by Livia Grant
Dylan could see Lukus's thoughts churning. "Accounting, you say? Have you been able to hack into their employee records? Do we know who is cooking the books for him?"
"Yeah, I got into those records last week. Up until last month, Jennifer Atkinson was listed as the official accountant for Strictly Disciplined, but it looks like Ms. Atkinson met an untimely death in a single car crash while driving along the coast a couple of weeks ago. Her body was burned beyond recognition," Cam told them.
"That's an interesting coincidence. A dead accountant at the same time he starts showing interest in a young, submissive accountant."
"Who the hell told you Hannah is a submissive?" Dylan didn't like the way the men were talking about her.
"Down, boy. I'm just saying Davenport likes to hire beautiful women he can bully and manipulate," Lukus said.
"Well, it isn't working. She's telling him to take a leap."
Dylan didn't like the look that had suddenly appeared on Lukus's face. "So far she has," Lukus said slowly. "But what if she was working for us and we could get her into that warehouse? You might be right. She could be the key to the whole investigation."
Dylan instantly regretted pushing the men to notice Hannah. Now they were going to try to use her, just like Davenport.
What assholes.
Before he could even protest, Lukus was on his feet, barking orders. "Keep digging on Hannah Martine, Cam. I want to know as much as you can tell me about her so I know how to turn her into our eyes and ears." Lukus turned to Dylan to ask him a surprising question. "Where is she right now?"
"At the florist she works at. Why?"
"Because we're gonna make a trip to her apartment and see what we can find out about her and her connection to Jake Davenport, that's why. We need more information on Hannah Martine."
Dylan had been pushing them for weeks to include Hannah in their investigation. Now that he'd succeeded, he was regretting it. "That's an invasion of her privacy, not to mention illegal," he said.
"Then I guess we should be careful not to get caught then, shouldn't we?" Lukus was already gathering up his laptop and a few other belongings.
Dylan stood his ground, not liking the turn of events. Lukus and Derek turned back from the front door. "Well, you coming, Junior?"
The only thing Dylan hated worse than the idea of breaking into Hannah's apartment was the idea of letting Lukus and Derek break in without him.
He begrudgingly moved to follow them, reminding them, "My name's not Junior."
Chapter Seven
Hannah
Hannah was just about to wrap up helping Mia get their orders out the door. It was the least she could do on her last day. She'd tried to break the news that she was leaving town, but the words just wouldn't come. She'd have to send her best friend a letter after she and Connor got settled somewhere safe.
She looked up at the sound of the front door to Bloomer's dinging a customer's arrival. It took a second glance for her to recognize Mia's younger sister. It had been almost five months since she'd seen Lucy, and the time had not been kind to the twenty-year-old.
The skin-tight mini-skirt she wore barely covered her ass, and her four-inch heels looked ridiculously out of place in the casual shop. It was the caked on make-up and over-processed hair that made her look like a hooker.
Mia chose that moment to join them from the back room, carrying a large bouquet in her arms. She almost dropped the flowers when she saw her younger sister. "Lucy?"
"Hey," was all the youngest member of the family managed, dropping her duffel bag to the floor.
Mia got over her surprise first. "Thanks for coming home. We need your help around here."
Lucy plunked her purse down on the counter next. "I'm not staying. I have a life, you know. I've been taking acting classes and going on auditions. I even got a callback this week. I just came home for a couple of days."
Mia was furious. "Listen, it's summer. Your classes are over and you need to come home. It's busy, and you need to earn all of the money I've been sending you."
Hannah watched as the two sisters argued.
"Aren't you listening? I'm on the verge of being a big star. I don't have time to play with flowers."
The dinging of the shop door opening was a welcome distraction from the stressful family reunion, until Hannah looked up to see none other than Jake Davenport standing a few feet away from the counter. He hadn't taken his sunglasses off yet, but she still felt his icy blue eyes raking over her. Her heart thumped hard as they stood in a standoff. She wouldn't have dreamed he would seek her out here.
