Under the Tycoon's Protection

by Anna DePalo

  As much as the Whittakers thought of him as family, Connor doubted any of them really regarded him as an ideal mate for the family’s precious darling. No amount of polish would ever get rid of some of his rough edges.

  Noah cast him a look of mock offense. “Me? Plotting to marry off Allison?”

  Connor tossed him a skeptical look as they reached the volleyball net set up on a corner of the lawn in the Whittaker’s backyard.

  Noah sighed heavily as if being forced to confess. “Okay, yeah. Guilty.” He shrugged, looking far from repentant. “Ever since Allison got ol’ Quent hitched to Liz last year, I’ve suspected that she’s set her sights on me and Matt. And, you know what they say, the best defense is a good offense.”

  “In other words,” Connor supplied, playing along, “get her hitched to me before she gets you hitched?”

  “Exactly.” Noah added with a pretense of ruefulness, “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  Connor looked over to see Allison joining the crowd near the net. “Yeah,” he agreed, “but I’m not sure I’m good enough for our little princess.”

  Noah scoffed, dropping his teasing demeanor. “You’re kidding, right? The folks adore you. They’ve never said it, but I think they’d be pleased if you and Allison ever wound up together. And, I’ve got to tell you, it would be a relief for me, Matt and Quentin.” He gave a mock shudder. “Have you seen some of the guys Allison has brought home?”

  Unfortunately, he had…and he agreed with Noah. He nodded over at Allison and said, “The princess might have some objections though.”

  Noah followed his gaze. “Yeah, I know Allison can get into her nose-in-the-air routine with you. But, I always thought that was just a defensive mechanism. You know, a way to show you that you don’t get to her when you obviously do.”

  She showed him all right. Every opportunity she got. Aloud, he said, testing, “Just supposing I was willing to help you implement this little plot of yours—purely in the interest of helping you escape a possible marriage trap, of course—”

  “Of course,” Noah agreed readily.

  “What’s to say that you, Matt, and Quent don’t beat me to a pulp for unintentionally breaking the princess’s heart.”

  Noah cocked his head, pretending to consider that for a moment. “Okay, yeah, I grant you that’s a risk. Under the circumstances, though,” he said, his tone nonchalant, “I’d say it’s more likely that the danger would be that the princess would break your heart.”

  Connor tossed him a quizzical look, but Noah’s face revealed nothing. The youngest Whittaker brother, Connor thought, was way more depth than the fun-loving playboy the gossip columns portrayed him as.

  Noah slapped him on the back. “Come on. We’ve got a game to play,” he said, walking with him toward where the other players were standing, “and I can’t wait to cream these guys.”

  As it turned out, their team eked out a victory for the second year in a row. Afterward, Connor sat down with a cold beer and some hot dogs. It was dusk and the party was starting to wind down.

  He was just finishing his second hot dog when his cell phone rang. Sliding the phone out of his pocket, he noted that the name on the display was that of one of his top deputies.

  He quickly excused himself and walked toward a nearby tree. No use getting the Whittakers’ expectations up if the news wasn’t what he hoped. He’d had a hunch, though, and had followed through on it.

  The call was brief but nevertheless had him wanting to punch the air with satisfaction.

  When he got back to the picnic table, he sat down next to Allison and, keeping his tone as mild as possible because he knew his words alone would be shocking enough, murmured, “They’ve caught Kendall.”

  She stopped in midmotion while reaching for a can of soda and swung to face him. “He’s been arrested?”

  He nodded. “And my guess is he’ll be held without bail under the circumstances.”

  He watched as a variety of emotions flitted across her face. “Why?” she asked finally, seeming to settle on that one word as vague enough to encompass anything he might tell her.

  Matt Whittaker glanced over at them from the other side of the table. “What’s wrong?”

  “Yeah,” Noah chimed in, “you look pale, sis.”

  Connor looked down the table and noticed that they’d gotten Allison’s parents’ and Quent and Liz’s attention, too.

