“Anyone around?”
Kai stuck his head around the corner. “We’re all out back. Dad cooked.”
She smiled. “I smelled it out front. I’m going to change and be out in a minute.”
He saluted her and slipped back outside as she walked to her room. Pulling off her clothes, she sighed. She picked a T-shirt and a pair of yoga shorts, donned them, then grabbed up the letter again. She slipped her finger inside and tore it open. It contained one slip of paper and her blood froze when she opened it. In letters cut out from newspapers and magazines, it read:
You think you know everything, so smart, so fucking brilliant. People do not know what a two-faced bitch you are. I can’t wait to see you fail, to see you hurt.
Her heart stuttered then ratcheted into a rhythm that would surely kill her. Her breath clogged her throat. Her vision dimmed and the room spun around her.
“May!” Kai yelled. His hands were on her, holding her up.
She shook her head, trying to clear the buzzing out of her ears.
“May? Are you all right? Do I need to call Dad—”
The threat of bringing their father in brought her back from the edge. It was going to be bad enough once her family found out about the letter.
With quite an effort, she pulled herself together. “No. Give me a minute or two before calling Dad in.”
She patted his hand and moved away from him toward the table. “It seems someone isn’t too happy with me.”
Kai followed her line of vision and his golden eyes darkened when he saw the letter. He moved to grab it, but she stopped him.
“No. My prints are all over it, so we need to keep it as clean as possible.”
“Where did the bastard leave it?”
“He mailed it.”
“Fuck.”
“Exactly.”
“You are going to call the police.”
Not a question but a command. May had been planning on doing just that, but she did not like Kai’s tone.
“Of course I am. What do you take me for?”
“I don’t want you hedging on this. Rick can’t keep getting away with this.”
Her temper sparked. “How do you know it’s him? I haven’t heard from him since Chris banned him and threatened to have me file a restraining order. It has been months.”
Kai shoved his hand through his short hair. “I don’t know what you saw in him to begin with.”
She settled her hands on her hips. “Oh, really? Why don’t you talk to Dad about it? He’s the one who set us up.”
“Well, he was definitely lacking, like most of the guys he finds for you. Why did you have to keep dating him?”
There was something in his voice she had not heard before. A disdain…or maybe an irritation. He took exception with some of the men she dated? He had a lot of nerve. “At least the guys I date have brains. They don’t have them removed like the bimbos you date. Do you give them an IQ test to see if they are stupid enough or is it just luck?”
A snort sounded, then his shoulders started shaking. He turned to face her. “Just luck.”
The tension drained. Her muscles relaxed, the twinkle in his eyes telling her Kai had irritated her on purpose. He knew if she was arguing with him, she wouldn’t be so scared.
“Go get Dad, and I’ll call HPD. We might as well get this over with.”
“They still have no idea?” Chris asked after May told him the story the next morning.
She shook her head and leaned back in her chair. “No. The postmark isn’t going to give them anything. They checked the prints. Mine are on there of course, and a few unidentified, but with the handling of the mail, who knows how many people touched it. None of them came up in their database though. So, whoever is doing this doesn’t have a record. They’re double checking with the post office about the finger prints of people who might have handled it there.”
“Dammit. How did your father handle it?”
“Dad was okay, a little more serious about it than the car thing. Kai on the other hand was horrible. He insisted on driving me to work today.”
Chris nodded. “I would do the same thing.”
May rolled her eyes. “Of course you would.”
He opened his mouth to respond when there was a knock at the door. Sheila, the new line cook stuck her head in. “Everyone is ready to discuss the new menu ideas.”
“Be there in a second.”
She nodded and shut the door. Chris switched his attention back to May. “I’m adding some extra security cameras. Also, Freddy is making sure there are some regular drive-bys on the nights you’re working.”
May wasn’t going to argue. “That’s fine. I just don’t want it to become a distraction. Keeping everything normal is very important for me.”
Chris cocked his head to one side. “I know it is, but that isn’t the most important thing here. Keeping you safe is. Hopefully, HPD will find the bastard soon enough.”
May nodded. “You better get to the meeting. I’m going to finish up these schedules.”
“Will do. You made a good choice with Sheila. She’s going to be good.”
She smiled at him. “Of course she’s wonderful. I hired her.”
He laughed and squeezed her shoulder as he headed to the door. “Make sure to get something into your stomach before the dinner rush starts.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why do you always sound like you’re mocking me when you say that?”
She widened her eyes. “I have no idea, boss.”
He was chuckling as he slipped out of the room, leaving her alone with the scheduling problems. Some of the servers had new class schedules and May needed to work around them. She scooted around the desk and set to work.
It wasn’t until the door opened that she looked at the clock. Jeez, it was almost four-thirty. Chris would have a fit when he realized she hadn’t eaten. She opened her mouth, ready to argue with him only to find Evan standing with his hand on the door knob.
“Uh…I thought Chris was working today.”
