Authors: Christy Reece
They’d been here for two days and the most strenuous thing he’d had to do was hold back his desire for Kacie. That was quickly becoming an unstoppable force of nature.
The first day, after a surprisingly relaxing and delicious meal of fresh sushi, grilled trout, and crème brûlée, he and Kacie had walked around the resort. Though it wasn’t officially open yet, he was surprised by the number of people staying there. One of the things he liked about it was the fact that, though there were a lot of people around, it didn’t feel crowded or too commercialized.
Yesterday Kacie had met with the photographer, the other model, Stallings, and the resort’s publicity department. Brennan had insisted on attending as well and figured he was viewed as a cross between an overbearing, controlling boyfriend and a humorless cyborg. He did nothing but stand in the background and maintain an expressionless if somewhat threatening demeanor.
He’d thought sleeping in the same bed might pose some problems, especially for Kacie. That hadn’t been the case. Both nights, by the time he’d finished showering, she was already deeply asleep and, from what he could tell, didn’t move a muscle.
This morning, she’d gotten up early for a spa treatment she’d said Francois, the photographer, insisted on for all his models. Even though Brennan didn’t expect trouble here, he refused to take any chances. And while he wasn’t in the spa room for whatever treatments Kacie had to endure, he sat in the lobby and waited. Yeah, he probably looked like a jerk, but that didn’t bother him in the least. If everyone knew up-front that they’d have to go through him to get to Kacie, it just made things easier.
Now Kacie played and laughed in the waves as if she were having the time of her life. Fortunately, Stallings seemed to have overcome his giggles. Brennan didn’t know where his other half was but sincerely hoped she stayed away.
The ring of the cellphone lying on the table before him was a reminder that a world beyond this paradise existed and someone in it wanted to hurt Kacie.
Grabbing it, he clicked answer and heard Justin’s growling voice. “How is it your first job with LCR has you protecting a beautiful model and slurping down some kind of pink drink under a big umbrella?”
The description was so accurate, Brennan looked around him. “Damn, are you here?”
“No, that was just a guess.” His tone got grumpier. “Hell, is that what you’re doing?”
“Of course not.” He laughed and added, “You know I hate piña coladas.”
“Piña coladas aren’t pink.”
“Do you have something, or did you just call to whine and talk about froufrou drinks?”
“Got a few things to give you, but nothing that’ll point to a specific person…at least not yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve gone a half-dozen layers deeper than what Kacie did for her employee background check. I can go deeper, but it’ll take me a few more days.”
“What’ve you got?”
“We’ll start with Stewart Lakes. Single but divorced three times. Has two grown children with his first wife; none with his second; a five-year-old with his third. Is consistent on child support, no back taxes, no priors, or outstanding warrants. Lives in a small house in Queens. Eats Raisin Bran for breakfast every morning and orders from the same Chinese restaurant every Friday night.”
“Nothing in his background on stalking?”
“Not that I could find. He made a good living at his old advertising job…invested wisely. This job he has with the Kacie Dane Foundation pays about a quarter of what he used to make.”
“Is he being altruistic, or is there an ulterior motive?”
“That’s going to take more digging.”
“Okay…what about Marta, the accountant?”
“Now, she’s a much more interesting character.”
“How so?”
“Lives in an upscale neighborhood on Long Island. House is completely paid for. Never been married. Goes to Vegas at least once a month.”
“Gambling problem?”
“Maybe, but if so, it’s a lucrative problem. She’s come out ahead just about every time.”
“Cheating?”
“I’ve got a call into a few of my contacts in Vegas. I’m thinking she’s a card counter, but not sure. Whatever her deal is, she’s good at it.”
“Seems unlikely she’d have an ax to grind with Kacie.”
“I agree.”
“Still, keep digging. There may be something more to her than just questionable gambling practices.”
“Will do.” Keys clicked on a keyboard, and then Justin continued, “Next up is Hazel Johnson, the office manager.”
“What’s her deal?”
“I don’t think she has a deal, at least not one I’ve been able to uncover. The woman is a saint. When she’s not working at the foundation, she’s either volunteering at a food pantry close to her home, or she’s visiting a nursing home where her mother stays.”
“She sounds a little too good to be true.”
“I haven’t even gotten started. She sings in her church choir, went to Liberia a couple of years ago to help with an outbreak of Ebola and, in her spare time, volunteers at the animal shelter. If all this is true, when Hazel passes on, St. Peter’s going to insist she come to the head of the line.”
It seemed ridiculous, considering the woman would barely have time to sleep much less torture Kacie, but still Brennan said, “Keep digging.”
“Will do, but if I find out anything more on this woman that’s good, I’m going to ask her to adopt me.”
Brennan snorted. “She’d kick you out the first day.”
“Yeah, but she’d probably bake me cookies before she made me leave.”
“What about the other three?”
“Tammy Peterson is your typical geek…but not. Family is überwealthy, but she lives in a one-room apartment in Yonkers. Graduated high school when she was fifteen and eschewed all the scholarship offers, plus job offers from tech companies. She apparently prefers the simple life.
“She’s an only child, never been married, and has two cats, Theo and Otis.”
“Sounds harmless enough. But…”
“Yeah, I know, we’ll keep digging. Next up is Molly Rowe, who is almost too young to have a past. Her parents died in a house fire when she was twelve. She went to various foster homes before she found a good one when she was sixteen and stayed there till she graduated high school. Her foster mom passed away a couple of years ago. She’s close with her foster dad, goes to see him every Sunday.
“She went to a community college for one year and got a certification to be an executive assistant. Apparently couldn’t afford to keep going in school and started looking for a job. Kacie’s her first employer.”