  It was just as well. He could get the story over with in one telling. “Hugh Kendall has been arrested in connection with the threats against Allison.”

  Liz gasped while Noah uttered an expletive that Connor privately agreed with. Then everybody tried to talk at once.

  “How did the police catch him?” Allison’s father asked finally, making himself heard after the initial tumult had died down.

  “The police executed a warrant and searched Kendall’s house and car,” Connor said. “They found a gun there that matches the type of .32-caliber weapon they think was used in the parking-lot shooting, based on the type of slugs they recovered that night.”

  “They executed a warrant? Based on what evidence?” Allison asked. She had been looking relieved since he’d told her the news, but now her tone was tinged with suspicion. “Were they able to trace the color of the car that the gunman used back to Kendall?”

  “Does Kendall even have a state gun license?” Noah added.

  Connor shook his head. “The answers to your questions are no and no. But, the police concluded that the slugs had probably come from a make of gun that hadn’t been manufactured in a long time, so I decided to have my people do some more digging.”

  “Good going,” Matt said, nodding approvingly.

  “I had a couple of my investigators visit gun shops around Boston,” Connor explained. “One shop owner recalled someone fitting Kendall’s description asking about possibly selling some guns a while back. They were practically collector’s items, and the guy who came in wanted to know how much they’d be worth.”

  Connor looked around the room. He had everyone’s undivided attention, it seemed.

  “None of the stuff I’d dug up on Kendall revealed that he was a gun enthusiast or even into hunting,” he went on. “So, I figured, if Kendall did own some unlicensed guns and he was in fact the guy who had gone into the gun shop trying to sell some classic firearms, then he’d probably inherited some handguns. Once I had one of my investigators look into probate court records in New Hampshire, I knew we definitely had our man.”

  “How so?” asked Liz.

  “Kendall’s father’s will is on file,” he responded. “It reveals that he gave his gun collection to his son and that collection included the type of .32-caliber the police think was used in the shooting.”

  Connor looked at Allison and didn’t add the fact that, since Kendall had kept the gun after the shooting, instead of disposing of the incriminating weapon, there was a good chance he was thinking of using it again, and to fatal effect.

  The thought again sent chills down Connor’s spine. As soon as all the clues had been gathered, he’d turned over his evidence to the police so a warrant could be executed. The urge first to beat the crap out of Kendall himself had been hard to resist however.

  “What about the guy you saw lurking outside the townhouse that first night?” Allison asked. “Do you think it was Kendall who sped away that time?”

  Connor nodded. “Probably. And, as we suspected, Kendall was throwing us off the scent by making it seem as if the threats were coming from a run-of-the-mill hood.”

  “The note in the mail with the bad English you mean?” Allison asked.

  Connor nodded. “Among other things.”

  “We all owe you a debt of gratitude, Connor,” Allison’s father said. “You know you’re like family to us, but let us know if there’s ever a way we can repay you.”

  Connor noted that, next to him, Allison stiffened slightly. “You mean on top of his hefty fees?” she asked.

  Quenti
n shook his head. “Actually, I offered to pay him—” Quentin either ignored or didn’t see the quelling look that Connor shot him “—but he refused. He insisted on volunteering his services.”

  Allison swiveled toward him and Connor met her look head-on. He could see what she was thinking. He’d purposely misled her. And this time he had no excuse.

  “I’m relieved this episode is over,” Ava Whittaker said. “It’s been a painful and trying period for all of us.”

  “True, but if Ally continues to work at the DA’s Office,” Matt put in, “I guess we should all be prepared if she runs into another nut willing to take matters into his own hands.”

  “Speaking of which, how long do you intend to keep going at the DA’s Office, Ally?” Noah asked.

  Connor felt Allison tense next to him and saw Quent and Allison’s parents exchange looks.

  “You know, Allison,” Ava said gently, as if knowing this was a sensitive subject, “you are at the point in your career when a lot of the Assistant DAs would be starting to think about their next job.”

