Heart of the Woolf (Woolf Series)

by Kai Andersen

  Adrienne knew who he was talking about. She still felt sore in certain places, but they would heal, in time. “A little, but nothing that can’t be mended. You arrived just when I needed you most.” A thought struck her. “How -- How did you know where I was?”

  “Can you believe it?” A certain bemusement filled his face. “Up till now, I couldn’t. Your voice-thought acted as a beacon for me to find you.”

  “Wow. That’s incredible.”

  “Thank God you kept on calling me. If not, I don’t know how --” His face twisted.

  “I couldn’t stop.” She reached up to caress his cheek. “Calling you was my only comfort.”

  His hand tightened on hers.

  A commotion at the door interrupted their conversation. Adrienne couldn’t see who opened the door into her room, as it was blocked by a wall of the washroom.

  A strident female voice rang out. “And I told you time and time again that it wasn’t Adrienne, but would you believe me? No! You had to go and disturb our Human Resources people and now they’re wondering if Adrienne is above board and --”

  An equally harsh male voice interrupted, “Will you stop?! You’ve been at it since I saw you standing along the road, waiting for a cab. If it were not for the goodness of my heart, I wouldn’t even have offered you a lift --”

  “Offered me a lift?!”

  The two of them were still out of the line of her sight, but Adrienne recognized Marcy’s sarcastic voice. She didn’t know who Marcy’s male companion was, though. Could it be Logan?

  Marcy scoffed, “Ha! More like, you thought you were picking up somebody for a lay. If I weren’t in such a hurry and with no sign of public transport around, I wouldn’t even have considered hitchhiking --”

  Adrienne glanced at Jake and caught him rolling his eyes. He smiled at her slightly and spoke, lifting his voice so that he could be heard over Marcy’s companion, who was speaking just then. “Guys, guys. This is a hospital, you know, where sick people come to get well in peace and quiet?”

  God, she loved this man’s sense of humor.

  “I don’t see why that should be so. When they’re dead, they will have all the peace and quiet they want.” Marcy shot back, coming into sight. She squealed when she saw that Adrienne was awake and came over to hug her tight.

  The hug went straight to Adrienne’s heart, healing the rift caused by Marcy’s suspected betrayal. As in Jake’s case, she should have known that the friend who had stuck with her through all the turmoil she’d suffered at work would never have betrayed their friendship.

  Marcy stepped back. “You okay?”

  Adrienne nodded, warmed by the worry in Marcy’s eyes. “Better now.” Adrienne gestured toward the man who had appeared behind Marcy and was now standing at the foot of the bed. “Who’s your boyfriend?”

  Marcy snorted. “Hardly. That’s Jake’s elder brother, Jared.”

  “I wasn’t aware you knew each other.” Jake looked from one to the other.

  “We don’t.” Jared shared similar features with Jake, but he was taller and more muscularly built. Adrienne thought Jake possessed an overpowering presence, but it was nothing compared to Jared’s. The man oozed authority with his every gesture and stance.

  “I was on my way home when I saw her by the roadside. She seemed vaguely familiar, and that’s when I realized she worked for you. So, being a good Samaritan --” He ignored the snort from Marcy. “-- I stopped and offered her a lift.”

  Jake still looked confused. “But that still doesn’t explain how you know Marcy. When did you go to my office?”

  “The last two days while you were busy taking care of Adrienne, he came over once, ostensibly looking for you.” Marcy shot a dirty look at Jared. “What he was really after was some information about Adrienne. He stirred up a hornet’s nest over at HR.”

  “What? I don’t understand.” The more Adrienne listened, the more things got muddled. “Why were you asking about me?”

  “I can’t go into the details of the case I’m working on.” Jared sent her a brief, apologetic look from the foot of the bed. “But the gist is that my client wanted me to find a girl who came from the United Kingdom. The trail led to your company, and when I heard that you were from Edinburgh, I thought you might be the one. That’s why I was snooping around in your HR department.”