How foolish of her.
Mia spoke first. "I know who you are, and you have exactly one minute to get the hell out of here before I call the police." She rounded the end of the counter to place herself between Jake and Hannah, as if the little wisp of a young Asian-American woman could be a match against the muscular Jake Davenport should he choose to overpower her.
Mia refused to take her eyes off Jake as he let a slow grin light up his face, reaching to slide the sunglasses from his face to expose the humor in his blue eyes. He was enjoying Mia's show of loyalty and that just pissed off Hannah all the more.
"I'm sorry to disturb you ladies, but I've come to talk with Hannah for a few minutes," he said.
"She doesn't have anything to say to you, you sonofabitch. Now get the hell out before I call the police."
Jake wasn't bothered in the least. In fact, he looked like he was having fun. "Such language, Ms. Yoshito. And I'd love to know what it is exactly you think I've done that the police might be interested in."
"Don't act all innocent with me. I saw the bruises you left on Hannah after your date."
Jake let his cool gaze move to Hannah, his glare penetrating her. "Hannah, dear. I think you need to set your friend straight. The last time I checked, you were a willing participant in our... date. More importantly, I wasn't aware you had lodged a formal complaint with the police."
He was right, of course. She should have gone to the police to report that he'd drugged her—forced her to have sex, but even as she had thought it, she'd known nothing would have ever come of her complaint. She'd gone out to dinner with the man. She'd gone with him willingly to his house. And with her history, she somehow didn't think the police would be impressed with the news that Jake Davenport had whipped and paddled her to multiple orgasms against her will.
She'd seen the cold look in his eyes as he'd overpowered her. The scariest thing was that she had sensed he'd been holding back. As sure as she stood there, she knew he was capable of atrocious depravities, and she felt lucky enough to have only seen the tip of the iceberg. She wasn't willing to take the chance of being alone with him again for fear he'd unleash his full psychopathic brand of crazy on her.
His smug smile told her he knew where her thoughts had turned. "I didn't think so. Let's go, Hannah. You have work to do."
She found her voice. "I told you. I'm not looking for a new job."
"Don't be silly. You attended college. You got a degree. You signed a contract to do a job using that degree. Now get your purse. I need to get back to the studio to meet my newest director."
The news that the handsome man in the shop might have something to do with show business perked Lucy up. She walked confidently up to Jake, thrusting her hand out as a greeting. "Hello, sir. Did you say you were meeting with a director? I'm Lucy Yoshito, and I'm an actress. You wouldn't have any openings I could audition for, would you?"
Mia moved to push her sister away from Jake, but he reached out to take Lucy's hand instead. His eyes left Hannah's to give the sluttily dressed Lucy a good look over. He obviously liked what he saw. "Nice to meet you, Lucy. As a matter of fact, I'm always in the market for beautiful talent such as yourself. It's hard work, though. Are you sure you're willing to pay your dues as you start out your career?"
Lucy had no clue what Jake was really saying. "Oh, I'm totally willing to pay my dues. I've been auditioning for commerc
ials. I know I need to start out building up a portfolio."
"Well, I just might have some openings you would be a good fit for. I need to meet with Hannah first, but—"
Hannah made it clear she'd be going nowhere with him. "I told you I'm not working for you. I'm not dating you. I’m not doing anything with you."
She saw Jake's jaw pop as he gritted his teeth, unused to being told no. "Well, that is very disappointing indeed, but... " He paused, shooting her a chilling glare before turning his attention back to Lucy. "Looks like I have some time this afternoon after all, Lucy. How would you like to come with me and we could get that audition underway?"
Mia stepped forward to pull Lucy back, but Jake was too fast, pulling the youngest woman against him intimately. The look on Lucy's face was one of sheer victory. "Stop trying to ruin this for me, Mia. You and Hannah want to work in a flower shop the rest of your lives, more power to you, but I'm gonna be famous. It was fate that I came home today."