  James Whittaker cast his daughter a sober look. “And, under the circumstances, you might want to think carefully about that.”

  “What circumstances, Dad?” Allison asked. “This was an isolated case of one disturbed individual attempting to intimidate and harass me.” She shrugged. “It’s not as if it hasn’t happened to other prosecutors.”

  Quentin cleared his throat and spoke up. “We were all worried sick about you.”

  “Anyway, it’s not as if the Assistant DA’s job is the only potentially dangerous one in the world,” Allison went on. “Mom is a family judge, but I don’t see anyone here worried about one of the parties in her cases coming after her.”

  “That’s because it hasn’t happened,” Quentin replied. “Whereas someone was firing bullets at you just a couple of weeks ago if you’ll recall.”

  Connor sensed that Allison was reining in her temper with difficulty. “Maybe I want to rise through the ranks at the DA’s Office, has anyone thought about that?” she demanded.

  He wasn’t known for his diplomacy, but Connor nevertheless decided it was probably time that he stepped in. “Maybe we’re not giving Allison the credit she’s due.”

  Allison turned to look at him, the expression on her face saying she was wondering whether she’d heard him correctly.

  Not glancing at her, he added, “I know I haven’t.”

  “Thanks,” Allison said from beside him, her tone tinged with surprise.

  He addressed himself to all the Whittakers, who were exhibiting a range of emotions from quiet amusement to unmasked interest. “I’ve been with Allison night and day for the past several weeks,” he said, hoping the Whittakers didn’t take the “night and day” part too literally. “I’ve seen how tough she can be when the circumstances call for it.”

  Noah guffawed. “I’ll say. And not just when the circumstances call for it, either.”

  From the corner of his eye, Connor saw Allison purse her lips.

  Noah gave a mock shiver. “I rest my case.”

  “The truth is,” Connor continued, “she refused to be cowed by the threats and she’s certainly got the guts to be a prosecutor.”

  He looked at Allison, who was regarding him with questions in her eyes. He took a deep breath. “So, if Allison has set her sights on rising through the ranks at the DA’s Office, I say more power to her.”

  Maybe it was because he’d finally acknowledged to himself that he loved her, but suddenly he was seeing the Whittakers through Allison’s eyes. Her family knew she’d been performing a tough job well at the DA’s Office, but none of them, it seemed, could get past some protective instincts where she was concerned.

  And he’d been the most guilty of all. He’d unfairly been lumping her together with all the spoiled little rich girls he’d come to know, both through his security business and as an eligible and wealthy bachelor. It had been, he acknowledged, an easy way to keep her at an emotional distance and fight his perverse attraction to her.

  Allison’s brothers and sister-in-law looked thoughtful, while Allison’s parents appeared similarly reflective.

  Matt was the first to speak. “Connor has a point. We’ve all been thinking of Ally as someone we love and want to protect. Maybe that’s blinded us to how tough and resilient she really is.”

  “We just wanted to make sure you didn’t get hurt, sweetheart,” Allison’s father said. “Our intention wasn’t to stifle you, but things may have gotten a little confused along the way.”

  “Yes,” Ava agreed. “I’m sorry if we’ve come across as a bit heavy-handed sometimes, Ally. It’s only because we love you.”

  “I guess if we’re handing out apologies,” Quentin added, “I should say ditto for me.”

  “If continuing to be a prosecutor is really what you want to do, we’ll support you, of course,” Ava said, looking at her husband for his concurring nod. “Naturally, the decision is yours. All we wanted was to make sure it was a well thought out decision.”

  Allison smiled at her mother. “Thanks, Mom.”

  Connor caught the quick look she sent his way before she added, “And try not to worry too much. Thanks to Connor, I’ve learned that maybe I should have been paying more attention to my personal safety.”

  She’d learned that, had she? Connor took some satisfaction in that. It would help when he was out of her house—and out of her life—again.

