He hadn’t known that love could bring him the greatest joy.
He hadn’t known that it could crush him.
Masking all those unfamiliar feelings, he watched Katelyn hug her father before backing away to stand in the doorway to the guest house. Hamilton signaled to his pilot to start the engine, and Thorne walked his employer back to his ride.
“Don’t let her out of your sight again,” Hamilton said over the noise.
“I doubt she’s going to let me watch her every move.” Thorne would camp in Katelyn’s quarters if he could, but he figured that was the last thing she’d let him do now.
“That wasn’t what I was suggesting. I know you’ll be on guard here. But don’t count on her staying put.”
“No, of course not. I’ll be her shadow.” Whether or not she wanted him to be.
“If I could, I’d pick her up and carry her off with me and stuff her someplace no one could find her.”
“A good plan—assuming she would ever forgive you.”
“I care more about my daughter’s life than her forgiveness. Be prepared, because it may come to that in the end.”
Thorne couldn’t agree more about Katelyn’s life being of utmost importance, but he kept his silence like a good employee. He couldn’t reveal his feelings for the man’s daughter. More lies, if not directly, but what was he to do? Katelyn had already turned against him. He couldn’t lose Hamilton’s trust, as well.
At the helicopter now, the men shook hands and Hamilton climbed into the passenger seat. Thorne backed away. He could feel Katelyn’s angry gaze boring into the flesh between his shoulder blades. She was hurt, furious, but surely she would cool down, if not actually forgive him.
He knew he couldn’t count on it, not after everything they’d shared.
Her physical safety had to be his only concern, because he sure as hell hadn’t been able to protect her heart.
—
Once the helicopter took off, Katelyn felt a sense of relief. Not that she felt safe—just safe from being smothered by the father who loved her perhaps too much.
“Reporting for duty.”
Thorne stood there before her like the good soldier Daddy had employed. She flicked him a contemptuous look and went back inside, knowing he was barely a step behind her.
“You and your dad have a nice reunion?” Natalie asked from behind the desk.
The assistant manager had been there when they’d come inside earlier, and Katelyn had felt obligated to make introductions without using the Hamilton name. “Short, but I’m sure we’ll get together soon,” Katelyn said as she continued on to her apartment. It had been obvious to her that Natalie didn’t have a clue who her father was.
“I thought maybe you got news. I mean on Sam.”
“No.” The reminder brought her down another notch. At least the media hadn’t dug up all the facts and made connections she hoped to avoid. So far. “Hopefully the autopsy will be done tomorrow.”
“Sorry. I know that’s a lot of pressure on you.”
“It is.” And she needed some relief. “Natalie, I don’t know how this coming week is going to go. Could you work full-time through next weekend?”
“Of course. No problem. I’m here for you when you need me.”
“Thanks.”
Katelyn moved to her apartment door, Thorne directly behind her. When she stepped inside, she turned to challenge him, then realized the assistant manager was watching them with great interest. Had Natalie guessed what had been going on between them?
Katelyn backed off and let Thorne in, waved to the other woman as if nothing was wrong, and closed the door.
Her spine feeling like it had been fused straight, she made for the kitchen. Not that she was hungry, but she hadn’t eaten yet today. Eating was necessary for survival, and she was going to survive what had been thrown at her.
Thorne.
There, watching her. No sunglasses now. Eyes that expressed regret.
If she could believe the look in his eyes.
If she could believe anything where he was concerned.
She pulled a meal for one from the freezer and popped it in the microwave—some chicken and vegetable thing that held no appeal for her. She didn’t have an appetite of any kind after what she’d been through this morning.
Thorne sat at the island, silent but watchful.
“You’re not moving in here,” she informed him.
“I didn’t assume you would let me.”
Which meant he’d considered it? Did he really think she would just shrug her shoulders and say she understood? Like hell.
“Then why didn’t you go upstairs?” she asked.
“I figured you’d have a few things you’d want to get off your chest first.”
Yes. Him, for one. As she thought it, her chest tightened.
A wave of memories from the day before washed over her, thickening her voice. “So you can tell me more lies?”
“Everything I told you about myself was true other than that Daniel Westergard was my employer. You asked, so I told you what you needed to hear at the time so you could chill out. Finding your friend the other night was a horrible situation. For a while there, I feared you might break in two.”
“Ah, so you were trying to protect me again.” Undoubtedly, he was trying to regain her trust. Fat chance. “I’m a lot stronger than you give me credit for.”
“Believe me, I give you plenty of credit. I knew when you learned that your father hired me to protect you that you were going to be angry with me. Just know that I was following his orders to the max. After finding Gilbert in the lake, I wanted to tell you why I was here. I tried to convince your father that would be the right thing, but he forbade it. He said you wouldn’t cooperate if you learned I was your secret bodyguard.”
Secret bodyguard. Who did that? Her controlling father, of course. Katelyn would have loved to call Mom and talk to her about it, but that would put her mother in a world of unnecessary worry. And she’d promised Daddy she wouldn’t.