“He had a meeting with Michael and the rest of the cooking staff. They’re working on some ideas for new additions to the menu.”
“Hmm.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and continued to stare at her. The weight of his attention started to make her uncomfortable. She couldn’t read the look on his face.
“Is there something you needed?”
“What?”
“Something you needed. From Chris.”
He shook his head. “No. I just—”
“Excuse me.” Sheila was tiny but she had a big voice. She slipped past Evan and May smiled when she saw the sandwich on the plate. “Boss said you needed to eat.”
After setting the plate in front of May, she headed out, but not before she shot May thumbs up behind Evan’s back.
“I guess I should let you get back to work.”
His tone told her he didn’t want to go, and of course, she didn’t want him to go. The last few weeks had been strained, to say the least. Ever since their argument over Rick, they had spoken little, although Evan was here most nights she worked. She wanted to clear the air. She was in love with him, and she knew nothing would come of it. But more than that, she valued his friendship.
“No, I’m not really busy now and if I don’t eat this monster sandwich that the boss made, he’ll complain. You know how irritating he can be if he doesn’t get his way.”
Evan chuckled, the sound of it warming her blood. Damn, he had the sexiest chuckle, one she had dreamed of hearing as she lay next to him in bed.
“If you’re sure.”
She nodded as he took one of the seats in front of Chris’s desk.
“I wanted to apologize.”
She stopped in mid-chew and then swallowed. “You what?”
“I feel badly about embarrassing you.”
“And?”
“That’s it.”
She sighed and set the sandwich down. “You aren’t apolo
gizing for your behavior with Rick?”
His jaw hardened as did his eyes. “Why do you care about him so much? He’s slime.”
“Yes. But that isn’t what irritated me.”
“You could have fooled me. You seem more concerned that I hit him than your own safety.”
She pushed her sandwich away. Chris was just going to have to accept she couldn’t finish it with Evan glaring at her.
“I wasn’t worried about Rick. I was worried about you.”
His eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Rick couldn’t hurt you physically, and well, I’m sure you scared the living hell out of him, but he’s petty. He might do something to hurt you…or your contracting business. I’d hate for that to happen.”
For a second, he said nothing, and then he seemed to relax. “I can handle him. He might be a celebrity around here, but I’ve been here longer, have too many contacts.”
“I was also mad that everyone was treating me like a little girl.”
“I wasn’t doing that. I was just trying to find out the truth.”
“Why? The police had already talked to him, knew he had an alibi and you knew that too.”
“It isn’t that tight of an alibi.”
“When I talked to Officer Carino last night—”
“Why were you talking to him? Did something happen?”
Damn. “Yeah. I got a letter in the mail.”
“Fuck. At your house?”
She nodded, and she could admit to herself she was more than a little creeped out by it. “They’re working on the fingerprints on the envelope but mine were the only ones they cleared. Anyway, Kai followed me to work. It isn’t like I didn’t take precautions.”
“The letter, what did it say?”
She told him and he let loose a stream of profanity that was a little much, even for Evan.
“I called the police right away. They’re looking into it.”
Evan popped up out of his chair and started pacing. “But the bastard knows where you live.”
“A lot of people do. I’ve lived there since I was two years old.”
He waved that away. “It’s taking it to the next level.”
She nodded. “I agree. But—”
“I can’t believe you didn’t call me.”
“What?”
“I mean, would it have killed you to let me know…” He stopped in midsentence, halted his pacing and looked at her. “Never mind.”
She frowned at him. “I wasn’t alone. The whole family was home.”
He settled his hands on his hips and nodded.
“I just want you to know that while appreciate your concern, I can take care of myself.” He opened his mouth but she rolled ahead. “Keeping my life as normal as possible is important. This sicko would get some kind of thrill knowing he screwed with me. But don’t think for a second I’m not taking this seriously. It hurts that so many people in my life, mainly the men, seem to think I’m an imbecile.”
His expression softened. “You’re one of the smartest women I know.”
Heat filled her face and her heart skipped a beat. Everything in her felt giddy and just because he called her smart. Jesus. Was she that far gone over him? Would she never be able to move on? She cleared her throat.
“Thank you.”
“I just want to make sure you’re safe.”
She nodded, unable to even speak. The sincerity in his voice had a lump forming in her throat. She might never be his type of woman, but there was no denying he did care about her. Evan had a truly big heart for his friends.
“I’ll leave you alone about it if you promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Do you promise to let me know if anything else happens?” She didn’t answer right away so he continued “I know I don’t have a right to demand, but you’re one of my best friends…my only female friend other than Cynthia. I just worry about you.”
She relented because he didn’t order her. “I will.”
Something moved over his face but it was gone before she could even decipher it.
“Thank you.”
Silence filled the office as neither of them seemed to come up with anything to say. A second later, Evan’s face flushed with…embarrassment? Jeez, she would have never thought she’d see Evan Chambers blush.
