A Little Harmless Rumor

by Melissa Schroeder

  Sean shrugged, happy that she was now irritated with someone else for a change. “That’s Del.”

  The moment he heard the car roll to a stop out front, Sean bolted to the door. He opened it just as Emma jumped out of the car. She ran to him as he opened his arms. She came to him easily, as if they had known each other their entire lives. Of course, in the world, they only had each other. Two people who could have walked past each other on the street a year ago and not known they were related. Now, they couldn’t even think of breaking contact.

  He pulled her back from him and looked at her. She had let her hair grow a bit in the last couple of months, and she had lost a few pounds. Of course, she was wearing her normal uniform for Hawaii. Board shorts and an old t-shirt. She had slippahs on.

  “Uh, so, do you want to explain things?” Jaime said from behind him. There was a thread of jealousy in her tone. He kissed the top of Emma’s head, and they turned to face Randy and Jaime.

  “Let’s get inside first.”

  “Hey, Taylor, you want to help with your crap?”

  She glanced over her shoulder at Del. “No.”

  With that retort, she stepped past both Jaime and Randy into the house as if she owned it. Which, of course, she did; but no one else there probably suspected that. Randy and Jaime watched her walk away and turned back to him.

  He smiled and just shook his head as he walked to the car. Del was a mess. With his nose swollen, Sean could guess just how bad it was when Del had first shown up. “Sorry about that. You must have picked up on Emma’s issues with understanding social cues.”

  “Oh, so that’s why she gave me a concussion?”

  “Now you’re like family—which means you deserve to know what is going on. Come on, you should hear the whole story because we need advice.”

  “I think by the end of this, you’re going to owe me beyond anything you can afford.”

  “For Emma, I would sign over the house right now if it meant her safety.”

  Del gave him a strange look, but said nothing else as he followed him into the house. He introduced him to Jaime and Randy, then walked into the kitchen. They found Emma sitting on the kitchen counter. He had remembered the first time they had walked through the house. She had hopped up on the counter and sat cross-legged on the counter just like she was now.

  “Tell me, is there a reason I had to come over here?”

  Her tone was what most would call bitchy—but he knew better. He couldn’t fault her. She had been through a lot in the last six months—hell, for the last ten years since her parents died. Add in the fact that she was tired and out of sorts due to the situation, she had every right to snap at him. Still, they had to explain just what was going on because they both needed help.

  “Jaime Alexander and Randy Young, this is my sister, Emma Taylor.”

  Jaime blinked, then looked at Emma. Comprehension filled her gaze as she looked back and forth between them. “Oh, yeah, now I see it.”

  “Half sister, really,” Emma said with a smile.

  “Yes, half sister. And she’s the reason I was burned.”

  Emma shook her head. “You really weren’t burned.”

  “Listen, while I appreciate all of this, I don’t see why I need to be here.”

  Everyone turned to Del. The man was beyond grumpy now, and it was hard to hide a smile at his friend’s appearance. His nose was swollen, and his eyes had been bruised in the hit Emma had given him. He was not going to be happy when he had to explain it to his team.

  “I don’t understand either,” Randy said with a chuckle.

  Emma rolled her eyes. “You need to be here because you’re law enforcement. Sean said you were some kind of team leader, but I’m confused by that.”

  “Why would you be confused by that, Taylor?” Del asked, his tone downright nasty now.

  “You were investigating my house when I got the jump on you.”

  “Wait, what?” Randy said, as he studied the former Army Ranger. “Is that why your nose is so swollen?”

  Del tossed Randy a look that would scare a normal man. “Shut the fuck up.”

  Randy opened his mouth to argue back, but Sean wasn’t in the mood. He gave Randy a look that made his former partner shut up. They didn’t have time for crap like this.

  “I need you here because I think I have an old friend showing up soon with one intention. I need help with strategy and tracking him.”

  “Who are you talking about?” Del asked.

  “Letov, and he’s out for blood—mainly mine.”