  Adrienne panicked. What did that mean? Was her stepfather Jared’s client as well? Why wouldn’t her stepfather just let go and let them live in peace? In the midst of her alarm, she felt Jake’s reassuring squeeze on her hand. She met Jake’s eyes. Her heart filled, overflowed. She wasn’t alone. Not anymore. From now on, he would be there beside her. She squeezed back.

  It was Jake who asked, “Did you come to any conclusion?”

  Jared nodded briefly. “I received additional information that the one I was hired to look for has a twin sister, which Adrienne doesn’t have.”

  Adrienne released the breath she wasn’t aware she’d been holding.

  “See? I told you so!” Marcy crowed from her place on Adrienne’s left. “You shouldn’t have wasted so much time and effort trying to ruin Adrienne’s name at the company!”

  A low growl issued from Jake’s throat.

  Adrienne’s head whipped around. Jake was staring intensely at Jared, his features rearranged into the beginnings of a ferocious frown. She felt the vibrations of his anger along her skin.

  “It’s not ruined, I assure you,” Jared said hastily. He shot a furious glance at Marcy. “Will you stop saying things you know aren’t true.” Turning back to Jake and Adrienne, he continued, “Have faith in my many years of being a PI, for heaven’s sake. I know what I’m doing. Your HR Manager thought I was interested in Adrienne and merely wanted to know more about her. She thought it was so romantic that I wanted to surprise her with her favorites on her birthday, which is two months down the road, by the way.” This information Jared directed toward Jake. He boasted, “She was so helpful, bringing out the whole file for me to see and browse at my leisure.”

  “Miss Prissy Ice Queen?” Marcy’s eyes were wide with shock. “The one whom our director couldn’t talk into letting him see his own file? You must have cast a spell on her.”

  Jake was frowning. There was a soft warning to his voice as he said, “Jared?”

  “Stop acting like Dad. It was just a nudge!”

  “A nudge?” Adrienne felt more and more adrift. “You mean you nudged Prissy? As in a body nudge?”

  “More like a mental nudge,” Jake corrected wryly.

  Adrienne caught on. “That’s his gift?”

  “Gift?” Marcy looked bewildered. She looked from one face to the other.

  “He’s psychic,” Adrienne explained briefly. “Show me.”

  Jared just looked at her. The silence was deafening in the room. He continued to look at her. Why wasn’t he doing anything? He’s taking so long. God, all this waiting was making her thirsty. Oh, didn’t Teresa leave a glass of water on the bedside table? Adrienne reached out for the glass ...

  ... and looked at the glass in her hand perplexedly. She wasn’t even thirsty. What was she doing with the glass? Wasn’t Jared going to demo something?

  She looked up at Jared irritably. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

  He pointed at the glass. “I just did.”

  That threw her for a spin. “Huh?”

  Jake spoke up. “You weren’t thirsty, were you, Adrienne?”

  She shook her head.

  “He made you believe you were thirsty, so you picked up the glass, intending to take a drink. Before you could do that, he released you from the thrall.”

  Marcy’s wide-eyed stare hadn’t diminished one bit. “Man, you’re a dangerous person to be around, Jared. I think I’ll keep far away from you.”

  Jared looked like he was about to say something, but then his mouth snapped shut.

  “That is one powerful talent, Jared.” Adrienne smiled. “I hope you don’t use it indiscrimina
tely.”

  “Jake’s been my conscience all these years.” Jared’s mouth twisted. “If you add to his voice, I think I’ll be kept well in hand.”

  Coming from the pack leader, that was an ironic statement indeed. Adrienne delighted in Jared’s sense of humor. God, what a great family to belong to!

  “By the way, what happened to Charlie?” Adrienne shivered, remembering her ordeal. “I hope they lock him away for the rest of his life; he shot three people in cold blood, you know.”

  Jared and Jake shared a look, but it was Jared who answered. “Yes, you needn’t worry about him anymore. He’s been taken care of.” He lifted an eyebrow. “But three people?”

  “There were only those two guys that I saw at your flat, Adri,” Jake chimed in.

