Kara woke up with one thing on her mind – getting out of Austin’s house as fast as she could. He’d moved on and she was determined to do the same. Unfortunately, waking up with his scent wasn’t helping her with that. She could smell him all over her, his deodorant – his smell that was unique to just him. Worse still, she couldn’t stop imagining him holding her and carrying her to his bed. She didn’t know whether she was relieved or devastated she hadn’t been awake to experience it.

And the fact she didn’t know disturbed her to a sitting position.

The alarm clock on the chest of drawers told her she would be late for work today. Not having the hindsight to bring a change of clothes for work today, she’d have to return home first.

Which meant facing what she hadn’t cleaned up last night.

She closed her eyes briefly, concentrating on the smell of coffee and trying not to dwell on the horrific event of last night.

Work would distract her. Even if she didn’t feel like pretending everything was fine this morning, it was somewhere to be other than her house. There was no way she wanted to linger there all day.

Sliding out of bed, she took off the clothes Austin had given her last night and put on what she’d been wearing when she arrived here. Once she was dressed, she followed the scent of the coffee.

Austin stood facing her in the kitchen, turning pages of the newspaper on the bench with one hand, and holding a coffee mug in his other hand. Perhaps she should have been grateful he wasn’t half naked today, but the sight of him in a classically tailored black suit and white shirt still knocked the breath from her lungs.

A tumult of emotions assaulted her, like grief and longing, while regret whipped around inside her head. This scene, this morning – her waking up in his bed and being in his house for breakfast – this wasn’t supposed to be like this. Her life wasn’t supposed to be under threat. He wasn’t supposed to be in a relationship with someone else. He wasn’t supposed to love someone else.

Nausea added itself to the toxic and potent cocktail of emotions she’d consumed.

His eyes lifted from the paper he’d been reading, and he studied her for a moment before talking. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Okay. Thanks for letting me stay.”

“You’re welcome. Do you want coffee?”

“Please.”

God, they were being so polite with each other, which wasn’t normal. Usually they sparred, joked. Then again, last night she’d been so frightened, her guard had slipped.

She watched Austin move to the coffee machine. With quick easy strokes, he inserted a new capsule and a minute later he passed her a mug of hot, fresh coffee.

“Thank you.”

“Do you want milk or sugar?”

“Black is fine.”

“What do you feel like for breakfast?”

Nausea made her stomach revolt at the thought of eating. “I’m not that hungry at the moment. I’ll grab a bite to eat on the way into work.”

“You’re planning on going in today then?”

“Yes. Life doesn’t stop because my cat died.”

He raised an eyebrow and studied her. “Surely you can take a day off.”

“I don’t want to be at home.”

“That’s understandable. I’ve ordered some surveillance equipment from work. I’ll come over and install as soon as soon as it comes in.”

“Surveillance equipment?”

“Cameras and alarms. I need to know you’re safe, Kara.”

“I appreciate the concern, and if you’re quicker than the police at finding out who is responsible, I’ll be forever in your debt.”

“Is that so?”

A smile tugged at his lips and his tone was playful, causing desire and need caused a tremor inside her. What kind of comment would he have come back with if he wasn’t seeing the Hollywood actress?

She would never have the answer to that.

“But you can’t watch the house constantly.”

Yes, she would feel safer if she knew he was watching, but she didn’t want to rely on him – didn’t want to need him. And he would pervade her thoughts if she knew he was watching.

“Since I’ll be working, that’s true. But being able to look whenever I have the chance is better than you being completely alone, unprepared and vulnerable.”

“Listen, Austin-”

“No, Kara. Last night you said you finally get just how dangerous this situation is.”

“I do-”

“Then let me protect you.”

His turquoise eyes were locked with his, and his voice was firm but she could hear the plea in it.

“I didn’t come to you for this.”

His eyes still held hers. “You came to me because you knew I could keep you safe last night.”

“Exactly-”

“And I did. Now I plan on keeping you safe until the threat is dealt with.”

