The Escort (13 page)

The music was
turned down and she heard Mary giggle brightly before she came back
on the phone. She sounded slightly out of breath and Julie
frowned.

“Mary? Where
are you?”

“I’m um, well,
I’m with Mark.”

“Mark?”

“From the bar.
Court’s friend.”

“Really?” Julie
dropped into a kitchen chair and stared blankly at the table. “Did
you go to work today?”

Mary laughed.
“Yes. Mark came by after work and we’re having dinner.”

“Did you spend
the weekend with him?”

“I might
have.”

“Wow.” Julie
was silent for a moment.

Mary cleared
her throat and when she spoke, her voice was hushed. “I kinda like
him, Jules. He’s funny and good looking, and he’s got a steady job.
When was the last time I met someone who had a goddamn job?”

“Good for you,
Mary.” Julie could feel her stomach turning. Things always worked
out for Mary and she tried not to let her bitterness show. She
really was happy for Mary but it only reminded her of her own
loss.

“Jules? Is
there something wrong?”

“No. I just
wanted to hear your voice.” She sighed.

“How did it go
with Court?” Mary asked quietly.

“Fine. He uh,
he spent the weekend with me. He gave me his cell phone but I don’t
think I’m going to call him again. What’s the point, you know? We
can’t have a relationship.”

“Oh, Jules.”
Mary sighed into the phone. “I’ll be right over.”

“No! Don’t,
Mary. I’m fine, honestly. Enjoy your dinner with Mark and you can
come over tomorrow night and we’ll talk, okay?”

Mary hesitated.
“Jules, listen to me. There’s something strange about Court.”

“What do you
mean?”

“Well, Mark’s
his best friend and he hasn’t said a word to me about Court being
a, you know, escort. I mean, he talks about working with him in
construction but that’s it. Did you know that Court owns his own
construction company?”

“I – well, I
knew he worked in construction.” Julie stuttered. “I didn’t know he
owned his own company.”

“Well, he does.
Why would a man who owns his own company be working as an escort?
And from what I can tell he’s never spoken a word to Mark about
it.”

“Why would he?
I doubt he wants many people to know.” Julie replied. She stood up
and moved into the living room, staring sightlessly out the large
bay window.

“Yeah, I guess.
Still, something doesn’t seem right. Promise me you won’t call him
or see him until we find out more about him, okay?”

Lights flashed
in her driveway and she squinted at the strange car that had pulled
in. Her heart skipped a beat when Court unfolded his long legs from
the car and walked quickly towards her front door.

“Julie? Do you
hear me?”

“Yeah. I need
to go, Mary. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She hung up before Mary could
reply and hurried to the front door. She pulled it open before
Court could knock, unable to stop the smile from crossing her
face.

“Hi!”

“Hi, Julie.”
Court gave her a nervous smile. “Can I come in?”

“Of course.”
She glanced at the car. “Where’s your truck?”

“Oh, uh, it’s
at the garage. This is a rental.” He stood nervously in the hallway
and she gave him a tentative smile.

“Are you
alright?”

“Yes. Well, not
really. Can we talk?”

“Sure. Come in
the kitchen.”

He followed her
down the hallway and sat down at the table.

“Would you like
some tea? Or a beer? I think there might be one or two in the back
of the fridge.”

He shook his
head. “No, thanks.”

She sat down
and studied him carefully. There was something off about him, a
jittery nervousness that he couldn’t hide, and she gave him a
curious look.

“What’s wrong,
Court?”

“I – “ he
hesitated and then plunged forward, “I’m in trouble, Julie. I owe
some money to some pretty bad people and if I don’t pay them by the
end of this week....”

He trailed off
and raked his hand through his hair. “I hate to ask you this but I
wondered if I could borrow the cash from you. I’ll pay you back, I
swear.”

She stared
quietly at him for a moment. “Is this why you work as an escort
when you own your own company?”

“What?” He
stared blankly at her before nodding. “Yeah, that’s the
reason.”

He gave her a
pleading look. “What do you say, Julie? Could you help me out? I’m
desperate here.”

She nodded. “Of
course I will. How much do you need?”

He took a deep
breath. “Fifty thousand.”

