The prison officer answered, “Metropolitan. How can I direct your call?”
She gulped. Too late to back out. “I’d like to speak to my father, Mr. Giovanni Sparrow.”
Kate closed her eyes.
“Hold on.”
The line became horrible elevator music. She turned her knees closer to Daniel, and he petted her lightly. Her legs became less heavy.
The officer clicked back in. “I’m sorry, ma’am, for the hold. Officer Denton will speak to you now.”
“I asked to speak to Giovanni Sparrow,” Kate repeated herself, but instead of an answer, her ears heard the click of the transfer.
She made a face to Daniel, but then someone new came on the line. “I was looking to speak to a prisoner—”
“Giovanni Sparrow. Who’s calling?” the officer asked.
“Kate Sparrow.” The man’s voice had sounded ominous. She brushed against Daniel’s hand. “His daughter.”
The officer sighed. “I have news to share with you. Are you sitting down, ma’am?”
Kate felt every muscle in her body tense. God, what now? “Yes, I’m sitting. What happened?”
“Your father was released yesterday.” Kate froze, unable to think. Her father free? Then the officer’s voice changed, and her heart became heavy. “This morning we received the news. Do you have someone at home to call? Are you religious?”
“Tell me.” Kate closed her eyes, knowing what was coming and unable to stop the words.
“Your father is dead. The police are investigating—”
“Stop.” Kate’s body trembled, and she squeezed Daniel’s arm. “Thank you. I have to go now.”
She hung up the phone with trembling hands, but her shaking became worse.
Daniel held her free hand and caressed her. “What happened?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Kate focused on the phone. “He’s dead, and part of me believes I did this. I killed my own father.”
Her face became wet, and she had no idea how long she cried. Yes, the man had framed her, had never treated her as his daughter, had never believed her about anything, but she’d spent most of her life in search of his approval. She sniffled. Then her throat became parched and dry, and there were no more tears. She took a deep breath, then stared at Daniel. “I ruined your shirt.”
“I want to help, Katie.” He squeezed her knee. “Tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know. He left prison yesterday.” She closed her eyes. “Then he died.”
Daniel offered his hand around her shoulder, and she hugged him. He murmured soothing words. “Someone tried to find you with a gun. Katie, I won’t let anything happen to you, but I trust Liam. He’s family.”
“My family isn’t like yours.” She closed her eyes. Daniel smelled of the forest and a home she never had. She nodded. “Okay. Change your shirt. Call your brother. I will give him everything I have. Stephanie needs to be kept out of everything.”
“No problem. Besides, Stephanie knows more than she says,” Daniel leaned back, and his empathetic brown eyes eased her. “I’m here for you, Katie Sparrow.”
Despite herself, Kate felt her nerves calm. Daniel was someone real. She swallowed. He meant what he said. She mattered, and with him, she forgot her troubles. The warmness in her body grew.
Chapter 34
Daniel texted his brother, then held up a charcoal-gray tee shirt for Kate’s approval. She laughed, covered her face, and then nodded. “Did your ex-girlfriends dress you?”
“Yeah, they bought most of my clothes, with my money. Aren’t girlfriends personal shoppers?” Daniel shrugged then changed from his white tee shirt to the gray.
“With me, you get high-end company designs. Guess you moved up.” She threw her head back and laughed. “I’ll need to take your measurements.”
He winked at her. “I’m waiting.”
Kate shook her head and tried to read a book. With anyone else, she’d have said something defensive, but Daniel wasn’t anyone. Daniel’s presence in her life brought her peace.
“Kate, do you do much with Sparrow, Incorporated?”
He sat next to her, and she put down her reading device. With the question on her lips, she turned into him. She stared into his eyes, and her lips opened.
Then she blinked. “What?”
He traced her cheek. “I asked if you had anything to do with the company.”
“I used to when mom was alive.” She sat up a bit, but stayed in his arms. “My family then painted me as the black sheep, and people dismissed me as an heiress without a clue.”
“It’s not true.”
She shrugged. “Most people don’t know me, and they can’t afford the Sparrow label.”
He traced her back with his hand. “Your father’s situation was much worse. He never needed to rip anyone off.”
She sighed. “It was never proven, though it should have been.”
He nodded. “Your mother’s company is a worldwide, household name.”
“Yet the financials are tied up with Dad’s legal issues, and I’ve been kept out.” The truth was she had no idea what had happened to the money from Sparrow, Inc.
He blinked, kissed her forehead, and then held her hand. “What kind of things do men usually do for you?”
She then elbowed him a bit in the side. “Men give me grief or want to use me.”
She stood up now and decided to go to the bathroom.
