shoe to drop. Done waiting for police to take action when it came to Julie’s safety. He wanted her out of sight, out of the public eye. No more television, no more newscasts, no more reporters or paparazzi. Right then and there, he made a decision.
* * *
Two hours and eighteen stitches later, Julie slowly made her way to her mother’s hospital room on crutches. The deserted hallway gave her much-needed privacy, and blue hospital scrubs replaced her torn and bloody clothes. “You’ve got to be kidding me?” she said, glancing at Troy as she hit the elevator button with too much force. Any trauma from watching her car explode in front of her disappeared as she stared at Troy. The guy had lost his mind. “You want me to do what?”
The young officer assigned to protect her tried to appear as if he wasn’t listening to every word they said.
Troy’s dark gaze didn’t waver. “I want you to pack a bag, get in my car and let me take you away from here. Not forever, but for a while. Let the investigators do their job and find this guy.” He shook his head. “Maybe they didn’t have a case with the first two shootings, but they do now. Someone’s out for you and unless you make yourself scarce, someone might actually get you.”
Julie had her mouth open to protest and clamped it shut. She glanced at the officer, who said nothing. Troy presented a hell of an argument. But still... “What about my mom? I can’t just leave her here.” The elevator dinged, the doors opened and she hobbled in.
Troy waited for the officer to join them and pressed the button for the third floor. “You told me your aunt is on her way. It’s not like you’re leaving her alone. She has a sister. Besides, the hospital is only keeping her one night for observation. She’ll have a headache from the concussion, but she’s going to be fine.”
“I don’t know. I don’t like it and I don’t want to leave her.”
“I get it. But how about we ask your mom what she thinks and go from there?”
He was trying to play the democracy card, but Julie saw through it. “If you tell my mom the same thing you just told me, you know damn well she’s going to side with you.” She hated when people ganged up on her.
Troy shrugged a shoulder. “Then so be it.”
“So be it, my ass,” Julie muttered as the elevator doors opened and she hopped her way out. She found her mother’s room around the corner and a few doors down the hallway. Another LAPD officer was out front. Looked as if the police were now taking the threat against her more seriously. Hell, so was she.
Aside from being a little pale, Elena looked better than Julie expected. Her cuts and scrapes had been cleaned up, and a thick gauze bandage wrapped around her forehead.
“Hey, Mom,” Julie said, reaching her bedside. She noticed the officer stayed in the hall with his colleague.
“You should be home with your leg up,” her mother scolded. “I’ll be fine. I heard a rumor that they won’t let me sleep much tonight, but that’s the worst of it. I’ll be going home in the morning. But you...you need to get off your feet so your leg doesn’t swell.” Her gaze moved past Julie’s shoulder, then slowly back to Julie. The question in her eyes flashed like a beacon from a lighthouse.
Julie shook her head and glanced at Troy. “Flat on her back and she’s still bossing me around.”
“That’s what mothers do best, honey. Now, don’t be rude. Introduce me to this nice young man.”
Julie rolled her eyes. Her mother knew exactly who he was. Julie had described him to her in detail. “Mom, this is Troy Mills. Troy, meet my mother, Elena Fraser.”
“Very nice to meet you, Troy. I think I owe you a mountain of gratitude for saving my daughter on more than one occasion. Thank you.” Elena smiled and it made Julie feel a hundred times better. “Now, Troy, will you please take Julie home so she can rest.”
“Actually, ma’am, I wanted to get your opinion on another idea.”
Elena’s eyes widened a fraction. “What idea is that?”
“He wants to take me away. Like out of town,” Julie burst out. “Isn’t that the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard? Especially while you’re in the hospital.”
Narrowing her calculating blue eyes, Elena clearly was mulling over the idea and