Run & Hide

Chapter 11
Hiding

Javier got to his family's restaurant and the fire fighters had been working on keeping the fire under control since he received the call from his mother.  The fire was being contained but from the damage, he knew they'd have to rebuild everything from scratch.  Whoever started it, had done a pretty good job at completely destroying the place.  His mother's face distraught, buried in the chest of his father who was looking on in complete shock and disgust.  He couldn't possibly badger his family right now, so he directed his questions to the chief of police who was standing a few metres away.  He was a fairly tall guy, aged with service and was talking to the London Brigade henchman, when Javier approached, he cut to the chase.

"This is no accident, do we have any eye witnesses?" Javier stood in stance, hands on his hips.

"You must be Javier Romano, your father had informed me you're a specilised cop," the chief of police said nodding towards Javier.

"Yes that is correct, but I'm not here for small talk..." Javier said grimly.

"Of course," the man nodded, "One man, medium build, balding accompanied by another man a bit taller but far heavier approached the premises a few hours ago, carrying lighter fluid, our CCTV caught them in the process of torching the property... an eye witness tried to stop them...but got assaulted by them..."

"And where is the eye witness?" Javier said sternly.

"She's seated over there," the chief of police flicked his head behind him and Javier's gaze followed, there was a woman sitting on a stretcher outside an ambulance having stitches applied to her face.

"Did she get an ID on them?" Javier asked.

"As a matter of fact, something better..." and he withdrew a phone from his pocket and showed him the photo.

Javier only needed to glance at the photo to determine who it was and he ran towards his car which was parked behind the cordoned off street, he took out his mobile and dialled Ruby's landline only to get the machine, he tried her mobile but it had kept on ringing.  A shot of fear ran through the course of his veins as he realised the fire had been a way to distract him and that Ruby's life was in danger.  He called Ryker's number and he picked up on the first ring, "Ruby's house now." And hung up.

He drove like hell on wheels, having run three red lights to get to her.  He had a sinking feeling he wasn't going to like what he was going to find when he got there.  He barely parked his car as he bolted out of the drivers seat and towards the front door, but found the door a jar and it seemed that Ryker had already got there and was in the process of handcuffing Christopher and Felix.  Half of Felix's face was red and the skin peeled off and he sat handcuffed against the wall. Christopher was sporting a shiner and the kitchen was a mess.

"Where is she?" he growled.  He was met with silence. "I'll say this again but I'll only say it once, where is she?"

It was Felix that spoke up, "She ran off, locked us in here."

"Shut your mouth Felix..." yelled Christopher.

"I will not shut my mouth, if I did the planning, we wouldn't be in this fucking situation, this is all your fucking fault..." Felix yelled at Christopher.

"Shut your goddamn mouth Felix..." Christopher yelled, trying to usher forward but Ryker had chained him to the cupboard handle.

"Christopher, he's screwed up, he hates spoilt little rich kids, he hates that they use up the resources of their wealthy parents... and live extravagant lives without even lifting a finger... he wanted to torture Ruby...." Felix mouth spewed up the details making Christopher increasingly fucked off.

"Shut your mouth, you twerp... shut it, or I will shut it for you," Christopher shouted, hatred in his cold eyes.

"He wanted to torture Ruby, he had started to... but I couldn't bare to watch her suffer anymore... he kept pumping drugs into her, so she would forget, that her memory would be erased... but I couldn't allow him to do that to her... so I let her go... I let her escape..." Felix revealed.

"You traitor, you fucking traitor... you betrayed me... I had plans for her," Christopher yelled.

Above the noise, Javier spoke to Ryker giving him specific instructions when the police came to take them away and to contact chief of police as he had evidence. Javier walked into Ruby's room and started searching for clues to where she might have headed to.  He was relieved that her abductors had been caught, but he was worried about the state that she was in.  She had managed to lock them up in her own house and to cause them injury, so she couldn't have been too bad a state. He rifled through her things and then came across the locket in her drawer with a letter.  He opened the clasp to see a picture of her mother and then the letter.  He read it and put it back in the place he found it. He was going to have to pay her father a visit.

