Need Me (15 page)

Hugh laughed even as blood dripped from his busted lip. “Did you see the way she looked at you?” He shook his head. “Guess you won’t be tapping that for a while.”

Devlin could see himself grabbing the guy again and slamming Hugh’s smirking face into the bar top.

Keep your fucking control.
Because, yes, he had seen the horror in Julianna’s eyes. She’d looked at him…
and had she seen Jeremy?

“Jealousy.” Hugh grinned. “Gets you every damn time.”

The bastard had deliberately taunted him. Devlin could see that now. He could also see that Hugh wasn’t just some brain dead muscle doing dirty work for Heather.
This guy is sly. He’s playing me.
Had he played Heather, too?

“I ain’t got anything to say to you,” Hugh pointed to the door—a door that Lex was currently entering. “So you and your buddy can get your asses out of here. Before I get my buddy the bartender—” He paused and looked around, seeming to realize that the bartender was nowhere to be seen. “Before I get him to call the cops on you.”

“Do it,” Devlin invited.

Hugh swallowed. “Get the fuck out. Julianna Smith is a killer and if you’re with her—you’re obviously fucked in the head.”

Don’t pound his face in again. Don’t.
“Is that what Heather told you? That Julianna killed her step-father?”

“That’s what every newspaper in the city says, man.” He was still smirking.

Lex was only a few feet away now. Where was Julianna?

“I would have thought…” Lex drawled as he closed in. “That Heather would have been a bit glad her step-father was dead.”

“Why?” Hugh demanded. “She loved that pompous asshole. She—”

“How did he control her?” Lex asked.

Devlin slanted him a fast glance.

“That was his thing, right? I mean, Julianna couldn’t have been the first. And if Heather really was close to him…”

Hugh glanced away from them. “You ain’t cops and I ain’t talking anymore.”

“Did he hurt her?” Devlin asked, wondering what the hell was happening there. Had Jeremy abused his step-daughter, too? Had he—

“Why would he hurt her? They were just the fuck alike. After what he did for her, she’d bleed for him.” Then Hugh blinked, realizing that he’d probably said too much. “Get out. Get out
now!
”

Lex and Devlin surrounded him. “Not until you tell us…just what did dear old dad
do
for Heather?”

***

She saw him walking toward her on the sidewalk. Julianna’s shoulders tensed and she glanced toward Fast Shots. John Reynolds was closing in on her, moving with a way too determined stride, and fleeing back inside the bar seemed like a good option.

Instead, she exhaled slowly and she held her ground.

“I figured,” John said as he stopped beside her, “that if Hugh was here, you’d be close by.”

She lifted a brow. “And why is that?”

“Because the guys from VJS probably think he attacked you.” He glanced toward the door. “Are they in there, trying to
convince
him to talk?”

“What do you want?”

His gaze slid back to her. “I did a jailhouse interview with Heather Aslo.”

“Wonderful for you.” More cars buzzed past.

“I also talked with your sister, Carly Shay.”

She didn’t speak.

“Aren’t you going to say that’s wonderful for me, too?” He prompted, inclining his head toward her.

“Stay away from my family. Carly has
nothing
to do with the case against me.” If Carly had told the reporter about the past, they were both screwed.

“She was very protective of you. A lovely woman, your sister,” he added, musing a bit. “Beautiful, but fragile. I did a little research on her. Is it true she spent some time in a psych ward as a teen?”

She lunged toward him.

He put his hands up and quickly backed away. “Careful, your temper is coming out. Heather told me that you had a temper. She said that temper is why you and Jeremy fought so much. Fought so long and hard that her beloved step-dad had to restrain you.
That’s
how you broke your wrist that time. You were swinging at him and he had to stop you. You seem to be a very violent woman.” He paused. “At least, according to Heather.”

“Heather tried to kill me. If you’re looking for violence, look there.” She had to get away from him. Talking to that reporter would do nothing but bring her trouble. She reached for the door to Fast Shots.

“I think she’s lying,” John called after her. “I think every word Heather told me was a straight-up lie.”

She hesitated.

“Come with me, and I’ll tell you why.”

***

“Heather said her mom was a bitch,” Hugh muttered. He’d grabbed a napkin and put it to his mouth. The white cloth turned bloody. “Always in her way, always getting all the attention, getting everything that Heather wanted.”

