Chapter 16
Sixteen
J akob, Dillon, and Emily were halfway across the yard when they heard the gunshot. For the second time in less than two hours, his heart stopped. Even as he started running through the yard, he heard the shouting inside the main house. He ignored it. He knew that the gunshot had come from the guest house, and Lani was the only person in there. Or she had been until some bastard got through all the police protection around the area.
Ignoring Dillon’s shout, he busted the door open. His attention was pulled to Lani, who lay on the floor, then to the woman standing over her.
Sienna looked to be readying for another shot at Lani when she swung her arm toward him. Dillon grabbed him and yanked him out of the way. Then, he heard the shot of a gun, but it was much closer than he thought. That’s when he noticed that Emily had a gun out and had shot into the house. Ian was there backing her up, as was HPD Detective Carino.
He fought against Dillon’s hold. “Wait until they give the all-clear. It’s the only way you can make sure Lani’s safe.”
“She was shot.”
“She was down. You don’t know if she was shot.”
“Clear!” Emily yelled out.
That was all he had to hear. Jakob rushed back in, panic filling him as he ran to Lani. She was so still on the floor. Ian was checking her pulse.
“Strong pulse. I think she hit her head on the way down.”
Jakob pushed him out of the way and patted Lani down. Where was she shot?
“Man, I don’t think she was shot.”
“Then why is she out cold? She has to be shot.” What the hell would he do without her? They were finally together. He couldn’t lose her.
“Coming through,” someone called out.
“Man, the EMTs are here. They’ll find out what’s wrong with her.”
He didn’t want to let her go. She was so still, and he knew she would drift away if he didn’t keep touching her. Jakob knew it didn’t make much sense.
“Jake, come on. Let them look at my sister.”
He glanced up and noticed that Ben was standing close by. His friend seemed to have aged five years in the last two hours. Using all of his control, he did as Ben had asked.
The EMT and his partner did a quick check. “She was grazed on the shoulder, but…” he felt her head and nodded. “I think she also hit her head. That’s why she’s unconscious.”
“I’m not unconscious. Not anymore.”
Her irritated voice was the sweetest sound Jakob had ever heard.
“Love,” he said, moving closer. The female attendant took a look at Jakob and nodded. “I’m going to deal with the shooter.”
She moved away, and he took her place. Lani was still too still. She kept her eyes closed so Jakob took hold of her hand.
“Ms. Kingston, can you open your eyes?”
“I could. I have a feeling the light will hurt.”
“I need to check for a possible concussion.”
She sighed.
“Love, do it for me,” he said.
With what seemed to be a great deal of effort, Lani opened her eyes. The EMT used a small light. “We’ll need to take you to the hospital to have you checked out. It looks like you could have a concussion, and you will need to have a doctor look at your shoulder.”
Her fingers spasmed around his hand. “I’ll go with you, Lani. Don’t worry.”
Her sigh of relief was quiet but reassuring. “Good.”
Then she closed her eyes. “Tell me when I have to open my eyes again.”
“I think I should be able to go home,” Lani said, ready to scream. It was just after seven that night, and she wanted to sleep in her bed. Or Jakob’s. Just not the hospital bed.
“You need to stay in the hospital.”
“I feel fine. Therefore, I need to go home.”
He looked up from a script he was looking over. He’d had Marta bring it over so he could spend all his time acting like some kind of warden to her.
“Are you telling me you received your medical degree on top of being a lawyer?”
She narrowed her eyes. “No.”
“Oh, good. I was worried you were way out of my league. Now you’re just a little out of it. No worries. I’ll make up for it.”
Then he went back to reading his script. The door swung open to reveal Emily.
“Em, good. Can you get me sprung from here?”
She looked from Lani to Jakob, who shook his head. Her gaze moved back to Lani. “Sorry. You aren’t my job anymore.”
“You’re my friend. I need out of here.”
“You have a concussion. You were shot.”
“It was a graze.”
Jakob opened his mouth to say something, but Emily stepped in.
“There was a rather hot older version of you at the nurses’ station when I came in. Is that your brother?”
“Jensen’s here?”
She nodded. “Go. I’ll make sure she doesn’t make a break for it.”
He hesitated for a moment, then stood. After setting the script down on the bedside table, he turned back to her.
“Try your best to rest, please.”
He kissed her forehead and headed out.
The moment the door shut, she opened her mouth, but Emily stopped her.
“Nope. I will not help you. Even if I was still your protection, I wouldn’t. Not after how I saw Jakob react.”
“What do you mean?”
Emily walked over to the window and settled in a chair. “He acted as if his entire world had fallen apart.”
Lani looked away from her. “I was fine.”
“He didn’t know that. When someone is in love with you, it doesn’t matter if you are fine. Those few minutes that the worst fear is realized…that shows who you truly are. For Jakob, he was ready to burn the entire damned world down. You’re lucky.”
Lani looked back at her friend. It had only been a week since they’d reconnected at the Dillon offices, but she knew she and Emily would be forever friends.
“Have you heard anything about what happened with Royal, Rick, and Sienna?”
