Thunder Karate was almost empty when Julianna arrived. The last few students were surrounding a tall, blond, well-built man. Standing in the shadows, she watched as he executed a couple of punches and kicks. The students watched and after a few more moves and a brief discussion on doing their best in the upcoming tournament, the students left. Julianna waited until everyone was gone, then, taking off her high-heeled sandals, she walked across the matted floor and up to where Trent was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He had seen someone standing by the door earlier and thought that she looked familiar, but he couldn’t place from where.

As he watched her walk toward him he tried to remember where he might know her from. The waist length dark hair and big almond shaped brown eyes suddenly jarred his memory.

"Julie?" he asked in astonishment.

"I didn’t think you were going to recognize me," Julie said as she reached him.

"I almost didn’t. You look great," Trent said as he hugged her.

"Thanks, so do you."

"How long has it been?" Trent asked as he guided her up the stairs to his office.

"Almost five years. I was about nineteen when I moved to California," Julie replied as she sat in the chair that he cleared for her.

"What are you doing back in Dallas?"

"Well, I decided that I had been away from home for too long and wanted to come back. I just graduated from college and figured I could look for a job here."

"That’s great. What kind of work?"

"Child Psychology," said Julie as she looked around the small office. She saw trophies and pictures around. One picture in particular caught her eye. It showed Trent standing next to a dark-haired guy outside Thunder Karate. The other guy looked very familiar. Picking up the picture, Julie said "Don’t tell me this is Carlos."

"Yep. Except that it’s now Detective Carlos Sandoval."

Looking at Trent in amazement, Julie put the picture down and said, "A Detective? With as much trouble as the two of you used to get into I figured becoming a cop was the last thing that Carlos would have done."

"Yeah, well, people change," said Trent.

"They sure do," said Julie with a strange look in her eyes. "Look, I really should get going, I have an interview tomorrow and I still need to get settled."

Surprised at how abrupt Julie suddenly was, Trent stood up and walked her to the door. "Why don’t we get together tomorrow after your interview for lunch? I’ll bring Carlos along," said Trent.

After hesitating for a moment, Julie agreed to meet him and Carlos at CD’s around one o’clock for lunch.

Later that same day, Julie was trying to get everything organized in her new apartment when the phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered, as she opened a cardboard box containing books.

"Hello Julianna," said a deep voice at the other end.

Dropping two books, Julie’s face turned white. "What do you want?" she asked with a quiver in her voice.

"Just thought you might need to hear a familiar voice."

"How did you find me?" asked Julie. She was becoming even more frightened because she hadn’t told anyone where she was going or that she was even leaving California.

"I have my ways," said the voice menacingly. "I warned you about what would happen if you ever left."

Julie’s mind flashed back to six months earlier: It was July, the club had been packed to full capacity, with music blaring and lights flashing. The upstairs office was relatively quiet compared to what was going on downstairs. Julie stood nervously in the middle of the sound proofed room. Sitting behind the desk was Michael Casey, a tall man with dark hair and eyes that were even darker than the darkest night. At the moment they were fixed on Julie’s face.

It had been hard, but Julie had managed to get away from Michael and his dance club and find her way back home to Dallas. But when she had first met him she lied and said she was from New York -- she wasn’t even sure why she felt she had to do that. Now he had found her again and even had her new phone number.

"Please Michael, what do you want from me?" asked Julie as her voice continued to tremble from fright.

"Just to see how you were and to let you know that you will soon be back here where you belong. You’ll be hearing from me again." And before Julie could say anything else, Michael hung up and the line was dead.

Meanwhile, at Thunder Karate, Carlos had just arrived to give some information to Trent for a case that Trent was working on. As they were sitting in Trent’s office, Trent told Carlos about his visit from Julianna.

"Hey, I almost forgot, you will never guess who came by here earlier today."

"Who?" asked Carlos as he sat up straighter in his chair.

"Julianna Lawrence," said Trent.

"Julianna?" asked Carlos with surprise. "The last I heard she was going to school in California."

"Well, from what she said, she’d finished with school now and came back home to work."

Sitting and thinking, Carlos remembered the last time he had seen Julianna. It was

five years ago and they had been walking through the park on her last night in Dallas: "I wish that my parents weren’t making me go to California for school," said Julie as they sat down on a bench.

Trent’s voice brought Carlos back . . ."So I told her that we would meet her at CD’s tomorrow for lunch."

"Tomorrow? What time?"

