Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (121 page)

“Oh my God! Oh my God! I can't believe that just
happened!” Morgan was shaking as they left 'Ele's home, and the
adrenaline that they both were feeling had forced Michael to drive
directly to the beach so that they could walk it off. “Are you
alright?” Morgan was still mumbling in his direction when they
got out of the car. “Michael! Are you alright?” She ran
to his side and grabbed his hand. He looked down, as if pulled from
a trance, and nodded quickly. “Wow.” Morgan stared at his
handsome face, his large chest, then down to the hand that she held
in her own. “I don't condone violence...but...thank you. So
much. Thank you.” Her body began to shake again, and he pulled
her close.

His face nuzzled gently against the top of her head,
and Morgan could feel his lips move within her hair. “He won't
hurt you, Morgan. And,” he stood straight, putting one finger
under her chin to look at him, “you're welcome.”

*****

That night, after a full day of sight seeing with
Michael, Morgan dropped into a hot bath to wash the day away. It has
been a wonderful afternoon, and even better evening, but her mind and
body were too exhausted to take Michael up on his offer for late
night drinks.

Morgan had told him that they had plenty of time for
drinks, but the truth was, she had no idea how long she intended to
stay in Hawaii at that point. “But I'll make time for you,
Michael.”

Barring the Kole incident, it was a day that ranked
high amongst her other beautiful memories, and she had at least one
hundred pictures to show for it. She was grateful, and she smiled as
the thoughts of all they had done came to the surface. She enjoyed
allowing her mind to drift to the ice cream they'd eaten, the shops
they'd visited, the cat they had helped off of a low roof, and the
way Michael's butt looked in his white shorts. She was still smiling
when her thoughts shifted without warning, and Kole began to flash
through her mind again.

“No!” She sat up, determined to fight the
fear that he had caused. “I won't let you get to me!” Her
hands scrubbed her already red face as she began to relax again. That
moment, that one battle against her own thoughts, brought a change in
Morgan that she wasn't expecting. “Never again! I'll never let
a man intimidate me, or threaten me again!” It was also in
that moment that Morgan decided that she would stay the week in
Hawaii, and face her fears head on.

Epilogue

Two men had just been seated in the darkest corner of
the restaurant. Their server approached slowly, unwilling to make eye
contact with either of them. They were well known in certain areas,
such as the small village where she was from, and knew it would be
best to be as invisible as possible.

They ordered hard liquor, and motioned for her to
leave. She happily obeyed, and left the men to their business. The
taller of the two grabbed his glass and emptied its contents in one
large gulp. Then, he began their meeting.

“The photo is recent. I'll give you another one
if needed.” His
guest
shook his head, one photo would
suffice. “Good.” He motioned for another drink, and one
was delivered immediately. Another large sip, and he slammed the
glass on the small wooden table. “Ten thousand to find what's
mine.” He leaned back, motioning for his third and final drink.
“Another ten to bring it to me.”

The second man nodded, and sipped his drink slowly.
“I'll only contact you when I find it.” The first man
nodded, and knew that he had just hired the best man for the job.

He wasn't a man to let anything get away from him, and
since he'd healed well enough to get on with life as much as
possible, he intended to make things right.

The second man stood from the table, and nodded again,
allowing his employer to leave the restaurant first. Once outside,
Carlos smiled and ran his hands through his thick dark hair.

Morgan Holland belonged to him. He paid top dollar for
the woman, and he didn't get what he'd paid for. Yes, he thought, he
would enjoy thinking of all the things he would do to her when she
was returned.

Costa
Rica

Book
Thirty

Chapter
One

Morgan
tucked her hand deeper under the pillow, feeling the cool Egyptian
cotton against her skin. Her eyes opened slowly and tried to focus on
the red neon numbers that the clock on the bed stand displayed. After
a moment of straining, she saw it was just a few minutes after nine
in the morning.

She
rolled to her back and stretched both arms under the pillow until her
fingertips touched the head board, then rolled to her side, letting
out a very loud yawn.

“Keep
it down over there,” Michael's voice rang out from the other
room and Morgan giggled as she yawned again.

“You're
up early,” Morgan yelled back, as she sat up, pushing the long
hair from her eyes. “Do you have coffee?” She got to her
feet and took the few steps across the floor to the door separating
their two rooms. She let her back fall against one side, and leaned
her head against the door, waiting for a reply. “Hello?”

A
minute passed and Morgan still had no answer. “Did you go back
to sleep?” She knocked lightly on the door, and almost
instantly, there was a knock back. The sound though, came from the
front door, and not the one she was leaning against.

She
walked across the room and peered out of the tiny hole, and saw
Michael holding two cups of coffee in his hands. “Good
morning,” he greeted as she opened the door.

“Mmm.
Good morning to you.” She stepped aside, allowing him to come
in, and took one of the hot cups from his hands. Morgan took a slow
sip, and Michael watched the smile crawl across her lips.

“
Good
stuff?” He walked to the bed, and sat on the edge.

“You
make the best coffee. Seriously.” She took another sip and sat
down next to him on the bed. “But I'm starving.” Morgan
and Michael both laughed and he nodded.

“Of
course ya are. Do you want to get something downstairs, or do you
want to go somewhere?” Michael stood again, and looked at the
watch on his hand. “If you want to eat here, you have ten
minutes before they close breakfast.”