Ruby had been running for what seemed like forever, she wanted to give due credit to those who perish every year to run in Marathons because she was definitely feeling the effects of it now. She had been running since she had left the house and she hadn't stopped, mostly scared that they would catch up with her and she wanted as much space between them.  Her legs were aching now, but she was a strong runner, so she could do a couple more miles before she would have to stop.  What ached the most, was her heart.... she had fallen in love with Javier and was afraid he may never know, because no one knew of this place, just her, her mum and maybe her dad but he was a different person and well... something he chose to forget because they were happy memories. 

She wished for happy memories, more then anything.  She wished for memories of her childhood, of her mother but now that she had seen Felix and Christopher, the memories she thought she had forgotten were coming back one after the other. It was Christopher who had tortured her and it was Felix who had sat back and watched, the evil glint in their eyes as they proceeded to question her motives and pump wild drugs into her system.  They were the devil reincarnated, she wanted to be free of the memories, free of the pain and free of everything that had happened. She carried on running, she wanted to be there... she didn't care that she was running, she just wanted to get everything out of her system and if hiding was what she had to do, she would be the best.

Run & Hide

Chapter 10
Running

Javier felt the smoothness of Ruby's hair beneath his finger tips, it looked like fire.  It looked even more like fire in abundance as it lay in chaos on the pillow.  His other hand selfishly swept the length and breadth of her, he was so overwhelmed by how soft her skin was, that she felt like a China doll in his care.  He closed his eyes as he kissed her, their tongues caught in a ritual dance.  God, he couldn't get enough of her.  The taste, the smell of her-was pure intoxication, he could stay like this forever.  His mouth trailed kisses down the column of her exquisite neck, to the globes of her breasts and noticed her puckered rose coloured nipples standing to attention. He caught one in his mouth and suckled it, using his free hand to knead the other nipple between his thumb and finger.  He heard her gasp of pleasure and trailed his hand further down.

"You're beautiful Ruby," he said, barely a whisper.

His hands raked down the softness of her stomach and reached the apex of her thighs, his fingers touching the soft curls and felt the heat emanating from that one sacred place. He caressed her clitoris and felt her arching towards him with want and desperate need. He moved further down the bed, moved her legs further apart and moved to her folds, where he kissed, suckled and caressed her with his tongue.  Her moans of esctasy errupted, as she moaned his name.

"Javier, I want you... I want you now," she demanded, "I want you inside me now!"

Javier sheathed himself and thrust into her, her wish was his command but he paused in mid thrust and looked down at her with shock as he saw her eyes widen, "You're a virgin!"

"I was," she said shyly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded in a barely there whisper.

"Because I didn't want this reaction," she said, "Let's not make my first experience be a downer now Javier, I want you, you want me... just make love to me, okay?"

Those were the last words that were spoken between them, as Javier continued to make love to her, they both reached their momentous peak.  As Javier laid back down beside her on the bed, he looked over towards her and noticed her staring straight at him.  She didn't say a thing and that worried him.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" he asked, cupping the side of her face.

"No, no... you didn't... I just... I..." she could barely get her words out.

"What's the matter?" Javier asked as he sat up and she too sat up, wrapping the duvet around her.

"I think I know who abducted me Javier..." she said blankly.  The colour draining from her face, "I think I know who it is."

"Who is it?" Javier asked, his hand stroking her face.

"It's..." Ruby began but the sound of Javier's mobile phone cut in.

He picked up the phone to his mother speaking frantic Italian, something about a fire and someone missing. He spoke back and got out of bed, "There's a fire at my family's restaurant and I have to get down there."

"I'll come with you," Ruby said, getting out of bed.  Javier watched as she began putting on clothes but it would be unsafe for her to accompany him, he would be so occupied with the family situation, he wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her, let alone protect her properly.

He kissed her and she paused with putting on her camisole top, "Rubes, not that I don't want you with me but you'd be safer here than out on the field with me.  Everyone is pretty frantic at the moment, the last thing I want to do is to put you in that situation.  I'll check in with you every hour, make sure..."

Ruby was hurt, she felt more apart of Javier Romano's family then she had ever felt apart of, then hers.  Of course she wanted to help, she wanted nothing more then to help but he was treating her like she was incapable of taking care of herself, "Honestly Javier, I can be a great help to your family."

