Chapter 1 #2
“What the hell was that?” Raquel asked, her voice sounding a little shellshocked. When he glanced at her, he realized her face had lost a lot of its color. Her breathing was shallow and her pupils were dilated.
“Hey, take deep breaths,” Eden said.
They reached the first floor and as they stepped out into the lobby of the resort, he saw familiar faces walking toward them—one of them his sister. Task Force Hawai’i had arrived.
“Oh, forgot to tell you that I made sure both TFH and Dillon got the call. You’re welcome.”
Before he could say thanks, she had signed off and was gone.
“Howzit, bro?” Autumn asked. “Got a call from your bestie. You just couldn’t let my last week in the field be normal, could you?”
His sister and brother-in-law both worked for the elite Task Force Hawai’i. She worked on Team Alpha and Seth was the captain for Team Bravo. She was taking a temporary role in the office because of her pregnancy.
He rolled his eyes. “We have two kidnappers on their way down.”
“Yes. I hope I get to hit someone.”
“Autumn,” Adam Lee said. He was the commander of Team Alpha, and Autumn’s boss. “What have I told you about that?”
“Thinking those things are okay. Say them out loud and we end up in court.”
“And we know you hate court,” her supervisor said.
“We’ll get another room and let y’all know where we are,” Eden said, her Texan accent thicker than normal.
That happened anytime she was stressed. They were met in the lobby by the resort manager.
He was about an inch or two shorter than Ian, with a balding head.
He was wearing the white pants and Hawaiian shirt all the staff wore.
“Mr. Smith, we have a conference room ready for you.”
“Let me guess. You got a call from a woman?”
He nodded and led them down a maze of halls.
If he didn’t know better, he would think this guy was in on the abduction, but he got it.
Places this resort featured were out of the way rooms for the rich and famous…
or just rich people who were meeting in private.
It took them just a few minutes before they were ushered into an empty conference room.
“Thank you.”
“Do you need anything else?”
He glanced around the room; took in the long table, the coffee, tea, and water set up and shook his head. “No, thank you.”
“What did those men want?” Raquel asked once they were finally alone.
“Not sure,” Eden said. “Did Sam say anything?”
“No,” he said, but that was a lie. Sam had said something that was nagging at him. She doesn’t fall far from the mama tree. “Your mother didn’t come with you on this trip?”
She shrugged. “She was sleeping with Chuck, so she was pissed when the record label fired him.”
Chuck the security dude who was canned. Great. This seemed like a set up, and worse, it seemed her mother might have been in on it. She put her own child in danger. He shared a look with Eden and knew she was thinking the same thing.
“I think you might want to have a conversation with your mother.”
“What? Why?”
“Just call it a hunch, but she might know how those guys found out your information.”
“So, another satisfied client,” Luc Warner, managing partner for the Dillon Pacific office said.
The former SEAL sported a close-cropped beard that was peppered with grey.
He still kept his hair military short and, from the looks of it, kept up with the same physical workout regimen as when he was in the Navy.
“It was FUBAR from the beginning. I can’t even imagine having your mother sell you out,” Eden said with a shake of her head.
The former CIA officer was his partner most of the time, and they worked well together.
They came from similar backgrounds and understood each other.
She also didn’t take crap off anyone, including him.
“The question is how long has this been going on?” Luc shook head. “The label told me that there had been problems for months. Press kept finding out where she was, things like that. Seems that her mother wanted more money for Raquel’s next album.”
“I take back everything I thought about Rachel/Raquel. Well, most of it,” Eden said with a smile.
“You two definitely earned your time off this coming week. Just make sure to file your reports by Friday.”
“Gotcha,” Eden said as they walked out. He held the door open for her, and they stepped into the outer office.
“That was fast,” Junie said, smiling at them.
The petite woman was the executive assistant to Luc, and she ran the office.
Well, she ran all of the Pacific offices.
Dillon was actually a massive company, with the primary offices in Miami.
When their boss, Conner Dillon, had fallen for a woman who lived on Oahu, he had decided to open an office on the island.
It made sense since it was a good staging ground for any jobs they had in the Asian theater.
Junie had been a fixture since Ian was hired. Ian knew she had a connection to Conner from his time at the FBI and that she was an only child with both of her parents gone. Luc followed them out.
“Junie, I told you to go home,” Luc said. He must have heard her voice.
“Meow.”
Ian looked down. Junie also brought her cats Harold and Maude in to work a lot, and for some reason Maude always had to sit in front of Luc and meow.
“She has a crush on you,” Junie said with a laugh.
It wasn’t the first time she’d remarked on Maude’s weird fascination with Luc. Harold hissed at Luc.
“All of you, go home. Remember to write up your reports by Friday. Otherwise, I don’t want to see or hear from you.”
“You heard the dictator. Get out of here,” she said. “After the week you two had, you definitely deserve your time off.”
“Junie, it’s after nine. Go home,” Luc said, then turned and went into his office, shutting the door quietly behind him.
She rolled her eyes. “He’s annoying.”
“Have a good weekend, Junie,” Eden said.
“You two have a great week. Make sure you take the week to rest. We only have two weeks until the Pan-Pacific Business Council and we will be busy.”
He nodded to Junie, then followed Eden out of the office. As they were walking down the hallway, Eden of course had to bring up Sam.
