When she didn’t press for more, Hunt said, “And what do you do for a living?”
“I manage a small tech company. We create online security software.”
“Growing field.”
“Always. And the longer I’m away from it, the harder all of this is on my business.”
“And your mother,” Kelsey said. “Are you close?”
Trey Foster shook his head. “My mom passed when I was just a kid. Cancer.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He waved his hand, shifting in his seat as if the topic made him uncomfortable. “Thanks. It was a long time ago. I was bitter about it for a lot of years, especially after I had to go live with my dad and realized he didn’t give a shit about her and never had, but I got over it.”
“That must have been rough,” Kelsey said.
“Yeah, well . . .” He exhaled a heavy breath.
When neither of them knew what to say in response, he pressed his hand against the table and sat up straighter, glancing from Kelsey to Hunt and back again. “So you two . . . are you sticking around here in California or heading back to Portland?”
Hunt looked Kelsey’s way and lifted his brows, and in her eyes she wasn’t sure if he saw regret or relief at the prospect of leaving.
Kelsey held his gaze. “Um . . .”
“We’re heading home,” Hunt said, knowing it was past time. He still had no idea what he was going to tell her family about them, but he had one more night to figure that out. “Not much reason to stay now. I think we learned everything we came here to find.”
“Yeah, I guess you have. Well.” Foster pushed back from the table and rose. “If either of you need to contact me, you have my number.” He shook Hunt’s hand as he stood, then Kelsey’s as she rose. “It was nice to meet you, and I wish you both the best.”
They watched as he headed for the front of the coffee shop, slipped on his sunglasses, and moved out the door.
When he was gone, Hunt looked down at Kelsey. “What do you think?”
She tipped her head, watching him go. “I think I wouldn’t want to be him right now. As soon as the media gets ahold of this story, his life is going to be a nightmare.”
“Yours, too, if he brings up your name.”
“I’m not sure he will.”
“Why not?”
“Vivienne was careful never to mention his father’s name. She didn’t use it in her book. Very few people knew about their past or that he was harassing her. That kept Trey’s name out of the press as well. Why would he want to mention me now? Seems like it would just draw more attention he doesn’t need.”
His heart turned over. “Not everyone’s like you, you know.”
She looked up at him. “What do you mean?”
“Selfless.”
“I’m not selfless.”
“Yeah, you are. And you have a very forgiving heart, Kelsey McClane.” Stepping toward her, he framed her face and tipped her mouth up so he could press a soft, tantalizing kiss against her lips. “There aren’t many people who could sit here and listen to that whole story without getting upset.”
“Getting upset won’t change anything. I tried that last night, and it didn’t get me anywhere.”
“It got you here. With me.”
Her eyes heated. “True. But I like being here with you.”
“I like being here with you too.” Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he turned her toward the door. “And since this is our last night here alone together, I think we should make the most of it before your family starts asking questions about us.”
Her smile widened. “What do you have in mind?”
He pushed the coffee shop’s door open. “I was kind of hoping for a bottle of wine, a little room service, and you naked and at my mercy the entire night.”
“I think you might be able to talk me into that.”
“Good.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Because tonight you’re all I want.”
And everything he wasn’t about to lose.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kelsey was glad to be home. As she followed Hunt out of the airport in Portland and crossed the sky bridge to the parking structure where he’d left his car several days ago, she drew in a breath of damp Pacific Northwest air, anxious to see her parents.
Hunt shifted the bag over his shoulder and glanced down at the phone in his free hand with a frown. “Your brother’s texted me about ten times, wondering when we’re coming down.”
Holding his other hand as they moved into the parking structure, she said, “Which one?”
“Alec.”
She grinned and stepped out of the way for a woman pushing a stroller. “Figures. He’s impatient.”
Hunt huffed. “Tell me something I don’t already know.” Pulling her to a stop several feet from his SUV, he dropped his bag on the ground at her feet and said, “Wait here while I check to make sure the car’s clear.”
