A_Little_Harmless_Fascination

by Melissa Schroeder

  * * * *

  “Where are we going today?” he asked as Jillian turned on to H-3.

  He knew she had been itching to get out of the house for a couple of days, but he had been limiting trips out. They still had no leads. Everything Devon found was a dead end, and Jillian had been right about her living in Hawaii. Most people had no idea. Her family probably had some kind of idea, but they didn’t know exactly where she lived, just that it was on an island and far away from them.

  Every day she had grown more frustrated. This morning she had been snippy with him. It was the first time she had shown her artistic temperament. It would have been funny if he hadn’t known part of the root of it was her fear. With each day, the tension had gotten worse.

  So, when she had asked to go out and drive, he took pity on her. He knew he could protect her. While there had been some creepy pictures, there had been no physical threat to her yet. Sitting in the house wasn’t going to solve anything and would make her resentful. Now they were racing down H-3 into Pearl City, and he had no idea what was planned. She had just told him to get his trunks on and they would have fun.

  "I just thought we could change the scene up. I really like those little lagoons out in Kapolei. Thought we could just eat a picnic and enjoy a quiet day."

  Since it sounded great to him, he wasn't going to complain. A light mist was starting to fall by the time she hit the last tunnel on H-3. When she drove out of it, the long descent started. He noticed she was driving faster than usual.

  "Shouldn't you slow down?"

  "Uh, I'm trying, but my brakes don't seem to be working." Her voice was threaded with enough fear that he knew she wasn’t joking.

  "What?"

  She swallowed and drew in a shaky breath. "My brakes. They’re not working."

  Shit. Fear lanced through his blood as he started working on an idea for what they would do. The road was elevated, with no way to turn off until they got to the bottom. Anyone in their way would be hit. When he saw the safety run-off, he opened his mouth but she nodded before he could say anything.

  "I see it, let's do it."

  She headed onto the safety run-off and threw the car into neutral. The jeep jolted as it smacked against the poles. Glass crashed and Conner felt a few splinters bite into his cheek. He grabbed Jillian and tried to cover her as best as possible until they came to a shuddering halt. He rose and turned the car completely off.

  Jillian was still bent over, and his fear morphed into outright panic. He didn’t want to grab her in case she was injured.

  “Are you okay?" He asked.

  Slowly she rose, pieces of glass falling off her braids as she looked at him, then the mess around them. She nodded, but she said nothing.

  “Jillian.”

  She looked at him then, and he realized she was in shock. Her body shivered, and her eyes were dilated.

  He started to look for his phone but he heard the sirens in the distance. He got out of the jeep and carefully made his way around to her side. Pulling open the door, he tugged her out.

  The police showed up and came running forward. “What happened? Are you two hurt?”

  Conner looked down at Jillian and saw some of the cuts on her face. “Yeah, we’re going to need to be patched up. Both of us.”

  She was plastered against him as if she were trying to burrow somewhere safe. Anger spiked through him as he thought about what could have happened. Jillian was a good driver, but she could have easily been on Kam Highway on one of the sharp turns or could have crashed into someone else. He had no doubt in his mind that this was on purpose.

  He was going to kill someone and fucking enjoy it while he did it.

  “Sir, can you tell me what happened?”

  “The brakes went out on the jeep.”

  The officer nodded and put in a call for medical. Conner tightened his arms around Jillian and thanked God that nothing had happened to her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jillian sunk down below the bubbles hoping that the heated bath water would get rid of some of the aches from the wreck. Who would have known that a simple crash would make her feel as if she had been beaten up? She would have never known she could end up with so many bruises from an accident. And in the oddest places. Her ass even hurt.

  "You look like you're feeling a little better."

  She looked up at Conner and felt the tears well up in her eyes again.

  "Baby, don't," he said, walking forward. Just like a few days before, he sat on the tub, but there was no seduction in his gaze now. She recognized the worry she had seen in his eyes from the moment they had gotten out of the jeep.

  "Sorry," she said, then took a deep breath. "I just don't feel that great right now. My emotions are all over the place."

  He nodded.

  "It doesn't seem to be affecting you."

  He took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. "No. I am ready to kill someone right now. If I knew who it was, I would go beat the bastard to death."

  She would have laughed it off if he hadn't said it with a dead certainty that had a chill going down her spine.

  "I made some soup. Doc said that it was important for you to keep your blood sugar normal tonight."

  She nodded, but he didn't look happy. "Come on."

  She stood as he helped her out of the tub. He grabbed one of her towels and wrapped her in it. Then, he picked her up and took her into the bedroom. He had a pair of panties and a shirt laying out for her. He set her on her feet. "I'm going to go get the soup. I'll be right back."

  "I can eat in the kitchen."

  "I know you can, but I want to do this for you."

  He said it in a way that had her chest hurting. Lord, the man was adorable.

  "Get dressed and get into bed."

  She nodded and waited until he left to pull on the panties and shirt. She was under the covers by the time he returned with a bed tray that had a bowl of soup on it. He set it on the mattress in front of her. “I just brought you some water because I wasn't sure what you would need."