  As the last of the guests were leaving, Allison was in the kitchen of her parents’ house, packing up some food that the caterers had left behind. She looked up as her sister-in-law Liz approached.

  “Hi,” Liz said, picking up her purse and diaper bag from the kitchen counter. “Quentin and I were just about to depart.” She stopped, giving Allison a searching look. “You look miserable.”

  “Thanks,” she said wryly. She opened the refrigerator door and put some plastic containers inside.

  Liz cocked her head as if contemplating something. “Which is surprising when you think about it. I mean, Kendall has been caught. You should be ecstatic.”

  She should be, but she wasn’t. She almost felt sorry for Kendall. She supposed the embezzlement allowed him to maintain a high-flying lifestyle. Having been born into a wealthy and connected family, however, she could have told him that wealth and fame could sometimes be a gilded cage.

  But what was really bothering her was Connor. He’d helped catch Kendall. He’d defended her to her family. And now he was getting out of her life.

  She should have been thrilled. Wasn’t that what she’d told him she wanted?

  Yet, Liz was right. She was miserable.

  “And, because you look miserable, let me return a favor,” Liz continued.

  “What?”

  “Last year you helped me realize that I shouldn’t give up on Quentin, that Quentin loved me and all I needed to do was push a little more.” She smiled. “So, I’m trying to return the favor.”

  Allison shrugged. “Thank you for making the effort, but, much as I hate to tell you, this is a whole different kettle of fish.”

  Liz laughed. “No, it’s not. You just think it is because you’re too deeply involved in it. You’re exactly where I was last year.”

  Allison stared at her friend for a second. Last year, after some prodding, Liz had admitted that she was in love with Quentin.

  Liz was right. She herself wasn’t just in danger of falling in love with Connor. She was head-over-heels, irrevocably, no-holds-barred in love.

  Yet, Connor had announced that he’d be moving out of the townhouse this weekend and she’d just nodded mutely. If he loved her, would he be leaving?

  She’d discovered that he’d insisted on not being paid for his security services. And he’d stayed by her side despite her attempts to get rid of him and despite the fact that he had no obligation to do so. She wanted to believe that meant something…but was she reading too much into it?

  Quentin walked into
the kitchen. “There you are,” he said, giving his wife a gentle peck on the lips. “I’ve been looking for you. Are you ready to go?”

  Liz smiled. “Yes, sorry to keep you waiting. Allison and I were just having a heart-to-heart.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Quentin asked. “What about?”

  “Connor,” Liz said simply.

  “Ah.”

  “What do you mean ‘ah’?” Allison asked. “And why did Connor insist on volunteering?”

  Quentin looked amused. “That would be the million-dollar question, wouldn’t it?” he quipped. “God knows why. Maybe he’s a glutton for punishment.”

  Allison gave him a nonplussed look.

  In response, Quent just looked at her consideringly. “Why don’t you ask him?” he suggested finally.

  “If I wanted to do that, I wouldn’t have asked you, would I?” she returned tartly.

  Quentin grinned. “Chicken.”

  She tossed her hair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t you?” Quentin replied as he headed back toward the door. “I’ll be outside trying to pry the baby out of Mom’s arms so I can get him into his car seat.”

  Soon after, Liz and Quentin departed the party, but not before Liz leaned in to whisper in her ear as they said goodbye, “Everything will be okay. You’ll see.”

  On the drive back to Boston with Connor, Quentin’s words sounded in Allison’s head. Why don’t you ask him?

  Ten

  Memorial Day. She should have been out playing with the rest of the world. Instead, she was in her kitchen, pretending to be doing…things.

  The truth was, she was in the doldrums.

  Connor was upstairs packing…despite the fact that so much remained unresolved between them. Despite the fact that she didn’t want him to go.

  A few weeks ago she would have said the idea was preposterous. But, a few weeks ago they hadn’t been thrown together in the same house…they hadn’t had wild and passionate sex…she hadn’t fallen in love with him. He’d sneaked into her heart—if he’d ever left.