Kelsey rolled her eyes but did as he said, knowing he was just being cautious. He’d already warned her not to get too far away from him when they landed, just to be safe. She wasn’t particularly worried someone was waiting for them here in Portland, but she did hold her breath as she watched Hunt glance under the vehicle and inside the windows for any signs the car had been tampered with, then sighed in relief when he motioned for her to join him.
She grabbed his bag from the ground and met him steps from the vehicle. Frown lines marred his handsome face as he popped the back of the vehicle and tossed in their bags.
Amusement toyed with the corners of her lips. “You’re nervous.”
“About the vehicle?” He flashed her a yeah, right look as he slammed the tailgate. “It’s fine.”
Her grin widened as he moved to the passenger side and reached for the door handle. “No. About my brothers.”
He scoffed as he held the door open for her. “Not a chance.”
She slid into the seat. “You are nervous.” She was extremely touched by that knowledge, but wanted only to put him at ease. “Which one’s making you nervous? Rusty? I’ll talk to him first before we say anything to the rest of the family.”
He rolled his eyes as if she were being silly, but his expression softened as he leaned down to kiss her cheek, and he completely shocked her when he said, “I’d say it’s a toss-up between Rusty and your father.”
He closed her door and moved around the car, and even though she knew she shouldn’t be happy by that admission, she was. Maybe it was childish, but she liked that he was nervous. It meant this was real.
Truth be told, though, she was a little nervous too. She wasn’t sure what they were going to say to her parents and brothers, especially Rusty. He was immediately going to assume Hunt had done something to take advantage of her in her vulnerable state. For some reason, “Hey, everyone, I know I just got divorced, and I know Hunt was technically my bodyguard, but we’re sleeping together now,” didn’t seem like the smartest option.
Her phone buzzed as Hunt slid into the vehicle next to her and started the ignition. “Wonderful. Alec’s texting me now.”
“This shit’s got to stop.”
She reached into her jacket pocket for her phone. “You’re going to tell him to stop?”
“Hell yeah.” Hunt frowned again as he glanced over his shoulder to back out of the parking space. “After we figure out what we’re going to tell all of them, of course.”
She chuckled and looked down at her screen. Then froze.
Talking about me? I bet you are. You’ve been busy talking to lots of people about me. Pretty soon, though, you won’t be talking at all. Enjoy that new boyfriend while you can, starlet, because I’m coming for you real soon.
A picture popped up on the screen just after the message. A picture of her and Hunt and Trey Foster, sitting together at that table. A picture that had been taken through the windows of the small coffee shop.
Kelsey gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Beside her, Hunt glanced a
t her and went on instant alert. “What?”
She held up the phone with a shaky hand. He slammed on the brakes, stopping in the middle of the lane, and took it from her.
“Motherfucking son of a bitch. He was outside the damn coffee shop? The whole fucking time?”
Not just outside the coffee shop, she realized. He’d known they were in Palm Desert pretty much from the moment they’d arrived. A sick feeling passed through her when she thought of him looking in their hotel-room windows. Had she left the curtains open at all? When she and Hunt had been intimate, had he been watching? Bile rose up in her throat.
Every muscle in Hunt’s body was tense and rigid as he dug out his own cell phone and dialed. Pressing it to his ear, he said, “Davies? Yeah, it’s me. I need another trace on a text on Kelsey’s phone. I’ll forward it to you. And then I want to know how the fuck he got her number. This is a secure phone that we set up. No one has the number but us and her family. The fucker is messing with us, and I want his ass triangulated now.”
Kelsey couldn’t hear what Davies said in response, but the venom in Hunt’s voice was unlike anything she’d heard from him, aside from that morning Julian had attacked her and he’d beat the shit out of her ex.
“Get me whatever the fuck you can and get it to me fast. If he’s tracking her with her own goddamn phone, I want to know.”