“What makes you think I’ll cooperate now?”
“You promised your father.”
“Only on my terms.”
“I got that.”
The microwave dinged. She pulled out the meal and began to pick at it. “So then let’s talk business. We need to figure out who has been sending Daddy those threatening emails.”
“At this point, you would be wasting your time. Leave it to the FBI. I’m sure they have more information than they shared with your father. There’s really nothing you can do.”
“The FBI has had a week since the first email was sent, and they still haven’t been able to put a finger on the sender.”
“What makes you think you can?”
“If I’m the target, then it makes sense that I might know the person. Well, be acquainted with him or her at least. Someone hanging around here. Maybe I’ll see something that the authorities didn’t.”
“Where do you want to start?”
“With the victims. Seven people died. From what Special Agent Ortiz told me, we can eliminate the two international students, Jay Chandra and Reiner Ohlson. And Zachary Hicks, also, since his parents died in a car accident a couple years back. His only family is a cousin in Florida, so he couldn’t have sent the email from the Milwaukee restaurant.”
“That still leaves four victims.”
But she thought she could narrow it down further. “Susan Barr’s parents are bringing a lawsuit against Hamilton Precision Weapons—which is why I would eliminate them. They’re channeling their grief in a different direction. That leaves three victims—Nicole Dyer and that brother and sister, Jori and Rebecca Hill—so that’s only two possible threats.”
“I see your point.”
“The brother and sister seem likely to me. I mean, can you imagine the grief of losing two kids at once?”
“True, though that second email points to some kind of temporary loss that became permanent.”
; “You’re right. We need to find out more about them. Any ideas on how we can do that?” she asked. “I mean, other than just running an Internet search on their names.”
“I have a friend in Chicago who might be able to help us out. Justus Nance, former homicide detective. He retired from the force to start Justus Investigations. I’ve done some work for him in the last year. He’s got people who do everything to solve a case. I’ll give him a call as soon as we’re done here.”
“Good. But we are done here.”
Even as she said it, Katelyn knew it was cold. A cruel thing to say. If Thorne Hudson had any feelings for her, that was, but there was no way she was going to fool herself into believing that. Ignoring his tight expression, she dug into her tasteless meal and forced herself to eat it.
Truth be told, finding out who Thorne really was might have left Katelyn heartbroken, but it didn’t shut down her feelings. Or the soul-sucking attraction that got to her every time she was near him. Even now, sitting across the island from him, that attraction sizzled. It was only anger—and her very strong will—that kept Katelyn from breaking down. Somehow, she kept up the pretense that he no longer meant anything to her, that she never wanted him to touch her again.
But when he left to go make that phone call to Justus Nance, breaking down was what she did.
Not a person to feel sorry for herself, Katelyn tried to stop her hand from shaking, tried to take a normal breath, tried not to view the future as one of devastation.
She reminded herself that she’d been through disappointment before.
That she simply needed a bit of time.
She’d gotten over her heartbreak over Aaron Starkman in a matter of months.
If it took half a lifetime, she would do no less with Thorne Hudson.
Chapter 11
After things settled down, Katelyn finally dealt with the reporters who’d been stalking the property for the past two days. They were eager to pick up any tidbit she could offer about Sam’s death. It took a while, but she convinced them she had no new information to give, and told them the ME might have the autopsy results the next day. She refused to give them even a glimpse of her personal feelings, other than deep regret that she’d lost a fine employee.
Thankfully, they left seeming somewhat satisfied. For the next hour, she barricaded herself in her quarters. That got old fast. Unwilling to stay locked in her apartment, she figured getting the café ready to reopen the next day was a good idea. When she left her apartment, she noticed Thorne sitting in the guest-house lobby. Without speaking to him, she headed outside and around to the café’s entrance.
Of course, he followed her.
Once inside, she was aware of his shadowing her every move. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t ignore his presence. She didn’t even need to have her eyes on him to know he was there. He kept his distance, but as she gathered the menus from various places in the café and brought them back to the hostess stand, she could feel his dark gaze glued to her. And when she went into the kitchen to make sure it was ready to rock and roll at lunch the next day, she knew the exact second he stepped through the swinging doors. Glancing his way, she saw him take a military stance, arms crossed over his chest.
Flushing uncomfortably, she turned her attention back to the work area. Tansy had seen that everything was clean and in order before the kitchen staff left Saturday night. Katelyn was relieved that she didn’t have to do a thing in here. The thought of keeping track of everything having to do with the café upped her stress level a bit. And it had nothing to do with Thorne standing there like a statue, watching her every move. She finally had to admit to herself that she needed help in the café as well as at the guest house. Which of course Thorne had suggested days ago—advice she had ignored.
Ignoring the problem no longer, she got out her cell and put in a call to her best waitress.
Tansy answered. “Hey, Katelyn, are you back in town?”
“I’m in the café kitchen, actually. Everything looks great. Which leads me to ask you for a really big favor.” One she hoped Tansy wouldn’t turn down.
