He surveyed the massive amount of information supporting just one of her many award-winning investigations. Despite his general disdain for the media, he had to admire her work. He’d known she was good, but his respect meter moved up several notches. The woman was not only smart, skilled, and resourceful, she was also brave and relentless. Elle Bradley was the kind of reporter who made powerful enemies. Was one of them responsible for her kidnapping?
Thirty minutes later, the security system beeped, and he immediately glanced up at a monitor as two pickups passed through the entrance to his driveway. He recognized Burke’s F-150, and his earlier research had revealed Luke Johnson owned a black Ram. Jake’s guests had arrived.
Time to lock up the Inner Sanctum.
* * *
Elle carefully parked Luke’s beloved Ram beside Sean’s truck. She still couldn’t believe Luke had let her drive. But knowing his friend shouldn’t be behind the wheel, Sean had refused to come with them to Jake Stone’s place unless Elle drove. Grudgingly, Luke had handed over his keys. Despite the uneventful ride, he’d kept a white-knuckled grip on the armrest the whole trip. She, on the other hand, had kept an eye out for cops since she had no license.
“I’ve never driven a truck before,” she said, giving him the keys. “Am I supposed to holler ‘yeehaw’ or something when I get out?”
Luke just glared in answer.
“Actually, I expected it to drive like a tank, but it handled damn well.”
“I’m so relieved my Ram earned the Elle Bradley Seal of Approval. Maybe I’ll put it on a bumper sticker,” he growled as he climbed out after tossing his cowboy hat on the dashboard.
Before the three of them reached the front door, it swung open. A tall, handsome, black-haired, gray-eyed man stood in the doorway. He exuded confidence and dominance. His lips curved up in a slight smile, but his eyes were filled with suspicion.
“Welcome to my humble abode, as the saying goes,” he announced.
Although his tone was warm, Elle felt as if someone had slipped an ice cube down her shirt. A shirt under which she now wore a bra because Luke had insisted she find one in the boxes and put it on before they left the hospital.
“I’m Jake Stone.” The master of the manor extended his right hand.
“Elle Bradley,” she said, cringing inwardly at the expectation of a bone-crushing handshake. But the gesture was only firm and controlled. His pewter eyes, however, were terribly unsettling.
Luke must’ve sensed her discomfort because he stepped closer and extended his hand deliberately. “Luke Johnson,” he said without a smile. “Thanks for inviting us.”
Jake released her hand and grasped Luke’s. Testosterone sizzled in the air.
“You should thank your friend, not me,” Jake said, which probably meant Sean had better make damn sure nothing went wrong since the invitation was his idea.
Sean, who’d been closely watching the exchange, laughed. “Don’t worry, guys. Stone’s bark is worse than his bite.”
It wasn’t his bark or his bite that worried Elle.
Jake shot his employee a scathing glare.
“And so are his eyes,” Sean added and gulped.
“What the hell’s wrong with my eyes?” Jake asked tightly.
“They’re intimidating,” Elle interjected.
Jake slowly turned back and studied her for several seconds. She focused on holding his daunting gaze without flinching. She sensed Luke tensing beside her.
Gradually, Jake grinned and nodded. “Good to know.”
Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they stepped toward the door. But Jake didn’t move aside to let them in.
“One more thing,” he said, his steely gaze zeroing in on his two guests. “Once you pass this threshold, everything—and I mean everything—is strictly confidential and off the record. Is that perfectly clear?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she replied immediately. “But I understand you’re an amazing investigator, Mr. Stone, so I hope you’ll help us in addition to hosting us.”
“I see you’re an accomplished diplomat as well as a damn good reporter. And it’s Jake. No need for formality; you’re not in Washington anymore.” He chuckled, stepped back, and swept his arm to invite them inside.
When Luke placed his hand on the small of her back, she glanced at him in surprise. His face remained expressionless as he escorted her past their host and into the house.
