Philip Linus was a very smart business man. Why did he have to pursue a life of crime? It seemed totally unnecessary.
Her father picked up the phone and answered it. “Give me a moment,” he said to the caller. “I have to take this, April. You’ll give me your answer when I return?”
She nodded.
He headed for the house and most likely the privacy of his study on the second floor.
She had to give him an answer, but she still had no idea what her answer was going to be. According to the news articles she’d read over the years, the guns Albatross sold illegally were used to murder innocent people. The wealth Phillip Linus acquired as a real-estate tycoon may have built Casa Linus and funded April’s pampered childhood, but the massive fortune he lived off today was stained with blood. How could she deliberately overlook the cold hard facts for her own gain? Just because she’d never witnessed her father’s crimes didn’t make them any less real.
Her mouth was dry as chalk. Eyeing the bar in the center of the massive lanai, she wondered if the fridge was stocked.
She made her way to the waist high appliance and discovered it held everything from beer to Coca-Cola. She reached for a bottle of water and chugged it in front of the open refrigerator. The morning hadn’t been overly warm, but she was hot. As the frosty air kissed her skin, she sighed. When the goose bumps on her legs spread to her torso and down her arms, she shivered and closed the fridge.
She turned around and gasped.
A man stood behind her just three feet away.
Startled, she jumped backward and dropped the plastic bottle. Cold water splashed her feet and splattered the front of her dress.
The man’s black gaze didn’t leave her face. “You make a habit of trespassing?” The low, rusty voice with its mild southern drawl teased her nerve endings. She shivered again.
“Jonas.” Her pounding heart thumped against her ribcage. “What are you doing here?”
Chapter Four
“I could ask you the same thing.” Jonas bent to pick up the plastic bottle that April had dropped and set it on the bar. He turned his back and put some distance between them.
Her smile, it sucker-punched him in the obliques whenever she directed it at him. This was worse though, because a sheen of moisture glistened her big blue eyes.
Shit.
He wanted to run. Run as hard and fast as he could in the opposite direction, but he had to catch his breath first.
“You left without saying goodbye.”
“Yeah, well,” Jonas glanced at her sideways and rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t feel like I had to report to you. It’s not like we were in a relationship. It was just one fuck.”
The angel’s glorious smile faded and hurt pinched her face.
He was a dick.
The crude words hit their mark though. Maybe she’d leave now and never come back, or at least not until he was long gone with the PRIM. The very last thing he needed right now was a distraction and April Linus was a monumental one. If her sweet smile and kind heart weren’t provoking enough, her body was the stuff of wet dreams. The front her dress dipped almost to her belly button displaying a generous amount of inner cleavage. Her tits were even larger than he remembered, but that might have been because she’d lost weight she didn’t need to lose. Her oval face had the leanness of maturity and the dark circles of a woman who worked too much.
Why the hell was an heiress working too much?
“You don’t have to be so crude, even if it is the truth.” She grabbed her water bottle off the counter, capped it, and headed for the table. “I just thought something terrible had happened to you. That’s all.”
Now that was an intriguing statement. “What would make you think that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you carry knives strapped to your chest for a living.”
A smile tugged on the corner of his mouth. He frowned instead. “I heard you moved out of here five years ago. What are you doing back?”
April picked up her purse and tucked it under her arm. “You were asking about me?”
“Hell no.” Jonas crossed his arms. “Linus mentioned it in the interview.”
Her baby blue eyes studied him. “How did you get your old job back?”
He shrugged. “I asked.”
“My father is feeling very benevolent these days. He’s invited me to move back home.”
“We both know he doesn’t do anything without strings attached. And not all strings are visible ones.”
“I don’t want or need your advice.” She raised her chin in defiance, but she was trembling almost imperceptibly.
Did he make her nervous? Good. Maybe she’d learned her lesson about playing with fire.
“Why did you move out in the first place?” He stepped closer hoping to intimidate her and caught a whiff of her perfume. It was delicate and floral with an undertone of something sensual. His dick lurched with interest. He fisted his hands by his sides to keep from reaching for her.
“It’s really none of your business.” She had a maturity about her that wasn’t there before, but five years was a long time. What had she been doing on her own all this time? Maybe she wasn’t alone. Maybe she had a boyfriend or a husband. No ring on her finger. A boyfriend then.
What did he care? He wasn’t here to make friends.
“Did you give up all this for a guy?” The question popped out of his mouth before he could put a clamp on it.
She stared at him for a hard minute then nodded. “Actually, I did, and I don’t regret it. He’s my whole world.”
Jonas’ gut tightened. Linus probably kicked her out because the guy was a loser. Jonas snorted derisively. “Sounds terrific. Love to meet him.”
Her eyes flared just enough for him to notice. “I have to go.” She spun away from him and headed for the house. “Tell my father I couldn’t wait any longer.”
Jonas rolled his eyes. “April, wait.”
She didn’t look back as she fled through the open sliding glass doors.
“Shit.”
“You didn’t mention you were pals with Philip Linus’ daughter.” Vera Velez said through the lanai screen.