  "Water's fine."

  She took a sip of the soup. It was just canned chicken noodle soup, but it felt so good to eat something warm. He turned on the TV, stripped down to his boxers and pulled off his polo shirt. When he turned, she saw the bruising on his back.

  "How did that happen?"

  He looked over his shoulder. "I guess it happened in the wreck. It's not too bad."

  She sighed. "I'm so sorry, Conner. I never meant for you to be hurt."

  She felt the tears well up in her eyes again, and she couldn't stop them this time. He picked up the tray, set it on the floor and joined her on the bed. Instead of complaining or telling her she was being silly, he pulled her into his arms and held her close.

  "It isn't your fault."

  "It is. Some crazy hates me and wants to kill me. For whatever reason. And you got hurt in the process."

  She felt like a fool, crying all over him, but she couldn’t seem to stop. He held her like that for she didn’t know how long. She hated not being in control. To think that someone hated her enough to kill her was sickening. When she had calmed down, she pulled back, embarrassed.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Did I say I wanted an apology?”

  He sounded mad. When she looked at him, she realized that he was pretty mad at her. “I’m—“

  “I swear if you say you’re sorry, I am going to take you across my lap and give you a spanking you won’t forget.”

  For a second, she didn’t say anything. Then she snorted.

  His expression softened as he cupped her cheek. “I’m mad at myself.”

  She frowned. “Why?”

  “I should have taken this more seriously. I should have let Rome do an actual report. Without him here, we are going to have to handle it through HPD. I’m okay with that, but I put you at risk by not acting on it.”

  Of course he would feel responsible. “It isn’t your fault.”

&n
bsp; “I’m trained at this sort of thing.”

  She sighed. “I forgot you’re perfect too.”

  She said it with enough humor that his lips twitched like she’d hoped.

  “Yeah, I am that.”

  She sobered. The enormity of the situation could not be ignored. “What are we going to do?”

  “For tonight, we have the protection of the HPD. Tomorrow, I’ll secure the house more. I’ve had a talk with Adam and Mick. They are going to help with security until we get a handle on just what the hell is going on. But right now, what I want to do is lay here, hold you, and watch TV.”

  He was sincere. That she would never doubt. And it seemed so simple, but she knew it was more than that. He was there for her, without question. Since her folks had died, she had never had anyone stand up for her, offer her a shoulder to cry on. In this, he offered her something else no other person had. Comfort. If she wasn’t careful, she would start crying again.

  She swallowed the tears and sniffed. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”

  Conner held out his arms, and she snuggled against him, putting her head on his chest. As they lay there, she gave up running or even pretending that she was just having an affair. She was knee-deep in love with Conner, and there was no going back now.

  * * * *

  Three days later, Conner was ready to come out of his skin. Nothing. They had no leads at all. There was something they missed, he was sure of it, but just like before, he couldn’t even fathom what it was. He knew that he was missing something. There had been no indication of any other issues.

  "So, the brake line was cut?" Micah asked. Conner nodded but said nothing else. He needed to talk about it with someone. Jillian was working, and he didn’t want to talk it over any more with her. She was beyond irritated with him, the situation. She understood she had to stay home or only go out with him to be safe. It didn’t make her very happy.

  “You said the last time you used her jeep was a week ago?"

  He nodded as he stood to pace the small kitchen. "Dammit, this is really starting to piss me off. Seriously. In any given crime, I can always find a motive. Something to give the person away. I know there has only been two incidents, but it seems like something should have popped up by now. Even if it didn’t tell us right off, I would give my left nut for a lead."

  "I agree. Every avenue seems to have been traveled. Which means it’s probably a stalker. A very skilled stalker."

  Conner didn’t even want to think of it. Just contemplating a stalker made him itchy. Plus, it would have to be someone with amazing detecting skills, and that would make the bastard dangerous. It could be a crazed fan, someone who was infatuated with her. She’d had no emails or physical mail to indicate it, but that didn’t mean anything. With someone like that, a motive didn’t matter. Their main existence was all about the subject of their infatuation. It made no sense, and there was no way to know exactly where they would go with it.

  "Devon could have missed something," he said, but even he heard the defeat in his voice.

  "I know nothing about that."

  He glanced over at Micah and found him grinning.

  "What?" he asked.

  Micah shrugged. "Hey, if you get arrested, I am claiming I knew nothing of it. But, no, he is sure he has been very thorough. There's nothing there that he can find."

  "The thought that someone just picked her out on a street, it creeps me out."

  "And if you go with my instincts, I say not right. It feels more personal than someone who just saw her on the street. This is someone who knows her. Someone who really doesn't like her, but they know her well enough to find her."

  Conner stopped pacing and looked out the window. He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the knots in his muscles. "Everyone she has had contact with has been checked out. Even that asshole who hit on her that night at Rough ‘n Ready."

  Micah frowned. “Who?”

  “That Aussie from the Big Island.”

  "Oh, St John? I could have told you it wasn't him."