“But…” she was at a loss at how to stop this. “Surely you don’t have this kind of equipment just lying around. You said you had to order it in. How are you going to justify it as a business expense when I’m not a client?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“I don’t want you getting into trouble.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“But-”

“I’m paying for it, okay?” he snapped. “I’ll pay for the equipment.”

Her mouth dropped open and then she closed. “You can’t do that for me.”

“You don’t have a choice, do you?”

His stare was so hard. Why did he have to affect her so much? Why was he so insistent he help her when there was and never would be anything between them?

“But that must be…” She had no idea how much security equipment cost.

“I can afford it. Just be grateful I’m not giving you the full bodyguard service.” He washed out his now empty mug and put it in the dish drainer. “You’d be stuck with me permanently. I’d follow you everywhere.”

It was probably supposed to sound like a threat and something she shouldn’t want, but the idea of him being around her constantly, well, it would be torture – just not the kind he was implying. The thought of him being around all the time, following her…

“You’re right.” She forced a small smile to her lips. “That would be terrible.”

He stood in front of her, on the opposite side of the bench, his hands splayed on the marble surface, his answering smile closer to the sort he would have given her months ago – before Annabelle. “Be thankful for small mercies then.”

Aware of the sudden tension that seemed to have filled the room, she finished the last of her coffee and walked into kitchen, ready to rinse her mug. Instead, he blocked her way to the sink and held out a hand. “I’ll take care of it.”

“I can do it.”

“I know.” He still took the cup out of her hand. “But you better get going if you don’t want to be later for work than you already are.”

She didn’t want to give in, but not backing away would make her belligerent and stubborn. Two things she’d been called before, but didn’t have the energy for today.

“If you insist.”

“I do.”

“Thank you. I’ll get going then.”

“Do you want me to tail you back to the house?”

She shook her head. “I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure? I know returning will be hard after last night.”

“Thanks, but I’ll manage.”

“If you’re sure.”

Searching the apartment for her handbag, she spotted it near the couch and went to pick it up.

On her way to the door, he stood in front of her again. “If anything, anything happens, call me.”

“I will.”

He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face so she couldn’t look away. His eyes held hers captive. “I mean it, Kara. You should have come to me or gone to the police before last night. Keep your eyes alert and open for anything unusual and call me straight away. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t take risks with your life again.”

If it wasn’t for the genuine concern in the depths of his eyes, she’d be tempted to make a quip. Instead, she stepped back from him and nodded. “I’ll call you if anything doesn’t feel right.”

“Okay then.”

And with that, he let her leave his apartment.

A/N: Now that you've read the first parts, would you be interested in reading more of Run to You if I publish it here on Substack?

“What can I do for you, Chase?”

Austin put the phone on speaker, fiddling with the volume to make sure Kara wouldn’t be able to hear it. Hopefully the sound of the program she was watching on TV would block out the overflow of noise from his call.

He’d given himself ten minutes to talk to Anna when she’d called. Since they always had such a small window to talk, he’d done his best not to give away how distracted he was by his house guest and her problems. Now that the phone call was over, he was focused on the task at hand – working out how to best protect Kara.

“Marco, I need some VTA2 equipment by tomorrow. The warehouse says we’re out, but I need to know how long I have to wait for some to come in. It’s urgent, and I know if anyone can get it in before schedule it’s you.”

“I might be able to get some in by tomorrow afternoon. I just need the job ID and John’s sign off and I’ll put the rush on it.”

Austin twisted in the desk seat. “This is a personal request.”

“How personal are we talking?”

“I have a friend who’s in trouble. She’s receiving death threats and they killed her cat tonight. The purchase won’t be going through the business. I’ll be paying for it myself.”

“Without any discounts, you’re looking at hundreds, maybe more than a thousand dollars. You know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

But it was worth it. There was little that scared Austin Chase. With his expertise and experience in the industry of personal security, most people either feared him or respected him. He never shied away from any situation. He handled things with a calm and cool exterior that his colleagues and friends admired. But seeing Kara standing in front of him so vulnerable and scared…the gut level fear he had experienced was unprecedented.

