Let’s go now.’

Chapter 39

Eva buckled her belt and pushed her back hard into her seat. She glanced at Julian. He was sitting next to her with his eyes closed. She dropped her head back and waited for takeoff.

Julian had been unusually quiet since they let the club. He’d barely said two words to the armed cops who’d apparently been waiting outside all along. And he was mostly silent the whole escorted ride to the airport. The most he said was to let Eva know that Melissa was safe and an hour ahead of them on a flight with Shelly, Nathan, Anthony, and Mrs. Cartwright. But Eva didn’t mind the silence. Everyone was safe and she had the most important person in her life right beside her. There would be plenty of time to talk. Maybe now, Julian just needed to catch his breath. Hell knows, she did.

Eva drifted in and out of sleep. There was some mild turbulence and Eva woke with a jolt each time they hit a rough patch. Julian never seemed to stir. She turned her body toward him and draped her hand across his chest, content to feel his body rise and fall with each breath.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

‘Hmm,’ he mumbled, opening his deep chestnut eyes and turning to look into hers.

‘For saving me. For saving my sister. I’m sorry I got so angry with you when I found out about my father. It just messed with my head a little bit.’

‘That’s understandable. I didn’t judge you for it.’

‘Have you ever judged me?’

‘No.’

Eva smiled. ‘Not even when I almost got us both killed.’

‘You thought you were saving your sister. It was admirable. I told you, you are stronger than you think.’

‘But how did you do it? I don’t get it?’

‘Life is a game. And who wins and who loses is always decided by who the better player is. I just had to be a better player than Da Luca.’

‘But the car? Why did you get it to drive away? Weren’t you afraid?’

‘Remind me to introduce you to our newest Ignite Technologies employee. The kid is a computer whizz. But like most, he thinks with his cock. Hacking Da Luca’s system was a piss of piss for this kid, and all it took was a blow job and some titty sucks from some helpful employees.’

‘So you really were recording everything?’

‘Everything. Including Anthony dressed as me fucking your sister in the back of my limo.’

‘My sister?’

Julian ran his fingers down Eva’s face. ‘Shelly in a wig. Melissa was long safe at that point, don’t worry. But no one ever needs to know that. With the footage complete with some very interesting testimonies from Melissa and me.’

‘So, you wanted Da Luca to know you were coming? But why? That was so dangerous.’

‘Yes. It was dangerous. But he didn’t put his filthy cock near you, and I had no other way of making sure of that.’

‘But you couldn’t have known what would happen inside.’

‘Mickey Da Luca is a smart man. He plays games.’ Julian sighed. ‘That was all I needed to know.’

Eva pulled a face and an old cliché sprung to mind. She could literally see the person throwing the stone in a glass house. But Julian continued before she had time to say anything.

‘I don’t play games, Evangeline. I create them. Rule number one; don’t lose.’

‘And what about my father, Julian. Was that a game to you, too?’

Julian closed his eyes. He looked slighter than usual. Still so beautiful, but not made of steel.

‘Shit, sorry. That didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean it to sound all aggressive and stuff. I guess I’m just confused about how to feel. This has all just gone so crazy so quickly. Maybe it would be easier to think it’s all just part of some big stupid game. The game of life or something. And I could just pretend I got dealt a shitty hand.’

Julian shrugged. ‘If it helps to think of it like that.’

‘Is that what you do?’

‘I don’t play pretend.’

‘Do you think my dad played games?’

‘I think everyone plays games. Some people make it more complicated than others. Some won’t admit it, or don’t know that they’re playing, but we all are on some level.’

‘Do you think he was playing right to the end? You know some sort of way of taking his mind off everything. Off the past.

Julian shook his head. He winced and steadied himself in his seat. Eva knew he was still in pain. She’d already offered him the two ibuprofen tablets she had in her bag, but he’d smiled and refused. She’d suggested he go for a quick once-over at the hospital when they landed. It wouldn’t surprise her if he didn’t at least have a couple of broken ribs. He might even need to stay for observation.

‘The game was over for him, Evangeline. It was time for absolution.’

‘Absolution for all the games he’d played all his life.’

