Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

Julian was still trying to calm down a good ten minutes after the call. The sight that had greeted him as he broke down the door would keep on reminding him of his failure for a very, very long time. With every whimper he heard from behind him, his heart shattered piece by piece. He mustered all the courage he had and finally turned around to look at Sia.

Sia was still lying in the same position, her back against the wall and her arms and legs limp by her side. Her dress was ripped in several places and lay in shreds all over the floor, revealing more than just bits of her cream colored skin. Her hair was tangled and a huge mess, her makeup all over her tear-stained face. There were several cuts all over her body, and blood trickled down from some of them. But what almost made Julian take a step back was the emptiness in her eyes.

Sia’s eyes always had a certain shine to it, a glow that came from within and made his days a lot brighter. But that light had dimmed down now. And he hated that bastard Arthur for taking it away from her. He hated himself even more that he let the bastard get that close to her. He should have never left her side. Julian had never let any of his clients down before. Letting Sia down was the hardest blow he’d ever taken.

But now was not the time for regrets. He had to act, and he had to act fast.

Quickly removing his jacket and cringing when he saw her flinch, he approached her with caution. When she didn’t move and only stared at him with dull eyes, he knelt down next to her and covered her with his shirt tightly.

He tried to help her stand, but her legs gave out almost immediately. So he hooked his arm under her knees and hoisted her up into his arms and carried her out. Sia stayed quiet. There weren’t even any silent tears, and it worried Julian.

He walked down the stairs as quick as he could and rushed out to the parking where his car was located. All the while, his gun was tucked in his hand, not risking another encounter with Arthur. By now, Julian had understood that Arthur was good at sneak attacks, and he rarely made the same mistake twice. It was to be expected since he’d once been a lawyer.

Thankfully, the parking was deserted and there were no reporters out for a snap. Or other suspicious characters out there.

Reaching his car, he carefully placed Sia on the passenger seat and strapped her in before he rushed to the driver’s side and started the car, his vigilant eye looking out for danger. Julian knew he couldn’t take her back to her house tonight. He couldn’t let Leo witness the horrors of his mother’s assault. It would only be too traumatizing for the both of them. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He took her to his sanctuary, the only place where he felt he was at peace and where she would safe for now: his home.

Julian literally drove like a madman.

It was a good thing that it was the middle of the night and there were hardly any cars on the road or he would have had to pay a huge fine for the number of traffic rules he had just broken tonight.

After about half an hour of reckless driving, with Sia sitting beside him like a statue, he finally reached his home. He took out a remote from the dashboard and pressed a button and the gates to his estate opened with a loud ping. He drove forward and the gates closed shut behind him silently.

Racing down the short driveway, he came to a stop in front of the two-story glass mansion that was his home. No matter how many times he came here, it always left him breathless. But tonight, he had no time to admire the beauty of his sanctuary. He had bigger things to take care of.

He got out after switching off the engine and ran to the passenger side. Sia was still unmoving, her eyes unfocused. Opening the door, he carefully gathered her in his arms once again and kicked the door shut. He moved forward to open the door to the mansion, but it conveniently opened before he even reached it.

Julian had been too focused on Sia to notice the Volvo standing a little further from where he had parked his car.

“Abhay called,” was the only response he got from the man that stood in front of him.

“Please leave,” he literally growled and tightened his hold on Sia as his older brother dared to look at her.

“Call if you need anything,” Christian said before walking out and closing the doors behind him. Christian Turner knew his brother well, but he had also received the full details of Julian’s involvement with Sia from Abhay. He knew how delicate the situation was, which was why any talk about keeping Julian’s private life separate from his professional one would have to wait.

Cecelia and Damien Turner had adopted Julian after he had been brought to their hospital broken and injured after the police raid. And Christian’s parents hadn’t hesitated one bit even after finding out that the boy belonged to a prostitute. Now, over twenty years later, all he remembers is that blood didn’t count. Julian was his brother, in every way but one, and right then, his brother needed help. But as he left his home, leaving Julian alone with Sia, he realized that there were some things a man needed to do by himself. And maybe, Julian had finally found someone who could ease the pain he’d been suffering since his childhood.

* * *

After locking the main door, Julian raced up the flight of stairs to his room on the second floor. He found the lights on and the fireplace already lit.

Making a mental note to thank his brother later, he laid Sia down on his kingsize bed. He moved away from her, to get her some water, when Sia’s small hand caught his larger one in a death grip, a fragile attempt to stop him from leaving. He immediately turned back towards Sia.

“Sia? Sia, please say something,” he pleaded with her desperately, kneeling by the bed, as he saw the haunted look in her eyes fade a bit.

When she said nothing even after repeating her name several times, he slowly picked her up and took her to the ensuite bathroom.

Setting her on the counter, he took her face in his hands and forced her to meet his gaze.

“I’m going to let you take a shower, okay? You’re injured and I can’t help you unless you’re clean from all the dirt. I can’t risk your wounds getting infected.” Julian added the last part quickly when he felt her stiffen at the word “clean”.