“Not me.”
She splashed water on her face, to make it look like she hadn’t cried. He still sat on the bed when she came out. She sighed. “Part of why I like you, Daniel, is that you chose to get close to me without an ulterior motive. Makes you sexy.”
Daniel stood up, and his face went white.
Something bothered him. She took a step toward him, but then someone knocked at the door. She shivered and squared her shoulders. Whoever was at the door shouldn’t matter. Her father’s death had changed everything, and she intended to live through this mess.
Daniel’s hand brushed her back. She stepped back, grabbed her purse, and unzipped it. Daniel opened the door and let Liam inside.
She dumped the contents of everything she had on the white bed sheets.
The necklace sparkled from the sunlight outside. The stones were clearly expensive. She chewed on her lower lip. White diamonds, tanzanite, black diamonds, and a yellow canary diamond in the center gave the entire design a royal presence. The plain papers and the statement paled in comparison.
Liam reached for the papers while Daniel’s hand caressed her back again. She nodded.
Liam read something, and she turned to stare into Daniel’s brown eyes. Calmness washed through her. Then Daniel whispered in her ear, “I’m not letting anything happen to you, Katie.”
She smiled. With one touch, he made her wish for love. She blinked. She’d never thought about that before. Was this his secret power? She turned back toward the bed and tried on the necklace. It was heavy. Once, she had thought herself incapable of ever falling in love.
“Kate, is this is everything you found?” Liam asked and picked up another paper.
“Any idea what anything is?” Daniel asked, but kept her in his arms.
Liam nodded, but remained silent.
“It’s everything,” Kate said, as she took off the jewelry, “including the banking statement. My father could have had twenty more safe deposit boxes at that bank, but I only had access to the one I knew.”
She prayed Daniel and his family helped. Houlihan had dangled the carrot that the charges against her would be dropped, but Daniel’s family offered her so much more. “Can you use this to help find out what happened to my father?”
“We don’t know if it was a murder,” Liam answered, but finished reading another page of the document in his hand.
“It was,” she stated in a flat, direct manner. No other explanation made sense. “And whoever did it could be after Stephanie or me next. I need to stop that.”
�
�I understand.” Liam flipped the page, then finished. He closed the document then nodded at her. “I’m going to need you to write me a letter stating what happened today and how everything stayed in your possession until you gave this to me. We’ll need a timeline for court on what happened to the items. Then I’m going to need you and Daniel to go to one of the nice places for dinner and meet the family for drinks. On this ship, we need whoever tried to kidnap you not catch on anything’s wrong.”
“What if Daniel isn’t enough to stop them?” Kate asked.
“Hey. I can take care of you,” Daniel crossed his arms.
“We’re all on this ship together,” Liam answered. “I’ve never protected my older brother before—”
“And you’re not starting now,” Daniel said firmly.
Kate bit her lip. She’d said the wrong thing. She stepped back, closer to Daniel. “Daniel, I don’t want to put you in danger. I just lost my father. I can’t lose you, too.”
Daniel wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Write the letter. Fast,” Liam directed. “My brother and I have things to talk about.”
Daniel pointed to the balcony. Liam nodded.
With a heavy heart, she went to the desk and wrote a timeline.
Liam and Daniel stepped out onto the balcony and spoke to each other.
She wrote on the page everything she knew. A stone raced down her throat and entered her stomach. She curled her hands to not be so cold. Her father was dead. Now she’d never find out why he hated her. A tear fell onto the page, and she wiped her face. She’d cried already. She had to stay focused on her task. When her mother’s image in her casket flashed in her mind, Kate threw the pen down.
Kate glanced back to the diamond necklace. Had her mother actually worn that? Her mother had loved diamonds. She wore jewelry at the breakfast table. The clothes, handbags, and custom jewels came later. Her mother had modeled for her own company. Then Kate was born.
Kate hadn’t remember this particular necklace. She massaged her throat. Yet something about it was familiar. The balcony door opened.
She turned back, and reread what she’d written. Everything was legible. “Daniel, Liam. I’m done.”
She turned around, and Daniel’s smoldering eyes caught her attention again. She sighed. A life with him would be the fairy tale. Then she closed her eyes and sucked in her breath. Survival came first. She’d get off this ship alive. Doctor Daniel Collins had lives to save for mothers, children, fathers, and other important people. If she stayed with him right now, she’d ruin his entire life.
Her hands curled into fists. She’d have tonight and a whole day tomorrow. The second the cruise ended until her name was clear, she’d have to leave him.
