Blurred Lines 1: CHASE
Chapter 103

-Chase-

When I heard from Derek that he had brought Sofia to the hospital, I lost ten years of my life. We were so f*****g fortunate that Derek was with her. If not, that hit might have done a number or her... or worse. Despite seeing her here in our room, wrapped in her usually satin sleepwear, hair spread like a gray halo against our white pillow, lips parted as she breathed evenly, I couldn't force my mind to calm the f**k down.

Alice was right. I was a trouble magnet, and someone out there just tried to kill Sofia because of me.

Carefully, I untangled Sofia's arm from my waist and slid out of our bed. I double-checked the lock of the window and went to Elise's room.

Her stuffed toys hogged one side of her bed. Each one had a story about where and why we bought it. After her bedtime story, she'd make Sofia and me kiss each of them before giving her a goodnight kiss. We shouldn't miss kissing one of her friends, especially cowgirl Jessie. Jessie was so special that she got to sleep in Elise's arms.

I walked inside her room and pulled the covers to her chest.

"Daddy..." she murmured in her sleep. It made my chest tight.

"Sleep tight, Princess," I whispered against her forehead, pressing my lips on her hair.

Before going downstairs, I checked the locks on her room, taking a mental note to have an alarm installed tomorrow. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, I walked out to the pool and sat in one lounge. It was a quiet night. Stars glowed in the sky, the wind was calm, and the pool's underwater lights cast blue hues on the outside wall of the mansion.

Eros was pissed off that Carlota hadn't come to him sooner. But once he belched out his anger, he took everything the Vipers did to his sister personally. He promised not to leave Pinehills until he got to the bottom of this. But as I've said to Sofia, I have my own means to protect my family. I won't sit around and rely on Eros or anyone else to figure out who's behind all of this and why.

I was halfway through my beer when the door of the pool house opened. Jose stepped out and headed straight for me, holding out an envelope.

"Got something from the camera?" I asked.

He shook his head no. "Someone smudged dirt on the CCTV at the front lawn," he started. I set my beer on the table and opened the envelope. "I got that from the neighbor's camera."

"Ricky just handed it over to you?" I raised an eyebrow. Ricky Castle, the man who owned the mansion across from ours, was a dick. Everyone in this neighborhood got some story about that guy, how he pissed them off especially the ones with kids. He hates kids and in turn, the kids around the block liked to trash his garden, play pranks on his car. One time, we woke to him cursing on the oak tree in front of his house. It had been decorated with tissue paper like it was a white Christmas tree.

The lights in the pool were dimmed; I needed to stare a few seconds longer to make out the face of the culprit. It was murky, like a picture taken from an analog television. The guy held a bucket of the red liquid - pig's blood - and was in the act of splashing my Jeep with it. He wore a baseball cap, a black hoodie, and baggy pants. The camera captured his nose and lips but was hardly recognizable from the distance and picture quality.

"I know someone and paid them to hack into the neighbor's computer," his nonchalance about what he'd done surprised me.

I stared up at him. His face remained stoic. I know that guy can smile. He even laughs when he's with Elise, but he just doesn't smile at anyone else.

"That's resourceful of you, but I don't recognize him." I slid the photo back inside the envelope, noting to bring this to the docks in the morning and ask Stanly if he recognized the guy. "We need to install an alarm in the entire mansion. Change the locks and make sure there are no blind spots in the camera. Add more if needed."

"I'll take care of it," he remained standing in front of me as if he had something to say.

"Is there anything else?"

"May I give a suggestion, Sir?"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "For the love of God, Jose. Stop acting like you're a stranger to us. You can speak your mind freely. You are part of this family, for fuck's sake."

A hint of a smile tipped his thin lips. That's a first. "This is a serious matter."

"You don't think I know that? This is my family's life we're talking about. Sofia almost got run over by a car. If her brother wasn't there," I blew out a deep breath. "I don't even wanna think about it." Reaching for my beer, I took a long pull then continued. "I can deal with the pig's blood on my car, someone shadowing me and threatening my life, but this just gets to me. It's my family, Jose." "What do you mean someone shadowing you?" His brows furrowed.

Maybe it's the stress and anxiety hitting me from left to right, so I told Jose about Stanly, the Vipers, including Eros and Carlota's involvement. He knew Eros from dad, and I bet he had an idea of what kind of world he lived in. If he was gonna turn tail and run back to Rio because of the threat in my life, I needed to know now so I could find someone to protect Sofia and Elise when I am not around. "We need a contingency plan," was all he said when I was done.

"Contingency?" I don't like that word. It meant that we were preparing for the worst. "An escape plan?"

Letty had one for me because she was ready to face death. I am not. When Sofia had a panic attack in the car, it wasn't only her fear she had voiced out loud. Mine too. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on FindNovel.net. Visit FindNovel.net to read the complete chapters for free. I was damn scared of losing her. And I don't want them to lose me either. I want that peaceful life. I still have to marry Sofia, and I want to see Elise grow up, give her shit about boyfriends, and walk her down the aisle. Fuck, I want to see my grandkids, spoil them - which would probably annoy Elise- and grow old with Sofia.

"Yes and no," Jose crossed his arms in his middle, pinning me with a no-bullshit stare. "I know all about your history with Eros. Including Letty's death and your involvement with Loco." "The f**k?"

He nodded. "Your dad thought something like this might happen. I was his contingency plan, and now we have to have one for you and your family. I need you to give me every information Eros will give you. For this to work, you have to trust me, Chase." He used my first name just like Dad used to speak to me. "No bullshit, no lies, and no trying to be a smart ass. That's the only way I can help you."

I was still wrapping my mind on the fact that Jose knew about Letty and Loco. And now he's speaking to me like a man in charge, giving orders that I must follow or people will die. Who is this man?

I chuckled, standing up, leveling a stare with Jose.

'Dad. That cunning old man.

"All this time, you've been spying on me?"

Jose smirked, showing a hint of attitude in front of me for the first time. "Diego has one son, one daughter-in-law, and one granddaughter. It seems like you don't know your father, Chase."

"I knew there was something strange about his request to bring you here," I said coolly. Somehow, the weight upon my shoulder eased a little. Stepping out into the pool with a beer bottle helped me, after all. "So, how do you propose we plan this contingency plan?"

"I have a few ideas. First, you need to be friends with Detective Alice Jacobson." "You're joking, right?" I huffed. He raised an eyebrow. I ran my fingers through my hair. "You know she hates my guts. She'd tear me limb from limb and feed me to the wolves at the first chance she sees." "If you want my help, you have to trust me."

Alice will fucking kill me if I get five feet near her. It's actually a surprise that she didn't strangle me in the hospital.

"Consider it," Jose said when I didn't respond. "Anyway, I'll do my job of protecting your family as best as I can, I can assure you that." He turned his back on me.

"What branch of service did you serve in the military?" If I was going to trust this man blindly, I needed to know more about what he was capable of "Army." "Were you in an elite unit?"

"Do what I tell you to do. Maybe I'll trust you with my secrets." And he left me mulling on how to be friends with Alice fucking Jacobson.