Standing in the cavernous, two-story foyer, Elle surveyed the area with an appreciative eye. Her parents’ colonial-style home in Washington was a midsize mansion, but the modern spaciousness of Jake’s residence made it feel even larger.
The light from a huge chandelier high above them danced across the black marble floor. A sweeping, curved staircase led to a second floor. The formal living room was to the right, a long hallway with several closed doors veered off to the left, and a wide passageway directly ahead appeared to lead to the rear of the house.
“Holy shit,” Luke whispered, obviously impressed.
“It’s a nice evening, so I started the fire pit. I thought we could enjoy a glass of wine and chat before I grill the steaks,” Jake said, already walking toward the passageway.
“Uh, Stone, thanks, but I’m gonna pass. Jess is expecting me home for dinner. I’ll put Luke and Elle’s stuff in the guesthouse before I go, though,” Sean said. He gave them a sorry-guys shrug.
Uneasiness slithered down Elle’s spine. Why did it feel like Sean was feeding them to the lions? Jake Stone couldn’t be that much of a badass, could he?
Chapter 18
Well, this is awkward. I’m gonna kill Sean for bailing on us. Luke tried and failed to paste on a smile as he and Elle followed Stone through the house. Every step reinforced his first impression: The shadowy guy lived in a mansion. What kind of work had Jake Stone done to earn a shitload of money to afford this place?
In his humongous gourmet kitchen, the three of them made small talk about the weather while Stone filled fancy goblets with French wine. Then they stepped outside into a backyard straight from the pages of Sunset magazine. With dusk deepening into darkness, subdued landscape lighting cast a soft glow over the whole yard, and individual spotlights illuminated a dozen towering palm trees.
Underwater lights made the vanishing-edge pool glimmer like the blue topaz pendant Luke’s mom used to wear. The necklace had been her favorite piece of jewelry because the gem’s color matched her and her kids’ eyes. He sighed at the memory.
At the end of the pool farthest from the dramatic edge, which seemed to drop off into nothingness, a waterfall splashed over granite boulders, camouflaging a secluded grotto. Luke had never seen anything like it, but Elle seemed entirely unfazed by the expensive house or the spectacular backyard. Yeah, they definitely lived in two different worlds. The financial disparity shouldn’t have bothered him so much—but it did.
Stone led them to what looked like an outdoor living room with furniture nicer than anything Luke’s parents had ever owned. A gas-fired, flagstone pit with flames rising from teal-colored glass “rocks” held center stage. Apparently, this was a rich man’s version of plastic patio furniture and a grocery-store log burning on a bed of sand.
Stone sat down in a large, cushy chair, obviously the focal point of the seating arrangement, and Elle chose the love seat closest to him. Something inside Luke twisted painfully, his jaw clenched, and he plopped into a chair on the opposite side of the fire pit. Elle shot him a questioning glance, which he ignored.
“How are you feeling after your ordeal?” Stone asked, his intimidating gaze focused on Elle.
“I was starting to get in touch with reality again—until the incident this afternoon. I’m back to feeling like this can’t really be happening to me, like I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole.”
Stone nodded. “I’m sure the whole situation has been surreal. Do you plan to write about it?”
She frowned. “As one of my reports?”
<
br /> “No, as a memoir.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sorry, you must have me confused with my mother. She’s the one who loves the limelight, so she’ll probably write a book about how it affected her. I want my ordeal to fade from the public’s memory and mine as fast as possible. So, no, I won’t be writing a memoir or giving interviews.” She drank a large gulp of wine.
Damn, the jerk’s upsetting her. Luke sent Stone his own version of a steely gaze.
Ignoring him, Stone leaned forward in his chair, resting his forearms on his knees. “Earlier you mentioned wanting my help. What do you have in mind?”
“I don’t know…exactly. Sean mentioned you had provided invaluable assistance in resolving a serious and complicated situation a few weeks ago, but he didn’t say specifically what you’d done,” Elle said.
“Wise man.”
