Seductive Reasoning (TASK FORCE HAWAII Book 1)

by Melissa Schroeder

  She pulled her full bottom lip between her teeth and he groaned. He couldn’t resist a taste, just one. He swooped in, taking her mouth in an open-mouthed, carnal kiss. He did his best, trying to pour in all the feelings that had been haunting him for months. Lust being the primary one. By the time he pulled back, he knew she did not have a doubt about his intentions. Hell, his own head was swimming from the simple kiss.

  “Are you sure you want to wait?” she asked, her voice husky with desire.

  He chuckled. “Yeah. We have important work we do, and you are a contractor with me. It could really cause problems at work if we are not completely sure.”

  She sighed. “I hate when you make sense.”

  “Yeah, it kind of bites.”

  She rose to her tiptoes and brushed her mouth over his before he let her go.

  “Good night, Del.”

  “Night.”

  He waited until he heard her lock the door before he turned to walk to the elevator. He could head home, but he knew he wouldn’t get much sleep. The dual worry of the missing girl and his growing attraction to Emma would keep him up and going for hours.

  When he got on his bike, he headed back to the office. At least there he might be able to find something else to keep him busy.

  * * *

  Jin Phillips arrived at her small house in Aiea and found a manila envelope on the front step. It was well past one in the morning, so she didn’t know how long it had been sitting out there.

  She glanced down the street, then back up the other way and saw nothing. She picked it up, unlocked her door, then slipped inside. After shutting and locking it, she walked to her kitchen.

  It was a small house, but she wouldn’t be there for long. She knew this story was going to be big, and she was in front of it before everyone else. Of course, no one had found any information out in the last few days. Frustrated didn’t even cover it.

  She turned on a light and looked at the package. It was very light, as if it might not even have anything inside. Although, the last little bit about the goddess tattoo had been dead on the money. A very nasty phone conversation with Adam had confirmed there was something to it. So, she wouldn’t turn up her nose at any help.

  The envelope had her name and a little note written on it.

  Ms. Phillips. If you want to know more about the Akua killer, please look inside.

  Jin knew it might be a trick. Many of her colleagues didn’t like her. They found her too pushy, too loud…just too much. She’d even had a problem with one other reporter because he found out that she was half Asian, half African American.

  She pushed the thought of that asshole aside and carefully opened up the package, which held only a note.

  Each woman had a Sugar Daddy, and he made sure he was the last.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The next three days, Emma worked nonstop looking for some kind of pattern, a connection, anything. Del had called daily, and she had answered. More of it had to do with the fact she wanted to be kept in the loop about Susan. The idea of what the young woman was going through, of what that monster was doing to her…Emma shivered. It was what nightmares were made of.

  She stepped back from her whiteboard and looked over what she had written. Bloody hell, she knew it was connected, that there had to be something, anything. But so far, she had not found it. An idea was there, but it danced right on the outskirts of her thought process.

  She noticed a note she had written down and she grabbed it up. She wanted to ask Adam about the owner of the SUV. She knew that it had been reported stolen hours before Grace Singh was found, but something was off in the statement.

  She picked up her mobile to call Adam, but her doorbell rang. Del usually banged on her door like a gorilla, but maybe he was trying something new. When she looked through the peephole and found Jaime standing there smiling, she sighed. Why did she feel so…disappointed? And irritated. She was definitely irritated, but not with Jaime. Mainly, with her brother. He probably was worried about her, so he sent Jaime over to check up on her.

  She opened the door and Jaime laughed. “Don’t ever go into diplomacy, love, you would never make it.”

  Emma snorted, then chuckled. They had started off rocky in their relationship. She hadn’t trusted the former MI-6 spy because of her past. The feeling had been mutual for Jaime. But, because they both loved Sean, they had learned to get along. Emma was certain there were a lot of times that Jaime was just thankful to have another woman around to talk to.

  She was dressed like she had spent her entire life in Hawaii. The halter dress was blue, one of Jaime’s favorite colors, which contrasted nicely with her ebony skin. White hibiscus flowers decorated the fabric and, as always, it fit her perfectly. It clung to her body as if it had been custom made for her. And…she had one of those bodies all men seemed to like. Full chested, full hipped, and very feminine. She always made Emma feel like a twelve-year-old boy. Of course, since Emma was wearing a pair of board shorts and an Iron Man T-shirt, there was probably a reason for that.

  “Come on in. What did Sean make you come here for?”

  Jaime stepped over the threshold. She was holding a reusable grocery bag. “First of all, he did not make me come.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I’m just checking up on you, and I brought you food.” She pulled a plastic container from the bag, then walked into Emma’s kitchen. She opened the fridge. “Randy is convinced you don’t eat enough, and from the looks of this, you don’t.”

  She made a face. She probably had several energy drinks and molded over fruit in there. “I order in a lot.”

  Jamie shut the fridge and turned around. “Well, a good home-cooked meal wouldn’t hurt you every now and then.”

  Emma couldn’t argue with that. “What is it?”

