A_Little_Harmless_Fascination (21 page)

“Let’s dance, love.”

She gave him a smile and followed him, setting the bouquet
down on a table on the way to the floor. In this, he could lose himself in her,
the beauty of the music, and just how happy she made him.

*
 
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*

“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.

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.”

“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.

*
 
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*

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.