No one, and he meant no one, harmed what was his. Technically, Kara Brenway wasn’t his, and never would be. But she was someone who mattered to him. Seeing the toughest woman he knew scared and shaken had rattled him so much he still felt wired from all the adrenaline pumping through him. He felt hyperaware. A hundred coffees couldn’t wake up his nervous system more than Kara being in trouble could.

So far he had three suspects he was looking into: David Young, Rupert Hannon and Rick Mackey. Young was her ex-boyfriend. Hannon and Mackey had been fired from the warehouse they’d been working at after Kara had submitted her findings of the safety check she’d performed.

Already, he had the addresses, work details and, most importantly, police checks for the three names Kara had given him. Disturbingly, two out of three had a police record. And it was doubtful Kara knew who or what she was dealing with.

If any of them so much as harmed a hair on her head, they would pay with their lives. Austin would make sure of it.

Marco sighed and Austin could imagine the frown on the olive-skinned young man’s face as he typed something on the other end of the line.

“You know that without an ID and a sigh off from John, Cage Logistics won’t hurry anything, but I’ll see what I can do. We can’t have your friend getting hurt.”

“You’re the best. I owe you one.”

“Save your ass-kissing for the boss.”

“John hates having his ass kissed. He complains about all the chafing.”

Marco laughed. “Soon you’ll be the one with the chafing. I hear it’ll only be a matter of time before I’m calling you boss.”

“Don’t worry, a bow or a curtsy in my presence will be enough.”

“You did say you wanted a favour, didn’t you?”

Now Austin laughed. “I did. I should lay off, huh?”

“Impossible for a smartarse like you, I know.”

“Nothing has been made official with the partnership yet, anyway, so I wouldn’t worry about having to kiss my ass just yet.”

“You should have been made partner a long time ago. You’re the best they’ve got.”

“Thanks, man.”

“And with the work you’ve brought to the firm through your relationship with Annabelle, you should have been made partner twice by now.”

Honestly, Austin wanted to be appreciated for his outstanding ethics and record of success rather than the clientele and contracts he’d brought to the firm through his relationship with his celebrity girlfriend. But John had asked him unofficially to become a partner once Steel Corp Group had secured a major contract thanks to Anna.

Now, Austin was waiting to see if John made good on it. If not, Austin would walk. He didn’t like to think of himself as arrogant, but he was the best at what he did in the country. John had been once, but Austin had learned from him and them improved on everything he’d been taught. The only reason Austin hadn’t walked out of Steel Group yet was the knowledge that starting his own company would mean less time in the field and more time behind a desk.

That wasn’t for him – nine to five in an office. And if John made him partner, Austin could keep doing what he loved, with some involvement in the business.

“Thanks, Marco. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“I’ll let you know when I hear from Cage Logistics.”

Marco hung up and Austin did his best to concentrate on studying the layout of a movie theatre where he would be leading a team of security for a premiere next week. Unfortunately, visions of Kara trembling and afraid kept jumping to the forefront of his mind.

Sometime after midnight, Austin gave up on the task altogether and went in search of the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about.

The television was still on in the lounge, and he noticed Kara sleeping on the couch when he went to turn it off. Her shoulder-length soft red-brown curls whispered across her forehead, and he had to resist the urge to go over and smooth them off her face.

Austin had spent years chasing Kara Brenway. The attraction between them had been fierce and mutual, but the woman had refused to give into it. Eventually, her rejections had amused him less and less and then they’d started to hurt. She hadn’t been willing to let him past the walls she guarded herself with, no matter how much he’d tried to knock them down. After coming to the realisation she would never be ready with him, he’d made the decision to give up and move on.

Queensland had been a fresh start. He hadn’t expected to go there and fall in love with a client, but he had. Annabelle Rogers was beautiful, sexy, funny and successful, and she’d been open to him in ways Kara never had been.