  “Randy’s chicken and dumplings. Rain is coming, so he thought you might be in the mood.”

  She didn’t say anything as she started going through her email. After all the years that she had to look after herself, she still didn’t know how to react to their actions. It was really sweet of them how they all looked out for her. It didn’t make it any easier for her to say thank you, or explain just how much it meant to her.

  “Was there anything else?” she asked.

  “Here’s your coat, what’s your hurry?”

  Emma looked up. “What?”

  “It’s an old joke.” Emma said nothing. “Never mind. I just wanted to talk to you for a bit.”

  She studied the woman, then panic hit her out of nowhere. “What? What’s going on? You all are not going back in the field?”

  The three of them had been spies and then security detail before they had decided to settle down in Hawaii. They had been doing quite a bit of consulting, and Sean had assured her they would never do the undercover work again. All of them had too many close calls in the past.

  Jaime shook her head. “Oh, no. No, love, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

  “Are you sure? Sean has a tendency to leave things out that I might worry about.”

  He was always trying to protect her, and it wasn’t something she was used to. She’d been on her own since she was fifteen, when she was left without her parents. Even before that, she was on her own a lot. They tended to move frequently because of her father’s work and her mother...well, her mother had been a different kind of mother.

  “I promise. I don’t want to, and if either of those idiots even thought about it, I would definitely put my foot down. I like not having to look behind me all the time, and I am enjoying life too much. But I have something else on my mind.” There was a gleam in her eyes that set alarm bells off. “I have been thinking about you…and a certain team leader.”

  Emma blinked. “What?”

  “Emma, don’t even try to play dumb with me. I know you fancy him.”

  “What woman wouldn’t? Why are you asking me this again?”

  “Defensive answers make me more interested.”
>
  Emma sighed. “All right. I have had a crush on him. And, it’s truly embarrassing when he looks at me with those eyes of his…” She closed her eyes and shivered. When she opened them, she found Jaime smiling at her.

  “Yes, I had an idea over the last couple of months that you were at least interested in him.”

  “You think he’s out of my league.”

  “Oh, no, love, you are out of his.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “You’re a woman. We are the far superior sex.”

  Emma smiled. “That’s true. I just never thought he would be interested in me. Until he kissed me the other day. Then he took me for a ride on his Harley.”

  Jaime sat down on the sofa and smiled. “Do tell.”

  She opened her mouth, then shut it. “I’m not really good at the girl stuff.”

  “You mean gossiping and the like?” Emma nodded. “I can understand that. I only did it on the job. It’s not like I had a lot of time for gossip when I was younger.”

  Then it hit Emma. They had more in common than she had previously realized.

  “We both grew up on the streets.”

  Jaime nodded. “And, at a very early age, we had to take on responsibilities that children should not ever have to handle.”

  “I was fifteen.”

  “And sheltered.”

  “Not that sheltered.”

  Jaime cocked her head. “Indeed?”

  “Yeah, I wasn’t a virginal saint, and I am definitely not one now. I lived like a normal person every now and then. I had a few...nights of fun.”

  “But then, you would be on the move again.”

  She shrugged. “It’s weird, I thought I would end up in Thailand or possibly in England. Sean found some properties we own in both places after going through Dad’s mess of finances.” Half brother and half sister had not met until they were adults. Emma had not known her father had left her so much money until Sean started going through everything. “When Sean brought me here, it felt like…”

  “Home.”

  Emma nodded.

  “Me too. Weird, because I love the seasons, but there is just something that felt right here. I had always thought it was Sean that drew me to Hawaii, and I know he is part of it. But here, I feel whole.”

  Emma sighed. “Yes. It makes me feel as if I belong.”

  “And Del helps with that.”

  “In a way. He doesn’t think I’m weird. He says I’m quirky.”

  Jaime’s lips twitched. “Is that a fact?”

  “He also said he and I are a lot alike because we are both stubborn about completing projects.”

  Jaime pursed her lips. “You know, he might have something there. And tell me this. What was his kiss like?”

  The rush of the memory hit her with full force. Her head started to spin as her pulse increased. Emma felt her mouth curve.

  “He made my brain melt.”

  “Then he is definitely worth a try.”

  Emma sighed. “Unfortunately, he gave me all this bunk about wanting to take it slowly because we work together, and we need to be sure.”

  Jaime blinked. “He said that to you?”

  Emma nodded.

  “Oh, love, be careful of that one.”

  “I don’t know why it is so important to wait. Sex is sex. A basic human need, and a good way to release some stress.”

  “True.”

  “And the exercise benefits are wonderful.

  “But, Del just doesn’t want sex, Emma. He wants more from the sound of it.”

  She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. It was something that had been worrying her the last few days.

  “I don’t know if I can do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “I know it’s hard for you to understand this, but I don’t handle emotions well. Relationships are hard for me. All of them, not just the sexual ones.”

  “But you do fine with Randy, Sean, and me.”

  “You have no idea how difficult it is for me. All that…emotion. Sean always wants to hug me.”

  Jaime gave her an understanding smile.

