Chapter 23 Julian
JULIAN
“There she is.” I gripped the back of the seats with one hand and pointed between Dante and Alexander. “She’s standing outside. Why is she standing outside?”
My stomach clenched at the sight of Harper’s pale cheeks and panicked expression. Paparazzi tried to surround her. They swarmed closer and closer to the hospital entrance. Much more and they’d cut her off from a retreat in any direction.
“Pull up in front of her. I’ll take care of it.” I pushed back from the seats and grabbed the door handle.
“Julian.” A warning note in Alexander’s voice brought out a feral snap of my teeth. “Be careful.” He swiveled to face me. “I’ll be right behind you if you need me.”
No time to nod or acknowledge his offer. Dante wheeled up in front of Harper with a screech of tires.
I threw my door wide open. “Get in.” My voice boomed loud enough to draw her attention.
The woman beside her recovered first and all but shoved Harper into the car before falling in behind her.
Cameras snapped and the reporters tried to dive close enough to get a picture of the interior. Our blacked out windows kept them from seeing Alexander and Dante, but I was exposed.
Who cared? I’d been over the bullshit for years. If they wanted a scapegoat, I willingly stretched out my neck for the blow.
Harper slammed into the seat and scooted across. “What are you doing here?”
“Lila texted us from your phone when you didn’t answer. She told us you were here.” I pulled her across the seat until she almost landed in my lap.
The door closed, and the woman—Lila—patted the seat. “Go. Get her out of here before they surround the car.”
“They’ll be speed bumps if they try to cut me off.” Dante revved the engine when two men ran in front of the car. One threw himself across the hood. Dante slammed on the horn and rolled forward.
The man in front of the car dove out of the way. The one trying to climb onto the hood slid off to the side and hit the ground rolling.
“Alex, call that in to the police. Tell them I’ll send dashcam footage for proof of attempted assault. I know that asshat. He’ll try to sue.” Dante cut the wheel with another screech of tires and we bumped across the parking lot and onto the highway.
Alexander dialed and put the phone to his ear.
“Where are you going?” Harper leaned into me, her hands trembling and her body going soft.
I smoothed her hair back from her face. “We’re going to Dante’s penthouse.”
“No. You can’t do that.” Harper sat back with a sharp inhale. “I want to go home.”
“You’ll be safe at Dante’s. He has excellent security.” I tried to soothe her, but she pulled further away.
“It’s not about security. I want to go home. It’s best if we’re not seen together.” She hid her hands in her lap, her gaze skipping past me to the street ahead of us.
“Pretty sure that’s a moot point. They saw me.” I poked my thumb at my chest. “I’m not exactly subtle.”
Harper peered at me, her brows pulled down as she looked me over from head to toe. “They saw a man in jeans covered in tattoos. That is not the same as seeing Julian the businessman.” She swallowed hard and put a hand over her stomach. “Please take me home.”
“Why were you in the hospital?” Dante’s grip tightened on the wheel, but he turned left instead of right toward his penthouse.
Harper sighed. The sound came out almost broken and full of pain. “I forgot to eat and my blood sugar dropped. I passed out and Lila panicked.”
Lila sat with her back against the door, watching all of us with enough curiosity to put me on edge. Understandable. Did she know about us or was all this a complete surprise?
Harper fanned her face with one hand. “I’m sorry you drove all that way for nothing, but I’m glad you showed up when you did. I had no idea what to do.”
“I need to cancel our Uber.” Lila dug her phone from a small bag at her side. A stack of papers rustled, and she shoved them into the depths. “They’re probably waiting for us at the hospital.”
“If the reporters are still there, they’ll be hounding your driver for details. Did you put in your address?” Alexander finished his conversation with the police and swiveled to face Harper and Lila.
Lila shook her head. “I never give the address until I’m in the car.”
Not exactly policy, but it worked in our favor so I appreciated her tact.
“I’m assuming you’re Lila?” I caught her staring at Dante, and a flush crawled up her neck.
