Last Tailored Suit

by Pierce, Nicolette

  * * *

  Jenna watched in puzzlement as Greyson ran from the kitchen. He was acting very strangely. Instead of looking at her as if he wanted to strangle her, he looked as if he . . . no, that’s crazy!

  She stirred the sautéing mushrooms as she pondered, her thoughts drifting to her brother. Again. For the longest time it had been just the two of them. Now it was just her. Jenna hoped and prayed her brother was alive. It was torture not knowing. Part of her wanted to race out and search for him. And then beat the tar out of him for all the worry he put her through.

  Jenna snapped from her thoughts when she heard the chattering of feminine voices nearing. Brushing off a stray tear, she turned to see the housekeepers bustle into the kitchen.

  “We’re done for the day,” Mary announced. “Do you still need a ride?”

  “I . . . um . . .” Jenna’s mind stumbled. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she had forgotten.

  “Is that a dress shirt?” Zoey asked. “It’s cute! How did you get it to look like a dress?”

  “Uh, I think it was on a video or something,” Jenna replied absentmindedly, trying to gather her thoughts.

  David was investigating. Greyson was stuck protecting her when it was very obvious he’d rather garden.

  What could she do to help?

  She had no idea, but anything was better than what she was currently doing, which was absolutely nothing.

  It was time she did something. She could stop by the police station and see if they’d had any success since the last time she’d spoken with them. She hadn’t heard from them in months. That in itself told her they didn’t have any leads. But, her presence might light a fire under them.

  It wasn’t that she didn’t have faith in David’s ability, but he was a stranger. He wouldn’t work as hard to find Adam and save her neck. She, however, would.

  It was time to stop cowering behind walls. She had a brother to find. But first, she had to get some decent clean clothes. She couldn’t go to the station in her current state.

  “Yes, I would love a ride to my car.”

  Jenna turned off the stove and followed the cleaners to their van. She settled in back next to Zoey, who had been constantly chattering as they walked outside.

  “Zoey, give it a rest for a minute,” Mary said, starting the engine. “We’ve heard enough about Mr. Miller for one day.”

  Jenna clicked her seatbelt and silently agreed. She already had the first twinge of guilt poking at her for leaving. She didn’t need to hear about how great he looked bending over.

  Mary slowly turned down the drive and headed for the gate. As she neared, a blur shot past the van. The ladies screeched as Mary slammed on the brakes.

  They all stared wide-eyed at Greyson, who was seething in nothing more than a pair of jeans that molded to his skin, still wet from the shower. Jenna’s eyes traveled to the button that was undone and then flew back to his face, taut with anger.

  “Holy Moses!” June, the first to find her voice, exclaimed.

  “We’re fired,” Mary cried.

  “He’s gorgeous!” Zoey squealed, shivering at his lethal sight.

  Greyson’s deadly stare, framed by wet clinging hair, snapped over to Jenna. “Jenna. Out. Now!”

  Chapter 14

  Jenna’s hand gripped her seatbelt as a safety line.

  “He’s soooo handsome when he’s angry,” Zoey cooed.

  “Are you insane?” June barked. “He’s about ready to fry us on the griddle, and you’re mooning over him.”

  “He’s only mad at Jenna,” Zoey replied.

  “Jenna,” his snarling voice warned. “Get out now.”

  “Do you think that’s wise?” Mary asked Jenna, gripping the steering wheel as she ducked from Greyson’s laser stare.

  Jenna slipped off her seatbelt and poked her head around Mary. “I’m going to find my brother. I’ll come back after.”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Greyson stated, stalking Mary’s window. Mary pressed back into her seat to avoid him.

  “I was just going to stop at the police department.”

  “Call them.”

  She could do that, she supposed. But he was being a little too authoritative for her current mood. “Greyson . . .” she began.

  His hand snapped up in an order for silence.

  “Fine,” Greyson said after a deep breath. “I’ll take you myself.”

  Jenna gawked in disbelief. “You’re going to take me?”

  “I’ll also take you to your car,” he gritted. “That’s where you were really going, isn’t it?”

  Poor Mary was eyeing Greyson as if he was going to take a bite as he leaned over, crowding her space. Jenna took pity on the woman. If Greyson was going to be reasonable, albeit a snarling version, then she would compromise.

  Jenna opened the door and scooted out to face Greyson. “I’ll hold you to your promise.”

  The way Greyson bristled at her words, she knew if he was a porcupine, she’d be plucking out quills for an eternity.

  “My word is my promise,” he replied.

  Mary stepped on the accelerator and sped away, leaving Jenna alone with the brooding bear.

  A bear that still hadn’t buttoned his jeans.

  He really should take a moment to fix himself. It was very distracting the way her eyes followed the contours of his body all the way down to that one little button left undone.

  Like a silent invitation.

  As a woman who liked details, having something undone — even a button — made her want to reach over and fix it . . . or to undo it completely.

  Jenna blinked as her undone button moved away.

  “Where are you going?” Jenna called to Greyson’s back. “You said we could go to the police station.”

  “Can I at least get a shirt before I have to chase you again?”