‘Exactly. They’re flying his body back next week. You can say a proper goodbye if you want to.’

‘Flying him to Ireland?’

‘Yes. He loved this place.’

‘Maybe I do have something in common with him after all,’ Eva said.

‘You have a lot in common with him. You have strength and determination…and you have me.’

‘I have you?’ Eva echoed.

Julian leaned over and placed a soft kiss on the top of Eva’s head. ‘You’ve always had me. You just didn’t believe it.’

Chapter 40

Eva unbuckled her belt and stood up. She expected Julian to stand, too. She wanted him to. She wanted him to pull her into his arms and hold her. But she’d happily settled for his delicious eyes peering into her soul. She slowly began to unbutton Julian’s white and blue stripe shirt that she wore. It smelled of him, and she tried to ignore the blood stain on the collar and back. He’d taken it off and given it to her in the back of the police car. He’d known the Da Luca shaped lingerie was eating her alive, and cosy as the blankets the police had given her were, she’d never have taken the lingerie off if she didn’t have something to cover up with.

‘Miss Andrews. I seem to have misplaced my invitation,’ Julian said, flicking his eyebrows and running his tongue across his bottom lip.

Eva bent at the waist and softly pressed her lips against Julian’s, careful not to hurt him. ‘This is a personal invitation, Mr. Harte. Are you ready to join The Mile High Club?’

Julian’s grabbed Eva’s hips and pulled her closer to him. He pushed her open shirt out of the way and buried his face against her belly. She ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying his gritty, stubbly face against her skin. She could stay like this forever. Safe. Wanted.
Loved
.

‘Give me your tits,’ Julian said breaking away to look in her eyes.

Eva glanced back at the cockpit.

‘The pilot is busy flying the plane, Evangeline. He’s not coming back here…now the co-pilot, on the other hand.’

‘Ha! You’ve just cost yourself a pair of tits, Mr. Harte,’ Eva laughed.

Julian looked at her as if to say “really’’ and she laughed again and bent forward, guiding her pebbled nipple against his lips. She exhaled as his warm tongue slid so softly against the underneath of her breast. He didn’t suck or try to ravish her liked she’d expected and wanted. He was calm. Sleepy. And Eva’s whole body tingled from the gentle closeness.

For a moment, Eva cleared her mind of all the bad shit. She tried not to think about running away again. Or the mess that she left behind every time she left America. She just thought about Julian. And she thought about Dublin. And for the first time in her life, she actually felt like she was going home.

She was drawn back to the moment as Julian slid a hand inside her panties and stroked her clit. She could feel herself getting wet in response. She didn’t even want to come. She just wanted him touching her. Two fingers slipped further between her legs and slid inside her, all the way to the knuckle, circling perfectly.

‘Julian. I…I can’t…’ Eva’s protest was contradicted by her excited gasp as he curled his fingers and effortlessly touched her spot.

Eva flicked her head over her shoulder, her eyes once again focused on the cockpit door.

‘Relax, baby. No one will know.’ Julian kept his fingers locked inside her, dragging them forward until her legs had to follow and her knees had nowhere to go except to straddle each side of his chair.

Julian’s delicious smiled told her he approved. ‘This view is just for me.’

He slid a little lower in his seat until his face was level with Eva’s panties. He pushed them to the side and pressed his tongue flat against her clit, lapping away at her softly. He had her tossing her head back and screaming his name within seconds. It was almost embarrassing how quickly she climaxed, she thought, pulling her shirt back across her chest and slipping back into her seat.

‘Well, that was one way to let the captain know,’ Julian smirked.

Eva’s hands covered her face. ‘Oh God, was I really loud.’

‘I’m partially deaf,’ Julian joked tapping his ear. ‘And I insist you scream my name like that every time you come from now on.’

Eva blushed. ‘Okay, but my boyfriends might be a bit put out if I’m screaming your name.’

Julian laughed. He took Eva’s chin between his fingers and turned her head to face his. ‘Evangeline Andrews, you surprise the hell out of me. Don’t ever stop, okay?’

‘Okay,’ Eva said. ‘I promise.’