“I can get you
the money by tomorrow. Does that work for you?”

“Yeah, it does.
Thanks, Julie. I swear to God I’ll pay you back.”

“I know.” She
smiled at him and he reached out and took her hand, squeezing it
lightly.

“You’re the
best, Julie. I can’t tell you how much I – “

He stopped.
Julie’s face had paled and she was staring at his hands.

“What’s
wrong?”

“Your hands.”
She whispered.

He blinked and
stared at his hands. They looked normal to him but she yanked her
hands away and stood up when he tried to take her hand again.

“Julie? Honey,
everything’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with my hands.”

She barked
harsh laughter. “I don’t know who you are but I want you to get the
hell out of my house. Do you hear me?”

She backed out
of the kitchen as he stood and followed her down the hallway.
“Julie, just relax. It’s me, Court.”

“No, you’re
not.” There was a heavy statue on a side table in the hallway and
she picked it up, holding it like a weapon as she reached for the
door handle. “I want you to leave. Now.”

She opened the
door and shrieked with surprise when she heard Court’s deep
voice.

“Jules? What’s
going on?”

She turned, her
face paling as the statue fell from her hand and landed with a thud
on the floor. She stared wide-eyed at him before turning to look
behind her. Court followed her gaze. Cal gave him a nervous
look.

“Hey
Court.”

“What the
fuck?” Julie whispered. She pressed up against the wall and stared
at the two of them.

“What the hell
are you doing here, Cal?” Court ground out.

“Court, listen
to me. I’m in trouble, okay? That investment thing, it wasn’t what
I said it was. I gave a bunch of money to this guy who – who said
he had a sure deal. I was going to make back my money and then
some. Only, the deal went wrong and he lost it all. I borrowed the
money from Jimmy Golden and he wants it back.”

“Jimmy Golden?
You borrowed the money from a goddamn crime lord?” Court’s voice
was rising and Julie cringed back against the wall.

“He’s not a
crime lord. He’s just a businessman.” Cal said defensively.

“A businessman
who breaks his client’s legs when they don’t pay up! Jesus, Cal!
What were you thinking?” Court shouted.

Julie made a
soft, whispering moan and closed her eyes. Court touched her arm
gently and she flinched and pulled away from him. “Don’t touch
me.”

“I’m sorry,
darlin’. I can explain everything.” He said pleadingly.

“Can you?” The
look of betrayal in her eyes made his stomach turn.

“I can. I
promise you. This is Cal, my twin brother.”

“Yeah, I
figured that part out.” She whispered.

“Cal needed my
help. He’s the escort but he couldn’t make your initial appointment
so I pretended to be him. Only, I really liked you, Jules and so
when you called again, I made Cal let me take his place.”

“You lied to
me.” She whispered.

“I was going to
tell you the truth. I swear it. That’s why I’m here.”

“I paid you to
have sex with me and you’re not – not even an escort?” She
swallowed thickly.

“I never took
the money.” He said softly. “It went to Cal.”

She studied Cal
for a moment before turning back to Court. “Why? Why would you do
this? I trusted you, Court. Did you and your brother have some –
some sort of plan to con the lonely, rich spinster out of her
money?”

“What? No! I
swear, Julie! I had no idea that Cal was in trouble. I’m so sorry,
Jules. I just, I didn’t know how to tell you, and you were so sweet
and you made me want you so badly that I – “

“So this is my
fault?” She glared at him. “Is that what you’re saying?”

He shook his
head. “No! Darlin’, just give me a minute with my brother and then
we’ll talk. I’ll make you understand why I – “

“No. Get out,
Court. Both of you get out, right now.”

“Jules, please.
Let me explain.”

She shook her
head again. “I want you to leave. Take your brother and go, or I
swear I’ll call the police.”

Cal stepped
forward. “Julie, you can’t tell the agency about this. If they find
out that I let Court take my place, they’ll fire me and I need the
money. I can’t – “

“Shut up, Cal!”
Court roared.

Julie cringed
again and Court reached out to touch her. “Don’t be afraid, Jules.
I won’t hurt you. Please, just let me – “

“Get out!” She
suddenly shrieked at him. “Get out of my house right now!” She
pounded on his chest as tears poured down her cheeks. “Do you hear
me? Get out!”