Jake wrapped his arm around Lucy's thin waist, his eyes boring into Hannah's. His threat was clear to all but Lucy. "What do you say, Hannah? I'm leaving here with one of you today. You coming with me, or are you gonna let me take Lucy to the warehouse instead? And before you answer, don’t think I’m forgetting about that little something you have that belongs to me."
Once again, she berated herself for taking the stupid ledger. Would he just leave her alone if she gave it back? And Hannah had no proof of what happened in Jake's warehouse, but by the way he had talked about it while she worked in his office, she had a pretty good clue of what went on inside. Unfortunately, Lucy was going to fit in perfectly.
The sound of Hannah's cell phone broke the standoff. It was Mama Rosa's ringtone. She'd call her back later.
"I'm not leaving with you, Jake. Just go. Leave Lucy alone. She has no idea what she's getting herself into," Hannah said.
Lucy whined, "You're just jealous. You had your chance."
As they stood there, neither willing to back down, Hannah's phone started ringing again. Something was wrong. Mama Rosa wouldn't call twice in a row unless something was wrong with Connor.
She made her decision. Lucy was an adult. If she wanted to go with Jake, Hannah couldn't stop her. She turned and rushed to her purse behind the counter, reaching her cell phone just before it went to voicemail.
"Hello. Rosa? Is everything okay?" Hannah looked up as she answered her phone. Jake's eyes bored into hers and she shuddered under the weight of his gaze. She momentarily zoned out until he turned, pulling Lucy out the door with him. They were gone.
"Did you hear what I said, niña? There are three men here in your apartment. I saw them pull up and they were snooping around. They must have got in through the side window because I can hear them through the connecting door. Want me to call the police?"
Hannah's mind raced. If Jake hadn't just left, she would have assumed he was the one breaking into her apartment. She had nothing of real value—other than his ledger.
"What do they look like?" Even as she asked, she knew it was crazy to care. She should call the police.
"Handsome. They don't look like the normal hoodlums I've seen in the neighborhood. All tall, muscular… body builder types," Rosa said.
Dylan.
She stood frozen, thinking about her options until Mama Rosa prompted her. "Hannah? What do you want me to do?"
"Nothing. I'm on my way." She hung up. Mia was standing in front of her, a worried look on her face and tears in her eyes.
"What's happening?"
"Some guys are at my apartment. I need to go," Hannah said.
"Wait. What are we going to do about Lucy?" Mia had reached out to grasp her arm, holding her back.
Hannah was torn. She'd do anything for Mia, but Lucy was another story. "What do you want me to do about Lucy?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe go after him and get her back?" Exasperation infiltrated Mia's tone.
That was a ridiculous suggestion considering how strong Jake was. "Right. Like it's that easy. Listen, she's a big girl. She made her decision."
"Don't give me that shit. She's in trouble and you know it," Mia said.
"Unfortunately, I do. But I can only deal with so many emergencies at one time. Right now, I need to go deal with what's happening at home. Maybe you should call the police."
"Oh yeah, like you did after he hurt you?"
Hannah didn't want to argue with her best friend, but there was nothing she could do to help Lucy. She hugged Mia goodbye before rushing out into the midday heat, praying her car would start.
Hannah
Hannah drove too fast across town. She pulled into the driveway just as Dylan and two other guys even bigger than he was walked out of her front door as if they belonged there. Between the stress of Jake and now Dylan pursuing her without regard for her wishes, Hannah had just about had enough of being pushed around. An anger she'd been pushing down consumed her as she got out of her car, slammed her driver's side door with a loud thud, and marched full steam up the sidewalk. She confronted the handsome man, who looked comically surprised to see her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? You've been trying to convince me that you're this good guy trying to protect me, and now you go and break into my house? You have some nerve!" she stormed at him.
