Chapter 11
Eleven
“ W hy don’t you blow your brother off?”
Lani shook her head as she smiled at Jakob. How did this man look so good in the morning? Maybe he didn’t. Perhaps he had just dissolved all of her brain cells with the four times…yes, four …he’d made love to her. “I told you, I promised that I would be there. You could come with me.”
“I’m not up for pretending.”
They both had agreed it would be best to keep what was happening between them a secret. They didn’t even know if they would last.
“Wait, isn’t that sort of your job?”
He shrugged as he pulled on his dress shirt from the night before. The man was so, so pretty. She had known he was. Hell, his image is splashed all over the place when he has a movie release. He didn’t just have a six-pack. It was eight or more. She hadn’t been able to keep her hands off him the night before.
She had never been like that. Ever . There was just something about Jakob. When she touched him, everything else seemed to fade.
“It is, but the truth is, I’ve wanted you for too long. If I’m around your brother, then he’ll know.”
He took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. It was odd but also kind of weirdly romantic. Not that many guys had tried to romance her. Not with sweet gestures like this.
“And that would be a problem?”
“Not for me. Probably for Ben.”
They stopped by the door where their shoes sat. He pulled their joined hands up so he could kiss her hand. Again, romantic and a little…oh, who was she kidding? The old-fashioned gesture had her heart galloping and her entire body lighting up.
“Ah, is this a stupid guy thing?”
“No comment.”
She rolled her eyes.
“So, you don’t want to come with me to brunch or whatever this idiocy is? But you want to spend the day together?”
“Yeah. I’ll wait here, and then we can spend the day together. I need to make a few calls, mainly to my sister. I must let her know it will be another day or two until I make it to Maui. You should come with me.”
Something warm moved through her. “I’d like that a lot.”
After the door shut behind Lani, Jakob made another cup of coffee and moved out to the lanai. It was still early, but not too early for people to hit the beach. He enjoyed this time of day in Hawai’i, where everything seemed to awaken and explode simultaneously. The air was always dewy and sweet in the morning, and while things could suck even if you lived in Hawai’i, at least it was beautiful.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. It was his sister.
“Hey, how are you doing?”
“Jakob.”
It wasn’t his sister. Instead, it was Alek. He sounded as if he’d aged fifty years since the last time they’d chatted.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, alarm racing through him.
“I’m not sure. I had to bring your sister to the ER. She started having contractions about an hour ago. They are doing all sorts of tests, but she wanted me to call you. The doctor said it shouldn’t be too serious, even if she goes into labor. She’s far enough along that we should be out of the woods. But…she’s scared, and I told her I would get her anything to make her feel better. She wants you over here.”
“Of course,” he said, already making his way indoors. “I was going to wait until tomorrow to fly over. I had Felix on standby today. I’ll call him and be over there as soon as I can. Have you talked to Mother or Jensen?”
“No. She wants to wait since they can’t make it over here as easily. She wants to ensure she has some answers for them.”
“Got it. I’ll text you once we have a take-off time.”
“Thanks, Jake.”
He hung up just as the front door opened. Marta stepped in.
“Marta, what are you doing here? You don’t work on Sundays.”
“I thought I would stop by. You said maybe you were going to Maui.”
“I wasn’t, but now I have to. Jules is in the hospital.”
Alarm had her eyes widening.
“She’s far enough along, but they are doing tests to ensure everything is okay. I’m going to get dressed and head out.” He hurried to the stairs and realized he had no way to the airport. “Damn. Can you drop me off at the airport?”
“Of course, Jakob. Go get your things. Do you need me to contact Felix?”
“Yes, thanks.”
He headed up the stairs and tried calling Lani.
“Aloha, this is Lani. I can’t answer my phone right now, but leave a message, and I’ll get back to you.”
Damn. “Lani, I have to head out to Maui. Jules is in labor or having contractions or something. If I don’t hear back from you before we take off, I’ll call you once we land, or I’ll use the communications on the plane. I…I hate leaving like this.” He sighed. “I already miss you.”