  There was a beat of silence before Jaime said, “Let’s have some coffee and get the whole story out.”

  * * *

  Randy waited until everyone was settled at the dining table before he pushed for more. The need to demand answers simmered in his blood, but he knew better. It would just set Sean off, and it would waste precious time if Letov were on his way here. There was another factor in all of this. Jaime. She was barely keeping it together. Most people wouldn’t see it, but the look Sean had given him as they sat at the table told Randy their lover had seen it too. Her nerves were raw, and her temper was bubbling beneath the surface. One wrong move and someone was going to end up in a body bag.

  “Alright, tell us everything,” Randy said.

  Sean took a sip of coffee before he answered. Nothing had changed, at least not much. Sean hated sharing any secrets.

  “I got a call from Lassiter. There was a job, but he called me because of my connection to it.”

  Sean shared a look with his sister. Randy saw that connection and the shared memory and, dammit, he was jealous. Not that it was even sexual, but the fact there was this other person in Sean’s life Randy didn’t know about until now hurt. Plus, he couldn’t get over feeling like a voyeur. It was odd seeing this entirely new side of Sean, and he kept stealing glimpses into the private looks Emma and Sean shared.

  “So, Lassiter knew?” Randy asked.

  Sean nodded. “Let me back track a bit. I’m going to confuse everyone with the story.”

  “That’s because you don’t walk a straight line. You have to do that so everyone knows what is going on,” Emma said in a tone that made Randy think she was repeating a lesson she had learned as a child.

  He smiled at Emma and his expression softened. They might not have known about each other long, but they cared for each other. Sean rarely let others see what he was feeling, but it was easy to see how he felt about his little sister.

  “Okay. So, Lassiter started hearing things out in the field. Things about Letov and his interest in me. I didn’t understand it. Not at first, then I realized the connection was back to that first job we did together.”

  “The FUBAR in the Philippines?”

  He nodded. “Remember when we were trying our best to avoid the bastards who were chasing us?”

  “Yeah. I got shot, so I sort of remember that,” Randy said, not trying to hide his sarcasm.

  “The kid who shot you…the one I shot, it was his son. He didn’t survive.”

  Randy shook his head; trying his best to follow that line Emma told Sean to draw. “No, wait, that was MILF.”

  Emma snorted. Sean tossed her a smile. When he turned back to face Randy, he said, “Emma didn’t know what the US acronym was until I told her.”

  “Let’s not get off track,” Del said. “MILF-that’s one of the terrorist groups in the Philippines?”

  Sean nodded and Randy’s stomach started to sink. He was starting to get an idea where this was going.

  “So, you killed Letov’s son? You’re lucky he didn’t hunt you down and kill you himself.”

  “True. I take it you know the man?” Sean asked.

  Del nodded. “He was selling illegal arms to Syrian rebels. Not that he believed in their cause, but because it would make him money. I also know he was raised by a father who was former KGB. Torture is a family business. Add in the human trafficking and he’s a real sweetheart.”

  “Soun
ds about right, and I think his son was just getting his feet wet playing a guard. And, yes, they were using MILF to hide. They dressed as them, spread rumors, and it was all about getting back at Lassiter.” He looked at Jaime. “Remember going in and bugging his office?”

  Jaime nodded.

  “He despised Lassiter for it.”

  “You’re saying that your first jobs with each one of us brought you to this point?” Jaime asked; the disbelief was easy to hear in her voice.

  Sean nodded. “In order to get at me, Letov started digging. He wanted to know everything about me. He found out that my father was not actually dead. That he just abandoned us.”

  “Yeah, Dad wasn’t all that good of a guy earlier in his life.”

  Sean sighed. “But, the other issue we found out was that he held onto some patents. And that he had died in 2004. He did have one surviving relative, and she had inherited everything.”

  Everyone looked at Emma.

  “That’s you?” Del asked.

  “Well, yeah, not that I knew it. I was sort of out of contact with any kind of lawyers. In fact, they were about to file an injunction to declare me dead when I was kidnapped. I had just heard, and I was on my way back to Thailand.”