“So ask.”
“I could really use your help until things go back to normal around here. How would you feel about my promoting you to assistant manager?”
“You want me to manage the café?”
“I can still handle the hostessing.” She hoped. She needed something to keep her mind off less positive things. “But I could use your help managing the kitchen and bar.” That was so she wouldn’t have to work directly with Thorne when he was back to his bartender duties. “Temporarily,” Katelyn assured Tansy, though perhaps she would make that change permanent after all. Not that she was looking forward to hiring yet another new employee if Tansy didn’t want the job. Whatever. That would have to wait until this nightmare was over.
“Yes, sure. I’ll help you any way I can.”
“Bless your heart.”
Tansy laughed. “You don’t have to be so dramatic. You’ve been such a great boss, it’ll be my pleasure to return the goodwill.”
“All right. Tomorrow, then.”
“Tomorrow.”
Reminding her that he was still there, watching her every move, Thorne said, “I didn’t think you had it in you to let go. I applaud you.”
He was still standing military style. She flicked him a look that said he didn’t interest her. “Don’t you think you’re overdoing this guard-duty thing a bit?”
“What do you suggest I do instead?”
“Stay out on the patio, for one.”
“And not be able to see you?”
“Works for me.”
Obviously, not for him. He didn’t answer, nor did he budge.
So the playacting was over. He was all business. All bodyguard. Nothing personal between them.
Exactly how she wanted things, she told herself, but as she passed him to go into the office, her body betrayed her. Every nerve went on alert. Though she didn’t so much as touch him, her skin prickled. She clenched her jaw and readied herself to throw him out if he followed her into that small space.
Instead, he stood in the doorway, shoulder against the jamb.
Trapping her.
Refusing to let him get a glimpse of the emotional roller coaster she was riding, Katelyn took a seat at the computer, her back to him. An email in her inbox with Radtke’s name in the subject line got her attention. It was from one of the man’s former employers who’d never gotten back to her.
Sorry it’s taken so long to get back to you, but I was out of town on business. Donald Radtke did a good job while working for us, but he quit last week without notice. Don’t know if that makes him reliable.
Which reminded Katelyn of Sam. Only, Sam hadn’t walked out on her, after all….
Too late now to worry about why Radtke hadn’t given notice to his last employer.
Forcing herself to get back to current business, Katelyn brought up the food specials for the next day, made a few changes, then printed out copies that would go with the regular menus.
But taking them to the hostess stand meant passing Thorne again. Close physical contact. She stopped in front of him, leaving a safe distance between them.
“If you’re trying to unnerve me, you’re failing,” she lied. “I’m simply getting irritated. You need to keep out of my way.”
“I was hoping when you caught your breath, you would be willing to talk this through calmly.”
“I am calm. And convinced that you need to back off, Hudson.”
Using his last name was meant to distance herself from him. If only that would work. Memories of the past two days flooded her thoughts. Threatened to choke her. It took every ounce of will she had to stand there in front of him as if he didn’t affect her at all.
“All right, I’ll give you some time,” he agreed. “Something to think about, too. I want you to know that I wasn’t playacting where you’re concerned. I came to care about you, Katelyn, more than I thought
was possible.”
“Please—”
“Yes, please believe me. Your father might have hired me to be your bodyguard, but my feelings for you are real. I would do anything to protect you. It’s not a job to me anymore. It’s personal.”
“And why should I believe anything you tell me?” Without waiting for his reply, she put out her hand, landed it flat in the middle of his chest, and pushed. “Just stay out of my way, Hudson. Watch me from afar if you have to, but don’t think for a minute that I want you in my life.”
With that lie, she shoved past him.
She might want him in her life, but she wanted the Thorne she thought she’d come to know over the past few days. The one that didn’t exist.
Reality—the truth—could be brutal.
Steeling herself against him, she went about her business and then headed back to the guest house, where she took refuge in the safety of her own quarters.
—
Later that afternoon, Natalie called her from the front desk.
“We have a problem. Geneva Laundry’s truck broke down. They won’t be able to deliver our linens today. Not tomorrow morning, either.”
Twice a week, Geneva Laundry washed and pressed their sheets and towels for the guest house and the tablecloths and cloth napkins for the café.
“When, then?” Katelyn asked.
“Late tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.”
Great. Another problem she needed to deal with. At least this wasn’t a life-or-death situation. “That won’t do.”
“That’s what I told them.”
“I know for certain that we don’t have enough tablecloths for lunch tomorrow.”
“Or clean sheets for the rooms that will turn over,” Natalie added. “The delivery manager said he’s shorthanded, too, and if we want our linens today the only alternative is for us to pick up the load ourselves.”
“Fine,” Katelyn said. “I’ll do it.”
She could use a break from Lakeside. And from Thorne. Unfortunately, he would go wherever she went. Well, at least he had a perfectly good truck with more than enough room for the load. But when she went back out into the lobby to tell him about the errand they needed to run, he was nowhere in sight.
His Deception Page 15
