Chapter 62 Wealth Versus Badge
Julian finished combing through Elena’s wet hair when she finally stopped shivering. The room was quiet and he'd set the heater at a very high temperature.
They both stayed quietly and all that could be heard was the distant sound of traffic from the streets below.
Julian set the comb down on the marble counter. He looked at Elena in the mirror. His face was tired, but his eyes were still sharp.
“We need to talk," he said softly.
Elena turned to him hopefully and listened.
He looked like he was finally ready to speak, to explain the mess of the last few days and the truth about the files she had found in his study.
"Elena," he started, his voice low. "I know what you saw in the basement. I know you think everything has been a lie, but there are things that you don't understand.”
Elena blinked at him. "So that clinic in the basement wasn't a lie I made up? I was going crazy, right?”
He nodded, looking guilty.
"How did you make it all go away then?” She asked, still stunned at the memory of it. "Tell me how you made an entire room filled with furniture and everything go away in just a few hours?”
"I cleaned up the place."
“Clean up? I was right in the house, Julian. Moving anything that heavy would wake me up."
Julian sighed and rubbed his head. “The mansion has many exits, Elena. I don't think you know half of them."
Elena scoffed. Of course she was a stranger in that place. One reason she was never going back there.
“So, who are you? Why did you marry me? Am I some project? Who sent you?"
Julian hissed loudly like he was in pain and then he said. “Elena, there are so many things you can't understand, I swear I don't want to lie to you."
“Then don't!" She snapped tiredly. “Who made you do all this? Who are you? What do you want with me?"
"I was chosen because—"
A loud, sharp knock on the hotel door cut him off.
Julian’s jaw tightened. He stood up straight, his body instantly going into a defensive posture.
He walked out of the bathroom and into the main suite area, with Elena following behind him, clutching the thick white towel around her body.
"Who is it?" Julian called out.
"Room service, sir," a voice answered from the other side. "I have a message for Miss Elena. Someone is here to see her."
Julian didn't like it.
He moved toward the door, his hand hovering near the waist of his trousers where he usually kept a weapon.
He opened the door just a few inches. But instead of a waiter with a silver tray, a tall man pushed his way into the room.
Elena gasped. "Silas?"
Silas Kane stepped into the middle of the luxury suite. He was still wearing his leather jacket, which was damp from the rain.
He looked around the expensive room, his eyes landing on Elena’s pale face and her wet hair. He looked relieved but also incredibly angry.
"How did you find me?" Elena asked. She took a step toward him, her legs still feeling a bit shaky. "What is going on?"
Silas looked at her, then he looked at Julian, who was standing like a stone wall in the middle of the room. "Mandy reached out to me," Silas said. "She managed to get away from that forest area and found a way to contact me. She told me everything. She told me about Holland’s men, the fake police van, and how they kidnapped you both. I’ve been looking for you for the last three hours."
Elena blinked. "But how did you know I was here? At this specific hotel?"
"I'm a cop, Elena," Silas said. He pulled his badge from his pocket and showed it to Julian, though Julian didn't even look at it. "I have connects all over this city. Mandy had a hard time finding me at first. She was desperate. She called almost every police station in Chicago trying to find the 'Detective Silas' you mentioned. Eventually, one of my partners heard about a woman calling every station in the city about a kidnapping. He told me about it, and I knew it had to be you. From there, it wasn't hard to track where Julian Thorne’s limousine went."
Julian stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. He looked Silas up and down with total disgust. "You’ve had your say, Detective. My wife is safe. She’s had a very long night, and she doesn't need to be interrogated by the local police right now. You can leave."
Silas didn't move. He stood his ground, staring right back at Julian. "I wasn't talking to you, Thorne. I was talking to Elena." He turned his attention back to her. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Mandy was terrified. She said you fell into a pit and that these men were trying to kill you."
"I'm okay," Elena said, her voice trembling. "Julian found me. He got me out of the water just in time."
Silas looked surprised. He looked at Julian again, his brow furrowed. "I didn't know you were still married to him, Elena. From the way you were acting at the bar, I thought you were running from him. I thought you were done with this guy."
Julian’s face went dark. He walked over to Elena and put a heavy hand on her shoulder, pulling her slightly closer to him. It was a clear gesture of ownership. "She is my wife. Whatever happens between us is none of your business. You’ve done your job by checking in. Now, get out of my room."
"Your room?" Silas laughed. It was a dry, harsh sound. "This is a hotel, Thorne. And I’m here on official business. A woman was kidnapped. A high-profile woman. I need her to come down to the station and give a formal statement about what happened in that forest. I need descriptions of the men and the vehicle."
"She’s not going anywhere tonight," Julian said. "She’s exhausted. She can barely stand up. I will take care of my wife. I have my own legal team and my own security. We don't need the Chicago PD bungling this up."
"Bungling it up?" Silas stepped closer, his face inches from Julian’s. "You mean like how you 'handled' the security tonight? She ended up in a hole in the woods, Thorne. Your protection clearly isn't worth much. If I hadn't been tracking Holland for months, she’d probably be dead right now."
The tension in the room was so obvious that fists just might be flying around soon.
To stop that, Elena stood between them, feeling the heat coming off both men. She looked at Silas, who looked like the boy she used to know but with a much harder edge.
Then she looked at Julian, the man who had just washed the mud from her skin but was still keeping secrets that could ruin her life.
"Silas, please," Elena said. "He’s right. I can't go to the station right now. I just want to sleep."
Silas looked at her, his eyes softening for a second. He saw the bruises on her arms and the way she was clutching the towel.
He looked like he wanted to reach out and take her away from Julian right then and there.
"Fine," Silas said. "I won't take you in tonight. But I’m not leaving you alone with him either. Not after what Mandy told me."
Julian let out a cold laugh. "You don't have a choice in the matter."
"Actually, I do," Silas said. He pulled out his phone and started typing something. "I’m designating two of my officers to be stationed right outside this door. They will be here twenty-four hours a day. Nobody goes in or out without my department knowing about it. Especially not you, Thorne."
Julian stepped toward Silas, his hands curling into fists. "You are not putting guards on my wife. I have my own men downstairs. I don't need your low-level beat cops hanging around my door."
"I wasn't asking for your permission, Julian," Silas said, his voice dropping to a dangerous level. He looked Julian straight in the eyes, showing no fear at all. "I’m a detective in this city. I have reason to believe Elena Vance is in danger, and as of right now, she is under police protection. Your private security can stay in the lobby. My men stay at the door."
"This is an abuse of power," Julian hissed.
"Call your lawyers," Silas shrugged. "In the meantime, my men are coming up. Elena, if you need anything, anything at all, you tell the officers at the door. They report directly to me."
Silas turned and looked at Elena one last time. He reached out and squeezed her hand. "Stay safe, Elena. I'll be back in the morning to get that statement. And we're going to talk more about why you're so scared of your own husband."
He turned on his heel and walked toward the door.
“You're nothing but a little pest. All Elena has to do is say the words and I'll make sure your superiors get you off that door and in fact, transferred from the city at once."
He paused at the threshold and looked back at Julian.
"I've got my eye on you, Thorne. I don't care how much money you have. In this city, I'm the one with the badge."
Silas walked out and slammed the hotel door shut behind him.
The room went silent again. Elena stood there, shivering in her towel, looking at the door.
She could hear the heavy footsteps of the police officers already arriving in the hallway.
She turned to look at Julian. He was standing in the middle of the room, he looked at the door, then at herm
"Get in the bed, Elena," Julian said, “you need rest."
He didn't say anything else. He just walked to the window and stared out at the city, watching the police lights flashing down on the street.