“She’s saved you tons of times in the last few months. Seems like she contacts you more than she contacts me. Or anyone else for that matter.”
“Jealous?”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re still mad I won’t give you her real name.”
Not mad but irritated. Sam and Eden had both worked at the CIA together.
Both Eden and her twin El refused to tell Ian Sam’s real name.
She’s the one who gave herself the Sam nickname.
For years, they had sparred online. There was a lot of rivalry between MI-6 and the CIA—spy shit.
She also had another nickname—The Barracuda.
And yes, he was the one who gave her the name.
Unfortunately, that hadn’t irritated her.
In fact, she had mentioned that the name delighted her.
“No, I’m not.”
The smirk she sent his way told Ian she didn’t believe him.
“Do we have anything we need to go over?”
“Got a hot date?”
She gave him a wide smile. “Just a night in with Kap. You can come over if you want.”
Kaplan Hanson was Eden’s partner and a member of TFH Team Bravo, their search and rescue team.
“No, thanks for inviting the third wheel over, but I have plans.”
“Do tell.” She pushed the button for the elevator.
“I’m heading over to Kauai.”
“Nice. We’ve been talking about going over there, but Kap has to work next week. So, you aren’t going out?”
He blinked. “What?”
“It has been ages since I have seen or heard about you dating someone.”
“What is it about people that when they get serious with a partner, that we all need to do the same? I am perfectly happy with my lot in life.”
He had too many enemies in his past and he knew that one day it would come to back to bite him in the arse.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not saying you should get serious, but maybe…you know…”
She made a motion with her hand.
“What is that?”
“Sex is good for you.”
Her face had turned bright red and he laughed. “Say hi to your man for me.”
“My man.” She laughed, delight filling her expression. “I will.”
Then she stepped into the lift and headed off for her weekend of bliss.
He didn’t begrudge her the happiness they had both found, but damn, he was starting to feel a little envious.
Which was odd for him. He wasn’t one to think of settling down.
He’d lost his mother when he had been barely eleven, and he didn’t want to go through the hell that had caused both he and his father.
But lately…he just felt as if something were off.
Pushing aside those thoughts, he walked down the hall to his office. He still had a few things to do before he could take off to Kauai. He settled behind his desk just as his phone vibrated.
Unlisted.
Heat flared through his entire body. Of course.
“What do you want, Sam?”
“You’re welcome.” He opened his mouth to answer her, but she beat him. “Again.”
“You don’t have to watch over me. I can handle my own life.”
There was a beat of silence. “Is that a fact?”
Something was off in her voice. There was no biting sarcasm, or even playful mocking. There was not one ounce of emotion. It left him feeling cold.
“Yeah. You probably have all kinds of things to do.” He powered up his laptop and punched in his code. “There’s no reason to watch over me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
He paused for a long moment waiting to see if she would expound on that. Silence greeted him. “What the bloody hell does that mean?”
“Let’s just say I’m fulfilling a promise.”
That was more than she had ever told him about why she always seemed to guard him. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but then, he realized that she had seemed to step in whenever he needed help. And that had started before he’d left MI-6 a couple years earlier.
“Why don’t you tell me what you’re hinting at?”
“Can’t. Not safe.”
That had him pausing again. “For you?”
“Hmm, for a lot of people. Listen, I just wanted to make sure everything is okay with you.”
“You know everything is okay.” Normally, she would just contact him, save his ass or give him information he needed, then she would disappear. This was something new. “Sam, what’s up?”
“What do you mean?”
“Sam.”
She sighed. “There’s nothing up. Just, I’m glad you and Ed are okay.”
“Thanks to you.”
“I helped, but even if I didn’t say anything, you would have been able to get out of there. I mean, you did have Ed, although that Rachel chick was a pain in the ass.”
He grunted in agreement. “Is there anything else?”
“No.” More silence and he waited. “So you don’t have any pets now?”
He frowned, then he remembered her first question on the phone earlier. “No. I travel too much, although Dad is thinking about getting a dog.”
“Like one of the ones you had as a child?”
“How do you know what kind of dogs I had as a child?”
“You mentioned them.”
Did he? He knew he mentioned having dogs, but he didn’t think he mentioned what kind of dog.
“I don’t want a hunting dog though. Once I live in a house again, I’ll get one. Not a cat for obvious reasons.”
He leaned back in his chair trying his best to follow the conversation. “What obvious reasons?”
“They always have a preferred human, and they would rather everyone else died.”
He thought about Maude’s affections for Luc and smiled.
“Anyway, I have to go now. Have fun on your vacation,” she said, and the phone clicked off.
He turned off his phone and tossed it onto his desk.
She had been the bane of his existence for the past several years.
Actually, it had started a few years ago when he was still with MI-6.
She’d butted into one of his investigations, mocking him the entire time, and saving his ass.
Since then, she had always popped up when he needed help or did most of the time.
Now, it seemed that she was obsessed with keeping him alive.
And yes, he knew what an ass it made him that he bitched about a woman saving him.
But he couldn’t help it. Every time he talked to her these days, he was left slightly aroused.
Worse, he hadn’t had any interest in other women.
He had started to compare every date he had to a woman he probably wouldn’t recognize if he passed her on the street.
Maybe a week in Kauai working on his house would get his head back in the game and off a woman he didn’t really know.