  “That’s it,” Del said interrupting her. “I knew you weren’t English.”

  “Spent the early part of my life there, but most of it in Thailand, Jakarta, all around there.” She turned back to everyone else. “I lost my parents when I was fifteen and after that, it was hard to find any kind of records.”

  “Why is that?” Randy asked.

  “I…”

  She didn’t continue, but looked at Sean. Sean took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

  “Emma lost both of her parents in the Tsunami.”

  There was a long beat of silence. How did you respond to something like that? Hell, he didn’t know if he could handle losing his parents now, but at the age of fifteen would have devastated him.

  “So, when I popped up in Thailand thinking that maybe my dad had left me some of mom’s jewelry, pictures…things they kept in a safe deposit box, Letov snatched me. At that point, he put out a call under an assumed name, pulled in Lassiter, who then contacted Sean. He came to get me, and now we are in Hawaii. And thank goodness he takes care of all the other stuff, because I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  “The other stuff?” Randy asked.

  “All the money and all that. I really had no idea we were so rich.”

  “You are rich, Emma,” Sean said.

  “I told you, Dad left it to his kids. You’re one. We are both rich.”

  Randy saw the look of disbelief on Sean’s face come and go so fast, most people would have missed it. He doubted Sean had ever been accepted so easily by anyone in his life. Randy had to swallow the lump in his throat. Damn, Sean really hadn’t had the best road to get to where he was now, but he now had someone in his life who accepted him unconditionally. Randy could see it there in Emma’s expression.

  “And the burning, it was all a ruse set up by Royce.” It was a statement from Jaime, not a question. Every bit of emotion had bled from her voice. She looked a bit shell shocked and Randy understood why. He was feeling a bit shell shocked himself.

  Emma studied Jaime, then looked at her brother. “Really? You couldn’t tell that she was Lassiter’s daughter. She has the same eyes and facial structures.”

  Sean gave her a smile that Randy would term paternal. “We can’t all be as talented as you.”

  She shrugged. “That’s true.”

  Del snorted then cussed. “Mother fucking nose.”

  “He has a very bad temper,” Emma said. “And uses a lot of bad language.”

  “I believe you told me to fuck off and called me a wanker not too long ago.”

  Emma didn’t respond, so Sean continued. “Subsequently, Letov found out and kidnapped her. Lassiter got me into Thailand, gave me the layout of the house.”

  “You really aren’t starting at the beginning. Most of this is Letov’s making. Way back to when you and Jaime bugged his office all those years ago. He blames you both for everything that happened. That’s how she ended up in the hospital when your job with Randy went to pot.”

  “Wait, I thought we pinned that on someone else. That cult leader in Africa,” Jaime said.

  “That’s what Royce thought, but he was wrong,” Emma said. “All the signs pointed to him, but come to find out, it was Letov all along. He lost a lot of business thanks to you bugging him. He had to flee England. Therefore, he blew up the house you were in for a job, then he sent his son after Sean. Only, that backfired. And then, he spent the next five years planning this.”

  “But, he didn’t come after me,” Randy said.

  Emma looked at him and it was a bit eerie. Her eyes were so similar to Sean’s. “He had his revenge on you. You were shot. And, you didn’t kill his son. Sean did that. That was far worse than losing business and pretty much being exiled to Croatia. Losing his one child—at least the one he claimed—that was too much. He blamed Sean.”

  Sean nodded. “Then, he started to dig. He must have been pretty good at it because everyone here thought my father was dead. He followed the trail to Thailand and discovered that my father was dead, but he had left a child. He found Emma and kidnapped her.”

  “And that is how we got here.”

  “But, wait, if Letov wanted to draw you in with Emma, it seems his plan failed,” Randy said. “You didn’t even know you had a sister.”

  “No. And that didn’t make sense until Lassiter and I worked it out.”

  Emma snorted.