“I’ve gotta get going.”
“Boss will probably be back in a second or two.”
He shook his head as he backed up to the door. “I was just taking a breather before I head to Aeia to do an estimate. On a kitchen rehab. In a house.”
She frowned at him. “Okay. I’ll tell Chris you stopped by.”
He nodded, then turned on his heel and practically ran out of the room.
She sighed as she looked down at the schedule and then grabbed her sandwich. The men in her life were going to drive her insane.
Chapter Six
May closed her eyes and allowed the techno beat of the club’s music to pulse through her blood. Excitement skittered over her flesh as she tried her best to contain it. It might be her first time here, but she wanted to try her best not to look like a rookie.
“You know, you might enjoy the atmosphere a bit more if you open your eyes.”
She did and slanted a look at her best friend. Cynthia’s guileless blue eyes and innocent smile hid a very wicked mind and sometimes an even more wicked tongue.
Leaning over so she could shout in her ear, May said, “If I didn’t owe you for getting me in here, I’d smack you upside the head, sistah.”
Cynthia laughed and took a sip of her lava flow before answering. “You have to be nice to me. I won’t take credit for the offer, since I think Micah came up with that.” She shook her head. “Still, without me, you’d still be trying to figure out a way to come up with the five thousand dollar joining fee.”
That much was true. Rough ’n Ready was Honolulu’s premier BDSM club and it did have a hefty price tag to ensure the patrons were serious about their lifestyle. May wasn’t poor. Chris paid her a good price to manage Dupree’s, but she also didn’t have money like that to throw around.
“That much we can agree on.” She looked around and noticed they’d lost Chris somewhere along the way. “What happened to your better half?”
“He’s talking to Micah. I still can’t believe you agreed to a public submission.”
“You’re the one who talked me into it.”
Cynthia laughed. “I know, but I am still surprised.”
May glanced toward the area where many of the people where gathered. She hadn’t seen it up close, but she knew there were glass squares that allowed patrons a front-row seat to the D/s play going on in the rooms below. The participants choose whether or not to allow the audience to see the session.
She shivered thinking of all those people watching her. She hadn’t completely come to terms with what she needed and she’d agreed to her first true session in front of a flipping audience. Crazy, or as her grandfather would say, pupule. She couldn’t contain the dueling emotions as they flooded her. Fear with a healthy dose of arousal and excitement fought for control and she was amazed she hadn’t gone completely pupule from the battle beneath the surface.
The desire to know more about herself, what she needed, was the only thing keeping her in the club. It wasn’t until she started talking to Cynthia a few months earlier that May realized why she might be bored in the bedroom. She hadn’t slept with a lot of men, but she’d had enough lovers to know she was missing something. With a little research, she’d come to understand why she found most of her sexual partners lacking.
She shook herself out of her thoughts and studied the customers. There were a few faces she recognized, including one of the former line cooks from Dupree’s. It was crowded as she assumed it was every Saturday night, but she understood it was busy every night of the week. Most clubs like it were little more than meat markets. They played at being BDSM clubs, but they weren’t serious. They
didn’t have the strict security guidelines Micah insisted on or the hefty joiner’s fee. Rough ’n Ready required a thorough background check for security. That made the other clubs not only subpar, but also potentially dangerous.
She glanced at her friend. “I didn’t have much choice. It was that or pay the five thousand. I just can’t spare that amount of money.”
Cynthia nodded. “I know, but…when I was starting out in this world, I wouldn’t have had the nerve to do it, not in a public forum. Of course, I don’t have your fantasy of exhibitionism.”
“Really?” May faced Cynthia. “I’d never guess you had any second thoughts.”
“I did. And third, fourth… You get the idea.” She shrugged. “Thank God for Chris, because I was really out of my depth. And seriously, I probably would have never made that leap if it hadn’t been for him.”
Something caught Cynthia’s attention over May’s shoulder. A second later, her whole face lit up with a smile and May knew who she’d seen. She couldn’t fight the little twinge of envy that curled in her gut. Twisting around, she watched Chris make his way through the crowd. He kept getting interrupted along the way, and being the ultimate businessman, he stopped, smiled and chatted.
It gave her time to study the man with him, who she assumed was Micah. Taller than Chris by an inch or two, he probably outweighed him by fifty pounds—all muscle. Long, silky black hair spilled over his shoulders, a testament to his Native American background, as were the high cheekbones and strong jaw.
“He’s pretty, isn’t he?” Cynthia asked.
Without taking her attention away from Micah, she nodded. His lips where full, sensuous, and even looking as irritated as he did now, he was gorgeous. The light was dim, but she could see the reddish gold tone to his skin. He stood out from the mostly leather-clad patrons due to his stature and his clothing. A dark blue dress shirt fit snugly over his impressive chest and the casual dress slacks hugged his lean hips. It wasn’t what May expected the owner of a BDSM club to wear, especially at work.
A Little Harmless Obsession Page 6