Devlin and Lex shared a grim look.

“Then one day…” Hugh snapped his fingers. “Just like that, she wasn’t in the way any longer.”

“She died in a skiing accident,” Lex recalled. “I pulled up the reports and—”

Hugh laughed. “Did she? Interesting, and here I thought the woman
never
skied.”

Hell. “Jeremy killed her?” Devlin asked.

“I don’t think the man liked to let go of the things he owned.”

People aren’t things.

“If you check, you’ll see the first Mrs. Smith was consulting divorce attorneys right before that, um, accident.”

“Sonofabitch,” Lex rasped.

“Yeah,” Hugh said, “he was.”

Devlin braced his legs as he studied Hugh. “Where do you fit into all of this?” Because he was sure he was staring at the man who’d put a bomb in Julianna’s car. Did that make Devlin killing mad? Hell, yes, it did.

“I’m innocent.” Hugh shrugged. “Just a dumbass who fell for the wrong woman.” His lashes flickered a bit. “How was I supposed to know she was crazy?”

“So you aren’t jumping to Heather’s defense?”

“Heather…” He tossed his bloody napkin onto the bar. “She isn’t my problem anymore.”

You’re my problem, buddy.

Hugh tried to walk around him, but Devlin just blocked his path.

Hugh sighed. “Shouldn’t you be chasing after that pretty blonde? You know, making sure nothing bad happens to her.”

Devlin stiffened. “Did you just fucking threaten her?”

“I’m not the one you need to worry about. When her car went boom…” He made a little exploding motion with his fingers and his smirk returned. “I wasn’t even in D.C. The police checked out my alibi. I was hanging with some army buddies, having some drinks and just enjoying life.”

Did the guy think he was a fool? “You could have made the bomb before you left, then just given Heather instructions on how to place it in the car.”

“I could have.” He shrugged. “But I didn’t.”

Hugh stepped to the right.

So did Devlin.

“Seriously, get the hell out of my way,” Hugh growled.

Devlin didn’t move. “Were you at Julianna’s house last night?”

“No.”

“Did you
hurt
her?”

Hugh leaned in close. “I haven’t touched your girl.” He seemed to grit the words from between clenched teeth. “Now this is damn harassment. Leave me the hell alone.” His shoulder slammed into Devlin’s, but Devlin didn’t hold the guy back this time. His arm slid down Hugh’s side and he let the bastard walk right past him.

Lex whistled when the door closed behind Hugh. “That was a waste of time.”

Devlin opened his hand. Hugh’s phone was in his palm. “I wouldn’t say that.” Julianna wasn’t the only one who knew a bit about picking pockets. He had a few skills in that area, too.

***

“Well, well…” Hugh drawled as he exited Fast Shots. “Isn’t this cozy?”

Julianna looked away from John—and over at a still bleeding Hugh. He smiled at her. “You just find new friends every place, don’t you?”

John stepped in front of her. “He’s dangerous, Julianna. Don’t get near him.”

Hugh laughed. “That’s right. I’m big, bad and far too fucking dangerous to know.”

“I got access to your military records,” John fired at him. “I know about the so-called
friendly
fire incident. About the explosion
you
set that took out three of your team-mates.”

Hugh’s laughter died. “You don’t know shit.”

“I know you’re a man with some serious anger issues. You were pushed out of the army because they thought you were too much of loose cannon—a real powder keg that liked to
explode.
”

“Keep talking,” Hugh warned, “and you’ll see me explode.”

Oh, crap. This scene was not going to end well.

But the door to Fast Shoots opened once more and Devlin was there. She would have been lying to herself if Julianna didn’t acknowledge the relief that surged through her.

Devlin’s glittering gaze raked from Hugh to John. Tension hardened his jaw. “What the fuck is this?”

“
This,”
Julianna said clearly, “is me leaving.” She had to get away from that scene. She didn’t know who to trust—John and Hugh? Hell, no. Devlin? Herself?

She turned from them and hurried toward the street. She had to clear her head.

“Julianna!” Devlin called after her.

She didn’t stop. Her steps became even faster. The light up ahead was green for pedestrians, so she hurried out and—

“Julianna!”
That wasn’t just her name—it was a roar of fear and fury. Her head snapped to the right, and she saw a black van barreling toward her. The driver wasn’t slowing at all—just coming straight for her.