  Sean smiled. “Okay, Emma really made us work it out. If he had said he held my sister, I wouldn’t have believed him. I knew my mother didn’t have any other children. I also thought my father died.”

  “You would have assumed it was a trap,” Randy said. “At that point, he had to come up with another plan.”

  Sean nodded. “Yes. He used one of his identities and hired Lassiter and requested me.”

  “And that isn’t odd?” Del asked.

  Emma frowned and opened her mouth, but Sean stopped her.

  “Not really. I’m well known in that area of the world; plus, I have connections. He also offered a shit load of money.”

  “Just like the Philippines,” Randy murmured.

  Sean nodded.

  “I’m still confused. What was the plan if he trapped you? And why didn’t he trap you?”

  “The plan was for me to watch whatever he had planned for Emma. Knowing his penchant for torture, it would have been bad. To answer the other question, I arrived a day early so he wasn’t ready. Or, I should say, his men weren’t ready.”

  “So it failed miserably,” Jaime said.

  “In a way, but the man is clever and just came up with another plan,” Emma said.

  “You don’t have to make it sound like you admire the man,” Sean said.

  She shrugged. “Listen, to spend years doing this, he has to be pretty smart.”

  Del gave her a strange look, but Emma didn’t notice.

  “Okay, now we have to figure out where he is and if he is coming here,” Sean said.

  Emma shook her head. “There’s no figuring it out, Sean.”

  “You said that he was smart. Smart people don’t let their emotions rule,” Del said.

  “They do when they have nothing left inside them to continue on. His whole life these last few years were about making Sean pay.” She looked at Sean. “Are we going to force his hand, or what?”

  Sean gave his sister a sharp look. “What do you have?”

  Emma drew in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. Randy got the idea that she was trying to gird her loins. “He’s here. On the island. I picked it up right before Delano showed up.”

  Cold fear slithered down Randy’s spine. “Fuck.”

  “No,” Emma said. “This is what we wanted. Letov never leaves Croatia. He hides there for the most part. Th
e fact that he’s here means he’s restless. He made a mistake coming to Sean’s home.”

  “And he will do something stupid,” Sean said. “It’s what we have wanted all along.”

  “Right, then, what’s the plan?” Jaime asked.

  Randy looked at Sean and understood immediately what he had planned on doing. His heart sank, and he understood why Sean wouldn’t discuss the future yet. He had a plan that might make that impossible.

  “Now it’s time I get used as bait.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Jaime’s heart seemed to stop beating the moment Sean said those words. Pain reverberated from her chest, and spots appeared before her eyes. The room started to spin as she blinked, trying to control the onslaught of fear that pummeled at her. She realized she was holding her breath. It took tremendous effort on her part, but she finally gulped in air. Randy must have sensed her distress because he trailed his fingers down her spine. Usually, that gave her support, let her know that everything was going to be okay. This time, she knew Randy would side with Sean. And Sean, well, he had lost his bloody fucking mind.

  “What the bloody hell are you talking about?”

  Sean shared a glance with his sister, which ticked her off even more. This woman wasn’t a romantic rival, but they had a connection Jaime could not deny. And she was left out of it. He had kept that bit of information from her—just like he always did. There was part of her that understood why he did it, but her heart didn’t want to be reasonable. It wanted to shout and scream. Instead, she curled her fingers into her palms.

  “If the bastard is here, the best way to pull him out of hiding is to give him a target. Me.”

  “It should be easy enough for him to find you,” Randy said. “Why wouldn’t he just come after you here?”

  Sean shrugged. “He might, but I have a feeling that’s too easy for him.”

  “He would never do that. It would be a last resort,” Emma said.

  Jaime scowled at the younger woman, who just smiled back at her. “Is that a fact?”

  If she caught the sarcasm, Emma never let on. “Yes. Letov is seriously insane, but the one thing that has been driving him the last few years was paying Sean back. He will not show his hand if he doesn’t have a need to. Using Sean as bait is the best way to get him to do that. He will be watching his every move. Coming here would be dangerous. This is Sean’s territory.”