  “There should have been a girl.” Adrienne was confused. “Her name was Lissa. I don’t exactly know who she is, but she must be related to Lucien, from the way he acted to protect her. From what he told me, I inferred that Charlie had taken Lissa hostage so that Lucien and Paul would do his bidding and kidnap me.”

  “The bastard!”

  Jared’s eyes flared with anger as well, though his voice was sober and grim as he said, “We’ll do our best to find her. I’ll get my men to check the roads for a girl wandering about. Do you know how old she is, any description of her features?”

  “I’m sorry.” Adrienne shook her head. “I’m not much help, as I didn’t get to see her at all. I only know she’s small, so she could be anything from, maybe age ten to twelve?”

  Jared nodded and turned away to speak into his mobile phone.

  Adrienne shuddered, her eyes on Jake. “Charlie’s pure evil. He was the one who sent me all those awful gifts --” Adrienne paused as Marcy gasped. “-- and he made a few threatening calls.” Now that she had started, the words poured out. It was a cleansing that she needed badly, having confided in no one. “He shadowed me from work almost everyday, and he was also the one who caused the car accident on the day I was kidnapped.”

  “Why did you never tell me any of this?” Jake grasped her by the shoulders. “I could have asked Jared to investigate who it was, and I would have made sure we were together all the time.”

  Adrienne closed her eyes in remorse. When she opened them a moment later, she smiled at Jake sadly. “Why? There are so many reasons, but the bottom line is, I didn’t know who to trust. I dare not trust anyone lightly. Not only was my life at stake, but my brother’s life was in danger as well.”

  “Your brother?” Marcy echoed. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

  “It wasn’t in your file either,” Jared put in as he snapped his mobile phone shut.

  “I couldn’t take the chance of anyone knowing about him.” Adrienne looked straight at Marcy. “I never told anyone, until Jake started asking about a kid’s drawing that he saw at my house. His name is David, and he’s my brother. Half-brother, actually. We share the same mother; my mother died giving birth to him.” She continued with a catch in her voice, “I miss him. I used to visit him every day after office hours, but since the phone threats started, I dared not go to see him.”

  Marcy’s gaze softened. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to, Adrienne.”

  Adrienne had come to a decision. “No, I want to tell you, but I must ask that you keep it secret.” She waited until they all nodded before she continued. “Charlie didn’t exactly tell me who hired him to kill us, but I know of only one person who might be responsible: my stepfather.”

  There were shocked gasps and questions of “Why?” from the other three in the room.

  “David is ten years old, and he is ...” Adrienne took a deep breath. “... autistic. His mental development is slower than other kids, although outwardly, he looks very normal. He lives in his own world of magic and fantasy creatures; sometimes, he doesn’t even hear us calling him. Needless to say, he didn’t do very well in class, although his art teacher was very impressed with his drawings.

  “My stepfather couldn’t bear to have an imperfect child. You have to understand, he’s the chairman and CEO of UK’s largest hotel chain. His image was tarnished by whispers of his ‘retarded’ son. Many times, he tried to put David away, to lock him up in an institution somewhere, maybe an asylum.” Adrienne gave a bitter laugh. “I wouldn’t allow him; I believed that David should be given as normal an upbringing as possible, among family. I tried to protect him as best as I could, but in the end, I failed.” She sighed. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “I put David into an institution myself, here on Tolidet Island, as I couldn’t care for him and earn a living at the same time.”

  “What happened?” A trace of anger underlined Jake’s voice. “Your stepfather forced you out of the house?”

  “No.” Her lips twisted. “His third wife gave birth to a perfect baby boy. Afraid that she’d be given less in the inheritance, she wanted my stepfather to put David away for good. I came to overhear their conversation. I was afraid of what my stepfather would do, as he was bewitched by her. So, I took David and ran. I made a false trail, leading to Canada. We were safe for awhile, for fourteen months. How short it seems now.”

  “What you’re saying, Adrienne,” Jared said thoughtfully, “is that you aren’t sure it was your stepfather who sent Charlie.”

