Chapter 37
On the Street Where You Live
Sebastian tapped his fingers on one knee. Where was she?
The large black Lincoln town car was parked in front of Victoria’s apartment. He rang the doorbell thirty minutes ago but no one was answering.
“Have you tried her mobile, Mr. Chase?” Connor said. He was sitting in the driver’s seat, his ramrod straight posture betraying neither restlessness nor impatience despite having been sitting in that same position for the past hour.
“I would really much rather deal with this in person, Connor,” said Sebastian, staring outside his window at the apartment entrance. The door opened, and two elderly women stepped out into the sidewalk, chatting animatedly. “I’m sure she’ll be home soon.”
“Yes, sir.”
Benson was on his knees looking through the rear window, his chest pushed up against the back of the seat. His right arm was in a cast. “Do you think maybe she moved away, Uncle Sebastian?” he said, squinting.
“No, Ben, I don’t think she moved away,” Sebastian said. “And be careful with your arm.”
The boy smiled sheepishly and leaned away from the back of the seat, then turned back to look out the window.
Sebastian sighed. “Just remember our deal, okay?”
“Uh-huh.” The boy nodded solemnly without looking at him. “There she is!”
“Stay here,” Sebastian said, opening the car door before Connor could do it for him.
Victoria was on her mobile phone, completely oblivious to him as she walked. She was dressed in a cream-colored suit, and her hair was pulled up in a tight bun.
He stood there, unable to think of anything to say. On impulse, he put his hands in his pants pockets, and he realized he was nervous.
When she finally saw him, she paused, not moving an inch closer. After what seemed forever, she put the phone in her purse.
“Sebastian,” she said. She spoke so softly he thought he’d imagined her voice.
“Vi.” He moved closer. “Are you all right?”
The sadness in her face was almost too much for him to bear. For a nerve-wracking few moments he was afraid she was going to turn and run.
“I’m fine, I—”
He reached out to cup her face in his hands, covering her mouth with a kiss.
Don’t go, he wanted to say to her. I love you. Please forgive me.
But he was lost in the sweetness of her lips. He clasped his fingers on the back of her neck, pulling her closer against him.
“I’m sorry, Sebastian,” she whispered against his mouth.
“It was my fault,” he said. He pressed a kiss against her forehead. “If something had happened to you, I could never forgive myself.”
“But …” She looked up at him, puzzlement in her eyes. “I was driving. I put Benson in danger.”
“Someone hacked the onboard system of that car.” He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. “It was due for a system patch, and no one was supposed to be driving it. Frank didn’t know. It wasn’t his fault.”
“But who would do a thing like that?” Victoria’s eyes swelled with tears.
“Someone who hated me. His name is Elton. I spent the last twenty-four hours with my best tech guys tracking the hacker who messed with the car, and then tracking Elton’s bank activity to figure out where he was so the cops could arrest him.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought you hated me. You didn’t call. I waited for you to call.”
“I know, I’m sorry.” He pulled her chin up and kissed her, softly at first. But the desperate longing that had been tugging at his consciousness took over and he kissed her deeper.
Victoria moaned against his mouth. Her hands moved up his sides, gripping his waist as though it was the only thing keeping her from falling.
When he broke the kiss, they were both breathless.
Sebastian put his lips on her temple. “I was with my father when you and Ben left. Why did you not have Frank call me?” he said.
She bit her lip. “I thought that maybe … maybe you had run off with Brooke somewhere.”
He sighed. “Why would I do that, you idiot?”
“I dunno!” She sniffed. “She was all beautiful and blonde and—”
“And she’s not you.” He squeezed her tighter. “I have a strict policy of only running off with women who are ... you.”
“But—”
“Look, I have never slept with anyone else since you and I…” He paused. Since you and I met. I’ve never had sex with anyone else since I first laid eyes on you. “Since you and I slept together.”
“And you didn’t call,” she said, her voice almost breaking. “While I was at the hospital, I didn’t hear a word from you.”