It was a surprisingly easy promise to make. Julian brought all sorts out of her that she didn’t even know was inside. She was certain there were more surprises just around the corner.

She watched as Julian fell asleep. His hand was stretched across her knees holding hers. Their fingers intertwined. Eva sighed, certain everything would be all right.

‘Welcome home, Mr. Harte,’ she whispered into the air. ‘Mind if I stay a while?’ Eva closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 41

The turbulence was driving Eva crazy. It wasn’t bad enough to jolt her awake fully, but it was too rough to sleep through soundly. She wasn’t sure if it was being on the edge of sleep and awake or pure intuition that told her something wasn’t right. Her eyes sprung open and she shot upright. Her first instinct was to look around and make sure everything was okay with the plane. Content they weren’t plummeting to their deaths, Eva sat back down, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.

She took Julian’s hand in hers again. His arm felt heavy, like sleep weighed him down. Beads of perspiration dotted across his forehead like a gentle summer mist. His usual sallow skin had been replaced with a slightly greyer version and he looked thinner now, like somehow his body was shrinking as he slept if that was even possible. Eva touched his face with the back of her hand. He was burning up.

The plane wasn’t too hot. If anything, the air conditioning was set a little too low. Eva opened Julian’s suit jacket and revealed his bare chest. His pecs were drenched and his chest was heaving. Eva put her hand on his heart. It was racing so fast it felt like it might explode.

‘Julian,’ she called, shaking her hand against him to rock him gently away.

He didn’t move.

‘Julian, please, can you hear me? Wake up.’ She tried to hide her worry, but it was creeping into her voice nonetheless.

‘C’mon now. You’re freaking me out. What’s wrong?’

She pulled his upper body forward, and his eyes finally rolled open.

‘Hey you,’ she said gently. ‘We need to get this off. You have a fever.’

‘I…I’m okay,’ Julian mumbled.

‘You’re not.’ Eva shook her head. ‘Let me help you, okay.’

She slipped his jacket off his shoulders and lifted each lifeless arm out. She leaned him forward a fraction more to pull his jacket out from behind his back…and she screamed.

It wasn’t the right thing to do and it certainly wasn’t helpful but it was all her mind could think to do.

‘It’s okay. It’s not deep,’ Julian murmured. The last remaining hint of colour drained from his face as he spoke.

Eva forced herself to look at the wound, begging her stomach not to be sick. It was deep. Very fucking deep, so deep that the blood inside looked like a dark purple-black instead of red. It only seemed to change to bright red as it trickled down his spine. The back of his jacket was completely saturated and his seat looked like some sort of Halloween-style candy cane as bright blood was smeared all over the back of the ivory leather seat.

Eva eased Julian back against the seat, so afraid to touch the leather against his wound. ‘Stay awake, okay.’

Julian’s eyes rolled. Eva slapped his face.

‘Julian, I mean it. You can’t sleep now. STAY AWAKE.’

Oh, God. Oh, God
. Eva could barely see through her tears as she burst into the cockpit. ‘How much longer?’

The pilot turned around, obviously startled by Eva’s sudden presence, but he hid it well with a polite smile.

‘Only a little over an hour left. The wind is at our back. We’re making great time.’

‘That’s too long. We need to go faster.’

The pilot looked at his co-pilot and Eva didn’t miss the irritation in his stare. ‘We really are travelling at a comfortable pace.’

Eva craned her neck and looked back at Julian. She squinted, but she couldn’t see if he was breathing.

‘An hour is too long. He won’t make it.’

‘Is everything okay?’ the co-pilot asked.

Eva’s whole body shook and her legs almost gave way from underneath her.

‘It’s Julian. He’s badly hurt. He needs a doctor. Please, can’t you go faster?’

The co-pilot raced out the door, pushing Eva aside. She followed him as quickly as her shaking legs could. He checked Julian’s pulse and Eva could see panic rise in him. He didn’t see the wound, but he must have noticed the blood stained seat.

‘We’ve enough fuel to do it in half an hour,’ he said rushing back to the cockpit. ‘Put your seatbelt back on,’ he shouted back.