Out of the Storm - COMPLETE

Chapter 30

Jules

WHEN WE'RE IN the car, a voice comes over the speakers to alert us the doors are closing. I want to run, I want to escape, but his grip on my arm tightens. "Don't even think about it." He hisses, spit spraying my ear. People start to look at us, at me, concern washing over their faces. Lips are on my ear. The hand that had been grasping my arm, a little too tightly, makes its way down to my side and pulls me into his chest. It's not hard as steel like Theo's. Funny how that's the only chest I want to be pulled into now. How did that manage to happen in the course of a day? Theo. He has no clue I'm in trouble, and I have no way to tell him. And if we've been outed, is he in danger too? "Jules...smile. Look like you're enjoying this. Look like I'm your fiancé."

Shit. Fuck. Shit.

He pulls my hand up to his lips to kiss it, then turns it around to face me. "Where the fuck is your ring?"

I swallow, still unable to form words.

He shakes his head. "You're screwing him. You really are, aren't you?"

Biting my bottom lip, I refuse to look away. He'll know that I'm guilty if I do that. But then again, I'm sure my silence is just as much a giveaway as my body language. Can I lie to him? "I was worried about getting mugged on the way over here. I put it in my purse."

"That's a question I couldn't wait to ask you. Why you took the subway. Were you hoping it'd make it harder for me to track you?"

"He told me to take the subway. I was simply following his orders."

"So, you're not screwing him?"

My heart is beating out of my chest. The train stops, and the force pushes me into his chest again. His hand slides down to my ass. He squeezes it, tight. Too tight. "Answer me."

"No."

He leans into my ear, brushing my hair back. "You're fucking lying to me, Jules. Try again. Are you sleeping with him?"

Sleeping and screwing are two different things. I'd love to sleep with Theo, but I've not had the chance. "I'm not lying. I'm not sleeping with him." I raise my chin. This time, I lean into his ear. "But I'm going to only say this once. I'm not afraid of you. You need to let me go before I make a scene."

He releases me, then grabs his stomach, laughing. I hadn't noticed the stench of alcohol before. Maybe because I really was scared, and I am not anymore. Maybe because the guy who just got off had an extreme case of body odor, and between that and this situation, it was all I could do not to puke. But he's clearly been drinking. I'm not sure what's so funny, either. But then again, when he's drunk, he has more mood changes than a girl on the rag.

Crossing my arms, I jut my chest out. "What's so funny?"

His eyes become small slits, and he takes a step, closing any distance between us. "You listen to me, and you listen good. You don't call the shots. You don't tell me what you're going to do and what you're not going to do."

That pit I had in my stomach before I left Theo's is growing. Something is so not right. "If you make a scene on this subway, rest assured, there are plenty of people in place to finish what I've started."

It takes everything in me to keep my eyes from bugging out of my damn head. "Finish what, Charlie?"

He opens his mouth to speak, but I shut him up by putting a finger over his mouth, a smile spreading across my face. "By having hits put on me by your posse, or by having me framed for whatever the hell money laundering you've been doing for only fuck knows how long?"

This time, it's his eyes that give away everything. Well, that and his smile. It vanishes. "Both, Jules. Both."

I laugh because I can't let him know how terrified I am. But I also do it to keep from crying. It's nervous, delirious, and frantic all at once. "I said earlier I'm not scared of you. But I'm also not afraid of them. You're going to let me off this subway without a fight. I'm going to go establish the multi-million dollar account I secured today, and you can go fuck yourself." Reaching into my bag, I run my hand around the bottom until the metal brushes against my fingertips. But there's something else inside I didn't put there. Furrowing my brows, I run my hand along it. Theo. He must have put his gun in my bag at some point. But I don't know how to use it. Why would he have done that? Why wouldn't he have told me? How dangerous is it for me to be carrying it in my bag like that? I just want to get to a safe place and cuss him out. But then again, if someone tries to take me, they aren't going to know I don't know how to use it. They'll just see me with it. Stay focused. Releasing it before I undo the safety—he does have the safety on it, right? Shit. Releasing it, I fumble for the ring, then shove it in Charlie's chest. "I don't need this anymore."