  “You didn’t chase me,” Jenna mumbled to herself.

  Greyson must have heard her because he was standing in front of her again, glaring. Again.

  “If I wasn’t chasing you, then how do you explain the fact that I’m outside dripping wet with no shirt?”

  Once again, her eyes drifted wayward and she had to mentally scold herself. He really did need to put on a shirt.

  “Inside,” he ordered.

  Jenna followed, not because he’d commanded it, but because nothing good could come from standing like a spooked deer in the driveway.

  Greyson headed straight for the staircase. “Come.”

  “Why do I have to go upstairs?” Jenna asked. “I’ll wait for you right here.”

  “So you can steal my car and leave?”

  She hadn’t thought about it. It galled her that he’d even think she’d do something like that.

  Although, the idea had some merit, especially with him acting so high-handed. It’d knock him down a peg or two. And land her in jail. At least she’d be at the police station.

  “You just thought about it, didn’t you?” His hands anchored on his hips.

  He was crazy if he thought she’d admit to something like that.

  “Upstairs.” When Jenna didn’t move, he barked. “Now!”

  She walked upstairs, but only because he was in such a dither they’d never get to the police station otherwise.

  * * *

  Greyson’s brain pounded against his temple as he stormed into his bedroom to rampage his drawers. Jenna stood quietly by the door.

  He yanked out a shirt and pulled it over his head with such force his hair swept every which way. With a deep breath, he straightened his shirt and raked a hand through his hair.

  She was going to kill him. His chest felt tight again, nearly suffocating. When he had seen her from the window, sneaking away with the cleaners, fear choked him.

  He had never lost his temper this way. Greyson knew he was far from perfect, but his temper never flared as out of control as it did with Jenna. It was as if the woman knew exactly how to provoke him.

 
; Did she not have any self-preservation sense at all? She was going to march open-eyed right into the hands of those who wanted to harm her.

  Greyson took another deep breath and turned to find Jenna in the same spot. He thanked the stars for small miracles.

  “Let’s go,” he said, walking past her and out to the garage, pausing only to activate the house alarm.

  He knew she was following him. Her noisy huffs and clomping steps kept up with him.

  Greyson opened a small cabinet in the garage. Plucking out a set of keys, he then headed to his Ferrari. It was his favorite when it came to blowing off a little steam. And he could use it right now.

  “You keep your keys in here?” Jenna asked.

  Greyson stopped before he reached the car. “Planning on stealing one of my cars, Jenna?” he questioned dryly, although his simmering temper ignited again.

  “Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it. Not once.”

  It wasn’t her answer that had him clutching his keys, it was her thoughtful expression. “And now that you have?”

  She shrugged in silence.

  Dammit!

  He badly wanted to shake her, to lock her in her room before she became a danger to herself. “Don’t bother,” he warned. “They’ll be relocated as soon as we get home.”

  “Greyson, I wasn’t going to steal your car,” Jenna said, walking to the passenger side.

  “That’s not what your facial expression said.”

  Jenna sat down and buckled her seatbelt, turning then to Greyson. “I just wondered what I would’ve done had I known the keys were here. That doesn’t mean I’d steal your car.”

  Greyson revved the engine. She could tell him any lie she wanted. The fact remained that she’d tried to escape, and he knew that she’d take whatever escape route possible.

  And why didn’t he just let her?

  For one thing, he didn’t want her death on his conscience. And for another, he felt an absurd need to protect her since she obviously couldn’t protect herself. And, it didn’t seem as though she had anyone else to turn to.

  She was a menace to herself.

  His menace.

  He gunned the car down the driveway and out the gate.

  * * *

  “You don’t have to go inside the police station with me,” Jenna said after a few minutes of sitting in the car next to Greyson, who was stewing and taking corners a little too sharply for her comfort. However, the Ferrari did seem to handle them with ease.

  “I’m going in.”

  “I don’t see any reason why you’d want to. This is a family matter. I can take care of it on my own.”

  He snorted.

  “I can,” she insisted.

  “Jenna, you’re in over your head. Just admit you need help. It’s okay to depend on others when you need to.”

  Jenna stared at Greyson, his frame settled against the leather seat, his hands firmly grasping the steering wheel, controlling their destination as he controlled everything in his life.

  Would he be able to give up control and depend on others?

  She didn’t think so, but he was perfectly comfortable telling others to do so.

  “What has you so afraid that you can’t allow others to help?” Greyson asked.

  “I’m not afraid.”

  “You’re running scared. You’ve replaced level-headed Jenna with someone who is so scared she doesn’t even think clearly anymore.”

  “My thoughts are just fine. In fact, my current thought is that you’re a control freak.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with liking to be in control,” he replied. “You can leave off that last bit since you fall into the same category. Hardly flattering to refer to yourself as a freak.”

  “I’m not controlling. I just know what I want.” Right now, she wanted out of the car.

  “And you go after it with bulldog tenacity.”

  “Just like you,” she said simply.