It still didn’t make sense to him that he was dating an A-list Hollywood actress, but he had put aside his bachelor ways and was embracing it.

Despite his relationship with the actress, however, and the way he constantly told himself he was done chasing Kara, the fierce attraction and connection that had always been there between himself and his sister’s best friend persisted. Kara would never be just any other woman to him. She was branded in his mind as the one who got away.

Walking over to the couch, he picked her up, his heart clenching a little as she curled into him.

And when she muttered his name as if it was something she did in her sleep every night, it drew every protective urge he had to the surface. Something primal and possessive pulled at the reigns of his being and he quickly tried to shove it down. Whatever his flaws were, he considered himself loyal to a fault. Feeling hot for this woman when he was with another tore him apart. And yet, while he carried her he was too aware of the fact she was wearing his clothes.

Unwittingly, his gaze flicked down to her breasts, to the swell of them pushed against the thin material of his shirt. Like always, she smelt so sweet – like spring with a hint of musk and sex thrown in. And the sight of her in his arms like this, in his clothes....it turned the pit of his stomach to molten lava. He might not have any intention of acting on the heat strumming through his veins, but there was no denying the sight of her in his clothes, in his arms, and the feel of her soft body curled into him had him more aroused than he could remember being in a long time.

“…sleep couch,” she murmured.

“Shh,” he whispered, carrying her into his bedroom and laying her on his bed.

How many times had he imagined her in this bed with him? How many times had he jerked off thinking about all the ways he’d like to take her? The fantasies had kept him going for years, and he was uncomfortably aware of his painful erection as he moved back from her.

She made a small noise and then turned over, whispering his name again as he pulled the covers over her.

It didn’t matter how much he wanted her. He’d given up on Kara. She was unreachable in the ivory tower she never left. He’d moved on. He had the woman voted second sexiest woman in the world, and she was amazing. He wouldn’t be sucked down the slippery slope of wanting Kara Brenway again.

But he would protect her.

Whether she thought she needed him to or not.

Part 4

“Jesus. You don’t need to ask me that, Kara. It’s a given.” He stopped once more and frowned. “Though I don’t understand why you didn’t go to David.”

Austin’s jaw was clenched tight as he held her gaze. Did he know that his relationship with Annabelle that motivated her to date the man?

“It’s over between us. It’s been over for a while, actually.”

Her relationship with David was just another poor choice in a long line right now – using one man to dull the pain another caused. David Young had been a controlling, jealous, manipulative ill-suited boyfriend. Her best friend had seen David for who he really was and had warned her, but Kara had refused to listen because she’d been too proud. And she’d wanted to show Austin she was fine with him dating someone else.

She’d been such a stupid, stupid fool.

“For how long?”

“A couple of months.”

His jaw was clenched tight. “So, around the time you started getting the letters?”

“Yes, and I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t think it’s him.”

Doubt niggled at her. Their relationship had ended badly, and she’d had the distinct impression there were times he followed her places, but there were other people it could be.

“You don’t think it is, but it might be?”

“Yes. I mean no, I mean he has a temper, but…”

She trailed off when his expression darkened.

“Tell me he never used that temper on you.”

“He never hit me, and I think it’s more likely to be someone from Bismop Inc. Two months ago I did a safety audit of their warehouse and factory. It resulted in the manager and several other people losing their jobs. To say they were angry…it would be an understatement.”

“I need names, Kara.”

“I gave their names to the police.”

“Which is fine, but they don’t have my resources. Give me their names and I’ll take care of it.”

He would take care of it, she knew that. No matter what had happened between them – or what hadn’t happened – there was no one she trusted more with this. No one who could make her feel safer. But she hadn’t come here to involve him, despite the way it might look to him. She wasn’t asking him to solve this for her. She just needed a place to stay where she could feel safe for the evening.

“Austin-”

“You still don’t get it, do you? Your tough-as-nails approach is going to wind up with you hurt. I can’t have that on my head.”

