“Michael Maddox?” David closed the distance between them but didn’t meet Michael’s extended hand. “Where’s my daughter?” He looked around the busy lobby of the hotel and back at Michael.
“How’d you know who I am? I didn’t think Kate mentioned me.” Michael shoved his hands in the pockets of his black business pants and trained his attention on David’s brown eyes, trying to get an accurate read on his character.
“Doesn’t everyone know who you are?” He echoed Michael’s pose. “Besides, you’re the reason my daughter is here, right? She planned your event. And I want her to come back to New York.”
“You don’t even know what’s going on,” Michael said with a deeper than normal voice. “We need to talk. I’ll take you to my office.”
“I have no intention of going anywhere without seeing my daughter. This is her hotel, correct?”
“It was. She’s staying at my place now.”
David took a step back from Michael and removed his hands from his pockets. “What the fuck is going on?” His tan faded, replaced by bright cheeks. “If you think you’re going to manipulate her—I know your reputation, you son—”
Michael held his palms up. “Hang on, man. I’m trying to help, Kate. She’s in danger.” And that was all he had said before he made for the exit, assuming that David would follow.
“What’s going on? I want to see my daughter,” David demanded as he trailed after Michael.
Michael spun on his heel and motioned toward his Audi. “Get in. I’ll explain.”
David huffed out an exasperated breath and shook his head, but at least he followed instructions.
As soon as Michael was behind the driver’s wheel and pulled out into traffic, he spoke. “Kate has a stalker. Someone began following her the minute she arrived in Charlotte. It looks like he’s trying to scare her away.” He glanced over at David out of the corner of his eye. He was pressing his palms against his knees and staring out the passenger window. “I called in a favor from a friend of mine in the FBI. He told Kate about her mother’s murder.”
“This is crazy.” David looked over at Michael as they stopped at a red light. “Jesus, I told her not to come to this city. I told her.”
“My friend in the FBI doubts the stalker is connected to her mother’s murder, given that the police think Elizabeth’s murder was the result of a burglary, but he wants to pursue every possible angle.”
“I didn’t want her to find out. I didn’t want her to know that her mother was shot. Do you blame me?” His face pinched together as anger, or maybe guilt besieged him.
Michael pulled off to the side of the road and parallel parked a few blocks from his office. He looked over at David again, studying him, but found himself unable to get a read on the man. Had he lost his touch? “It’s between you and Kate as to why you lied, but I need to know if you think there’s a chance that there’s a connection between her mother’s murder and her stalker.”
David looked like a man who had just lost a child. Or a wife. Sadness replaced his hollow stare, and the muscles in his face sagged, as though gravity had become heavier. “I don’t think there’s a relation,” he said at last.
“Why’d you run away from Charlotte when her mother died? Why the hell did her grandparents abandon their home—sadness? Or fear?”
David straightened his slouched shoulders and wet his dry lips. He wondered if Kate received her nervous energy from her father. How could a powerful attorney be so weak? Maybe it took having a child to understand what David was feeling.
“Tell me the truth,” Michael said with a flash of warning in his voice.
“I don’t know if her mother’s murder was premeditated.” David rubbed his forehead. “Her mother, Elizabeth, told me that she felt like she was being followed. She couldn’t prove it, though, and I—a pre-law student to the core—demanded evidence. I wanted to help her, but I said that without proof there was nothing to go on. Soon after she told me that, she died.”
“What did the cops say?”
“Same as I said to Elizabeth. Without proof . . .” He shifted in his seat and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. His hand fumbled inside before retrieving a folded photo. He handed it to Michael.
It was a headshot of Kate’s mother, Elizabeth. The photo was creased in the middle and worn at the edges, the color faded, but the resemblance between Kate and Elizabeth was astounding. Michael studied the photo and touched the necklace in the picture. The white gold chain was simple, but the pendant in the middle was exquisite. He didn’t know much about jewelry, but he guessed that the center diamond was, at least, two carats, and there were also small diamonds encrusting the large stone.
“That was her grandmother’s necklace—the one the killer took.” David’s brown eyes grew dark. “Where’s Kate? I need to see her.”
“Right now, she doesn’t want to see you.” He was beginning to feel sorry for the guy. Would he have done the same thing if he had been in David’s shoes? Would he have silenced the past?
“I need to protect her.”
“I have that covered.”
“I’m her father.” David slammed his hand against the dashboard as he glared at Michael.
“I’ll talk to her. I’ll see what I can do.” He opened the door and got out of his Audi. “Check into a hotel, and I’ll call you later.” Michael opened the trunk and retrieved David’s small suitcase. “Can I hang onto this photo for a bit?”
“Yes,” he answered as he met him on the sidewalk and stared at Michael, disbelief etched in the lines of his face.
“Here’s my number.” Michael handed him his business card. “I’ll call this afternoon. I promise.”
David knitted his eyebrows together as he took the card. “I have to see her. Please, tell her I’m sorry.”
Michael nodded and walked away, uneasiness building into a full storm that swirled inside him, threatening to break free.
