Ties That Bind (22 page)

“It was you, wasn’t it?” he laughed.

“Yes,” Kate admitted. “But I didn’t steal the
car. It was Gavin’s.”

“Oh yeah, I heard you and Nichols are an item
now.” He picked up another glass of sparkling wine and offered one
to her.

“We’re engaged, actually,” she accepted the
flute, her ring sparkling prettily in the candlelight as if on
cue.

“Then congratulations,” his warm smile backed
his words.

“You’re engaged?” Justin’s voice was thick
with an emotion Kate couldn’t quite place. Was that hurt?
Disappointment? Anger? She’d been so caught up in her conversation
with Terry, she’d completely missed Justin’s approach.

“Yes, we’re engaged,” Gavin materialized
behind her to lay a protective hand on her shoulder. He glowered at
Justin for a minute before turning his attention to the other
reporter, who seemed to be trying to interpret the scene unfolding
before him.

“Gavin,” the reporter nodded slightly.
“Congratulations, my man.”

“Thanks Terry.” Gavin returned the nod with a
friendly smile. “Are you enjoying yourself tonight?”

“It’s great. I love this place,” he returned
Gavin’s smile and the two were soon chatting easily about what a
grand party Kate had thrown and the future of the magazine. Kate
slid closer to Gavin without even thinking about it, the weight of
Justin’s glare made her skin crawl. There was an awkward moment
where everyone knew Justin had been dismissed from the group,
issued the unspoken decree to leave, but he seemed disinclined to
listen. Kate didn’t know where to look or what to say that would
make the situation any less uncomfortable. Suddenly Liz and Derrick
had joined their little group, their bodies creating a barrier
between Kate and Justin’s stare. But she could still feel it.

With military precision, Jessica and Ryan
were there as well. It was obvious to Kate that they’d
intentionally created a wall around her. Terry seemed more
comfortable now that the cause of the tension was out of sight and
Kate was glad for that. She didn’t want her stalker becoming the
talk of the evening. She realized with a start that was exactly
what Justin had become. His reaction tonight solidified his
transition in her mind from nuisance to scary.

Jessica stifled a yawn, which earned the
worried gaze of her friends.

“You should go home,” Kate frowned.

“I’m not missing this,” Jessica shook her
head.

“At least get off your feet for a while,” Liz
argued.

“Come on, I could use a break,” Ryan tucked
her arm into his and with a wave to the rest, guided her to a
secluded little table. Once he’d seated his protesting wife, he
scurried off to get her a bottle of water and a plate of
strawberries.

“I’m not ready for her to be having a baby,”
Liz confided in Kate once the men had moved off to answer Jack’s
beckon.

“It is strange, isn’t it?” Kate mused. “The
dynamics in our little group certainly are changing.”

“Have you guys set a date yet?”

“No. We’re kind of thinking something like
February because we’re both impatient. But I want to get married at
Blue Valley and his mother won’t be able to travel that soon. So
that leaves us with getting married in London or pushing the
wedding back.”

“You do realize most engagements are a lot
longer than five months, right?” Liz reminded her pointedly. “And
that if you pushed it back, you could at least tell people that you
knew him for a year before you got married.”

“True,” Kate acknowledged with a little grin.
Had Gavin changed her that thoroughly? A year ago, such impulsivity
would never have occurred to her. A memory of the wild youth she
had been crossed her mind and she realized that Gavin hadn’t
changed her—he’d just helped her unlock the passionate spirit Kate
had tucked away years ago. She met Liz’s eyes and her grin
broadened. “But I’ve never been so sure of anything and I don’t
want to miss a minute with him.”

“Don’t forget to enjoy the engagement, too,”
Liz cautioned. “Don’t be so focused on the next phase you miss this
one.”

“Point taken,” Kate nodded, a mischievous
smile playing on her lips. “Speaking of enjoying your engagement,
how’s the guest list war going? Do you know who’ll be at your
wedding next weekend?”

“That’s not nice,” Liz made a face at Kate.
“That’s just not nice at all. I think jail hardened you.”

“Ouch,” Kate laughed out loud at that. “If
you’re going to get vicious, I’m going to go see how things are
going downstairs.”