Austin Chase had a reputation for being the best in personal security and she knew there was nothing he wanted more than to hunt down the person responsible for scaring her – because it was part of his identity, keeping people safe. And the way he looked at her, as though his life depended on the information…the names spilled from her lips before she could stop them.

“Thank you.” His relief was as tangible as the frustration and anger that had been pouring off of him moments ago. “We can talk about what we do next tomorrow. Right now I have some work I need to do. You take the bed in my room tonight and I’ll crash on the couch.”

“No, I’ll sleep on the couch. This is your house. I didn’t come here to kick you out of bed. I just wanted to stay with someone.”

“I’m expecting a call from LA in a bit, and I have some things to do in the meantime. I’m going to be walking around, in and out of the study and it’ll disturb you if you’re trying to sleep. I’ll feel better if you take the bed.”

One guess who he would be on the phone to. The Australian born actress, Annabelle Rogers, might have gone back to the States, where she lived, but she was still in a relationship with Austin. Word on the grapevine was that the man who had once considered himself the eternal bachelor was happier than he’d ever been.

And in love.

If that thought was a never-ending source of pain, well, she had no one to blame but herself.

“I guess I’ll take the bed then. I didn’t mean to inconvenience you.”

“You haven’t.” He looked at the skirt, tank-top and cardigan she was wearing underneath the blanket and frowned. “Did you bring something to sleep in?”

“I didn’t pack a thing before coming here.”

She’d known where she was going when she left her place, but she’d been in such a hurry – so panicked and disturbed by the violence left on her doorstep that she’d bolted without packing any of her belongings in a bag.

“You can borrow something to wear if you want.”

“Thank you.”

He disappeared into a room she assumed was his bedroom. When he returned he had a pair of boxer shorts and a grey cotton t-shirt. He handed them to her lap and she could smell him on the clothes. Could she really sleep wrapped up in his scent?

“I guess I’ll turn in for the night then.”

She wasn’t ready to sleep, but it was late and he clearly had things he wanted to get down to. And while he said she wasn’t inconveniencing him, she had interrupted his evening and his work. The days when she might have been more than just Claire’s best friend were over now, and she didn’t want to ask him for something he clearly didn’t want to give her – like his company.

A few months back, he’d suggested they be friends and the thought had made her near-hysterical. Now, she wished for nothing more than just an hour of his time. Such as his laughter and some conversation.

“Feel free to watch some TV for a bit. If you need anything, come and get me.”

“Thank you, Austin. For everything.”

“My room in the first room on the right hand side. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Kara stood up, reaching for him before he could turn away from her. Her hand lingered on his arm, but when she felt his muscles jump underneath her palm and he stared down at her hand, she let him go.

“Please don’t tell Claire about this. I don’t want her to worry about me while she should be having fun with Dylan.”

Of course she’d tell Claire about what had happened when it was all over and they’d caught whoever was responsible. But there was no point worrying her best friend when she was on her first vacation in…well, forever.

His eyes locked with hers. “I won’t say a word. Goodnight, Kara.”

She watched him walk down the hallway on the other side of the house, presumably to his office.

Feeling lonelier than she had in long time, she walked into the bedroom she’d seen him come out of with his clothes a minute ago. Like the rest of the apartment, it was sparsely furnished, with only a large bed, a bedside table and a dresser taking up space in the room. And like in the living area, a photo was the only personal effect. The picture on his bedside table, however, was not of his sister and mother. No, the photo was of Annabelle.

Drawn to it, despite the fact her heart already ached from the sight of it, Kara walked over to take a better look at it. The actress’s gorgeous blonde locks fell down over one shoulder. A sultry smile tugged at her lips. There didn’t appear to be a skerrick of makeup on her face, yet the A-list celebrity was still stunning. Beyond stunning, really.

It was the intimacy of the picture, however, that hit Kara the hardest. Annabelle was naked, except for the sheet covering her. The private moment that had been captured took prime position in his room, next to his bed, making it clear who he thought about before he went to sleep when he woke up.