Cal was
suddenly standing beside him and he took Court’s arm and yanked him
out of the house.

“Let go of me,
Cal!”

“Court, it’s
over. Walk away, man!” Cal shouted as Julie slammed the door in
their faces.

Court, his body
shaking with anger, punched Cal in the face. Cal fell to the ground
and touched his face, staring with shock at the blood that was
dripping out of his nose.

“You hit
me.”

“I’ll never
forgive you for this! Do you hear me, Cal? Stay away from me, you
goddamn bastard!” Court shouted before turning and stalking over to
his truck. He climbed in and tore out of the driveway, tires
squealing, as Cal slowly staggered to his feet.

He stood in
front of the door for a moment before leaning closer to it.
“Julie?”

Julie bit her
lip and rested her head against the door as Cal’s voice came
through the door.

“I’m sorry,
Julie. For what it’s worth – Court doesn’t care about your money.
He didn’t want to take my place that first night. I begged him to
because I would have lost my job if he didn’t and well, I need the
money.”

He laughed
bitterly. “Court’s a good guy, Julie. He’s a better man than I’ll
ever be and I swear to you that he never meant to hurt you. He – he
cares about you. I’ve never seen him act this way over a woman
before.”

She stuffed her
hand into her mouth to stifle the sobs as tears zig-zagged their
way down her cheeks.

“He’s worth
forgiving. He really is.” Cal said loudly. She heard him walk away
and the faint sound of his car starting. She sank to the floor and
buried her face in her hands as she sobbed bitterly.

Chapter 11

Julie opened
the door and stared at the dark-haired woman standing on her
doorstep.

“Can I help
you?”

“Julie?”

“Yes.” Julie
gave her a wary look as the woman smiled and held out her hand.

“My name is
Melanie. Melanie Thomas?”

Julie looked at
her blankly as she shook her hand and the woman gave her an
uncomfortable look. “I’m Court and Cal’s sister.”

Julie dropped
her hand and took a step back. “What do you want?”

“I wondered if
we could speak for a moment about Court?”

Julie shook her
head. “Do you always fight your brother’s battles?”

The woman
flushed. “Court doesn’t know I’m here. And would seriously kill me
if he did.”

Julie started
to close the door. “I’m sorry. I’m not interested in speaking with
you. Please go away.”

“I know you
gave Cal money.” Melanie said hurriedly.

“I don’t know
what you’re talking about.” Julie replied.

Melanie sighed
softly. “Please, Julie, can I come in just for a minute?”

Julie hesitated
and then stepped back. “Hell, why not. Let’s find out if you’re as
messed up as your brothers.”

* * *

Melanie sipped
at the steaming cup of tea before smiling at Julie. “Thanks. This
is really good.”

“You’re
welcome.”

Julie crossed
her legs and held her own cup of tea as Melanie stared thoughtfully
at her. “I can see why my brother likes you. You’re very pretty and
sweet.”

“You don’t even
know me.”

Melanie nodded.
“That’s true. Although, now that Court refuses to talk to Cal, I’ve
been spending a great deal of time with Cal. He’s not much for
keeping secrets. He told me everything that happened.”

Julie flushed
and stared into her cup of tea. “Oh great. This just gets better
and better. Does your entire family know about me now? The thirty
year old virgin who had to pay a man to deflower her.”

“No. Cal only
told me.” Melanie replied.

Julie took a
sip of tea and stared silently at her.

“Why did you
give Cal the money?” Melanie asked quietly.

“I didn’t.”

“You did. I
know you did.” Melanie replied. “There is no one Cal knows who
could afford to courier him a cashier’s cheque for fifty
grand.”

Julie didn’t
reply and Melanie took another sip of her tea. “Cal wanted to come
here and tell you thank you. I wouldn’t let him because I didn’t
think it was a great idea, but you should know that he’s beyond
grateful to you. You saved his life, you know.”

“I didn’t do it
for him.” Julie said suddenly.

“I figured.”
Melanie smiled gently at her. “Cal doesn’t exactly have a way with
the ladies. He’s charming enough and he knows all the right things
to say but he was never great at relationships. It’s why he’s so
good at being an escort.”