Stone angled a curious glance at Luke as though wondering if Sean had shared more details with him. Of course, Luke knew about the “situation” with Jessie’s mom and stepdad, but Sean had steadfastly refused to discuss Stone’s involvement or several other unusual things. Sometimes it really was better to let sleeping dogs lie.
“Luke and I have spent several hours brainstorming ideas on a suspect.”
“Anything concrete?” Stone asked.
“Unfortunately not, but I’m getting really suspicious of my ex-fiancé.”
“Richard Carmichael?”
“Yes.”
“Why him?”
“He has the clearest motive.”
“Which is?”
“Richard wanted to punish me for ending our engagement and breaking up with him. Putting me in physical danger was supposed to convince me that I need his protection and should give up my risky career.”
“Did it work?” Stone asked.
“Hell no.”
He laughed and turned to Luke. “Who’s your favorite suspect?”
Regardless of the resentment gnawing at his gut, Luke knew Stone was helping to protect Elle. He couldn’t risk antagonizing their host and being uninvited, so he prudently chose civility over confrontation. “My money is on a guy who’d been stalking Elle. Apparently, he went missing about the same time she did.”
“Then he should definitely be a person of interest. I assume the FBI has Carmichael and the stalker on their suspect list.”
“They’re not talking. But since they have an agent assigned to escort Richard around while he searches for me, I can’t imagine them also considering him a suspect,” Elle said. “I feel like we’re working in a vacuum. I was hoping the FBI would be willing to share the results of their investigation, but Special Agent Holmes said they won’t even release my laptop.”
Stone arched his eyebrows. “Why not?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense. But I’d bet my parents or my ex have something to do with it.”
Luke’s cell interrupted the conversation. He yanked it from his pocket. “Speak of the devil.”
“Richard?” Elle asked, stiffening.
“No.” Luke tapped the screen. “Special Agent Holmes, what’s up?”
“Where the hell is she?” Holmes roared as if he wanted to reach through the phone and strangle Luke.
He grinned at Elle. “She who?”
“Don’t bullshit me, Johnson. You almost got her kidnapped again. Even worse, you could’ve gotten her killed.”
“I know.” He didn’t need the reminder. Since the moment on the side of the road when Elle had opened the door of his truck, he’d known he was responsible for whatever happened to her. That surge of protectiveness had given him the strength to grab his gun from the floor and to shoot the asshole.
“Look, I’ve got Richard Carmichael, the Bradleys, and half the Washington office screaming for my badge if I don’t deliver her immediately.”
“Elle is a grown woman.” He pushed away the image of her nude, grown-woman body permanently etched in his memory. “I doubt if she’d let anyone deliver her, including me. Just tell everyone she’s fine and safe in a secure location.”
He disconnected, and the phone rang again immediately. Instead of answering, he turned it off. Earlier, he’d disabled all the GPS and location-related settings, but he couldn’t remove the battery, so tracking the phone was still possible. However, he doubted if the FBI could convince anyone to sign off on a search warrant for his phone records. It’d be damn hard to explain why they needed to spy on the person Elle had voluntarily chosen to protect her from the kidnapper, the media, and especially from her ex.
While he’d been speaking with Holmes, Elle had bowed her head and held it with both hands.
“You okay?” Luke asked.
“No. This is my problem. I shouldn’t have dragged you into it.”
“I don’t recall being dragged.” He grinned. “I’m damn sure I came willingly.”
Stone snorted and gave him a knowing look. “I’m sure you did.”
For the first time, he felt the flicker of a connection to the mysterious guy. Sean had said his boss could read people incredibly well, so perhaps, Stone had some understanding of Luke’s inner conflict. Besides, anybody could probably guess he was physically attracted to Elle. What red-blooded guy wouldn’t be?
“I should fix this,” Elle said, ignoring both men’s comments. She dropped her hands into her lap and rolled her head to the left and then to the right to loosen her neck muscles. “I suppose I’m being selfish, not wanting to go home and just leave the investigation to others.”