He hung up before he started to beg her to understand why he had to leave. He knew Lani would understand; he felt unsettled about not talking to her. Pushing those feelings aside, he started to fill a suitcase. After changing clothes, he grabbed his toiletries. He followed Marta out the door within ten minutes of hanging up with Alek.
He just prayed everything was okay with Jules and the baby.
Lani pulled into the parking garage down the street from the brunch location her brother had texted her earlier. It was a busy Sunday morning, so she’d had to park on the top level. When she grabbed her purse, she checked her phone. She smiled when she saw there was a voicemail from Jakob. The smile faded as soon as she heard the fear in Jakob’s voice. It had been thirty minutes since he’d left the message. She tried calling him, but it went to voicemail. She frowned.
“Jake, call me when you land. Don’t worry about getting hold of me. Jules comes first. I already miss you, too.”
She clicked her phone off. Worry for Jules and her baby made her stomach ache. When she had seen Jakob’s sister a couple of months ago, she was glowing. Her joy had made Lani a little envious, but she had been happy for her, too.
There was another part of her, a small, petty part of her, that felt cheated. It wasn’t important, but after a decade of being infatuated with Jakob, she finally had him in bed…and in the shower…and now she had to wait for more. But what was it that her mother used to say? Anticipation makes things sweeter.
Sighing, she slipped her phone into her pocket and headed for the stairs.
When Lani stepped out of the building, she slipped on her sunglasses and started the three-block walk to the restaurant her sister-in-law had picked. She couldn’t wait to get her car back. It had been over a week. Today was one of those perfect Oahu days, with just enough trade winds to keep cool. She would prefer to have the wind whipping through her hair.
She had thought it odd that Ben hadn’t wanted Jakob at the brunch. It was also weird that they were having it in Honolulu. There was a good chance that someone would recognize one of them, but maybe that was Royal’s idea. Yep, it had to be Royal’s plan all along. At least she would get some food out of it. She had definitely worked up an appetite the night before.
Still, it had been odd that Ben hadn’t said anything to Jakob about it. From what Jakob said, though, they had barely spoken. Ben had been off for a couple of years. It wasn’t until he’d started dating Royal that it really hit her that he wasn’t the boy she grew up with. Hell, he wasn’t even the man he had grown into. And she never understood his infatuation with Royal. In fact, he had been getting bored with her, or at least that is what Lani thought, right before he announced their engagement.
Even after that, she was sure he would call it off. He looked like he’d checked out of the relationship more than once. Her brother would never cheat. That wasn’t his style, but he had been getting antsy up until about six weeks ago.
She’d reached the second-floor landing when her phone pinged. She pulled it out and frowned. It was a text from her brother.
Ben: Not gonna make it today .
She frowned. That wasn’t the way he usually wrote texts. It sounded off. But then, maybe he was still hung over from the night before. He had been drinking a lot of champagne, and that always made him feel like crap the next day.
Lani: Okay. No worries.
She slipped her phone into her pocket. Why did he wait until five minutes before they were supposed to meet to text her? Royal and Ben were coming all the way over from Turtle Bay. It seemed like he would have known before now.
With Jakob on his way off the island, she was at odds with what to do. She could head back to her apartment and get comfortable. She had been resentful when Royal had said she wanted to have brunch today, but when she said it had been Ben’s idea, Lani knew it was important.
She made her way back up the stairs. As she stepped into the parking area, she heard a squeal of tires. Alarm lit through her as she turned to see a car barreling toward her. She started to run, trying to get out of the path of the SUV that was now seemingly headed straight for her. Knowing that it would hit her before she could actually get away, she took a chance and jumped in between two cars, her hip crashing into the car on her right. She landed with a thud, pain exploding in her knee as she fell forward. Her hands slipped over the pavement as she tried to keep from having her face smash into the pavement. As it was, her cheek hit, and she knew it was scraped up.
“Miss? Miss?”
The sound of feet running toward her reached her. A young woman and what looked to be her mother came rushing toward her.
“Are you okay?” The older woman asked.
