He clicked off and went straight to his room, needing a shower and clarity. Richard would track her financial movements but if she paid cash, the trail would stop at a certain point. Julianna was a smart woman but she would mess up and he would be there to grab her.
That was a promise.
#
Nothing will stop me. Nothing
Boston’s words rang in Julianna’s memory as she boarded the plane and she wondered how long Boston would look for her before giving up. What about Tom? A voice worried at the back of her mind but she couldn’t think of Tom right now. Chances were Boston would stop paying the bill for Tom’s rehab at some point but he wouldn’t do it right this second. He would likely dangle that in front of her, trying to persuade her to come back to him but she wasn’t going to cave. Not this time. The stakes were so much bigger than ever before. She longed to call Tom and tell him everything but she couldn’t do that. Not yet. She still feared his reaction. Her brother was all she had in this world and she couldn’t bear knowing she’d shamed him, even if it was to help him. No, she was alone in this.
A single tear escaped to slide down her cheek but she didn’t bother wiping it away. She knew there was plenty more where it’d come from because her heart felt strangely damaged.
She wasn’t in love with Boston. She was using him just as he was using her. But now there was a baby to consider. A living breathing human being that would tether her to Boston in ways she couldn’t even fathom.
But even as she tried to tell herself that she didn’t harbor any feelings for Boston, she knew that was a lie. In the past six weeks, she’d come to feel something for the impossibly sexy and enigmatic man, but she didn’t want to acknowledge that the tears she was crying might be for something else.
She was leaving him.
And she was carrying his baby.
What a fucked up situation. For Christ’s sake, she was a walking country song. All she was missing was a tractor and a dog.
#
Boston swore under his breath. His eyes burned from staying awake all night and his gut churned from using alcohol as his only sustenance but there’d been no way sleep could find him when his mind wouldn’t shut down for a blessed minute. Julianna had done exactly what he’d figured she’d do to escape and if he weren’t half-drunk and beyond exhausted he might’ve been impressed.
“She’s using cash,” Richard said. “And since you don’t have access to her bank account, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Bullshit. “Hire a private investigator. There are ways to find people. I want to know where she is by the end of the day.”
“You need sleep,” Richard said, casting a strong look of disapproval Boston’s way. “You look like hell. And you don’t smell very good either.”
“I didn’t realize I was running for Governor,” he said sourly, rising from his chair on stiff legs to make himself another drink. “She could be anywhere by now. Hell, she could be at an abortion clinic, sucking that tiny life right from her body and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”
“Do you really think she’d do that?” Richard asked.
“How the hell should I know?” Boston snapped, dropping two ice cubes into his glass before pouring two fingers of scotch. “It’s not like we talked about those sorts of things.” They didn’t talk much at all. All they did was fuck. Gloriously. And he was damn addicted to the feel of her body next to his at night. God, he wanted to punch something so badly that his hands shook. Or maybe it was because his blood sugar was plummeting. He downed the glass and deposited it to the bar, focusing on Richard with displeasure. “Why are you still standing there? Go find her!”
“You need sleep and a swift kick in the ass. And I’m not sure in what order.” Boston stared, unable to believe that Richard was being so openly insubordinate. But apparently, he wasn’t through because he continued without pause. “You obviously haven’t learned a thing about the girl because here you are ready to drag her back by her hair to get what you want. Has it occurred to you that maybe a different approach would yield better results?”
Boston narrowed his slightly tipsy gaze at Richard. “How so?”
“The girl is scared. The pregnancy has changed the game and thus the players. It’s time for you to woo the girl if you’re going to get what you want. Ask yourself…do you still want Julianna?”
“Yes,” he growled.
“Then you’re going to have to get her to come back to you on her terms. If you force her, it will end badly.”