"Yes, but if something were to ever happen to you, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself Rubes... that's why I want you to stay here."

"What use can I be here, when I can be with your family?"

"Look, I'm wasting time having this conversation with you, I have to go. Lock the doors and don't open the doors to anyone. Y'know the security codes and if you need to go out, at least tell Ryker and he'll be here in an instant to escort you."

"I'm not a child Javier, so stop treating me like one..." Ruby said, turning on her heel towards the kitchen.

"I know that, otherwise I wouldn't have just made love to you..." Javier said, "Look Ruby, I really don't want to argue with you right now..."

"We're not arguing Javier... I believe you were on your way out," she said matter of factly.

"Ruby..." Javier began.

"Just go, your family need you..." and then a few moments later she heard the front door close behind him.  She walked to the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove, she was dressed in jeans and a camisole and she'd just put her hair in a ponytail. Again, she felt like she hardly belonged anywhere... she had just lost her virginity to a man, she was falling passionately in love with and when she was feeling complete, it was being discarded in shreds again.  He didn't trust her enough to be with his family, she was a big girl and she could take care of herself. She didn't want him to use a pathetic excuse like, she would be in the way of him doing anything.  She heard the front door open and without hesitation, she said, "Did you forget something?" And when she spun around, to her shock there were two men standing in front of her.

"How did you get in here?" she said, trying to calm herself down.

"Did you not learn anything from our last tutorial Ruby," the man came towards her, he was holding fencing wire in his hand and was grappling it like he was going to tie her up.

"I'm going to scream," Ruby threatened.

"And what? Your bodyguard boyfriend is going to come to your rescue... well we've taken care of him for a few hours," spoke the lanky man who was edging towards her.

Ruby moved towards the stove, "You deliberately started the fire, didn't you?"

"Well, we had to get your boyfriend out of the way, so we could finish off what we started... rich girls like you don't deserve second chances."

Ruby didn't hesistate, she grabbed the kettle and flung it towards the hefty man with the fencing wire, the metal hitting his face and he stumbled onto the table with it's contents hitting the floor with a bash.  The lanky man threw himself towards her, but she prevented her fall by throwing the hot water on him and heard him yelling in pain. His skin had turned flame red and saw bits of it peeling away.  She stepped over him and ran out of the kitchen, only to fall head first to the foor, the man she had butted with the kettle had caught hold of her ankle and wouldn't let go. She turned around and as hard as she could manage, kicked him in the head and she did it again and he eventually let her ankle go. She staggered to her feet and bolted for the door. She could still hear them keeling in pain in the kitchen. Shutting the door, she pinned the security code in, locking them in. In her escape, she forgot the car keys... she would have to make her way out on foot.  She started running towards the main road, where she could start to blend in with the locals.  She didn't know where Javier's parents' restaurant was located, but she didn't want to risk going to the family house in case Christopher and Felix followed her there. She had to get somewhere, without risk of being discovered and she knew only one place. One place that no one could get to her. She doubled her speed and started running faster.

Run & Hide

Chapter 9

Big Mouth

Three Weeks Later

 

"Here have some more Tirimisu Ruby," Javier's father nudged a plate full in front of her, she smiled politely.  How could she resist such hospitality and such great food, "You are living together now, I hear?" Javier's father Antonio said with quiet enthusiasm.

"Kat! You and your big mouth," Javier shook his head in disgust.

"What? Mum and Dad are always asking about you, it's just right to clue them in some time," Kat shrugged.

"But about stuff like this, this is a case... I've moved in with her for her personal protection," Javier whispered.

"Yeah, but mum and dad don't know that, do they?" Kat whispered back.

"When are you ever going to learn about police business," Javier said, "Everything should stay private."

"Oh come on, I'm a cop, dad's a cop... you're kinda a cop... it's in the family... just chill out!" Kat giggled as she rolled her eyes at Javier and dug into her mother's Tirimisu.

"I don't want them thinking that as I'm with Ruby, that we're serious... this is just a job," Javier said a bit too sternly.

"A bit too late, don't you think... they're planning what your babies are going to look like," Kat said, her eyes on the threesome at the dining table.

Javier turned, saw his parents in deep conversation with Ruby and he got up and walked over. 