He hit “End” on his phone and tucked it into his pocket. Hers he powered down and tossed onto the console. Kelsey glanced down at the dark screen as he shoved the car into “Drive” and tore out of the parking garage with a squeal of his tires.
He was pissed. He had every right to be pissed. But she breathed easier, knowing they were back in Oregon, hundreds of miles from Foster now.
“Are you okay?” she asked as they headed out of the airport.
“Fine.” He gripped the steering wheel and focused on the wet pavement. A rainstorm had come through within the last hour, and the traffic was thicker than normal because of the slick conditions.
“Fine,” she repeated quietly. He didn’t look fine, but she wasn’t about to say that. If he was beating himself up that he hadn’t noticed Foster watching them, she wasn’t about to point out that wasn’t his fault. He’d just disagree with her.
She looked out the window as they pulled onto I-205 and headed south. His phone buzzed, and he picked it up and glanced at it, then handed it to her. “Here. It’s your brother again. Tell him you’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
She typed a quick response and hit “Send.” Setting his phone on the console next to hers, she said, “I’m sure he’ll settle down once he sees I’m fine.”
“He’ll settle down once he knows you’re safe at your folks’ place. You need to stay there for the next week or so. The guys aren’t done installing the new security system at your warehouse yet, so you can’t go back there. Your folks’ place is wired tight. I did that system myself.”
Confusion drew her brows together. “You want me to stay with my parents? Last night when we discussed what I should do after we got home, you said you wanted me to stay with you.”
His jaw clenched tight. He glanced in the rearview mirror, then back at the freeway, not coming close to meeting her gaze. “You’re safer at your parents’ place. I’m clearly distracted by you.” His shoulders tightened even more. “I’ll be better able to figure out what the fuck Foster is doing by myself. I’ll send one of my other guys down to stay with you and your parents until Foster’s caught.”
Oh no. He was not brushing her aside like that. She shifted in her seat, gearing up for a fight. “Hunt, I know you’re upset right now about that text, but—”
“But nothing, Kelsey. I was hired to protect you. That’s what I’m doing. That’s what I should have been doing all along. Not fucking around and putting your life in danger.”
“I really don’t think—”
“That’s the end of the discussion.”
Her mouth snapped closed at the finality in his voice. She’d heard that tone before. Not from Hunt but from Julian. Spine stiffening, she angled her gaze out the side window, seething because she’d backed down from Julian more times than she could count, and she wasn’t about to start doing that with Hunt.
He didn’t want her to stay with him anymore? All because of one stupid text? Fine. She absolutely didn’t want to stay with him. She was so not begging for a man’s attention ever again.
They drove the rest of the way to her parents’ house in Lake Oswego in silence. The second Hunt pulled to a stop in front of her parents’ gate, rolled down the window to type in the gate code, then looked toward the house, though, she was more than ready to get out of this car and away from him.
The gate slowly swung back, and Hunt pulled onto the property. The driveway angled down and around. As they made the turn, Kelsey spotted her mom’s Audi, her dad’s Range Rover, her younger brother Thomas’s Jeep, and all three of her older brothers’ vehicles parked in front of the garage.
Well, the only good thing was now neither of them had to figure out what they were going to tell her family about them.
He pulled to a stop and killed the ignition. Kelsey immediately popped her door and climbed out. “Kels, wait a second.”
She slammed the door and moved around the vehicle. Before Hunt could even climb out, the wide double front doors to the house opened, and Alec, Rusty, Ethan, and Thomas rushed out, sweeping her up in their arms with ear-splitting laughter.
Tears sprang to her eyes. Tears, and a relief she was home that she hadn’t even thought she’d feel. She let them each hug her, one by one, and assured them she was really in one piece. Then finally said, “Enough smothering me already. I can’t breathe.”
Her brothers each laughed but listened and put her on her feet. And then she heard her mom’s voice and felt her arms go around her, followed by a kiss on the top of her head from her dad and his happy voice that she was home.