  It had annoyed Conner that he hadn’t been allowed to pull the son of a bitch in to question just for the hell of it. Conner was sure the cowboy was hiding something behind all that sickening charm. And he still wanted to break his arms.

  "I found out he was back on the Big Island before any of the incidents started to happen. I even checked out Evan's brother-in-law."

  "Kai's married."

  Conner stopped pacing and sat down in the chair across from Micah. "First of all, you know that doesn’t rule him out, but I’m talking about Danny. The younger one. He hit on her at the wedding."

  Micah's lips twitched. "Let me guess, you weren't happy?"

  "Not really. He knew she was there with a date, but apparently it didn’t stop him from sitting at our table and trying to pick her up. When he tried to cut in while we were dancing, I wasn’t thrilled either."

  “I guess that was later, after most of us had gone to the hospital for Cynthia?” Micah asked.

  Just the memory aggravated Conner all over again. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jillian. He knew when she said she was with him she would never cheat. The woman had a true sense of honor. But he didn’t like the feeling of jealousy Danny Aiona had brought out in him. It was juvenile. Even knowing that, it had taken more than just a little of his control to keep from starting a fight.

  Worse, he knew what bugged him more than anything about Aiona. In a few weeks, Conner would be gone. He had read the message in the younger man’s expression. Just thinking about another man touching Jillian had Conner grinding his teeth.

  “I keep telling that boy to be careful,” Micah said. “He has a taste for older women, especially black women."

  “He saw her at the club when she was there a couple of weeks ago. He mentioned it.”

  Micah nodded. “Believe it or not, he’s a Dom, and he is in hot demand with the women, especially the older subs. They know he likes them at least ten years older.”

  “Well, it’s not him.” And that chapped his hide. Conner would have loved to have a reason to beat the crap out of St John or Danny. Even now he was balling his fingers up into a fist. Conner counted back from ten mentally and relaxed his fingers.

  “And you’ve checked out everyone?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I have no idea what the fuck to do now.”

  Micah leaned back in his chair and crossed his ankles. “I think you just need to be careful.”

  The frustration of the last few days boiled over into anger. He knew Micah was only trying to help, but dammit, he had to yell at someone. “Be careful? Someone tried to kill her.”

  Micah studied him for a moment. “Listen, man, I know what you’re going through, believe me.”

  He blew out a breath and gained back some control of his emotions. Yelling at Micah wasn’t going to help. It made him feel better, but it wasted time. “I know.”

  “I had to fly to Vegas thinking Devon had abducted her to hand her over to their bastard of a father. Over six hours on the plane before I got there.”

  Thinking back to that time, he remembered seeing Dee’s brother for the first time in person. “Did Devon ever forgive you for that broken nose you gave him?”

  “I guess so since I’m giving him a niece or nephew to spoil. You know those Italians, they love family.”

  He snorted then sobered. “I’ll go back over the list. The police are now involved, of course. Without Carino here, they put someone else on the case, but they are hitting dead ends.”

  “And you’re here. That will ward off some of the worry, I’m sure. Anyone who is thinking about bothering her here will be hesitant. Especially with those two bikers who are hanging around next door. They looked at me sideways when I came up.” He glanced out the window then back to Conner. “I take it you put in some cameras?”

  “Yeah.” Conner was still kicking his ass for not taking it more seriously at first. Of course, the brakes could have happened anywhere, but i
t still might have helped. They had punctured holes in the lines, and they had been leaking for a long time. “I just can’t figure out who would want her dead.”

  “It’s because you’re too close to her because you love her.”

  That stopped him, and he frowned at Micah. He had been through this with other friends who were married. They always thought every relationship he had was serious.

  “I didn’t say I was in love.”

  Micah shook his head. “Bra, you don’t have to say you’re in love. It’s written all over your face.”

  “You’re talking shit.”

  “Tell me, would you normally sleep with your sister’s friend? Or perhaps you always feel this murderous when men talk to women you date?”

  Shit. No. He rarely got jealous, and from the very first, he had been over Jillian.

  When he said nothing, Micah continued. “I doubt you would have taken her to bed with your entanglements if you weren’t in love with her, man. Hell, you’re practically living together.”

  “We aren’t living together, and we aren’t in love.”

  “Why don’t you tell us exactly how you feel, Conner?”

  Both of them looked over. Jillian was leaning against the doorjamb with her arms crossed.

  “And I think this is where I come up with something witty to say and leave,” Micah said as he rose.

  He walked toward Jillian, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He said something to her that Conner couldn’t hear, then he walked out. The door shut with an almost quiet click.

  She didn’t say anything. He was accustomed to quiet. He could outlast the worst suspects and reduce them to tears. Now, though, he felt the need to fill the space.

  “You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

  Conner inwardly cringed. Now he sounded like even more of an ass.

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Apparently.”

  “Listen, Jillian--”

  She held up her hand to stop him. She had no expression, and he wished she did. Even if she were pissed, he would rather deal with that. She was one of the most expressive women he had ever met, but now she looked solemn.