"Javy, Ruby has just invited us to the unveiling of her jewellery collection... I must decide what to wear, this is so exciting," his mother Rosa gushed at the news.

Javier looked at his son and nodded, the simple nod sent waves of approval his direction.  Was he missing out on something here?  The last couple of weeks, he'd covered a lot of ground, all he needed was for that person to make their move and he would be there.  He began to understand Ruby on a more profound level, she was interesting to say the least, she was also really smart, had a business sense about her and what he noticed was, she was really giving.  He had overheard her on the phone, just the other day speaking to her financial advisor and requesting that half of her profits for her jewellery collection to go to Charity and something inside of him, was completely won over.  They had shared a lot of kisses and cuddles but both of them were aware that going beyond that line was a no no, but he couldn't help the surge of lust that shot in his veins and travelled south, every time he saw her, she was one attractive woman.  He was brought back to the present, Ruby was smiling at him and conversing with his parents.

"I think my son is a dreamer more now that he has you," he heard his father saying, "Just look at him, his head is in the clouds again."

"Ah," Rosa stood up, "I will go and fetch the family album, you see what your kids will look like soon," and she disappeared.

Javier stood up, "Mama, there is no need to do that... I'm sure Ruby would rather see something else like... umm..."

"The baby photos, yes," Rosa said from down the hall.

Javier shook his head in disgust as Ruby and his father laughed at his expense.

A couple of hours later, they left the Romano household and decided to go for a walk in the neighbourhood.  Ruby was dressed up in a purple tea dress, with her denim jacket and red ballet pumps.  She dressed so modestly for an heiress. She looked at Javier beside her, he was dressed up in his staple denim washed jeans and a black sweater, his hair was unkempt and he wore a smile as they walked down the street.

"I love your family Javier, you're really lucky to have them," she smiled at him and looked straight ahead of her, "And I must say, you really were a cute kid growing up..."

"And I'm not a cute now?" Javier feigned disgust in a joking manner.

"Y'know what I mean Javier..." she didn't get to finish her sentence as he drew her in a kiss, they stood like a lovestruck couple in the street and it was Javier who pulled away first.

"I can't deny it anymore Ruby," as he stroked the hair from her face, "I really want to make love to you,"

Ruby touched his hand and looked at him longingly, "Let's go home then." 

He took her hand and they walked quickly back to the car.

Run & Hide

Chapter 8

Getting Close But Then Too Far

Javier had caught her before she hit the floor, swung her into his arms and stomped off, leaving the clearly worried group of two hundred standing in the ballroom agasp.  He didn't have to go far, as he kicked the door open a few doors down and realised it was her father's home office, complete with state of the art technology.  He laid her down on the green couch which obviously fit into her father's office decor, plus mahoghany and green curtains with a green lampshade, too old and too furnished.  He touched her skin, she was warm but the pale palor of her skin said otherwise, she wasn't prepared for that surprise and god dammit, what was her father thinking.

Speaking of her father, he came rushing in with a gentleman, roughly the same age and grace as him.  Javier thought he saw something pass in his eyes, but it was gone in a blink as he came forward,

"I'm a doctor, let me though," nearly knocking Javier out of the way. He lifted her lids and checked for any vital signs.  Javier noticed, he was too thorough, he assessed her arms and legs and pronounced, "She'll be okay, she'll come round." And at that moment, she opened her eyes and her gaze swept over the man who had had his hands on her only moments ago. 

"I want to go home," she said, more to Javier then anyone else. 

"But Ruby, all these people are here for you... you can't just up and leave," her father pleaded. 

"Their your friends, not mine... I told you and always tell you, I hate your parties, so would you think I'd actually want this vestige of people welcoming me back to the living?" Ruby scolded. 

"Now, that's a bit mean Ruby," the man beside her father said. 

"This isn't any of your business Chris, so get your nose and mouth out of my business... maybe you could tell them that I'm not up to socialising tonight," Ruby said sarcastically, getting to her feet and looking at her father, "This was a stupid stunt dad and I can't believe this... you don't know me at all." 

"Ruby, can't you see this was all for you... just to show you that I love you and that this was all for..." 

"Stop it dad, the least you could have done was to invite me to dinner, just the two of us... ever thought about that?"  Ruby said walking away, as Javier followed. 

