Chapter 20 #2
What if he wasn’t?
He’d never been in a situation remotely close to this, so he had no idea what to expect. All he knew was that he couldn’t not go.
The elevator arrived and got him out of there before anyone else tried to stop him.
He had no illusions about Jackson keeping this news to himself and fully expected to hear from each of his siblings imminently.
He’d deal with them later. First, he’d see what Isla needed. She was all that mattered right now.
Driving as fast as he dared through traffic, he thought only of her and of their time together the other night and the things she’d shared with him about her complex emotions in regard to Gabriel.
His mind raced with thoughts and implications as his phone rang with calls from each of his brothers, right on schedule.
Julian declined each call and then declined them again when they called a second time.
The dash screen lit up with texts.
At a red light, he saw one from Carson: What the hell are you doing? Come back to the office. Let’s talk about this before you go off a cliff.
He didn’t want to talk about it. Even knowing he was heading for a cliff couldn’t stop him from hanging that left turn onto Laurel Canyon Boulevard and racing up the hill to her, taking the curves faster than he ever had before.
Julian had no clue what he’d be walking into and didn’t care.
Thanks to some lucky breaks with traffic, sixteen minutes after leaving the parking garage, he pulled into the driveway at her rental, relieved to see her car was there. That was sixteen minutes too long, he thought, as he pressed the doorbell.
An older woman answered.
“You must be Mrs. Ventura.”
“That’s right.”
“I’m here to see Isla.”
“And you are?”
“Julian Remington.”
“It’s okay, Mrs. V,” he heard Isla say from inside as relief washed over him. “Let him in.”
Mrs. V stepped aside to admit him, and he went right to Isla, who was standing in the foyer.
He stopped short of immediately embracing her the way he wanted to. She looked so small and lost that he wanted to wrap his arms around her and do anything he could to make this better for her, even if that was an impossible task. “I came as soon as I heard.”
“Thank you.” Her chin quivered as she looked up at him with swollen eyes that were shiny with new tears. “I still can’t believe it.”
“I know.” He couldn’t stop himself from reaching for her.
She came to him like she’d been doing it all her life, slipping her arms inside his suit coat and around his waist as he drew her in close to him while she sobbed.
He noticed that she fit perfectly in his arms as he rested his chin on the top of her head while breathing in the unmistakable scent he was already addicted to. “I’m so sorry, Isla.”
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Oh shit. “I know, but I wanted to be here for you.”
“No, I mean because the kids have had a stomach bug. I don’t want you to get it.”
“I don’t care about that. What can I do for you?”
“This,” she said, snuggling into him and sighing, “is just what I need.”
“How are the kids?”
“They’re napping after a rough weekend.”
“What do you need?”
“More of this,” she said, holding on tighter to keep him from getting away.
That was absolutely fine with him.
He’s here.
That was all Isla could think as she luxuriated in the scents of starch and citrusy cologne and sexy man.
And as soon as she had that thought, she immediately felt terrible.
Gabriel was dead, and she was thrilled to see Julian, to know he cared enough to come running to her after hearing about Gabriel’s passing.
What kind of person did that make her?
She was relieved to have his support and company, especially since Denny was working in San Diego for a few days, finishing a job that was already running late.
When she’d called him with the news about Gabriel, he’d felt bad that he couldn’t come home.
Isla had told him not to worry about it, that Mrs. V was with her, and she was okay, but she was more so now that Julian was there.
It made no sense, but it was true. His presence was a comfort to her.
“I know you must be so busy. I’m all right if you need to go back to work.”
“I cleared my day.”
Swoon. He’d cleared his day. For her.
Mrs. V was probably thinking she’d lost her mind as she clung to the handsome man in the suit who’d cleared his day for her, but Isla couldn’t bring herself to worry about that when it felt so good to have his arms around her and his heart beating fast beneath her ear.
With his phone ringing incessantly, he pulled back from her to shut it off and then put his arm around her to lead her to the sofa, where he sat next to her and reached for her hand. His was so warm compared to hers. She’d been freezing since she got the news.
“How did you hear?”
“His mother called me at five a.m.”
“Oh wow. That must’ve been so shocking.”
“It was. I really didn’t expect it to happen so fast, but I keep thinking it’s a blessing for him that he won’t suffer a slow, painful decline.”
“That’s a good way to look at it.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder because he was there and he cared and that meant so much to her. “You know what else?”
“What, honey?”
Her heart did a funny stutter when he called her that. “I’m filled with this strange energy today, knowing that I no longer have to be on full alert like I’ve been for years now, anticipating the next disaster.”
“It’s an adrenaline response. I’ve seen it happen before when someone who’s been in danger finds out the risk has been alleviated.”
“So it’s normal to feel almost amped up about that?”
“Totally normal.”
“My first thought should be grief for him and the kids, but instead, I’m oddly relieved to know that I don’t have to be afraid of him anymore. And then I immediately feel guilty, because he couldn’t help the things he did.”
“Regardless of the reason, you were terrorized by the things he did, Isla. You have every right to feel relieved that the threat has been permanently removed from your life, even if you feel sad for him and your kids.”
“It’s a lot of emotion all at once.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“In the middle of it all is this lovely sparkle of joy, thanks to you.”