They had reached each other at the halfway point of the sidewalk. Hannah made sure he got the message, taking both hands and shoving his chest with all of her strength. It was like hitting a brick wall.
"Whoa. Hang on there. I can explain." He pulled her into his arms to keep her from flailing at him. The tighter he held her, the harder she struggled to be free.
One of the big guys with him stepped closer to talk softly. "Let's take this inside. We're attracting too much attention out here."
Before she knew what was happening, Hannah was being shuffled along towards her front door, sandwiched between Dylan and a hulk of a man who looked a lot like him. They had to be brothers, the thought of which intrigued her. The third guy, the tallest of the three, jimmied open her door in just a few seconds, telling her that her security was a joke.
Thanks asshole. Tell me something I don’t know.
Her small apartment seemed downright petite with the three hulking guys filling the space. Mama Rosa had been right in her description of them. They were all strikingly handsome and it was throwing her off. As big as they were, she didn't feel threatened by them, which didn't make any sense at all.
Dylan stepped closer, his arms stretched out and his palms up, as if to show her he wasn't going to hurt her.
"I think now would be a good time for that explanation." She hated the quaver in her voice.
"I've told you that I was investigating Jake Davenport. This is my brother and my boss. They're here to join the investigation. We need your help."
"And you thought breaking into my apartment was the best way to get it?" she asked.
"Listen, I've tried talking to you, but you aren't listening to me. Jake Davenport is bad news. We need to get him neutralized."
"First, you don't need to tell me. I already know first-hand what Jake is capable of. The question is, what is it you think I can do to help you?"
The tallest man stepped around Dylan to answer her. "My name is Lukus Mitchell. We've been tracking Davenport for a few weeks now, and we're working on getting evidence that will put him behind bars."
"Why? What's he done to you?"
His green eyes flashed as she challenged him. She got the impression it wasn't something he was used to.
"He's hurt my best friend's wife... badly. And he's threatening my fiancée. Tiffany can barely sleep because of the nightmares about Jake hurting her and her best friend. He's stalked them both and now they're under house arrest, locked down with round-the-clock armed guards because Davenport keeps flying to Chicago to try to get to them, promising to hurt them."
She watched his eyes as he laid out what they had against Jake. Maybe she was a fool, but b
y the time he finished speaking, she believed him. Hannah saw the fear in his eyes as he spoke about the woman he loved being in danger. She fought down a feeling of jealousy and wondered if this Tiffany knew how lucky she was to have a man like Lukus Mitchell in her life protecting her. It was something Hannah longed for, but knew she'd never have.
The heftiest of the three stepped forward next. "I'm Dylan's brother, Derek, and I'm the one who decided we needed to get into your apartment. If there was even a small chance we could get evidence to put Davenport away, we needed to take it."
Her eyes returned to Dylan's. "What is it exactly you think I have that can help you?"
Dylan answered. "The accounting books for Strictly Disciplined. He did try to hire you to do his accounting, right?"
"How did you—"
"Because his long-time accountant just turned up dead under suspicious circumstances, and because you recently got your degree. You're exactly his type. He's set his sights on you and he isn't going to stop until he has you… until he breaks you," Dylan explained.
"Breaks me?"
Lukus answered her. "He's a sadist. He gets off on dominating women. What makes him dangerous is that he especially likes breaking in women who resist him. It's all a big game to him."
Memories of how Jake had tied her down and hurt her before taking her forcibly while she begged him to stop had her shaking. These men had just described her nightmare visit to Jake Davenport’s house.
Dylan picked up on her thoughts. "Fuck, he's already hurt you, hasn't he?" She couldn't figure out why he looked so angry. "What did he do to you at his house?"
"That's none of your business." The words to confirm what Jake had done to her wouldn't come. A sense of shame she knew she didn't deserve washed over her as she remembered not only his actions, but how her body had betrayed her in the most confusing of ways. She looked away, desperate not to let these men see how vulnerable she felt in that moment.