“How old is she?”
“Nineteen. Doesn’t date. Lives with three other girls in an apartment in Brooklyn. Looks spit-shine clean.”
“Yeah…hell, keep looking just in case.”
“Okay. So I saved the best for last.”
“Tara Greenfield? Kacie’s personal assistant?”
“Interesting woman.”
“How so?”
“She gave you the goods when you first met her, and you said you thought something was off.”
“Yeah…maybe a little.”
“Okay, here’s what I’ve got. She grew up in Brooklyn Heights. Got a full scholarship to Stanford. The woman’s got a one hundred forty IQ, a freaking genius. Went three and a half years to Stanford. Had a 4.0 grade point average until her last semester when she just up and quit. Moved back home. Lives with her mother in a tiny apartment in Queens.
“Has no siblings. Doesn’t date. Kacie pays her a good salary, but her credit cards are almost maxed out. She has a second job at a diner two blocks from the foundation. Works there three nights a week and weekends.”
Tara was the only employee of Kacie’s that Brennan had been around for more than just a quick meet. His first impression was of a bright, young woman with a cheerful outlook on life and a gentle heart. But some people were born actors.
“What about her mother? What does she do?”
Justin sighed. “Apparently nothing. At least outside the home. She’s occasionally seen looking out the window of the apartment, but that’s about it.”
“Dig deeper on her. Something’s not right.”
“I agree.”
“And we’re sure…one hundred percent sure, that the other assholes who helped Harrington are accounted for?”
“Yes. The only one still living is in prison…has no access to the outside. No way he could be doing this.”
“Okay. What about Harrington’s family? He had some kids, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, four. They’re spread across the country. The oldest girl is a Wall Street guru. Doing very well for herself. There’s a son who’s a plastic surgeon in Boston. Another son who apparently wanted nothing to do with the family and lives in a commune in Idaho. The youngest, a girl, is a vet tech in Florida.”
“And the mother, Harrington’s wife?”
“She died a couple of years ago—booze and painkillers.”
“Yeah…that’ll do it to you every time. Anything else?”
“Not much more. Riley’s been digging into the backgrounds of the other girls that Harrington kidnapped. McCall’s kept tabs on them through the years, but nothing extensive other than to give them some help when they needed it.”
McCall had mentioned the same thing to Brennan. The women had only glimpsed Kacie from a distance when they’d first been taken.
“Has Riley gotten anything on them yet?”
“No. They all seem to be doing okay. Nothing on the radar that would fit this MO. Three of them aren’t even in New York any longer.”
“What about the friends Kendra Carson had?”
“Kacie told us about two roommates who don’t live in New York any longer. One lives in Juneau, Alaska, and works for an oil company. The other lives in Madisonville, Wisconsin, and is the mom to triplet boys.”
“Okay…what about the ex-boyfriend? He sounded like a loser.”
“He was. OD’d on heroin a couple years back.”
“Well, at least we can eliminate one from the list.” Brennan shoved a frustrated hand through his hair. “So many damn suspects and almost none of them is stronger than any of the others.”
“Yeah. So, how’s it going with Kacie? You guys getting along okay?”
No way in hell was he going to tell Justin what had been going on with them. That was between him and Kacie…and McCall, too, of course.
“Going fine. I admire her courage.”
“That’s all it is? Admiration?”
“What else do you think it is?”
“I don’t know, man, you tell me. When we were there the other night, she apparently had been in your bed.”
“She had just found that damn photograph under her pillow. No way in hell was there anything else to it.”
“Okay…okay. Don’t get your nose bent out of shape. Just expressing concern for my friend. Nothing more.”
“Appreciated but unwarranted. Let’s move on.”
“There isn’t much more. We’re still digging into other people with direct contact with Kacie, like her agent and publicist. So far, other than they may eat their young for breakfast, I don’t see either of them involved in this.”
Brennan agreed. The better Kacie did professionally, the more money for them. However, stranger things could happen.
“Keep digging…just in case.”
“That’s the plan. How’s the weather there? Isn’t it monsoon season?”
“Not a cloud in the sky.”
“Asshole,” Justin growled as he ended the call.
Placing his phone on the table in front of him, Brennan looked up to see Kacie headed toward him. Wrapped in a cover-up, her blond hair slightly mussed, and a healthy glow on her cheeks, she was the epitome of a lovely all-American woman.
Brennan gripped the edge of the table to keep himself from going to her, lifting her in his arms, and tasting those smiling lips. No one around would think twice about it—after all, they were supposed to be lovers. Kacie would be the only one who would be surprised, and probably not in a good way.
When she was within a couple of yards of him, Brennan stood. “You through for the morning?”
“Yes. Francois wants to get some shots of us on a sailboat after lunch. But for now, I’m all yours.”
The instant she said the words, two things happened. Kacie blushed like a teenager, and Brennan pulled her to him, lowered his head, and spoke against her mouth, “Oh yeah? Good to know.”
Chapter Twenty-six
It was a kiss like none other he’d given her. As if he had a right to her lips, to her body. As if she was his to do with what he wanted. He wasn’t kissing her like she was damaged, or a victim. He took her lips like a man staking a claim.
She loved it.
Wrapping her arms around Brennan, Kacie gave in to the desire. Every fear, every doubt disappeared. His mouth drew on hers, his tongue delved deep, sliding in and out, while his hands cupped her bottom and brought her closer to him. She could feel his arousal, thick and heavy, against her belly. With only his jeans and the thin barrier of her swimsuit separating them, she could feel every hard inch.