"At about one o’clock. She has an interview and will meet us after."

Not looking at Trent, Carlos said, "I don’t think that I can make it." At Trent’s quizzical look Carlos explained, "I just started a new case."

Trent didn’t say anything, he just nodded. Trent also remembered what lead to Julie’s leaving all those years ago, and he knew how hurt his friend had been. Trent had never seen two people closer than Carlos and Julie had been. To them, age didn’t matter, and Julie didn’t care that her parents didn’t like Carlos, and that was why they were making such a big deal about their age, all that mattered was that they were there for each other and they always were. So Trent understood why Carlos wasn’t ready to see Julie again.

Julie made sure to get up a little earlier the next morning to get ready for her interview because she had such a hard time sleeping. All she kept thinking about was Michael’s call and what his plans might be, and about the possibility of seeing Carlos again. It was all a little overwhelming. She had no idea what kind of person her interviewer might be and she wanted to make a good impression. Pulling out of her closet a long black skirt that had a slit on each side, a simple white button-down blouse, and a black vest that laced up the front, Julie figured that this outfit would look both respectable and not too overly done. Sitting down in front of her mirror, Julie separated her waist length dark curls in half ponytail and twisted the thick curls into a bun. She left the rest to flow down her back.

An hour later, she was standing on the walkway in front of a quaint looking house with a sign reading Help

People

Excel

Looking down at the slip of paper in her hand, Julie checked the name of the person she was supposed to see: Alex Cahill.

Finally getting up her courage, Julie walked up to the porch and opened the front door. Shocked by what she was confronted with. Ten kids were running around the front desk and two more where standing on the desk shouting orders. As Julie stood there stunned, one of the little girls standing on the desk was standing starting to fall off the desk. Julie made it to the side of the desk just as the girl took a step back and fell into Julie’s arms.

Just then Josie, a tall black woman with short hair ran out of the front room and when the kids saw her, they instantly calmed down, and she told all of the kids to go back inside. She noticed Julie putting the little girl down and walked over to her.

"Hi. Can I help you?" asked Josie, slightly out of breath.

"Yeah. My name is Julianna Lawrence and I’m supposed to have an interview with Alex Cahill today," answered Julie as she straightened her vest.

"Well, my name is Josie and this little thing here is Adrianna, who knows that she isn’t allowed to climb up on the furniture," said Josie, with a smile as she took the little girl’s hand. "Just let me get her settled and I’ll take you to see Alex."

"Thanks."

A half-hour later Julie was happily headed to CD’s restaurant. She felt her interview had gone very well and Alex had wanted her to start right away. Julie couldn’t wait to start.

Parking her car, Julie went in and found Trent sitting at a booth by himself. As she walked over he stood up.

"Hi."

"Hey, how did your interview go?" asked Trent as they sat down.

"Great! I got the job and I’ll be starting tomorrow."

"That’s great! Congratulations! Where is it?" asked Trent.

"At a place called HOPE," answered Julie as she looked at the menu.

"Really. Did you meet with Alex Cahill?"

"Yes, how did you know?" asked Julie.

"Alex is a friend of mine. You’ll love working with her."

Just before they were ready to order, Julie looked around and said, "I thought Carlos was coming with you."

Looking slightly uncomfortable, Trent said, "Carlos just started a new case and said he probably wouldn’t be able to meet us." Julie noticed that Trent never really looked her in the eye.

"He’s still mad at me, isn’t he?" Julie whispered, with her eyes on the table.

"I don’t think he was ever really mad at you, maybe just hurt. I mean, when you left Julie, you totally broke connections with everyone almost right away. That’s what hurt him," said Trent. He knew that he should be honest with her.

"I wanted to let him know that I am sorry. . . but I guess he doesn’t want to hear it right now," said Julie with a sad smile.

"Just give him time, I’m sure he’ll come around," said Trent encouragingly.

At the Dallas Police Department, Carlos sat at his desk staring into space. He had made up the excuse of having started a new case because he didn’t feel he was ready to see Julie.

Finally realizing there was no way he was going to be able to get any paperwork done, he left the station. Leaving his car in the garage, Carlos began to walk. Finding himself in the park he sat down on a bench.

After her lunch with Trent, Julie felt like taking a walk to refamiliarize herself with the area again.

As Carlos was sitting on the bench, a shadow fell across the ground at his feet. Without looking up he said, "Hi."

"Hi. Can I sit down?"

Without saying a word he slid over and made room for Julie. "Carlos. . . ," but before she could even start, Carlos cut her off.