“I didn’t have a lot of time. Elton had a lot of friends, powerful ones. I knew we had to get hold of him before he tried anything else. Before he tried to hurt anyone else. Before he tried to hurt Ben, or you.” Sebastian closed his eyes. “I was afraid if I heard your voice, I’d be a bigger emotional mess than I already was.”
He opened his eyes to see her looking up at him anxiously. “But Benson is okay?” she said.
“Yes, we had him on lockdown in a safe house. I got two of the best security guys to watch him. He drove them nuts.”
“But Benson’s so quiet,” Victoria said, smiling through her tears. “How could he—”
“That’s exactly it. Ben just sat there reading. He even made them tea.”
“Oh God.” She laughed, laying her head on his chest. “That sounds just like him.”
“I sent a few security professionals to keep watch over you at the hospital.”
She looked up again, her eyes wide. “You mean those big, armed men were there to protect me? We thought Jennifer Lawrence was getting an appendectomy down the hall.”
“Who?”
She laid her head back on his chest, chuckling. “Never mind.”
Sebastian stroked her back. He felt a sense of peace come over him. It felt good having her back in his arms. There was one more thing he needed to do. One thing he needed to tell her.
“Vi,” he said. “I need to tell you—”
He stopped, feeling her being pulled away from him. He looked down. “What the—” he said. “Ben, I thought we agreed you were to stay in the car until we called for you.”
Benson shook his head stubbornly, and kept hugging Victoria with his one good arm.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chase,” said Connor. “I tried to keep him in the car, but he slipped right past me.”
“Benson!” Victoria said. “Oh, my God, your arm.”
“I’m okay,” the boy said. He looked up. “I was worried about you.”
Victoria hugged him back. “I’m great, sweetie. I was worried about you.”
Sebastian patted Benson’s shoulder. “I told you Victoria was okay, Ben.” He put his other arm around her shoulders, and leaned close. “She’s perfect.”
And I love her, he thought.
“What happened to you the other night, Benson?” Victoria said. “Was it allergies?
“Acid reflux,” Benson said. “I’m okay now.”
“We just need to keep him away from oranges from now on,” Sebastian said.
“I love you, Victoria,” said the boy.
“I love you, too,” she said, stroking Benson’s hair. She looked up into Sebastian’s eyes.
Sebastian kissed her.
Was it too soon to tell her how he felt?
“Sebastian?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Is Connor crying?”
***
Two weeks later
“I don’t even know why you’re making me do this,” Victoria said. She didn’t bother to hide the frustration in her voice.
“Don’t grab it too tightly, Vi,” said Sebastian. “Are you trying to break it?”
“You’ve been making me hold this for hours. My arms are tired.”
“Don’t exaggerate, darling. We’ve only been doing this for twenty minutes.”
“What do you mean ‘we’? I’m the one getting finger cramps here. You’re just sitting there telling me to move my hand faster.”
“That’s because you keep hesitating, baby.” He sighed. “This won’t work if you keep stopping.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get this right.”
“You will. Just don’t stop. There, that’s good. Keep going.”
“Is this better?”
“Hmmm ... Hold it properly, Vi. You’ll poke yourself in the eye again.”
“I’m trying. This is hard.”
“You’re doing fine, baby. Just keep your fingers firmly— ow!” Sebastian winced.
“Sorry!” Victoria bit her lip. “Did that hurt?”
“No, no. It’s fine. You just hit the wrong note.” He rubbed his right ear gingerly.
“Okay, I give up,” she said, taking the violin out from under her chin. “I sound like a cow being murdered.” She placed the violin and bow on the stand. Frowning, she added, “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing.” He tried to stop chuckling, but he couldn’t help it. “I’m sorry, baby.” He forced a serious expression on his face. “I’m very sad about that cow.” He patted the space on the sofa next to him. “Come here.”
“Why?” She eyed him suspiciously. “More violin lessons?”
“Of course. You’re a very bad student.”
She bit her lip. “I don’t think I want any more lessons. Not from you.”
“You’ll like this one.”