The petite brunette opened the door letting in the Linus’ fat orange tabby cat. The animal dashed past him like the Russian FSB was on his tail as a wall of rain came across the lawn and stalled over the house. In typical Florida fashion, the sun still shone brightly through the downpour.
How long had Vera been standing there? Not too long, he hoped. He had to be more careful. She was posing as a nanny for one of Linus’ daughters. She’d successfully broken into the family’s circle of trust, but she had yet to gain access to the Brazilian compound, which was thought to be the heart of the Albatross organization. “Back from Disney World so soon?”
“I never left. Faked a migraine so I could get some work done. The other nanny can handle both girls on her own. How long have you been friendly with April Linus?”
“It’s none of your damn business.” He picked up the plastic water bottle April left on the table and carried it to the bar.
Vera’s face darkened as she stabbed a red-nail-polish-tipped-finger in his direction. “Don’t even think of holding anything back from me. This is my investigation now.”
The former prima ballerina turned spy was as rigid and tenacious as a dance floor. She’d already cornered him once to give him the lay of the land. She was in charge, and he was working for her. It wasn’t true. He reported to The Agency and no one else, but he didn’t have an issue with letting her think what she wanted, as long as she didn’t interfere with his mission.
“There’s nothing to tell.” He tossed the bottle in the trash. The earlier spill was almost dry. “Our paths crossed a few times back in the day. That’s it.”
“I don’t have to remind you that you are obligated to reveal any pertinent information that would aid in my investigation.”
“I know the rules.”
�
�Do you?” She arched an overly manicured eyebrow. “Out of professional courtesy, I’ll give you one chance to tell me if you think your relationship with April Linus will comprise this mission. If you do, I’ll file a request for your replacement and they’ll be no harm done.”
Jonas sighed. “There isn’t, and never was, a relationship, so get off of it.”
As he headed for the house attempting to end this pointless interrogation, she stepped in front of him blocking his path. “So, you won’t interfere when I investigate April Linus?”
“There’s nothing to investigate. She’s been estranged from her father for the past five years. If that doesn’t prove her innocence than I don’t know what will.”
The top of Vera’s head barely reached his shoulder, but she stepped into his personal space and pointed that red-tipped fingernail at him again. “Get in my way, and I’ll personally make sure they toss you and that high tight ass of yours in exile.”
As if the woman had a sixth sense, she spun away from him and exited through the screen door disappearing into the rain a moment before Phillip Linus emerged from the house.
“Where’s April? Have you seen my daughter?”
“She left. Said she couldn’t wait.”
Linus muttered a curse.
Jonas started for the house intending to continue his rounds inside until the rain stopped. He needed to regroup. Figure out what he could do to prove himself to Linus before April, or one of his brothers, showed up in his life again and screwed with his chance for redemption.
“Wait a moment, Jonas.”
He’d almost made it to the door. Turning on his heels, he stood and waited for Linus who scrolled through his cell phone searching for something.
“Yes, sir?”
“You say you want to be indispensable to me?”
“I do.”
“I have an important task for you.”
Jonas hadn’t expected a breakthrough so soon, but this could be it. He made an extra effort to school his face. The quicker he got this job done, the quicker he could move on to the next one and secure his career. “I’m at your disposal, sir.”
Linus chuckled and glanced up from his phone. “Yes, well, I appreciate that. I’m texting you an address. I’m giving my daughter twenty-four hours to respond. If she doesn’t give me the answer I want to hear in the allotted time, I want you to go the place she’s staying and convince her to accept the deal I offered. I have a feeling she’s going to decline and that is unacceptable.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. The very last thing he wanted was see April again. “The deal, sir?”
“I’ve offered to help her friends with a private financial matter and, in return, April would move back to Casa Linus with her son.”
Hell no! He wasn’t about to convince April Linus to do the one thing he absolutely didn’t want her to do. It didn’t matter how many Brownie points it would win him with Linus, he wasn’t doing it. Nope. Absolutely not. Wait. “You said move here…with her son?”
“Yes, Archie. Quiet, well-mannered boy. Looks nothing like his mother. I can only hope he’s inherited his brains from me.”
Blood pounded in Jonas’ ears, muting the rain thundering against the roof of the lanai. The coffee he’d chugged an hour before mingled with the bile climbing his throat.
Linus droned on about IQs and some other bullshit.
“How old is he?” Jonas interrupted him.
“Let’s see. He’ll be five on April 8th.”
Turning away from Linus, Jonas steeled his core to keep himself upright and mentally counted nine months from July. August. September. October. November. December. January. February. March. April.
Fuck.
Chapter Five
It was a warm night for October, but April didn’t mind the heat. As she bypassed the entrance to the main house and made her way to the side gate, distant thunder rumbled in the night sky. She didn’t want to disturb the Ostergaard family by knocking on their door so late. She had an understanding with Molly that if she had to work past eleven, Archie would sleep at her house so April didn’t have to pick him up.
