and sighed. “I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe my mom is in the hospital and I’m running out of town like a wimpy chicken.”
“Your aunt is there. She’ll take care of your mom. Besides, she’ll be out of the hospital tomorrow. She’ll be fine.” Troy stood and reached a hand out to Julie. “C’mon. Let’s get to your place so we can bug out of town before anyone realizes it.” When she placed her hand in his, a sense of partnership washed through him. He didn’t take it lightly that she trusted him and it made him want to protect her that much more.
As Troy suspected, news vans were camped out across the street from Julie’s place and filled the road. Yellow crime tape surrounded the burned-out driveway. Fuck it. He parked in front of her house, a clear no-parking zone, since he couldn’t find anything closer. Still on crutches, Julie couldn’t move too quickly and her pace only made it easier for photographers to snap more pictures. Their flashes lit up the night and put spots in his eyes.
“Julie, can you tell us what happened?” someone yelled.
“Who was hurt?” someone else shouted.
“How serious is your injury?” came another question.
At the door, Julie stopped. She fished out her keys and handed one to Troy. “That’s for the front door,” she said. Then she pasted on her famous smile and turned. “I know you all can understand that this has been a really tough day for me. I’ll send out a statement as soon as I can, but right now, I just want to forget about it, put my leg up and crash. I’d really appreciate the peace and quiet. You guys can all come back tomorrow and bug me then. How’s that sound?”
Troy unlocked the door. He admired Julie and her outright lie. America’s Sweetheart was tired of playing by the rules and he didn’t blame her.
Miraculously, the group dispersed. Maybe they saw the strain in her eyes, the unnatural pale complexion of her skin marked by scratches. She’d had a hell of day and she looked it. More likely, they had the pictures that showed her scraped, battered and bruised and were happy to go broadcast those as quickly as possible.
Once inside, she hobbled toward her bedroom. Troy had never wanted to help someone as badly as he did right then.
“What can I do?” he asked, keeping a slow pace behind her. She wasn’t great on the crutches and Troy stayed close in case she toppled over.
“I called Abbey from your place and she’ll get my signed contract to the producers. I guess you can pull out my suitcases from the garage.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Speaking of the garage... Did you arrange to have the opening boarded up?” She must have heard him on the phone at the hospital. He’d made a few calls while she’d been getting stitched up.
“Yeah. I know a guy who owns a plywood business.” He’d actually located the guy’s father, but he couldn’t spill that bit of news. Bodyguards didn’t locate missing people; private investigators did. “Where are the suitcases? I’ll get them,” he said to avoid more questions.
Julie directed him to the suitcases and he came back five minutes later to find her sitting on her bed. The bed they’d thoroughly wrecked last night making love more times than he ever had before in one night.
The whole day had gone by and neither had mentioned one word about it. True, it had been one hell of a crazy day and they hadn’t had a lot of time to talk. She’d been so quiet in the car, he’d been afraid to broach the subject. What the hell would he have said anyway? He doubted she’d want a repeat performance, at least not now with her stitched-up swollen leg to contend with. Maybe not ever. Wasn’t last night a fluke? He’d be stupid to think otherwise.
But one thing made him think otherwise.
“Do I really have to go?” She looked up with those expressive haunted blue eyes. Without saying more than those few words, he got how badly she didn’t want to leave her home, her mother or her friends.
“Why’d you call me?” he asked. His voice sounded oddly husky.
She shook her head and seemed as if she couldn’t answer the question. Finally, she swallowed and looked up at him. “I knew you’d help me. I trusted you to help me,” she clarified.