There was no way to shut out the pain of that thought. The moment she’d met Austin Chase, she’d realised how dangerous he was to her. The first time they’d spoken – the first time they’d touched – it had been as if nothing else had existed. It was almost exactly as her mother had described meeting Kara’s father.

So, despite the fact she craved to give in to the sinful promises in Austin’s eyes, she’d held strong and kept him at a distance. It had become a game of sorts – her retreat and his pursuit. He’d made promises of nights filled with pleasure, but never uttered a word about commitment. Each time he’d tempted her, she’d wondered if she could give in without falling to pieces when it ended. Each time, she’d decided it was just too risky to take a chance.

The last time he’d asked her out had been right before he’d gone to Queensland to work with Annabelle. When he’d returned, not only had he been seeing someone else, but the eternal bachelor was in a committed relationship. He’d moved on from their game – given up on the chase – and the despair and the pain of that had overwhelmed her.

Dragging her gaze away from the picture of his girlfriend, Kara dressed in the change of clothes Austin had given her. The cotton boxers and shirt were worn, soft and smelt of fabric softener and Austin. The scent comforted, aroused and saddened her all at once. She stared at the bed and the picture beside it. Of all the ways she’d imagined ending up in Austin’s bed, it wasn’t like this. He might not want her sleeping on the couch, but she didn’t belong in his bed.

Not now, not ever.

Walking back into the large open living area, she paused realising Austin was there, pacing back and forth outside the kitchen. He was talking, his voice low.

She was about to ask if everything was okay when he laughed at something and then turned, revealing the phone in his hand.

“Hang on, babe.”

Obviously, it was Annabelle he was talking to. He covered the phone with his hand as his gaze dropped to her bare feet before lifting to the boxers and shirt she was wearing of his. She covered her breasts by crossing her arms, aware that her body was responding to his attention, despite the way every muscle in his face tightened before he looked at her face again.

“Is everything okay? Do you need something?”

“Fine.” She forced a smile. “I was just going to watch some TV.”

“I’ll take this elsewhere, then.”

“No, it’s-”

“Remote is on top of the kitchen bench.”

Before she could tell him he didn’t need to walk away, he had the phone to his mouth again. “Just one of my sister’s friends.”

The words were like a papercut across her already raw heart.

Well, she’d always known he’d hurt her, break her. She just hadn’t realised it would be because she refused to take a chance on him, not because she had. Now their game of advance and retreat was over. Game, set and match to Austin. While he’d moved on and was happy – in love with someone else, Kara was stuck with regrets and what ifs that would never be answered.

It was too late to turn back the clock and go to a hotel tonight, instead of turning up here and involving him in her problems. And it would be crazy to knock back his help when she was in danger. She knew that, even if her pride begged otherwise. But she needed to let him and her grief over their never-to-be relationship go. He’d moved on, and now she needed to do the same. She’d lost her chance with him and now she had to live with it – needed to learn to be happy for him. So what if he was the only man she’d ever carried a torch for? She couldn’t compete with Annabelle Rogers.

No one could.

Part 3

Opening her car door, Kara Brenley stepped out onto the deserted street in Melbourne Docklands. Despite the warmth of the late summer evening, she shivered. She hadn’t stopped feeling cold or shaking since she’d arrived home and discovered the ‘present’ left for her on her front doorstep. Now, the darkness and the rustling of the wind through the trees sounded eerie and she couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched.

Pulling her cardigan tighter around her, she looked around and, praying no one had followed her here, ran across the road to the building where Austin Chase had recently bought an apartment. The complex was the latest in a string of luxury buildings which had been erected in the Melbourne Docklands. Clearly, he’d been paid well for guarding the Hollywood actress, Annabelle Rogers.

Annabelle, his now girlfriend.

Kara’s foot slipped on the step in front of her and she put her hand on the door to stop herself from falling head-first through the glass doors at the front of the building. Wouldn’t that be the icing and cherry on top of this terrifying day, being cut to pieces? 