“Yes. Sorry. I should have mentioned that.” Harper swayed in her seat.
Dante took another left and drove up a side street. “Should you be out of the hospital? You seem worse than when we picked you up.”
“Car sickness.” She waved off his concern. “I’ll be fine once I stop moving.”
I wanted to believe her, but I’d seen and heard enough lies to be able to spot them a mile away. Harper might not be lying outright, but something about the whole situation poked at me.
Businesses flashed past in the window behind Lila. Harper remained quiet and curled inward as though in pain. She stopped talking and pressed her lips together in a silent signal that she would not answer any more questions.
“Address.” Dante spoke through gritted teeth. “I do not approve of this, but we’ll do as you ask.”
Because we respected her and we never wanted to do anything to hurt her. There were times—like this—when I’d rather say to hell with respect and her wishes and do what I knew was right.
But then we would not be men. We’d be bullies.
Lila rattled off the address and Dante took the next side street.
Alexander and I shared a look full of understanding. He hated the idea of dropping her off as much as I did.
I tried to engage Harper in conversation, but that thin-lipped look remained firm and unyielding.
Dante turned onto an unfamiliar street, and Harper straightened. “Almost there. It’s the blue house on the left.”
Curiosity tempted me to look the house over with a critical eye. “Cute.”
“We like it.” Harper shrugged but the first hint of lightness brightened her eyes. “Thank you for picking us up and bringing us home. I appreciate it.”
“Is that your way of telling us to fuck off?” Dante wheeled into the driveway and put the car in park.
Alexander blew out a sharp breath. “Don’t mind him. He gets cranky when he’s worried.”
“But he’s right.” I joined in after taking note of how Harper’s expression shifted with Dante’s sharpness. “She doesn’t want us to come inside. She doesn’t want to be seen with us.”
“It’s not safe.” Harper fisted her hands in her lap. “You have to understand that. You can’t be seen here. All it would take is one of my neighbors recognizing you or one of those awful reporters to look up my address and you’d be exposed. I don’t have fancy security.”
And just like that, we were dismissed. “Promise us you’re okay.” I leaned into her space.
Lila hadn’t opened her door yet, so Harper remained trapped in the center of the seat. She raised her head and met my gaze. Hers softened, understanding pushing her toward me. “I’m fine. I promise.”
I had no choice but to believe her.
Lila opened the door and climbed out.
Harper went next. She stopped before shutting the door. “Thank you. For everything.”
The moment of hesitation punched me straight in the gut. She closed the door and followed Lila up the short walk to an off white door. Lila unlocked it and stepped aside, nudging Harper in ahead of her.
“There’s nothing else we can do.” Dante twisted his hands around the wheel, causing the leather to creak. “We’ll talk to her later, once she’s recovered.”
No, we wouldn’t. I’d been through enough goodbyes to recognize them too, and that’s exactly what Harper gave us. Maybe she didn’t mean it long-term, but we were done for now.
“Let’s go.” Alexander gripped his door handle in a white-knuckled fist. “She’s right about the paparazzi. They’ll go nuts if they catch us here.”
“We need to put security on this street. It’ll be too easy for them to get her address and come here to harass her. I want it discreet.” Dante backed out of the driveway while checking the mirrors.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and typed out a text. “I’ll take care of it. No one will know they’re around, but my guy will take care of anyone who tries to bother Harper.”
My phone pinged seven seconds after I hit send, the “Consider it done” reply easing some of the strain. “She’s protected.”
For now. One thing. We’d been able to do one thing to help Harper. Two if I considered the text message. We’d brought her home safe and made sure she remained that way.
Dante cursed and punched a fist into the steering column. “Fucking helpless. I hate it.”
“Took the words right out of my mouth.” I pressed my shoulder blades into the seat and rubbed a hand over my eyes. We were fucking helpless. No matter what we did or tried to do, we put Harper at risk.
And now she’d pushed us out of her life.