“I’m going to grab another glass of
champagne. See you in a minute?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

Kate made her way downstairs, the pulse of
the band growing with each step. The party was going strong; the
dance floor was full and the band was obviously a good choice. She
made her way over to the bar to see if they needed anything and to
order an amaretto sour. She went with a classic, her mind too full
to try to sort through any of the trendier options.

“Seeing you with him makes me wish I were
blind,” Justin was suddenly behind her, causing Kate to jump.

“Don’t you think that’s a little drastic?”
Kate turned and scowled. “Considering I’m really nothing to
you?”

“Don’t say that,” he tried to clasp her hand
but she yanked it away. “You don’t know how much you mean to
me.”

“You’re a business acquaintance,” she
reminded him. “And that’s all you’ve ever been.”

“Why are you saying these things?” His hand
reached out to touch her cheek. Warnings were sounding in Kate’s
brain and she started inching her way towards the stairs. She no
longer cared about damaging her relationship with the Chronicle;
she just wanted to feel safe again.

“Justin, I’m sorry if you misread something,
but I have absolutely no interest in you.” Kate polished off the
drink she’d just ordered and made a break for it. She could almost
feel him following her as she made her way to the stairs, the crowd
forcing her to move along the wall. She didn’t dare look behind her
out of the fear she’d see him right on her heels and let out a
scream or something embarrassing. The rational part of her brain
told her he was just misguided, not dangerous. Instinct told her to
run. She tried to balance the two by walking quickly.

“Where do you think you’re going?” His hand
grabbed hers and he pulled her back. Kate tried to push him off but
found herself pinned to the wall, her hands caught as his mouth
greedily made its way across her collarbone. Kate struggled against
him in vain. Her legs couldn’t even get the range of motion needed
for a good knee to the groin. If anyone noticed her distress, they
didn’t come to her aid. There was too much noise, the lights were
too low. It probably looked like she was enjoying it, Kate realized
in a moment of stark terror. What could he do to her against this
wall with no one the wiser?

“Let me go,” she ground through her teeth,
venom lacing her voice.

“So you can run back to that little boy?” He
growled at her. Kate narrowed her eyes, wishing looks could, in
fact, kill.

“I will find a way to make you pay for this,”
she promised as he rubbed his body against hers. She tried to fight
but was too thoroughly pinned. With the unmoving wall behind her
she couldn’t build any momentum. It was pure hell to be so
helpless.

“I’ll help.”

Relief washed through every pore of Kate’s
body at the sound of Gavin’s voice. Even through the din, she could
have sworn she heard him growl as he lifted Justin from his feet
and away from her before his fist connected with her assailant’s
face. Gavin seemed ready to kill Justin right there in the Bubble
Lounge, but the fight got the attention of security, and he was
pulled off of him. Justin scrambled to his feet and disappeared as
Gavin strained to free himself so he could finish what he’d
started. Now that her brain was registering the fact that she was
safe, she began trembling. Soon, tremors racked her entire
body.

“It’s okay baby,” Gavin was gathering her in
his arms. “It’s going to be okay now.”

They were following a security guard
somewhere quieter. It looked like the office. Gavin laid her gently
on a couch. The door was closed, blocking some of the noise
outside. Gavin was soothing her hair back, his worried eyes trying
to assess the damage. Kate tried to smile reassuringly but tears
sprang to her eyes instead. She just felt so… dirty. She wanted to
take a long, hot shower to wash away the slime from Justin’s touch.
Her stomach roiled and Kate worried for a second that she was going
to throw up.

“The way he was talking was scaring me,” she
tried to explain to Gavin. “I was trying to get back upstairs to
you. I knew I’d be safe if I could find you.”

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there sooner.” Gavin’s
eyes were filled with anguish. Kate reached up to stroke his
temple, willing away his pain.

“Our security cameras caught the whole thing
if you’re interested in pressing charges against the man,” the
security guard spoke. “The police are on their way.”

“I would like to file charges. And have a
restraining order issued. I don’t want him hurting someone else
because I didn’t speak up.” Kate sat up a little straighter.