"I’m sure you have an entire apology speech prepared, but I don’t want an apology, all I want is an explanation."

Julie looked up at Carlos and caught her breath; he looked even better than he had five years ago. His hair was a little longer, but he still had those smoldering brown eyes and sexy mouth.

"When I moved out to California, I really missed everyone a lot. But I knew a long distance relationship was not going to work for us," Julie said.

"And that’s why I haven’t heard anything from you?" asked Carlos as he turned to look at her. To him, Julie looked the same as when she left. The only change was that her shoulder length curls now reached down to her waist. Looking into her eyes, Carlos noticed that there was something guarded there.

"Things just got complicated once I got settled. Besides going to school, I had to find a job. I didn’t forget about anyone," Julie tried to explain. She knew that she was making it out to sound simpler than it really was, but there was no way she wanted Carlos to know what she had gotten herself into. "I know that we can never pick up where we left off, but we did have a connection Carlos, and I know that I ruined it by not keeping in touch. . . but I know that we still have that connection."

Shaking his head, Carlos stood up and said, "You’re right, we still do, but it can’t be picked up again so easily."

"What are you saying?" asked Julie with a note of hopefulness in her voice.

"I’m saying that if we work on it, maybe we can reestablish that connection. But," he added when he saw her eyes light up, "it will take time."

Julie was happy with whatever she could get. But she knew that Carlos was still a bit uncomfortable and she knew he was right: It was going to take a lot of hard work to get Carlos to trust her again.

* * * * *

Although Julie was enjoying her job at HOPE, she was constantly thinking about her situation with Carlos and Michael. After work on Friday, Julie decided to go to CD’s for dinner. Standing in the doorway, Julie looked around and saw that neither Carlos nor Trent were around. She sat at a table in the center of the restaurant and ordered her dinner. Julie was so involved in the case folder she was reading that she didn’t notice someone standing across from her.

"Always such a hard worker, aren’t you?" Looking up at the voice, Julie’s face became pale when she saw who it was.

"Michael! What are you doing here?"

"I just came to see how you were doing," answered Michael as he pulled out a chair next to her.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Julie pleadingly.

"Because you belong to me Julie," said Michael as he leaned closer to Julie. Julie could see that his eyes were very dark and looked even more dangerous than the last time she saw him. And she also knew that she needed to get away from him. . . now.

Gathering up her papers, Julie stood up. Just as she was about to move away from the table, Michael’s hand shot out, grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her chair.

"I am not kidding around Julie," said Michael as he tightened his grip on her arm.

Before Julie had a chance to do or say anything, Carlos and Trent came into the restaurant. Looking in the same direction as Julie, Michael saw two god looking guys walking toward their table. Letting go of Julie’s arm, Michael warned, "Don’t do anything stupid."

By then Trent and Carlos had reached their table.

"Everything okay?" asked Carlos as he eyed Michael warily.

"Everything’s fine," said Julie quickly. "Would you guys like to join us?" She knew she was taking a risk by inviting Trent and Carlos to join them . . . but at this point, she would rather have Carlos and Trent know about her past than be alone with Michael much longer.

As they pulled up chairs, Julie introduced everyone. "Trent, Carlos, this is Michael Casey, um. . . an acquaintance from California. And Michael, this is Trent Malloy and Detective Carlos Sandoval, old time friends." Julie made sure to stress the Detective part of Carlos’ title. Looking at Michael, Julie noticed that his eyes hardened even more toward Carlos.

"So, how long are you going to be in town?" asked Trent, breaking the growing tension around the table.

"I’m not sure yet. I’m here on business and decided to visit Julie," said Michael.

"What sort of business?" asked Carlos, his detective instincts on full blast. For some reason he was suspicious of who Michael was and why he was here. Looking at Julie, Carlos saw fear in her eyes.

"I’m a club owner and wanted to check out a location for a club I want to set up here."

Julie’s eyes widened and her mouth went dry.

"So, how well did you know Julie?" asked Trent.

"I worked at his club as a waitress when I first moved out there," Julie quickly jumped in. She wanted to head off anything that Michael might have said.

After a few more minutes, Michael stood up and said that he needed to get going to a meeting. "I’ll keep in touch Julie," he said before he left. . . and Julie knew that she would definitely be hearing from him soon.

"Interesting guy," said Carlos as he turned to Julie. "So. . . do you want to tell us what’s going on?"