Chapter 35
Kate twirled in the mirror, then she finished zipping her black dress that had been created for her. Her fingers fumbled with the button on the top, but she reached back and finished the seamless look.
Daniel stepped out of the bathroom dressed in a nice gray suit.
Her fingers ached to play with his tie and remove his clothes. She tucked her hand behind her back and shifted in her feet. Tonight, they went out. They’d be seen. She sidestepped Daniel to find her jewelry.
With her earrings in her hand, she began to finish the look. Daniel brushed his hair, and she shook her head. The clothes should be last. Her mouth made a tick sound, but he ignored her.
He wore designer clothes, and that suit was made for him. He fit into her world, at least in appearances.
“Am I good enough for you?” he asked.
She finished with her first earring then began to put on the second one. “At any fashion show, the models would make a beeline for you, smell your money, and chase after you.”
“I don’t want them, Katie.”
She secured her earring then nodded. “Good, because I’d chase them out.”
She twirled. “Am I pretty?”
“You’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met. ‘Pretty’ is too tame a word for the life force you represent.”
“Thank you.” Her eyes misted up, but she refused to cry.
“Sweetheart, don’t look at me like that. I’d rather stay in and get you out of this dress.”
“Maybe tonight,” she said. “After, we go out.”
“After we talk.”
A moment later, he kissed her, and a strong, heady emotion raced through her.
She lost her balance, and hugged him closer. His tongue slipped deeper inside her mouth, and her body softened.
The fire that had once been buried deep inside her broke free, and the flames grew again.
She stepped away, and Daniel labored for his breaths. “We have to stop, sweetheart, or we’ll never get to dinner.”
Her face heated, but she nodded. Then she picked up her plastic key card and stuffed it in her secret pocket near her hip. At the door, he whispered in her ear, “In the morning, you’re not sneaking away on me.”
“Are we still going to my sister’s wedding?” She held his hand, and energy coursed through her. They walked to the elevator.
“Did you have something else to do?”
She winked at him. “Well, I have a hot date with this important doctor. He might not approve of you, Daniel.”
“Doctors are boring, Katie.” He hit the button for the elevator then leaned down to kiss her.
She stood up on her tiptoes and met his airy gesture. His hand brushed her spine, and her body illuminated.
The door dinged back open, and he stepped back.
“Daniel.”
A woman’s voice came from behind him, and Kate stood up to peer around his shoulder. Daniel turned around. One of his exes stood with her arms crossed. “It’s good to see you again.”
The doors closed behind her, and they went up.
Kate tried to ignore the predatory gleam in the woman’s eyes. Kate stepped around Daniel, but ran her hand down his body to his butt. “Walk away, before I remember your name.”
The elevator door opened, and the woman bolted out.
Kate tapped her heel and stared at the doors until they closed.
Daniel shook his head the second they were alone. “You’re adorable when you’re on fire, Katie.”
Her nose wrinkled on her face. “That woman flirted with you once in my face.” Kate crossed her arms. “It won’t happen again.”
His head fell back and he laughed. “Didn’t your mother tell you we’re supposed to wish the best for other people?”
“Mom died when I was twelve, three days before my thirteenth birthday.” Kate turned away. Her mother had always been graceful and kind. “No one since, apart from you, has even tried to be nice to me.”
“That can’t be true.” He put his hand on her shoulder. The doors dinged open, and she took his hand.
“No one without an agenda.” He led her to the restaurant.
He said nothing for a while. The hostess stood to the side, Daniel led her to their table, and held her chair. She gulped. “Thank you.”
“If you’re nice to people, then they’re nice to you.” Daniel sat down and opened his napkin. “That’s the general rule.”
She leaned closer to him and shook her head. “I don’t like the word rule.”
“I agree.”
The diamonds from her ring sparkled at her. She had to remember her plan. “So this engagement of ours, when do I give this ring back?”
He froze. “Keep it. It’s yours.”
She closed her hand and stared at the glimmer one more time. For the first time in years, she belonged to someone. She stared into his brown eyes and licked her lips. A life with Daniel would be the first light she had in her life. She closed her eyes and tried to listen to the voice that told her that if she fell for Daniel, she’d bring him nothing but trouble.
She opened her eyes and gazed at him again. Her heart raced. She might be too late.
Chapter 36
Daniel gazed at Kate, as she sipp
ed her wine. Her lips had tasted of ice cream and she always smelled of innocence and flowers. The contradictions made her unique.
Her breasts were perfect, and her body had a natural glow now.
The fire she sent through him was powerful. The fantasy of her naked body spread out on the table and open for him to partake in again sent a thrill down him.
Borrowing the Doctor (The Collins Brothers Book 2) Page 15