“I
want pancakes,” Morgan blurted. “Do they have those
downstairs?” He nodded, and Morgan told him she'd meet him in
the lobby in five minutes. “Order some for me,” she added
as he left the room. She brushed her hair out quickly and put it into
a ponytail and changed from her night tank and shorts, to denim
shorts and a black halter top. “Makeup will have to wait,”
she told herself in the mirror, and brushed her teeth before leaving
the bathroom.

Downstairs,
Michael was dealing with his own issues, as one of his top managers
had just called him.

“
Looks
like at least a dozen trucks are gone. I've already called the
police, and the insurance company, but they need you to come here and
file the claim in person.” It was the worst timing to have
several of his vehicles taken from one of his lots, and he then had
to find a way to tell Morgan that he would be leaving at the end of
the day. Michael took a deep breath and confirmed that he would be
there as soon as possible. “And I hate to bring up your
personal business,” Lee paused then continued, “but your
wife needs to be there too. She's still part owner.” Michael's
fingers instantly grabbed the bridge of his nose as he agreed to call
his wife, Molly, and have her present as well.

“
If
there's nothing else...,” he didn't want to to discuss his
personal business
any longer. He had managed to keep his
future ex-wife from his thoughts for months, and his memories of the
woman came crashing down around him.

“
See
you soon.”

“Yeah.
Soon.” Michael didn't have much time to get his mind back to
where he wanted, but he managed to at least hold it all together
until Morgan returned.

Four
minutes to get ready, and three to get to the lobby, Morgan made it
downstairs just as the server was bringing out the plate of pancakes.
“Oh, sweet baby sheep! That looks amazing! Blueberry?”
She sat down in front of the tall stack of pancakes and took a drink
of the fresh coffee on the table.

“Yep,
I know how much you like blueberries, but you can't sit and pick
these out.” Michael winked at her and Morgan stuck her tongue
out at him as she poured syrup on the whole stack. He laughed at how
silly she could be, and knew that she couldn't relax as much in her
professional life. It was nice, he thought, to see all sides to the
woman who had kept his interest for so long.

He
knew her better than she thought and it was sweet. Not just how she
liked her coffee, or that she enjoyed picking blueberries out of
muffins, but he knew her little quirks and what made her happy.
Morgan smiled to herself as she took the first bite of breakfast. She
was genuinely happy he was there.

“
I'd
like to go visit with 'Ele again this afternoon. Are you able to drop
me off, or do you want me to grab a taxi?” She took her last
bite and pushed the plate away. It still had three pancakes on it,
but there was no way anything else would fit.

“Actually,”
Michael pulled her plate toward himself and cut off a piece. “I'd
love to meet 'Ele.” It was true, he did, but most importantly
he wanted to stay close to Morgan in case Kole decided to show up.
Morgan, loving the fact that Michael had taken an interest in 'Ele,
quickly agreed.

“I'm
sure she'd love that.” Morgan placed her hand on his and gave
it a little squeeze before announcing that she needed a few minutes
to make herself more presentable. “I'm thinking I've taken the
natural look about as far as I can.” He shook his head and
laughed as he watched her leave, then took out his phone when she was
finally hidden behind the closing elevator door. He had to make sure
that Morgan was safe before he walked her back into the lion's den.
He certainly didn't have Kole or Kala's number, but there was one
person he could call that did. He clicked the contact, and took a
deep breath as he waited through two rings. Voice mail.

“
Angel?
I need a favor.”

*****

Michael
and 'Ele had hit it off instantly. The older woman had slept most of
the night and was feeling rested and ready for her visit. It was a
welcome surprise to meet Morgan's friend, as she continued to call
him, and added him to her heart just as easily as she had with
Morgan.

“
I'm
so happy that you stopped by again today, I can't even begin to tell
you how much I've missed company.” Morgan had found her spot
beside 'Ele on the bed, and Michael was seated in the cushioned bay
window seat directly across from them. He found that it gave a
perfect view of the opening to the driveway, and would know
immediately if
anyone
pulled in.

“
I'm
glad I could visit too, and again, I'm so sorry that it took me a few
weeks to get here.” If she had known about the true nature of
'Ele's condition, Morgan would have made the trip much sooner, and
that realization reminded her that she didn't always need every
detail of a situation to be a true friend.
I'm sorry I wasn't here
for you.
Guilt filled Morgan's heart, but happiness won over
quickly when she watched 'Ele yawn widely then giggle.

“I'm
afraid my afternoon nap won't wait. Forgive me?” Michael and
Morgan both stood and laughed, they'd taken up her entire morning,
and some of the afternoon.

“Of
course, you get some rest and I'll call you later.” Morgan
placed a kiss on 'Ele's warm forehead and hugged her for as long as
she would allow. Family, that's what 'Ele felt like, and the hug
filled Morgan to her very soul with love.

Michael's
phone sounded and broke the moment, but he quickly excused himself to
the front porch to take the call.

“I
called that bastard and told him that if he put one mothafuckin' hoof
on my Stick...”

“Fuck!
Angel, all I did was ask for his number because he was being an
asshole! Why did you call him?” Clearly, Michael had much to
learn about Angel, but the fact that the man couldn't keep anything
to himself was painfully obvious.

“What
makes you think you're the only one that can stick up for my Stick?
If he hurt her...I'll...”

Michael
ran his hand over his mouth, trying to keep his own anger in check.
He had called Angel to simply get Kole's number and
remind
him
to stay away from Morgan at the house. He never expected Angel to
call the man himself. He cut Angel's words off, and got to the
matter at hand.