As she latched the gate behind her, a gust of wind carrying the scent of the sea whipped her pony tail into her face. The narrow stone path between the house and the high wooden fence was well lit, but passing through this way at night always gave her the creeps. She hurried into the backyard where thick patches of tropical shrubs and palm trees framed the pool area and the entrance to the stairs that led up to her second-floor apartment over the pool house.
April hadn’t intended to work a double at the club, especially after finishing an eight-hour shift at the bookstore, but two servers had called out for the eight pm to midnight shift, and she got stuck. She wanted desperately to say no, but she didn’t want to leave Carly in a lurch on 80s night.
After the crazy day she had, she missed Archie and desperately wanted to hold him, but the house was dark. Stopping on the covered patio, she debated whether she should just go inside and get him. She had a key and knew the security code. The reason she hesitated was because of Molly. She hadn’t been sleeping well and April didn’t want to risk waking her up.
Another gust of wind whipped her hair and rustled the foliage. She grabbed her ponytail to hold it still and turned away from the French doors. The scrape of plastic against concrete made her freeze and her flesh pebble with goosebumps.
Someone was out there by the pool.
The moon played hide-and-seek behind fast-moving clouds that threw odd shadows across the yard. With the pool lights turned off, it was too dark to see who stood in the shadows, but somebody was there. She could sense their presence like she could feel static electricity in the air from the oncoming storm or taste fear on the back of her tongue.
“Who-Who’s there’s?” she said into the night, hoping a customer from the bar hadn’t stalked her home again.
It had happened once before a few months earlier. A drunk tourist had followed her into the alley behind the club where Juan’s car was parked not knowing he was waiting inside of it to drive her home. The guy took off running when he saw Juan, but he made the dumb mistake of showing up at the club the next night and Juan called the cops on him.
Or could it be Jonas? Her heart thumped against her ribcage at the thought. Seeing him again so unexpectedly had rattled her to her core. Would he come looking for her? He hadn’t seemed particularly thrilled to see her again, but he was difficult to read. No, it couldn’t be Jonas, he moved like a cat. He was far too stealthy to make the amateur mistake of running into a piece of pool furniture.
April glanced around for something to protect herself with and eyed a clay flower pot. It was too heavy to lift by herself.
The wind blew again and lightning accompanied another growl of thunder. The flash was over way too quickly to illuminate the pool area.
Her gut tightened, and she took a step backward. If she made a move for the French doors and they were locked, which they more than likely were, what would she do? There’s no way she could make it across the yard and up the stairs to her apartment before whoever was out there caught up to her.
She had a phone. She could call 911.
Opening her purse with trembling hands, she reached inside without removing her eyes from the pool.As she swiped the screen to turned the phone on, a crack of thunder made her jump. She fumbled with the phone and it tumbled out of her hands landing face first on the travertine tile.
“Oh no!” she gasped and dropped to knees, forgetting about the stalker for a moment, while she reached for her phone. When she snatched it off the ground, she looked up, half expecting a psychopath to be looming over her with an ax. Or that creepy Gay Mafia guy threatening her with a knife again. What if Terrance’s henchmen were following her?
The downstairs lights flicked on and one of the French doors swung opened.
“April, what on Earth…” Molly stood in the doorway in a flowing green satin robe, her long red curls bouncing wil
dly around her slim shoulders. “What are you doing kneeling in the rain?”
“I dropped my phone.” Sideways raindrops pelted her and puddled around her bare knees.
“Come inside before you catch your death.”
Funny choice of words. April scanned the pool area as another flash of lightning lit the sky. Whoever had been out there was gone now, because she no longer felt his ominous presence.
Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. She scared easily and hadn’t fell truly safe in years, not since leaving the sanctuary of her family home. Casa Linus had been a fortress before her father installed the high walls around the perimeter, but it wasn’t just the security guards or thick walls that made her feel secure. The love and protection of her parents had made her feel more protected than any of those other things.
April climbed to her feet and flipped her phone over. Her heart sank when she saw the shattered screen. “Oh no. My phone is toast.”
“It can’t be that bad. Let’s look at it inside.” Molly stepped away from the door and waddled toward the living room sofa. Six months pregnant with twins, her belly was larger now than just before she’d given birth to Montgomery, who was a nine-pound baby.
April followed her inside and locked the door.
“Dagnabit!” Molly hunched forward and rubbed a sore spot on her side. “One of the little nuggets is using my rib cage for field goal practice tonight.”
April peeked through the glass one last time, reassuring herself she hadn’t been mistaken. She didn’t want to worry Molly, especially if it had been her imagination.
Or Jonas.
“While Anders is out of town, you should put on the house alarm when you lock up for the night.”
Molly waved off her suggestion. “Oh, you sound like my husband. The nanny forgot to put it on, is all. That’s why I came downstairs and saw you outside.”
“No, don’t get up. I’ll do it.” April headed for the front hall and felt a hundred percent better once she engaged the alarm. When she came back into the living room, she curled up on a leather recliner and pulled a throw blanket over her legs. “I’m going to stay in the guest room tonight, if that’s okay?”
Passion Punch Page 5