“Michael met with your father earlier, and he’s at a meeting right now. He’ll fill us in when we see him later,” Connor said, peering up from his newspaper. “I made coffee. The real kind of coffee. I didn’t know how to use his fancy schmancy gadget.”
Kate tried not to feel disappointed by the fact that Michael wasn’t there. It was after nine, though. She was the one who’d asked him to meet with her dad because she was too cowardly to face him, but she wished she and Michael hadn’t left things the way they had the night before.
She wondered if he had slept with someone last night. Her stomach clenched tight, and she almost felt ill at the thought of him having sex with someone else.
But what had she expected—flowers and a proposal after they’d hooked up?
She couldn’t believe this was her life now.
“Uh, you okay, Kate?” Connor waved his hand in front of her face before handing her a cup of coffee.
She hadn’t even realized he was standing in front of her. Was she so blinded by thoughts of Michael that she couldn’t even see the hot man before her, holding her favorite beverage? “Sorry.” She smiled at him, took the coffee, and slid onto a barstool. “Thank you.” She brushed her hands over her sundress and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Connor responded with a grin that she was sure would make most women quiver with excitement. “Jake called and said he’d try and be here by two. Michael promised to be back by then, as well.” He sipped his coffee. “Would you like to get out of the house today? We could walk around the city. I assume you must feel a little claustrophobic being stuck inside.”
The man had a point. Fresh air was exactly what she needed. “I could almost kiss you for suggesting that,” she exclaimed, promptly rising to her feet.
“I would take you up on that, but Michael would kill us both,” he said before flashing her a knowing smile.
“Michael and I are just friends.”
Connor nodded. “Uh huh. Okay. So, Michael didn’t look like he wanted to snap my neck when he saw you asleep next to
me on the couch last night . . .?”
Kate turned back around. “Oh. What time did he get in?”
A slow grin met his lips. “We should go,” he said instead, which deflated her a little. Did he not want to shred her with the truth? Or was he purposefully trying to get her to admit her feelings for Michael?
He tilted his head and motioned for her to follow.
“Connor, has Michael always been—”
He stepped into the elevator and cocked his head to the side. “An ass?”
Kate’s lips twitched with amusement.
“He’s a good guy, Kate. Give him a chance,” he said and then winked at her.
He waited for her to enter the elevator and crossed his arms, showing tanned biceps that bulged from beneath the sleeves of his gray T-shirt.
“Did Michael mention to you that I have a date on Friday?” she asked as they rounded the corner of the street and headed for a local coffee shop.
“Yeah, I heard about the auction.”
“The thing is, I don’t want my date to know about any of this, and it might be kind of hard to explain why I have a, um, bodyguard.” She fidgeted with her fingers as they walked.
“Well, you know that Michael will never let you go alone. If he even lets you go at all.” He opened the door to the cafe so she could enter. “I could keep some distance from you. I could be out of sight but always there. Would that work? Maybe Michael will be okay with that.”
“He better be okay with it, because I’m not giving him a choice. Thank you.”
After finishing their breakfast sandwiches and lattes, they exited the cafe, but Kate stopped in her tracks before they made it more than a couple of feet outside the door. She had forgotten how close they were to Michael’s office building.
And there Michael was, standing on the other side of the street. He was talking to the slender auburn haired woman she’d seen at his office last week. The redhead was touching his chest, and then she reached up and pressed her lips to his.
A city bus zipped by, blocking her view for a moment. When it was gone, she saw Michael looking over at her.
Michael’s eyes left Kate’s and returned to the redhead. He took the woman by the elbow and led her inside his office building.
Jealousy was an ugly thing. Kate was rarely a party to it when it came to men, especially since she hadn’t ever really fallen in love before—but with Michael, a bubbling caldron of emotions had brewed into something frustratingly toxic. She needed to get out of his home, and fast.
“You okay?”
“Do you know her?” Kate asked while looking up at Connor.
There was a sudden darkness, or maybe a pain, flickering in his irises.
He stared at her for a brief moment and then shook his head as if he were shaking free a thought. “I don’t know. Come on, let’s take a walk.”
“We’re just friends, Connor. Maybe not even that. . .”
Chapter Fifteen
“Michael’s calling,” Kate said as she looked down at her cell phone. Connor and Kate had been roaming the streets of the city for about thirty minutes after Kate had witnessed Michael’s kiss. “I don’t feel like talking to him right now.” She shoved her phone back into her purse.
Connor’s cell began buzzing as soon as Kate’s had stopped. “I have to answer it. He’s the boss.” He shrugged. “What’s up?”
Kate bit her thumb and took a seat on a nearby bench. She tried to ignore the pain that pooled in her stomach, ready to crash down like a tidal wave, to knock her off her feet. She looked up at Connor, who had stepped away to talk to Michael in private.
Connor was grimacing when he approached her. “He wants to see you,” he said, shoving the phone into the back pocket of his board shorts.
Kate jumped to her feet. “No. I don’t feel like seeing him right now. Come on, let’s get a drink.”