"What do you mean?" asked Julie. She was hoping they wouldn’t want to know anything else once Michael left.

"Come on Julie, the last time I saw you look that scared was when you were sixteen and had that huge blowout party and your parents came home early. I want to know what’s going on," said Carlos as he put his hands over Julie’s clenched fists on the table. Julie looked into Carlos’ eyes and saw genuine concern and caring there.

"Julie, we can’t help unless you tell us what’s going on," said Trent. He was also concerned about her.

Taking a deep breath, Julie started to explain about her association with Michael. "I had been in California for two years when I started to have some financial problems. My roommate heard about a club, not too far from school, which needed waitresses and paid very well. I went there, got the job and met the owner. . . Michael," Julie kept her eyes on the table. "He became interested and when I refused to become "his

girl". . . he said he would make my life a living hell."

"Did he do anything else besides threaten you?" asked Trent quietly.

"He would hit me. . . it was his way of keeping me in my place," said Julie in a trembling voice.

"Why didn’t you just leave. . .or find help?" asked Carlos in a strained voice. It was hard for him to hear what had happened to Julie.

"I tried. . . once, but I didn’t get far. . . when Michael found me. . . I spent two days in the hospital."

At this, Carlos felt his blood boiling. He couldn’t believe what Julie had gone through. . .and by herself!

"What about your parents? Did they know what was going on?" asked Trent.

Julie shook her head no. "I couldn’t tell them. It took me a long time to earn their trust. . .there was no way they would ever trust me on my own again. I just couldn’t admit that I had screwed up," she said as tears welled in her eyes.

"How did you finally get away?" asked Carlos.

"A friend was able to get me on a flight to New York while Michael was away on a business trip. Once in New York, I bought a bus ticket to Houston and then got another bus here to Dallas. I used cash the whole time. . . I don’t know how he found me," Julie finished.

Carlos sat back in seat, still holding onto Julie’s hands, which he noticed had begun to shake a little. "I can do a background check tonight. I may be able to find something that he could be picked up for so he won’t bother you anymore."

"And you can stay with me at my mom’s house," offered Trent.

"Oh Trent, I don’t want to impose on you or your family. I will be just fine in my apartment," objected Julie.

"No, Trent’s right. I don’t want you to be alone tonight," said Carlos. Julie was grateful that Trent and Carlos were willing to help her out, but she was afraid for them, they had no idea how dangerous Michael could actually be.

After leaving CD’s, Trent took Julie back to her apartment so she could pack some stuff and Carlos headed back to the station.

Sitting in front of the computer, Carlos typed in Michael’s name and waited while the computer did its search. As he was waiting for the search to be completed, Carlos thought about Julie’s situation. He had thought that Julie didn’t care about him anymore and that by not keeping in touch, it was her way of breaking up with him. Now he knew what she had gone through. It just made him want to catch Michael even more.

It took almost the rest of the night for Carlos to gather all of his information on Michael, but he finally got what he needed:

NAME - MICHAEL CASEY

OCCUPATION (CURRENT) - OWNER OF HOT NIGHTS LOUNGE

FORMER OCCUPATION - LOS ANGELES DETECTIVE

REASONS FOR DISMISSAL - POSSESSION OF ILLEGAL DRUGS AND MISSING DRUG MONEY FROM THE STATION

The note from his superior said: Detective Casey has exhibited unusual behavior over the past six months. He has been hostile toward fellow officers and civilians. Detective Casey has been suspended twice from active duty and an investigation was ordered for the last suspension. A psychological consult has been requested. Three days before his psych consult, a fight between Detective Casey and another officer erupted. Casey’s behavior resulted in a search of his locker, office and a warrant obtained for a search of his apartment. In his apartment the officers found stashes of illegal drugs and millions of dollars in cash. Detective Casey is awaiting trial and is currently out on bail posted by his wife Carmen Casey. Captain Ronald Morris May 25, 1998

Grabbing a folder, Carlos stuffed in the computer printout and rushed to Trent’s house.

While Carlos was gathering information on Michael, Julie was at Trent’s house watching t.v. with Trent’s younger brother and sister, Tandy and Tyler.

"All right you two," said Trent to Tandy and Tyler, "it’s time to get ready for bed." Amid grumbles and groans, Trent ushered the two kids up to their rooms. Half an hour later he came back downstairs and joined Julie in the living room.

"I really appreciate what you and Carlos are doing for me, "said Julie.

"Believe it or not Julie, but Carlos and I still care about you -- we have all been friends for too long to let you do this alone," Trent said as he sat next to Julie next to Julie on the couch.