“Do you understand?” he asked lightly as she continued to stare at him, unblinking.

A slight nod was what he got. It wasn’t enough, but it was still a reaction, the first she showed in the past hour.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized and then reached for the jacket he’d draped around her.

Slowly, carefully, he peeled his jacket away from her body, making sure not to rush and cause a breakdown. Looking at the state she was in, Julian felt both a fierce protectiveness and a sense of deep regret at having failed to protect her.

“I won’t fail again,” he promised her fiercely, but his tone was soft and firm.

He removed the rest of her clothing, leaving her bra and underwear on. Sia didn’t so much as flinch. Julian was afraid to leave her alone in a room full of sharp objects. He folded her fragile body in a tight embrace, but he kept his hold loose enough so that Sia could get away if she wanted to. Still holding her in his arms, he once again lifted her off the counter and stood them both under the shower and turned the water on.

The warm water seemed to startle Sia out of the trance she was in and finally what had happened earlier registered in her brain. She looked up to see Julian looking at her intensely, as if waiting for her to start panicking. When she saw herself in her underwear and Julian beside her, still dressed, it didn’t make any sense but it was enough for her nerves to act up.

She cried out and hugged herself, shivering despite the warmth of the shower. She fell to her knees, sobbing and screaming, no longer able to keep herself upright without Julian’s help. She wanted to know where she was, how she’d gotten here. Her brain refused to cooperate with her, and worse, she couldn’t stop the hysteria.

Julian was relieved to see her cry, to see her back from the shock. Crying was normal in this case. Shutting out her emotions would have damaged her further. He knelt beside her and took her in his arms, holding her tightly as Sia thrashed around, repeating “no” over and over again.

“Sia!” he called several times. He tried to stop her, to control her hysteria, but Sia wasn’t listening. She was now scratching him, drawing blood, but he was more worried about her hurting herself. “Sia!”

Upon hearing him yell, Sia calmed down immediately, but her body still shook with the force of her sobs. The look of agony she gave him made his heart stop.

“Everything is going to be okay. I’ll kill that bastard if it’s the last thing I do, I promise you that!” he told her fiercely. “But I need you to calm down. Please. I’m here now. I’ll take care of you.”

Sia just looked at him for a long time, her body shivering uncontrollably as a few whimpers left her lips. Julian kept rubbing her hands under the hot spray of the water, her body slowly warming up. It took a while for Sia to calm down but Julian showed patience he never knew he had and kept on comforting her as long as she needed.

“I’m going to use some shampoo on you,” Julian told her. “Are you okay with that?”

When Sia didn’t protest, he brought out the shampoo and cleaned her hair out carefully. When he was done with her hair, he carefully used soap on her face and hands and her feet, cleaning away the hay and the dust. Once he was done cleaning and washing her, he carefully lifted her up and set her back on the counter. She was still shivering, but not as hard. He wrapped a towel around her and told her not to move, going to his closet and quickly changing into a T-shirt and sweatpants. He took one of his smallest shirts with him, along with a pair of old boxers and grabbed the firstaid kit on his way to the bathroom.

Sia was still in the same position he’d left her in, but this time, she turned to face Julian when he entered. He carefully removed the towel again and dried her off as best as he could without making direct skin contact. He then took out the ointment from the firstaid box and slowly applied in on the cuts on her body. She winced in pain every time he did so, but didn’t complain. It worried Julian. Sia was a woman who wasn’t afraid of speaking her mind. Seeing her so numb and scared didn’t sit well with Julian.

There were scratches on her arm where that filth had torn her sleeves and a gash on her right cheek from where he’d slapped her, which thankfully was no longer bleeding. Her waist and legs had scratches and there was a slight gash on her forehead as well. Julian applied medicine to all her wounds and used bandages where they were needed.

After making sure she was all right, he left the clothes he’d brought with him on top of the counter and told Sia not to lock the door while he waited outside for her to get changed. He was about to walk out, but Sia stopped him, taking hold of his hand.

He looked at her curiously as she slowly reached her hands to him and cupped his face. She took the ointment from beside her and applied some on the corner of his lips and eyebrows, where Arthur had succeeded in hitting him back. Her hands lingered on his left cheek where she had scratched him during her hysteria. “I’m sorry I—” she choked out but was stopped as Julian placed a finger to her lips.

“I’m fine.” He tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ears. “I’ll wait outside. Call me as soon as you’re done.”

Sia nodded, and Julian went out the door and waited patiently as Sia got changed. She came out of the bathroom herself when she was done. Julian was glad she was able to move again.

“Do you need something? Are you—”

“Not hungry,” Sia managed to say. “Sleep.”

“Of course,” Julian agreed immediately and took her to his bed.

He helped her into the bed and pulled the covers over her while she watched. But when he went to leave her there, she called him back in a weak voice. “Stay.”

So he closed the lights, but left the fire crackling to still leave the room illuminated and laid down beside her. She instantly curled into him, and he wrapped her tightly in his arms. And they both fell into a nightmare-filled sleep.