Lani rose, her head spinning a little. “Yeah. I think so.”
“It was like that man was aiming for you,” the young woman said, reaching out to help Lani.
“Mahalo,” she said. “I think it might have been some people just being jerks.”
The women shared a look, and she could tell when they turned toward her that they weren’t convinced.
“Thank you again.”
“Do you want us to call the police?” The mother asked.
“N-no. I…I just need to get checked out.”
They looked like they wanted to argue, but she felt unsafe there. And she didn’t want the women to be exposed if the jerk returned.
“Thanks,” she said, rushing off. She got to her SUV before she felt her eyes start to sting. Someone had just tried to kill her, run her down. Lani knew not everyone loved her, but to want to kill her? That was another level.
And that’s precisely what it was. Now the failed brakes, the weird text she had gotten…the feeling that someone was watching her…it all seemed to add up. She might be blowing it out of proportion, and since she couldn’t call Jakob, she knew there was one other man she could call.
She pulled out her phone, found his number, and clicked on it.
“Hey,” Conner Dillon said, “Please tell me you aren’t calling to reschedule.”
She sighed. “No. I need to talk to you about a personal security issue.”
“Are you safe right now?” he asked, his teasing tone dissolving.
“I think. I just…”
She was ready to start crying, which wasn’t like her at all.
“Are you in Honolulu?”
“Yes.”
“Go to my office. I’ll let security know to let you in. They will stay with you until I get there.”
“I’m sorry to bother you on a Sunday.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just get to my office. We’ll take care of everything else.”
Emily Daniels burst out of the elevator and hurried down the hall, dread growing with each step she took. Dillon Security was deathly silent as she made her way to Conner Dillon’s office. It was Sunday morning, so that made sense. What didn’t make sense was the big man calling her in. Conner didn’t expect his folks to work on the weekend unless they were on a job that required it.
As she entered his outer office, Janet wasn’t in her seat. His personal assistant was usually his right hand. She raised her hand and realized it was shaking. In a deep breath, Emily reminded herself that her brothers were okay. Aaron was visiting their parents. The twins, Baxter and Barrett, were deployed, but she assumed her parents would call her before Conner would know.
She knocked and waited for Conner to respond.
“Come in, Emily.”
She took another deep breath and opened the door. Conner was leaning against his big desk. In his early forties, her boss was a hottie. Lean and muscular, the former FBI agent was definitely dreamy. The fact that he was a dedicated father with two kids and insanely in love with his wife added to the appeal. He wore jeans and a button-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up.
“Hey, boss.”
His brow furrowed. “Why do you look like that?”
She would not shift her weight. She knew that was a tell with her. “Like what?”
“Like you’re about to be fired.”
“I’m worried about why you would call me in on a Sunday afternoon.”
It took a second, but his eyes widened. “Oh, sorry. The brothers are fine, as far as I know. Or as fine as your family can be.”
She released a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. It was then she realized there was another person in the room. Turning, her eyes widened.
A young woman sat on the comfy couch Conner kept in his office. With golden eyes and long dark hair, Hawaiian wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with the Kingston Surfing logo on it. Emily took in her appearance and the bandage on her right knee. There was also a scrape on her right cheek.
“Lani Kingston, how the heck are you?”
“I’ve been better,” she said, her lyrical voice filled with trepidation.
“You two know each other?”
She glanced over at Conner. “Yeah. The one year I went to school here.” Before the Marines decided to move them. Again.
“This might work better than I thought.”
She turned to look at her boss. “What might work?”
“Ms. Kingston has come to us for protection. I would like you to be that protection.”
That explained the bandaged knee. “I feel there is a but coming.”
“Ms. Kingston?”
It wasn’t normal for the boss to cede the explanation of any job, but he apparently knew Lani just needed some kind of control.
“Please, call me Lani.”
Her gaze moved to Emily, and memories came flooding back to her. Emily had always been awkward—still was—but being a military kid made each move extremely difficult. Lani had been sweet to Emily.
“I’ve had some situations in the last three weeks.”