“Whatever you want,” Gavin promised her,
pulling her into his arms. She gladly rested against him, the
tremors still rippling through her no matter how much she wished
them away. There was a knock at the door and Jack entered.

“What on earth is going on down here? I heard
there was a fight.”

“Kate was accosted…,” Gavin began only to be
interrupted.

“Are you trying to destroy me? Is that what
you’re after?” Jack demanded.

“That’s not it at all,” Kate sputtered, taken
aback.

“It certainly looks that way!”

“Kate didn’t do anything wrong,” Gavin was on
his feet, ready to take Jack on.

“Not in here, guys,” the security guard
stepped in between them.

“You know what, Jack? Why don’t you go back
to your party, we can hash this out later.” Kate stood.

“There’s nothing to hash out. You’re fired.
I’m done with this game.” He turned on heel and stalked back out
the door.

“He didn’t mean that,” Gavin promised,
gathering her in his embrace. “We’ll talk to him later.”

“No,” Kate shook her head. “I’m done. I’ll
talk to him later, but not to get my job back. He’s done hurting
me.”

“Jessica and Liz won’t take to that too
well,” Gavin pointed out.

“They’ll still be my friends. They’re part of
me now,” Kate told him with more conviction than she felt.

The security guard listened to the voice in
his ear then instructed whoever it was to “Send them on back.” Kate
assumed it was the police.

It hadn’t taken all that long to give her
statement. Gavin gave his—he’d gone looking for Kate when she
hadn’t returned right away and had seen her struggling against
Justin. He’d practically flown down the steps to pull Justin off of
her. The police were given copies of the security feed to back up
the story. They promised Kate they’d keep an eye out for Justin,
but she knew there were much bigger crimes to solve. The only thing
she really hoped to accomplish here was to get word out that he was
scum so other women would know to worry less about manners and run
faster.

After the police had left, they profusely
thanked the security guard and went to find Jessica and Liz,
knowing their friends would need some reassurance—after a stop by
the ladies room so Kate could try to straighten her appearance. All
Kate really wanted to do was go home and get that shower. As soon
as they’d spoken to her friends, they made one last round of
pleasantries and left.

“I’m going to set the food out. You go get
that shower you wanted.” Gavin offered as he hung Ty’s leash
up.

“I’m not hungry,” Kate shook her head.

“I’d feel better if you ate something.
Besides, we’ve already picked the food up. At least try to
eat.”

Kate nodded absently, not really
acknowledging the bags of food he’d insisted on picking up from the
24-hour diner they’d passed on their way to get Ty. Gavin went
about getting plates. Kate locked the door and kicked off her shoes
before padding to the bathroom. Gavin paused to watch her go,
casting a worried glance at the shoes left carelessly by the
door.

All Kate cared about was the hot water
beckoning her. Justin’s touch clung to her skin like a bad smell.
She had to get rid of it. She left her clothes in a crumbled heap
on the floor and stepped into the steamy shower without bothering
to test it. The heat seared her skin but still the unwanted touch
lingered. She poured a healthy amount of mandarin-scented soap on
her loofah and began to scrub her skin. When that didn’t work, she
tried her exfoliating sponge. She was vaguely aware of Gavin
knocking at the door. She heard him tentatively calling her name
but ignored it. His voice, worried now, seemed so far away. He was
on the other side of the wall. On the inside, feelings of
helplessness replayed in her mind like the scene from a bad movie.
The kind she turned off. But she couldn’t turn this off. She
scrubbed harder. The pounding at the door became more incessant.
The door handle moved. Kate closed her eyes. It was locked, she
knew. If he was that hungry, he could just eat without her. She was
going to scrub until Justin’s touch was gone.

There was a crash. Gavin’s voice was closer
now.

“Kate? Kate? What have you done to yourself
baby?” His voice was thick, worried. His arms were around her now.
He was in the shower with her, holding her.

“Why are you in the shower with your clothes
on?” Kate blinked in her stupor, the sponge and soap still clutched
in her hands.

“What are you doing?” he asked again, his
voice gentler now as he reached down to turn off the water. “Your
skin is raw.”