Looking up at the names next to buzzers on the wall, she scanned the list until she found him.

Chase, A. Apartment 96.

Before she lost her nerve and talked herself into turning around and getting back in the car, she pressed the buzzer.

In the silence that followed, she wondered how she’d ended up here, a forty minute drive from where she lived, without once contemplating the idea Austin might be out for the evening. He could be working. He could be out with his friends.

She checked her watch. Nine pm. There was a good chance he wasn’t here. Fear settled heavily in the pit of her stomach.

“Please be home,” she whispered.

“Who is it?”

His answer was gruff and unwelcoming, and yet she’d never been so relieved to hear anyone’s voice in her life.

“Austin, it’s me. It’s Kara. Please can I come up?”

The door buzzed open without another word, and she let herself in, locating the elevator that would take her to the ninth floor.

Austin met her outside his apartment, the sight of him distracting her from the horrific images that had been running on a loop through her head for the past hour and a half. He’d clearly just finished a work-out. His longish dirty-blond hair was dark with sweat and she could smell deodorant and man. The only item of clothing he seemed to be wearing was a pair of low-slung shorts that revealed his eight-pack and the tribal tats that covered one side of his body and both arms.

“You didn’t come here just to stare at me now, did you?”

She forced her gaze upwards, where eyes the colour of turquoise locked with hers for a moment, shocking her heart the way they always did.

It had probably been a mistake to come here, no matter how scared she was. What right had she to ask him for help? They weren’t friends. Her tongue had always been too sharp with him and her walls too high to allow the friendship seeds he’s scattered to grow. And they’d never been lovers – never would be lovers – not now that she’d chased him into the arms of another woman.

Yet she couldn’t go home.

The thought of returning to her house and cleaning up what had been left for her there…She needed the safety that the man in front of her could provide. Even if she didn’t feel as if she deserved his protection.

“No, I didn’t come here for that. I…I need your help.”

Kara wasn’t sure whether it was the lack of her words, her wavering voice, or the look on her face that wiped the cocky grin off Austin’s face.

“What’s wrong?” He strode towards her. “Tell me what’s happened, Kara.”

His voice was demanding while laced with urgency. She wanted to reach out and hold onto him, to reassure him. And to reassure herself. It would be so easy to take strength from him, to let him hold her up and keep her anchored in the present. The ease of which she could lean on him, depend on him and fall into him had always frightened her.

“Kara?”

“My cat…Gingernut, he’s dead.”

She watched confusion replace the concerned expression on his face. “I’m sorry?”

She didn’t know if he was offering her his condolences or telling her he didn’t understand. Her hands and body started to tremble as the images of her beautiful pet cat splattered across her porch leapt out at her from behind the closed door she’d tried to slam them behind.

“He was murdered.”

The trembling and shaking was worse now, and she was having trouble standing.

“Perhaps you better come inside and sit down. Then you can tell me about it.”

She whispered her gratitude as he opened the door and allowed her to walk in first.

It was the first time she’d ever been to his apartment and in his space, and even though she knew she was supposed to look for somewhere to sit, she found herself looking around.

The apartment was square shaped, and two hallways on either side led to rooms. Walking down the two steps that led to the square open living area in front of her, her gaze was riveted to the view behind the thick glass wall which looked out over the city. They were only nine stories up, but the view was stunning. The floor-to-ceiling blinds were open, allowing the light of the docklands in through the windows. Outside, the evening had felt eerie, but in Austin’s apartment the darkness and quiet was soothing and…intimate.

She turned around in time to catch him studying her, no doubt trying to understand what had brought her here when she’d done everything she could to avoid spending time alone with him before.

“It’s nice, your new home,” she said, breaking the silence.

“You never saw my old one.”

“Does that mean I can’t compliment your new one?”

It was so easy to lapse into defensiveness with him. Her armour with this man had protected her so far.