“It’s eleven in the morning.” He reached for her arm. “Kate, Michael isn’t the guy you say ‘no’ to.” He tilted his head in a beckoning motion. “Please. You don’t want me to get in trouble, do you?” A small smile threatened his lips, though.
He was trying to manipulate her. There was no way this ex-military badass was afraid of Michael. “Connor, I—I can’t face him. Okay?”
“He won’t be happy about this.” He reached for his phone and sent Michael a text. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. “You win. It’ll be my head, but I aim to please you, madam.” His eyes lit up like those of a mischievous young boy. “I have an idea. Follow me.”
The touch of his rough hand against hers made her feel unfaithful. But she knew that was totally crazy. What was there to be faithful to? Frustrated with herself, she tightened her grip on Connor’s hand and allowed him to lead the way.
“There’s a great dive bar a few blocks away. We can throw some darts and drink a few beers. They should be opening about now.”
He was definitely right about the dive part, she realized when they stepped inside. The bar looked like something out of the Blue Lagoon. It was a tropical paradise for men with scruffy beards and women with tattoos. It was not her typical hangout place, which was why it was perfect. The last thing she wanted was to be typical Kate. Of course, ever since she’d come to Charlotte she’d become almost someone different.
“I love it,” she exclaimed as they sat down at the bar. She attempted to ignore the fact that the black leather stool was a tad sticky.
“Two Coronas with lime,” Connor ordered.
“I don’t drink beer . . . but what the hell, first time for everything.”
“This will be your first Corona?”
Kate decided that the shock on his face was rather cute. “Yes.” When he handed her the bottle, they clinked their glasses together, and she took a sip. She attempted to hide her obvious distaste for the gold liquid, but judging by the huge smirk on Connor’s face, she failed.
He grinned at her and motioned for the bartender. “Can you make a mimosa for the lady?”
Kate’s cheeks warmed. “Thank you,” she said. “That’s a little more my speed.”
“You should do that more often,” he said before raising the bottle to his mouth.
“Do what?”
“Smile,” he said over his shoulder and drank his beer.
“You, too. You have a great smile.” When her drink arrived, she took an eager sip and looked around the bar. “So, tell me about yourself.”
He ran a hand over his short brown beard, and his pale green eyes turned a shade darker. Kate waited for him to speak, but she wondered if she had hit some invisible mute button. “Connor?” She reached for his shoulder and rested her hand on it. “You okay?” she whispered, sensing the unspoken tension in his body. She never expected that such a casual question would prove to be such a difficult one.
He cleared his throat and looked up at her. “I don’t have much of a story.” His voice gave her a chill colder than the Arctic. Gone was the carefree, charming companion—in his place was now an aloof stranger. He reminded her a little of Michael, in that way. Warm one minute and steel the next. Of course, steel could get hot pretty quick. “Connor, you don’t need to tell me anything. You don’t owe me your story. I was just making conversation.” She released her hand from his shoulder and looked down at her drink.
“Kate, Michael trusts me to keep you safe, but I think most of us—those who spent a lot of time in the Middle East—well, we don’t like to talk about our past. We don’t like talking about ourselves all too much. Michael and I are kind of fucked up, to tell you the truth. Afghanistan was the breaking point for us.” He took a swig of beer. “I think he’s a bit more messed up, though,” he said with a smile, attempting to lighten the mood. “I try to be a happy-go-lucky guy, in spite of everything, but Michael, well he . . .”
Kate was curious to hear more, but Connor was looking at something behind her. She swiveled around to see what had grabbed his attention.
Michael, wearing his powerhouse, thre
e-piece suit, was standing at the entrance of the bar. He looked even more out of place than she did.
He crossed the room in a few long strides. “Kate,” he gruffly said. “We need to talk.” His eyes were focused on hers, ignoring Connor’s presence.
“How’d you find us?” Kate mumbled as she stood.
“Never mind that.” He directed his heated gaze Connor’s way. “What were you thinking having her leave the loft?”
“Oh come on, she’s fine.” Connor stayed seated and finished his beer.
“I’ll bring her back to my place. Jake will be there at two—come over then.”
Kate looked up at Michael, a shiver darting up her spine. “Bye Connor. Thanks for the drink.”
Connor raised his brows at her and grimaced in apology. Did he feel bad for getting her into trouble?
Michael rested his hand on the small of her back and nudged her forward. She wouldn’t normally allow a guy to boss her around, but he was trying to help her, so she let it slide this time.
Kate had to blink a few times as they exited from the dim bar and burst into the bright, sunlit outside.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked while folding her arms.
“What were you doing in there with him? Is there something going on between you two?” They stopped walking, and he turned to face her, ignoring the small audience of pedestrians that subversively observed the scene as they walked by.
If it were possible, her jaw would have hit the ground. It would have come unhinged and plummeted. “You’re crazy.” She leaned against the brick building next to the dive bar.
“Kate.” He ruffled his hair, pieces sticking out, making him look a little disheveled, and she had to assume that was a new look for him. She was sure he was used to being in control and composed at all times.
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