Before Julie could comment on what Trent said, the doorbell rang and Trent got up to answer it. Julie stood up as Trent came back into the living room with Carlos behind him.

"Did you find anything?" asked Julie anxiously. Carlos handed her the folder. Julie opened it and started reading. "‘Los Angeles Police Department’? You mean Michael is a cop?"

Shaking his head, Carlos said, "Not anymore. He was a detective, but was suspended from the force. There’s a note from his supervisor that explains what happened."

Julie’s eyes widened as she read the note. The last line surprised her. "He’s married?!"

"What happens now?" asked Trent, he had moved behind Julie and was reading over her shoulder.

"According to the law, he’s not allowed to leave California while out on bail. . . "

"So he could be picked up for jumping bail?!" Julie cut in, starting to feel very hopeful.

Carlos nodded, then said, "But I’ll need a good reason to having run his name through the computer in the first place." The opportunity came later that same week. Julie had stayed at Trent’s place at Carlos’ insistence concerning her safety. Julie had relented, although she felt that she was imposing on Trent and his family.

Monday night, while at HOPE, Julie received a phone call from Michael.

"Meet me at White Rock park tomorrow night at eight o’clock," was what he said when she answered the phone.

"Why?" Julie was surprised at how steady and strong her voice sounded. And she knew that this threw Michael off a bit.

"I don’t think you’re in any position to be questioning me," Michael replied in a threatening tone of voice.

"You would be surprised by the position I am currently in," Julie answered. She knew she was making him angry, but she wanted him to know that he couldn’t easily control her anymore.

After a long silence, Julie said, "If it’s really important, I’ll meet you," Julie said, making it sound as if it didn’t really matter to her.

Trying to control his temper, Michael took a deep breath and said, "White Rock Park. . . eight o’clock. . . tomorrow. . . and come alone. If I see your little school friends or any cops, you won’t live long enough to regret it." The next thing Julie heard was the dial tone as the connection was broken.

Julie arrived at the meeting place half an hour early. Sitting on a bench, Julie tried to calm her nerves and prepare herself. At exactly eight o’clock Michael walked up to Julie. She had been concentrating so hard on maintaining calmness that she hadn’t noticed Michael had arrived.

Standing up and praying that her voice wouldn’t shake, Julie said, "I’m here like you requested."

"I don’t know when you suddenly became so bold, but I suggest you drop the act."

Raising her chin defiantly, Julie said, "This is not an act Michael. . . this is who I was before I met you and who I became again now that you’re out of my life."

"I will never be out of your life Julie -- remember that. I know what type of person you turned into when you were with me and I also know that you will always be that person. . . weak and dependent."

"You know Michael, I used to admire you and thought of you as my protector. . . but now. . . I know you’re just a pathetic liar who was planning on cheating on his wife with a minor." Julie felt stronger as she saw the astonished look on Michael’s face, and continued, "I know exactly who you really are -- a screwed up ex-cop." By the look on his face, Julie knew she had struck a chord.

Michael’s face turned a dark scarlet red and his eyes became cold and hard. Julie knew she would always remember the next minute as lasting an eternity. Everything seemed to move in slow motion -- the gun came up to her head. . . a foot shot out and kicked the gun from Michael’s hand. . . Michael was able to retrieve his gun. . . Julie watched, horrified, as Carlos and Michael fought over the gun. Trent tackled Julie to the ground as the gun was pointed into the air and suddenly went off.

What felt like an hour later, Trent pulled Julie up off the ground. Looking around, Julie was relieved to see Carlos standing up unharmed. Michael was sitting on the ground cradling his bleeding arm.

Hauling Michael to his feet, Carlos roughly pulled Michael’s arms behind his back and read him his rights as he handcuffed him.

"So, what are you’re plans now?" asked Carlos as he sat with Trent and Julie in CD’s.

"Well, I love my job at HOPE, and right now I plan on staying where I am," answered Julie happily.

"What happened to Michael?" asked Trent.

"He was sent back to California on attempted murder charges and jumping bail. From what I understand, his wife was really mad and left him. He’s facing a long sentence," Julie said with satisfaction.

"No matter what has happened in the past, I’m glad your back," said Trent, hugging Julie.

"Same here," said Carlos as he held onto her hand tightly.

Julie knew that they were both sincere. She also knew that they would always be there for her, just as she would always be for them. It feels really good to be home, Julie thought to herself.

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