  Adrienne breathed out. “Yes.” She could remember her conversation with Charlie clearly, and not once did Charlie mention a name, only a description: a rich Englishman. With her affirmation, she gave voice to the fear that had been nagging at her.

  “You mean it could be someone else?” Marcy exclaimed.

  “But who?” Uncertainty and foreboding plagued Adrienne. Her hands twisted together in her lap. “I don’t really have any idea.”

  Jake and Jared exchanged a glance.

  Jared spoke up. “Why don’t I investigate the matter for you, Adrienne? I have some contacts in the UK. I’ll be very discreet, I promise.”

  “Um ... I just thought of something.” Marcy bit her lip when they all looked at her. “I mean, if the mastermind is really your stepfather, Adrienne, and if he is really as determined to do away with David as you say, don’t you think he will send another man to replace Charlie when he realizes that Charlie has been incapacitated?”

  Fear gripped Adrienne in its thrall.

  Jake squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you at all times from now on. Nothing and no one will get through me.”

  “Right.” Marcy’s hand found its way onto Adrienne’s other hand. “You’re among friends now.”

  “And family,” Jared added, his voice brooking no argument.

  “And when you’re ready to talk to your stepfather, I’ll be there beside you. For now, you’re safe.” Jake assured Adrienne, his hands tightening painfully on hers. “You’re both safe.”

  “Safe,” Adrienne echoed, her eyes misting with tears.

  Epilogue

  Edinburgh, United Kingdom

  He punched in the familiar numbers and held the phone to his ear.

  Ring ring. Ring ring.

  He tapped his foot impatiently on the linoleum floor.

  The phone continued ringing incessantly. Endlessly.

  Incensed, he heaved the phone across the room. Its cord jerked out of the socket. The phone crashed against the opposite wall.

  He ignored the broken apparatus and paced the room. His robe swirled about his legs in angry patterns.

  It was the nth time he’d tried calling Charlie in the past five days. Each time, the phone just kept on ringing or was picked up by strangers. He couldn’t understand how Charlie could have failed to be at the particular phone booth they had agreed upon to take his call. He’d given Charlie a list of the days and times he would be calling, and pending a major catastrophe, he had strongly emphasized to Charlie that he expected him to be there.

  He stopped short.

  Unless ...

  His eyes narrowed.

  Could it be that his henchman had been caught?<
br />
  He cursed softly.

  Yes, that must be it. It would explain why Charlie never picked up that blasted phone.

  But how had that happened? One defenseless girl ...

  He couldn’t afford to lose any more time. There seemed to be no recourse left but to send the one he trusted most. He’d have to change his strategy as well.

  An evil, delighted smile crossed his face.

  That one would get the job done. Adrienne Lee would have no hope of rescue from him.

  * * * * *

  One week later ...

  “Woo hoo!” Jake whirled Adrienne around the room.

  Adrienne laughed. He had taken the precaution of moving the low glass coffee table in the middle of her living room before whirling her around. “You still haven’t gotten over it?”

  “You mean you have?” His voice mocked her.

  She shook her head. “No. I still can’t believe we got the contract. Will we have a fat bonus at the end of the year?”

  “You bet. Aside from which, the company is rewarding us with a three-day, two-night stay at an island resort of our choice!”

  “Great! Let’s choose the most expensive, plushest resort.”

  “How mercenary you are, my love.” He caressed her nose with his. “You may invite Marcy along to occupy the other room, since we’ll be using only one.”

  “I’m sure she’ll love it.” She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it. Of course, Jake took the bait.

  “What is it?”

  “I was wondering if we should invite Jared along.”

  His eyes twinkled with evil intent. “Are you matchmaking your friend with my brother?”

  Adrienne aimed a light punch at his chest. Desire began to raise its delicious head within her. “Didn’t you see the sparks between them? I’m sure they’re perfect for each other.”

  “Not if they kill each other first.”

  They laughed.

  Adrienne unbuttoned his shirt. “Let’s stop talking and get into bed.”