She turned and tried to run back toward the safety of the sidewalk. Everything seemed to be moving in super slow speed around her. Everything but that black van. Closer, closer—

Devlin grabbed her left wrist and he yanked her toward him. He pulled her against his body and they fell back, slamming down toward the sidewalk even as the van hurtled past them. She could smell the exhaust from the van, could nearly feel the rough touch of the vehicle as it lurched past her…

But the van didn’t hit her.

They’d made it out of the way.

She pushed up and stared at Devlin. His eyes were open—blazing with emotion—as he said, “Too damn close.”

Yes, it had been.

His hand slipped beneath her hair and he pulled her toward him. “Too close,” he said again and he kissed her. Deep, hard, desperately.

The same way she was kissing him.

“Uh, yeah…” Lex’s voice drifted to them. “I’m glad as all hell that you two are okay, but could you let her go, Dev, long enough for us to get the hell away from the road in case that bastard comes back?”

Julianna lifted her head. Her left hand was still in Devlin’s grasp. “Thank you,” she told him. He’d saved her, again.

Very carefully, he lifted her up. They rose and turned to stare at the crowd that had gathered around them.

“Tell me,” Devlin muttered, “that someone got that joker’s tag number.”

More whispers from the crowd.

“I got it,” John said as he stepped forward.

Her gaze cut to him.

Hugh stood behind the reporter, glowering.

Heather was in jail, Hugh and John were both right there…so who the hell was after her? Who’d just tried to run her down?

Devlin’s hands were around her waist. The hands that had pounded into Hugh were trembling against her.

“I got it,” John said again, his voice rising even more. “We can get the guy! We can stop him! This is front page news. Front freaking page!”

Lex slapped a hand on Devlin’s shoulder. “You just scared the hell out of me.”

“Like I was going to let her get hurt.”

Julianna glared at him. “What if you’d been hurt right then? You have to think of yourself, too—”

“I’m your bodyguard!” Devlin blasted back. “It’s my job to take care of you!”

“You’re more than that!’ Julianna shouted at him, pushed too far. Then she realized just what she’d said. “You’re more than that,” she whispered as the words sank in for them both.

“Okay…” Lex drew out the word. “We’ve got a crowd, and, more importantly, we’ve got a tag number.
I
saw it, too. So let’s call the cops and end this thing.”

Julianna couldn’t look away from Devlin, but she nodded. Yes, yes, they’d end this.
Now.

***

Ethan Barclay.

The man was a constant pain in Devlin’s ass.

“Did you hear me, Devlin?” Faith demanded. “I told you, that tag belongs to Ethan Barclay. Or, actually, it belongs to his business. So the person who tried to run down your client…that would be the man who pops up way too much at my police precinct.”

Ethan wouldn’t hurt Julianna.
Just like he wouldn’t hurt Sophie.

“What’s the connection between them?” Faith wanted to know. “I mean, how the hell does he fit into this one?”

Oh, it’s just a little matter of murder and cover-up. Blackmail. The usual.
“I don’t know,” he said instead.

She whistled. “I sure hope you’re not lying to me.”

It wasn’t something he wanted to do.

“I’ve got an APB out for Ethan right now. Seems the guy has gone to ground.” She turned away from him and paced toward her desk. “Not like it’s the first time he’s wanted to dodge the law. Let’s just hope that he doesn’t decide to flee the country or some crap like that.”

Julianna stood a few feet away. There was no emotion on her face, but her eyes were sure dark and stormy. He knew exactly what she was going to say even before he closed in on her and she whispered—

“He
wouldn’t
.
”

He put a finger on her lips. “The cops are handling this, baby. Let’s go back to my place.”

The storm in her eyes got even worse. The woman really needed to get a bit better at picking up on the silent messages he was sending her—because she seemed to be completely missing what he was telling her.

Julianna whirled away and marched for the police station’s door. He was aware of the eyes on them, and he just wanted to get her out—

“You’re wrong about Ethan,” she called back to Faith.

Oh, hell.
Now
Faith would realize there was definitely a connection between Julianna and the too-notorious Ethan. Devlin peered over his shoulder at the detective.