She rolled her eyes. “Mix has been texting me info he’s getting from his sister. I’m not sure he’s supposed to do that.”
The door opened, and Jakob came in, followed by his brother Jensen. Older by a few years, Jensen had always been the bad boy. There was always a dangerous air about him. There was no mistaking that the two men were brothers, but their personalities were completely different. Jensen could be a bit on the stuffy side.
“Lani, I’m sorry for what you went through,” he said, kissing her cheek. She heard a noise that came from Jakob’s direction.
Jensen shook his head. “Ignore him. He’s a little out of sorts.”
“Move aside,” Jakob said, then he took up his spot once again.
“Em, this is Jensen, Jakob’s older brother.”
Jensen nodded in her direction.
“She was just going to tell us what was going on.”
“Yes, Rick and Royal have been blackmailing people for the last four years. High society women who want a walk on the dangerous side. Or, I guess, older men who wanted to have affairs.”
“It makes no sense what they were doing with me. Why would they come after me?”
“That is still a little hazy. Apparently, Royal actually did think she was pregnant, so she thought it would be best to kick you to the curb. If you weren’t around, there would be more emphasis on the child getting all the money.”
Lani shook her head. “Everyone keeps saying she was smart, but she didn’t read the will too closely. She wouldn’t have had access to the money. There would be three Kingston family guardians, just like we had when Mom and Dad died.”
“She might have thought your brother would change the will.” She shrugged. “Who knows? According to Rick, you were just supposed to get scared. Also, he claims he loves you and will earn your forgiveness.”
“What the fuck?” Jakob said.
Emily chuckled. “Yeah, that apparently gave that Carino guy a good chuckle.”
“Was he the one who tried to run me down?”
“Oh, no. That was Sienna. She is one crazy woman. She has been obsessed with Rick for years, and when Royal introduced them, she thought it was a dream come true. Unfortunately, he was still hung up on you. Seems this entire con didn’t go that well.”
“It sounds like a rubbish plan,” Jensen said.
“You sound much more British than Hollywood over there.”
Jensen smirked at Jakob.
“But you are right. If what Lani says is true, it doesn’t make any sense. I’m sure it’s like I said. She just thought she could convince your brother to disown you.”
“Sienna is fine, by the way. My aim was true. Just hit her shoulder. She’s being held under guard. Also, she might be able to get off using insanity because, from what I hear, she is completely nuts. They think she might have killed Royal.”
“Why would she do all this?”
“She was in love with Rick. She saw both of you as standing in her way.” Emily shook her head. “I heard her yelling as they loaded her up in the ambulance. Anyway, I have to debrief the boss, who is waiting to chew me out.”
“What the hell?” Lani said. “You did nothing wrong.”
“I let Rick get hold of you.”
She rolled her eyes. “He wasn’t going to hurt me.”
“Still, we didn’t know that at the time. Hollywood, make sure you keep me up to date when she gets out. I dropped all your stuff off with Marta like you asked.”
“I…I thought we could go back to my apartment.”
“First, that’s a bad idea. Reporters have found out, so they are hanging out at your place. Also…apparently, Sienna broke in and wrecked the place. She was caught on the security cameras we had installed.”
Lani sighed, suddenly feeling more tired than five minutes ago.
“We’ll get it cleaned up, love. Don’t worry about it.”
“Yeah, she mainly trashed electronics. Seriously, I should have seen how crazy she was. She had those kinds of eyes. Remember to text me.”
Then she was gone.
“How’s Jules?” Lani asked Jensen.
“Loud and very…just loud. She does not like being stuck in bed. I just wanted to pop over here and check on you two. I’m staying at the house tonight, but I will probably head back to Maui tomorrow after you leave.”
After talking a bit longer about Jules and her situation, Lani felt her eyes drooping.
“You need your rest,” Jensen said. “They will come in here and wake you up every few hours, so get your rest while you can.”
“Thanks for coming, Jensen.”
He smiled at her. “I had to. Can’t let my baby brother handle all this on his own. I know how it feels to have your heart ripped out.”
Jensen’s now wife had been stalked at one point.
“Thanks, brother,” Jakob said.
With that, he left them alone.
“I’m going to turn down the lights.”
“You don’t have to stay.”
“Yes, I do.”
She thought back to what Emily had said.
“Jake?”
“Yes, love?”
“Did we really profess our love to each other before everyone?”
His mouth twitched as he returned to the bed after shutting off the overhead lights. “Yes, we did. I’m sure he will yell at me once your brother deals with everything.”
Her brother had stopped by, but he had been forced to leave her to go identify Royal’s body.
“Who cares?”
“You do. You love Ben.”
“Yes, but I choose you.”
He moved to sit in the chair, but she shook her head. She scooted over, thankful she was no longer nauseous. He joined her on the bed.
“If you were wondering, I will always choose you, Lani. Any day of the week, any condition.”
Tears filled her eyes as she snuggled closer. Even after everything that had happened in the last week—hell, even considering what happened today—she was happy. They weren’t perfect, and she didn’t know exactly where they would go from this point, but they had each other.
In the quiet of her hospital bed, she drifted off with Jakob’s arms wrapped tight around her.