“And what would those incidents be? No, first tell me about this morning.”
“You know?”
“Lani,” she said, softening her voice because the other woman seemed fragile, “your knee is bandaged.”
She sighed. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Lani. Just tell me what happened this morning. Wait…didn’t your brother just get married yesterday?”
Lani nodded. Emily remembered reading how big it was going to be. The bride had been an influencer and used it to push her social media reach. True love, for sure.
“Yes. I was almost run over in a parking garage.”
“And you had other incidences?”
“One other for sure. The brakes in my car went out. And I’ve felt like someone has been watching me for the last few weeks. I thought it was stress, but now I wonder.”
Anger swelled in Emily. No one should be terrorized this way. But the fact that she was in their office without anyone by her side was telling.
“You don’t trust your family.”
Sadness settled on Lani’s expression. She was far from the happy, sweet girl who had been nice to Emily.
“No.” Shame threaded her whispered response.
Oh, damn. Lani had one brother, Ben, but Emily knew the Kingston extended family was huge. She probably had over fifty people who would want to kill her for the money.
“Okay.” She looked at Conner. “Why do we need to pretend I’m not her protection?”
Conner’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “How did you know?”
“You said it would be good that we knew each other.”
He nodded. “Ms. Kingston doesn’t want anyone to know about the attempts.”
Emily’s gaze moved back to Lani. “You have no idea who it might be?”
Lani shook her head. Emily’s heart ached for the other woman. She seemed to be lost. She looked over at her boss.
“You knew about them though?”
Conner shook his head. “No. I’ve been chatting with Lani about coming to work for us.”
“Do you mind if I used the restroom?” Lani asked.
Conner shook his head. “It’s just outside the office on the opposite side of the hall from us.”
Lani nodded and rose. Her gaze took in Emily. “I hope you can be my protector. I trust you.”
Emily nodded. She watched the other woman as she walked out of the room. She moved gracefully as if she were a princess heading to the palace. Rumors were that the Kingstons were related to the Hawaiian royal family, and it showed in her poise. Emily turned to her boss.
“So, what’s the plan, boss?”
Conner always had a plan. He probably had a plan of all his plans.
“You are going to move in with her. She’s going to start working for us.”
That had Emily blinking. “Wait, doesn’t she work for Kingston?”
“She did. Or I guess she is about to send in her resignation. I’ve been trying to poach her for months. So, we’ll lead with that idea. She’ll put it out there that she’s in our Miami office. She truly has no idea who this could be, and since they have tried twice in less than a month, there’s a good chance they will try again soon. Since most people think you’re admin, it would make sense that you were her executive assistant.”
It was a role she had played a lot, and it always worked. Most of the time, she went into a company to ferret out embezzlers or people selling company secrets.
“You okay with a new assignment?”
She nodded. “I finished that hotel job last week, and my reports have been filed.”
It was what she did a lot. She went in to find out who was embezzling from one of the hotel restaurants. It hadn’t been that hard to figure out which person in management had sticky fingers.
“We’re actually going to put out that she is in Miami. I’ve already talked to my sister about it.”
Conner’s sister ran the Miami office, which was their headquarters.
“You don’t trust her family?”
He shook his head. “If anything happens to her brother, she gets everything. And it’s reciprocated.”
Emily whistled. “Gotcha. Millionaire, at least, and many greedy people would want her out of the way.”
“Yes. She explained more about how the company would be distributed, so I will have people start digging here. I’ll have you stay at the Tree Top House.”
It wasn’t a house on top of a tree but high up and out in the middle of nowhere. It was completely off-grid, so it was easy to hide people there. The ownership papers would only lead to an LLC not affiliated with Dillon Security.
As soon as she heard Lani’s soft steps, she turned. “So, I’m gonna be your assistant. I guess we’re taking off today?”
Lani’s expression turned even sadder. “Yes. And I don’t have to quit.”
“That was the plan,” Conner said. Only someone who knew him as well as Emily would see the eye twitch. He did not like changing plans.
“Well, my brother just fired me via text.”