  “Maybe that’s why Del wants to go slowly. He wants to give you time to get used to it.”

  Her throat ached all of a sudden, and she felt her eyes burn. For months, she’d convinced herself that nothing would ever happen. They were too different, too…volatile together. But thinking about the fact that he wanted to try to have a relationship with her, or at least go on a date or two, almost overwhelmed her.

  “Emma, are you all right?”

  She nodded.

  “Tell me,” Jaime said, coming around the breakfast bar to slip her arm around Emma’s shoulders.

  “I don’t think I can, Jaime.” She looked at her. “I have feelings for him, but I am not good at expressing them. And I have a tendency to upset people with my bluntness.”

  “Del doesn’t seem to mind that.”

  “Long term is not good for me. Relationships are not good for me. I don’t know how to do them. Other people always say they understand and I believe they try but after awhile they get frustrated with my behavior.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “People never say what they mean. They always speak in half truths, and I can’t understand them. If there was a blueprint, or directions…I could handle that.”

  “Oh, Emma,” Jaime said, a light chuckle dancing through her voice. “Believe me, I understand. I almost lost your brother because of it.”

  She looked at her.

  “I had a plan. Love wasn’t supposed to happen so fast for me, so early in my life. So, when he asked for marriage…I said no. I paid for it. And, the result of it is that the three of us found each other.”

  “I don’t have the same emotions that other people do.”

  “No, Emma, you have more. You have been through so much in your life, that the only way you could deal with some of it was to file it away. It helped you through it, but it also makes you very vulnerable. You had to protect yourself. And I think a lot of stimuli is bad for you. Big crowds, too much activity…I’ve seen you. Sometimes you can deal with them, especially when Sean is around. And, I think the right man would make it easier for you to let some of that out. Del is the kind of guy who could comfort you when it gets to be too much.”

  She nodded.

  “Now, let me help you clean this place up, and good God, woman, take a shower.”

  Emma smiled. “Thanks, Jaime.”

  “Anytime. We women have to stick together.”

  * * *

  After some snacks Jaime had foisted on her, Emma was feeling much better.

  “Make sure you get some rest, Emma. Sean is very worried about you.”

  “I’ll make a note to call him every day. Or at least text him.”

  Jaime picked up her purse. “And remember what I said about Del. Think about giving the man a chance.”

  After she was gone, Emma went to the board again and looked at it. Then…something caught her eye. Goddesses. What was the word she saw in the Japanese report…kami.

  There had been a report about a woman who had been attacked. Or, was she killed…?

  Emma pulled up the document and felt the spark of excitement. She had a lead. Not much of one, but she had one nonetheless.

  She picked up her laptop and went to her lanai. Settling in the chair for a research session, she got to work.

  * * *

  Jaime was attacked, and not in her favorite way, when she walked through the door.

  “So?” Sean asked as Randy was coming up behind him. How on God’s green earth did she bag two delicious men like these? And when did they actually turn into such nervous Nellies?

  “She’s fine. She’s working on this case, and I take it that she’s pretty focused on that. They all seem to be. With Susan Tanaka still missing, Emma is doing everything she can to find more info out, make the connections. You know how she gets. Factor in the little romance on the side
, then she’s got a lot to handle.”

  She tried to walk by the guys, but Sean grabbed her and spun her around. “Romance?”

  “I think she and Del are having a little flirt going on. That’s all.”

  She knew it was more than that. A man like Martin Delano did not wait, unless he thought it was important.

  “I’ll have a talk with him,” Sean said as Randy nodded.

  “No, you will not. Your sister is almost twenty-seven years old. She does not need her brother and his boyfriend roughing up a potential…date.”

  She had almost said lover, but thankfully stopped in time. Lord knows what Sean would have done if she had said that.

  “She’s doing okay then?”

  Jaime nodded as she cupped his face. “She’s fine, love. In fact, I think she’s finding her place in the world. She loves working with TFH. It gives her life purpose. I told her to call you soon and she promised.”

  He nodded, and she turned to walk away. She held the little bag of lingerie she had just spent entirely too much money on. “Now, I bought this teeny, tiny maid’s uniform if there is anyone interested in role playing tonight.”

  She started walking up the stairs, and laughed when she heard the footsteps rushing up behind her. Men were so easy.

  * * *

  Emma rushed to TFH headquarters with her news.

  “What has your hair on fire, lass?” McGregor asked as she dashed through the door.

  “Hey, is Del around? I think I have some connections.”

  “He’s got company,” he said as he bent his head to the office.

  She saw the newswoman who had been such a bitch the last few weeks in there. It was at that point, she realized they had shut down all of the computers.

  “Why is he talking to her?”

  “No reason to be jealous, love. He was ordered to talk to her.”

  She frowned at McGregor. The giant Scot was often an ass, but she liked him. Now, he was just confusing her.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “He’s not interested in her.”

  She hadn’t even thought about that. Emma looked back at the window and found Del staring at her. There was a little smile curving his lips, and she felt her heart jump a beat. Bloody hell, he was barely trying and she was melting.