"Ruby you shouldn't speak to your father..." Christopher said. 

Ruby turned around, eyes like daggers as she threw her gaze towards Christopher, "Letitia is a fine example of extravagance, no amount of money, luxuries or expensive diamond bracelets were going to win Letitia over, she already had all those luxuries before she knew you... no amount of money could measure to love, so why the hell do you think she could succumb to you eventually? Oh she was right in telling me, all she wanted was someone to hold her..." Ruby shook her head, "Just forgot about that, I apologise, I shouldn't have brought that up. Good night dad." 

She walked into the hall and collided with Felix.  He hugged her straight away in a bear hug.

"I've missed you so much Ruby, how are you?" Letting her go and looking at her.

"I'm fine Felix, how are you?" Ruby said taking a few steps back and bumping into something solid behind her, she turned around to see Javier standing there with a not so happy expression.

Felix kept his eyes trained on Ruby, "Will you be staying for the party?"

"No, I'm going home," she simply replied, with no explanation whatsoever.

His face contorted and he looked at her bewildered, "But this party is for you, you can't just go... if it worries you so much, I'll keep you company,"

"Like hell you will," Javier stepped forward and put his arm around Ruby, "You heard her, she's going home."

"Hey hey, who the hell are you chump... you just came on the scene five minutes ago..." Felix said, baring teeth and stepping forward.

"Let's go Ruby, we're wasting our time here," he manuvered her out of Felix's way and she walked towards the door.

Felix clamped his hand on Javier's shoulder, he spun around and saw Felix's fist before it hit him in the face, punched him straight in the ribs and the elbowed him in the face.  His head flew back and Javier tripped him up and Felix landed on his bum.  Javier bent down and whispered to him, "Do that again and I'll rip out your spinal cord and a word of warning, keep away from Ruby."  When Javier stood up and spun around, he noticed a very shocked Ruby standing by the door, he ushered her out to the car and they disappeared down the driveway.

***

Christopher left the party early, he could hear the words she had spoken with her acidic tongue towards him, after he had tried to help her.  And after all the effort her father had put in to get people together last minute for her, well she was an ungrateful little bitch, indeed.  He was in badly need of sanctuary and a good stiff drink.

***

"Why did you have to hurt Felix? He's just doing his job," Ruby said, when they arrived back at the house.  She took off her shoes and headed straight for the kitchen.

"I don't like him, he has a hidden agenda," Javier closed the door and bolted it and followed her through.

She paused with her hands on her hips, "You're jealous, aren't you?"

"I'm not jealous, I'm simply trying to protect you..." Javier said.

"Really? Because all he did was hug me..."

"He could have done something much more serious then that," Javier replied.

Ruby looked at him, "What have you found out about him?"

"We've been monitoring him Ruby, just as a precaution..." Javier responded.

"But there must be something that has given him away... oh yes, his fondness for me," she laughed as she poked him, "Don't look so serious."

"I'm serious when it comes to you Ruby," and he pulled her towards him and kissed her until her knees went weak.

Run & Hide

Chapter 7

A Lead Somewhere

Javier was used to long hours on the job, he enjoyed his job, took pride in it, that he didn't mind the long hours.  He liked getting things things done and getting it done the right way, his way.  He liked being resourceful and he liked chasing the bad guys till the bad guys were caught, arrested and thrown into prison.  What he didn't like, was getting caught up in the woman he was protecting and running the case for.  It was mixing business with pleasure and that was a certified no - no.  He had rules and damn, he had to stick to them but he couldn't get over how amazing that kiss was and something unknown to him stirred something deep inside him. 

He carried on tapping away at the keyboard, accessing police data.  Since meeting Felix a few hours ago, he had a hunch and his hunches always came out right. Call him cocky or merely confident, but he prized himself on being right.  He'd been working hard, accessing information on Felix Stowe from his whereabouts in the time frame that Ruby had been missing, what he did when he wasn't at work, to where he shopped et al.   He was building a file against him, just in case.  His over eagerness to see Ruby, just didn't sit well with him.  Thinking of Ruby, he hadn't seen her in a while, after she received the flowers and the gift, she'd disappeared into her bedroom and he hadn't seen her since. He stood up from the table, striding over to her bedroom when the mobile phone beside his laptop started ringing.  He strode back and immediately saw 'Ryker's name blink on the caller ID.