  “Touché,” he said with a hint of smile. “But you’ve just proved my point. Just remember that you’re only at your best with a clear, relaxed mind. If you let emotions take over, then you’ve already let them win. I want to help you, but I can’t do that when we’re butting heads and I have to worry about your next escape attempt. Can we call a truce and focus on what’s important?”

  Jenna sat quietly for a moment. It wasn’t that she didn’t want his help. She didn’t want to put him in danger. She already knew what it was like to be on the run, always watching her back. No matter how infuriating Greyson could be, she didn’t want him to have that same life.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  “I don’t want you to get hurt. If something happened to you, I’d feel responsible.”

  “If that’s your only concern, then don’t worry about it.”

  “You were already shot once. I don’t want a second time on my conscience.”

  “How did you know that?” he asked. “And, depending upon who you ask, it was twice.”

  “I watched a news clip. They didn’t mention you were shot twice.”

  The corners of his lips curved.

  “Well?” she asked. “Were they wrong?”

  “No. They weren’t wrong.”

  “Then how? Why are you smiling?”

  “You’ve been searching my name on the web, haven’t you?”

  “I always search the web,” she answered haughtily. “It had nothing to do with you.”

  He smirked. “Then what did it have to do with?”

  “Nadia,” she blurted before she could stop herself. “I’m sorry,” she backpedalled. “I didn’t mean to bring up a painful subject. I had just seen her name on the garden design and I was curious. I thought she was a relative. I didn’t mean to pry. I had hoped it’d help with naming the bed and breakfast.” Okay, that last part was a lie, but she had to cover her snooping tracks.

  Greyson’s smile disappeared, but he didn’t seem as surly as the last time the name was mentioned. “Nadia and I . . .”

  “You don’t have to tell me,” Jenna interrupted. “It’s none of my business.”

  His fingers flexed on the steering wheel. “Listen, Nadia was special to me. She helped me out of a few scrapes. I wasn’t there for her, though. I wasn’t there when she needed me the most, and I lost her.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jenna said.

  A small laugh escaped. “Don’t be,” he said, glancing at her. “I’m not. Not anymore. Heaven help me, but I think everything ended as it should . . . or might. Who knows.” At Jenna’s worried brow, he smiled. “So, you were about to tell me about how you were cyber stalking me.”

  “I wasn’t!”

  “Admit it.”

  “I wasn’t,” she repeated. “Tell me how you were shot.”

  “You said you already watched the news clip.”

  “I did, but what about the second time?”

  “Ah, that would’ve been the second assistant director I hired, Fiona Watkins. Nadia saved my ass that time too. Although, Fiona had already shot me several times.”

  Jenna paled. “It’s a wonder you’re still alive. You said she shot you several times. That’s more than two.”

  “I guess you’re right. But Remy said it didn’t count because it was a nail gun. I had to disagree, especially when he was happily yanking them out.”

  Jenna winced. “That must have hurt.”

  Greyson nodded. “David said he could hear my swearing from his house; a severe over exaggeration since he was at my house at the time.”

  “At your house?” Jenna asked. “You were shot at your house?”

  “Outside. I was digging a pond.”

  “Pond? You don’t have a pond.”

  “It didn’t seem right to finish it. I filled the hole.”

  “Any other deranged assistant directors I should be worried about?” Jenna asked.

  “No. I gave up my position after that. I said I wasn’t going to hire anyone else.”

  “You hire
d me.”

  “Technically, a placement service did.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “Technically, you hired a recruiter to hire me. It’s the same difference.”

  “Yes, and look how well that’s worked out,” he said.

  Jenna deflated. His words cut at her. Although she didn’t shoot Greyson, yet, she let him down like the others had.

  “Jenna, I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, reaching over to touch her arm. “I understand now why you wanted to leave. I don’t judge you for that.”

  She watched as he placed his hand back on the steering wheel before saying, “I don’t understand why you want to help me. After all that’s happened to you, why help me? Why not just toss me out the door?”

  He ignored the question and turned into the parking lot at Tropical Rain. “Where’s your car?”

  “I parked in back,” Jenna said, allowing the change in subject, although she knew her thoughts were going to churn for days to come. “I had hoped it would be less noticeable. I thought you didn’t want to come here.”

  Greyson drove until Jenna spotted her vehicle. He parked a few rows away.

  “What are you doing?” Jenna asked. “Why didn’t you park closer?”

  “Hang on a second,” Greyson said, surveying the lot. “I guarantee I’ll get a call from David in less than a minute.”

  “Why?”

  Greyson’s phone rang. He answered and placed it on speaker.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Remy asked.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Greyson said. “I thought you were leaving town.”

  “I thought I was, too.”

  “Did David twist your arm?” Greyson asked.

  “He couldn’t even if he tried,” Remy snorted.

  “Then who?”

  “You know damn well who.”

  “Ah.” Greyson turned to Jenna with a lopsided grin. “It was Mya. She’s the only person in the world nobody can say no to.”

  “Why is that?” Jenna asked.

  He shrugged. “You just can’t. I dare you to try it sometime.”

  After that pronouncement, she didn’t even want to be in the predicament to say no.