Well, it had prevented him from getting too close. Unfortunately, it hadn’t prevented her heart from breaking when her tactics for holding him at bay had worked and he’d fallen in love with someone else.

“Of course not. It means the other place was a dump.”

“You’re moving up in the world.”   

“It would appear so,” he agreed. “Take a seat. I’ll get you something to drink.”

The apartment was sparsely furnished, a testament to the fact he hadn’t been living there long. Not that she imagined Austin Chase was one to accumulate clutter or anything that might slow him down. A picture of Austin with his sister, Claire, and his mother hung on the wall. It was the only personal touch in the open plan living area, she noted as she made her way over to the soft and comfortable looking grey couch.

When Austin returned from the bar in the corner of the room, he handed her a glass of amber liquid that smelt like bourbon.

“I thought you might need something harder than wine.”

She accepted it with a nod. “Thank you.”

He disappeared down one of the hallways alongside the open space, and when he came back he was holding a dark grey blanket.

“You’re cold,” he said as he unfolded it and draped it around her.

She’d forgotten for a moment that she was and she felt immeasurable gratitude in that moment that he hadn’t.

He took a seat in the recliner opposite the couch. The silent way he studied her told her he was waiting for her to speak – to explain things to him.

“I should have called before I came here over here. I know I’ve probably surprised you by just turning up out of the blue. Honestly, I just didn’t know who else to come to.”

Or who else could make me feel as safe as you do.

“You know you can come to me for anything. You’re Claire’s best friend. I’d never turn you away.”

Undoubtedly, his words had been said to reassure her, but instead it just hurt. That’s all she was to him now – Claire’s best friend.

“Thank you,” she forced out.

“Tell me what happened to…your cat.”

“I’m sure you can’t understand why I’m here because of that, but…” she searched his confused face. “Perhaps I should start at the beginning.”

“Perhaps you’d better.”

She sipped her bourbon and then rolled the glass between her hands, gathering her courage. When he heard what she had to say, he’d be angry with her. But she thought she’d been doing the right thing at the time by ignoring the situation and not giving whoever wanted to scare her power over her.

“I’ve been receiving letters and strange phone calls on and off for about two months now.”

He sat forward in his seat, his gaze intense. “Explain.”

“Someone has been calling me and hanging up, and I keep getting this feeling, like someone is watching me. I put it down to paranoia and told myself it was crazy to be afraid, but…”

His jaw was clenched tight as she met and held his gaze. “Tell me about the letters, Kara.”

“At first they were mild, telling me that I was a bitch and a…a slut. Then they became more aggressive, saying they’d teach me what real pain was. The last one before today, though, it mentioned my death.”

“They killed your cat?”

She nodded, tears welling behind her eyes. “When I got home tonight there was blood splattered all over the porch. I could see the body of Gingernut just lying there, split open.” She sniffed and tried to hold the tears back. “And there was another letter on the step.”

Her stomach roiled and she shuddered at the violence of that threat.

“What did it say?”

She wasn’t sure she could even get the words out.

“Kara.”

Austin was mad, furious. She could see that, even if he was still sitting there, and even if his voice was controlled. Her silence was testing his patience.

“Tell me what it said, Kara.”

“It said…” She shuddered. “The next pretty…‘pussy’ butchered will be mine.”

She watched Austin stand up, his rage at the situation now boiling over into something resembling restlessness.

He paced back and forth. “Do you get how serious this is?”

“I do now.”

“We need to call the police and report what happened.”

“I already have.”

He stopped and looked at her. “What did they say?”

“They’re going to look into it.”

“They’re going to look into it,” he repeated, shaking his head and looking disgusted. The pacing started back up. “That was all they said?”

“And they suggested I find someone to stay with tonight. I just came straight here. I’m sorry to turn up like this but there’s no one else I could go to. Claire’s over the other side of the world, Tori is out of town for the week and Danni is staying the night at her boyfriend’s. I need…Please can I stay with you tonight?”

Part 2