"I have one suspect on my list that may fit the profile of our abductor," Ryker began.

"Let me guess, Felix Stowe?" Javier replied.

"Actually no, strange guy though," Ryker commented, "Came across him when I was scoping out the area."

"So, who's the guy then?" Javier whispered, not wanting to be overheard.

"Christopher Lewis, celebrity and surgeon of the stars," Ryker whipped.

"And the relationship he has with?" Javier eyed Ruby's door.

"Lewis has known and is Don Lee Carlton's best friend, he was present at the party, schmoozing with said folk and then he disappeared for a couple of hours, later returned, probably to keep up appearances."

"What else did you find out about him?"

"He was married to an heiress half his age Letitia Hampton, my sources tell me he was besotted with her, showered her with expensive gifts and then she was caught sleeping with the pool man, they'd been married two years," Ryker said.

"So, where is she now?" Javier said.

"Mental institution... checked that out as well. She's unrecognisable, it's as if the dogs got to her, tried talking to her but she's mute. I'm telling you Javier, I don't know what the hell happened to her, she's mutilated, her brain's frazzled.  Drew out her report, sending it over to you... seems her ex-husband put her there, he's signed her off to stay there."

"And what about her family?" Javier asked, his eyes trained on the bedroom door.

"They don't want to know about her, apparently looks and appearances mean a lot to the Hampton's and this sort of coverage, this attention is not good for their real estate business... so they too signed her away to the place, it's a darn shame too, as blood's meant to be thicker then water..." Ryker sighed down the phone, "How's Ruby doing?"

"She's holding up," he swiftly changed the subject, "I want you to keep an eye on him Ryker, have you got anything on Felix Stowe?"

"Why?" Ryker asked.

"He came around a few hours ago, he seemed a bit attached to Ruby, trying to gain entrance... no, just wasn't part of his vocab, there's something definitely strange about him but keep me posted," and Javier hung up. 

Both Ryker and he were at least getting somewhere, he wanted to nail the bastard before they decided to make the next move. He was heading back to his desk when he heard the bedroom door open and the patter of feet, he already knew it was Ruby.

He spun around about to mouth a question to her and noticed she was dressed up, "Where you going?"

"I have to go to my father's house, he wants me to sort out my mother's stuff," Ruby said, as she put on her Converse shoes.

Javier looked at his watch, "But it's seven thirty, surely this can wait till tomorrow?"

"He said, if I don't come out now, he'll throw it all away.  So, I'm going to take her stuff and bring it back with me," Ruby said.

"I'll come with you," Javier said, picking up his jacket.

"Why does my dad have to be such an ass? One minute he's giving me my mum's most prized possession, something that I've loved all my life," pointing at the locket she wore, "And now he's telling me, he's going to throw everything away!"

He touched her cheek and kissed her lightly on the lips, "Don't work yourself up Rubes, it's not worth it," he shut down his laptop, brought his mobile and a spy cam and put on the security alarm, they both made their way out to to the car.

Javier parked the car in the gravel driveway of the Palace and they both got out.  The lights were all on in the house, like a beacon directing ships to avoid the cliffs.  They walked towards it, Ruby reluctantly as she flagged a few steps behind.  The butler opened the door and they stepped in, Javier looked around and realised the extravagance of the Palace and why they called it that. There were twin staircases and fresco paintings adorned on the ceiling, the floor was warmed, marble and everywhere you looked there were paintings of contemporary artists and sculptures of deceased.  Though beautiful, it was very impersonal and he realised why Ruby didn't feel at home here.  They were led down the hallway towards the ballroom.

"Why are we being led to the ballroom?" Ruby asked.

"This way," the butler ignored her question and opened the doors.  The ballroom was dark but Ruby could hear shuffling and she stopped in the doorway.

"I can't do this Javier," she said panting.

He watched her, she was having the beginnings of a panic attack and before he could usher her away, the lights of the ballroom came on and there were at least two hundred people standing in their finest clothes shouting surprise. He took one look at Ruby as her eyes rolled back and she crumpled to the floor.