Luke jumped up and hurried over to her. Sitting down close enough to brush against her, he wished his left arm wasn’t in a stupid sling so he could hold her in his arms and comfort her. “Elle, it’s…it’s your decision, but you’re not being selfish. You know what’s best for you, and everyone involved should want that.”
“But as you said the night you found me, there are people worried about me. I should be…more considerate of what they’re feeling.”
“Now wait a minute. It’s been less than forty-eight hours. It’s not like you’ve ignored them for a week or something.”
“No, but my parents deserve better. I can’t believe I haven’t even thought about calling them since the attempted kidnapping this afternoon.”
He tensed. “We have to be careful with our phone calls and what info we give out. Everything you share with your folks, they’ll pass it along to Carmichael. If you’re right, and he’s behind all this, we don’t want him feeding the kidnapper any information. Like where you are.”
Her glistening eyes rose to meet his before she buried her face against his chest. He wrapped his uninjured arm around her and rested his chin on her head.
“God, it feels a lot longer than two days,” she said.
Stone cleared his throat, and Elle started like she’d forgotten he was there. Luke wished he wasn’t.
“If I may make a suggestion, I have a satellite phone that’s virtually impossible to trace. Elle, would you like to use it to call your parents?” Stone asked.
* * *
Elle sat on a black leather couch in the family room off the kitchen. Luke was beside her with his right arm around her shoulders. After giving her the untraceable phone, Jake had busied himself with preparing dinner.
“You up for this?” Luke asked.
She nodded while she dialed. “Hello, George.”
“Miss Elle? Oh, my word, are you all right?”
Why did people insist on asking such a ludicrous question? Of course, she wasn’t all right or okay or fine. She’d been abducted, imprisoned for a month, and almost kidnapped again. How could she be any of the above?
“I…I will be all right.” Someday. “Could you put both my parents on, please?”
“Certainly, miss.”
A minute or so passed before she heard two clicks.
“Elle, honey, we’ve been worried sick since we heard about the shooting,” her father said. “Are you hurt?”
“You really must come home,�
� her mother whined. “I’ve scheduled a full calendar for next week, and you need to be here.”
“Allison, leave her alone,” Harlan said sternly.
Elle blinked back tears. “The deputy who was with me got shot in the arm, but I only have a small bump on my head.”
“I assume you’re referring to Deputy Johnson. Richard told us the incident was all his fault in the first place,” Allison said.
“Richard is wrong. Lu…Deputy Johnson saved me…again.” She smiled up at him. “He risked getting shot a second time, potentially a fatal injury, to keep the bastard from taking me.”
Her father cleared his throat. “Then we owe him a debt of gratitude for protecting you.”
“Elle, sweetie, you’d be safer here at home with us…and Richard,” her mother said. “The two of you could enjoy a staycation while you recover. Wouldn’t relaxing with him be nice?”
“I don’t want to spend a single minute with Richard. I don’t love him. I don’t even like him anymore. And he’s being a total pain in the ass. I can’t stand—”
“Listen to me, young lady. Hasn’t this whole affair taught you anything at all? You need Richard. He’s one of us. He knows the right people. You should feel lucky that he loves you enough to have put up with your horrid career for as long as he has. Maybe it’s time for you to grow up and become a part of the world you were born into, instead of acting like a rogue,” Allison scolded.
“Mother, I—”
“You should apologize to Richard, get back together, and prepare for the holiday social season before it’s too late. The Vanderbilts’ Thanksgiving gala invitations were sent out weeks ago, and we didn’t get one…yet. If you don’t come home and reconcile with Richard immediately, we won’t be going this year. Why would you do that to me?”
Her mother’s unbelievably selfish rant left Elle and her father speechless.
Luke’s arm tightened around her. Apparently, the tirade had been loud enough for him to hear.
Only Obsession (Rogue Security Book 3) Page 15