“Yes,” she said, reassuring them too. “I’m really fine. No lasting damage. Nothing a week of sleep won’t heal.”
“Oh, honey, we’re so happy.” Hannah McClane hugged her tight again. “No more morning-show interviews, though, okay?”
A reluctant smile tugged at Kelsey’s lips. “Okay.”
An excited little voice sounded behind her mom, and Kelsey glanced to the side then dropped to the ground just in time to catch Alec’s five-year-old daughter, Emma, in her arms. “Aunt Kessey! You missed all the fun at Disney World. I went on Space Mountain, and Pirates of the Cawibbean, and Daddy wouldn’t let me go on Peter Pan because he wanted to get his picture taken with Rapunzel.”
Behind Kelsey, Alec gasped. “Emma! That was our secret. You weren’t supposed to tell her that.”
“What? It’s true, Daddy.” She looked at Kelsey again and rolled her big blue eyes. “He made me stand in line to meet all the princesses. It was ex-hausting.”
Alec huffed. At his side, his wife, Raegan, grinned. “Oh, stop complaining. You know that was your favorite part of the trip.”
“The only good part of the damn trip,” Alec muttered.
“It really was,” Thomas agreed quietly. “Rapunzel was seriously hot.”
Kelsey pushed to her feet and gave Raegan and then Sam, Ethan’s wife, a quick hug. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Hunt standing next to Alec with his keys in his hand, but she didn’t fully look at him.
“Okay, come on,” Hannah said, stepping back. “Everyone inside. It looks like it’s going to rain again.”
Kelsey hoisted Emma onto her hip and turned for the house, not bothering to glance back to see if Hunt was staying or leaving. She didn’t expect him to leave right away, but she was not begging him to stay either.
Kelsey instantly relaxed as soon as she stepped inside. Her parents’ home sat on two pristine waterfront acres. They’d bought the Craftsman-style home years before they’d adopted any of their kids and had remodeled and added on over the years as their family had grown. Today, it wa
s all natural woods, beamed ceilings, slate floors, and walls of glass that looked out over a spectacular view of Lake Oswego. Kelsey loved this house. Had loved growing up here. And she told herself she would be just fine here for the next week, even if it wasn’t at all what she’d planned last night.
Sam and Raegan followed Kelsey into the living room with Emma. “We’re so glad you’re home,” Raegan said as Kelsey put Emma on her feet and the girl dropped to the carpet to play with her toys. “We were so worried. Alec was a compete basket case as soon as he heard the news from Portland.”
“Ethan wasn’t much better,” Sam said. “He was desperate to get back here.”
That didn’t surprise Kelsey at all. Her brothers were all protective of her.
“It must have been terrifying for you.” Sam pressed a hand against her throat. “Being in the dark like that for so long. How on earth did you get through that? I think I would have hyperventilated.”
“Oh, you know. I just kept telling myself help was coming.” But even as the words were out, she knew they were a lie. Her chest tightened with the truth. She’d gotten through it because Hunt had been there with her. Because he’d kept her calm and hadn’t given up on her. Her gaze strayed to the kitchen where he stood talking quietly with her brothers and father. Only he didn’t look like he was paying much attention to their conversation. He kept glancing toward her with a worried expression.
Well, good. Let him stew a little. She tore her gaze from his and smiled at her sisters-in-law. She wasn’t going to put up with being told what to do. He’d tried that yesterday in California by scheduling that meeting with Catarina Brunelli. Yeah, it had turned out to be an okay meeting, but that wasn’t the point. He should have asked her first before he set the damn thing up. And he absolutely should not be making decisions for her now without discussing them with her first.
“Sorry. What?” Hunt said in the kitchen.
“I asked how your head is,” Alec said. “You’ve got a big-ass yellow bruise on the side of your forehead there. But I guess I already figured out the answer myself.” He glanced toward their father. “Brain damage. Told you it wasn’t smart to leave this guy in charge of your only daughter.”
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