Anjelee nodded. Moisture trickled down her cheeks. She swiped at them impatiently, avoiding Jager’s gaze. Keefer approached her from behind and massaged her shoulders. Always the quiet, supportive comforter.
Jager conjured up an image of Anjelee as a teenager. He imagined her as a wild troublemaker with a seat in the principal’s office with her name on it. He didn’t see her as the squeaky-clean cheerleader type by any means. Instead she would’ve been the outspoken, sexy groupie who followed the football and wrestling teams around, cheering and supporting whichever boy she happened to be captivated by at the moment. She would’ve been a trend-starter, sporting a color-of-the-week in hair, and wearing the lowest in necklines and the highest in hems in grown-up fashions.
“Oh, God, no.” Mitch held his head in his hands. His breathing went shallow, his mouth gaped. “Don’t tell me you’re going to make her out to be this innocent woman who’s always gotten the short end of the stick?”
“No, I’m not. I’m just going to tell you the truth.”
Mitch leaned against the wide windowsill, folded his arms over his chest and crossed one ankle over the other. “Well. I’m waiting. In fact,” he said as he glanced at his Rolex watch and then at Jager, “I’ve been waiting way too long. I’ve got a schedule to adhere to. Which you, Jager, should already know.”
Vivien shrugged her frail shoulders and held out her hands in surrender. “Okay. You want it now, I’ll give it to you now. Your father was my lover about fourteen years ago. We had a baby—that’s your little sister, Ali—and she’s here in this hospital. She needs a kidney transplant. Blood relatives are the closest match. Anjelee and I aren’t matches, and we don’t have any other family...”
“What?” He lowered his head and laughed hollowly. “Do you know how many people have claimed to’ve had my babies—and my dad’s? That’s what this has all been about?”
“I’m sorry.” Vivien said it firmly and raised her jaw. “I don’t want to put your late father in a bad light, but it’s the truth. Ali is your sister. He knew, but he refused to acknowledge it, especially after you attained your stardom. I always understood he didn’t want to upset your mother or tarnish your reputation as a Hollywood star. I wanted to give him his space and allow him to go on as if I’d never existed. But…” She choked on her words. “Ali. She’s dying now.”
“What?” Mitch’s voice held a conglomeration of betrayal and disbelief.
A lengthy silence engulfed the room until Anjelee stomped across the room. Jager decided to let her go. Though her body was petite, she exuded enormity and a strength that Jager couldn’t help but admire. Her unique magnificence coupled with her spunk made for an irresistible package. He studied her white-knuckled fists, ran his gaze up and down the smooth flesh of her arms, remembering the innocence of her bedroom embraces despite the passion that drove her to kinkiness.
His chest fluttered. He visually caressed her delicate profile, ran his gaze down the length of her colorful, silky hair. He longed to take her in his arms right this second and soothe the pain that oozed from her rigid body. He wanted to touch them both every day, to wake up to her husky voice and Keefer’s manly one whispering in his ears. Together. Forever.
I’m so in love with them.
His head reeled with the thought, but it wasn’t exactly the best time to act on it. Anjelee was about to have one of her meltdowns, only he could sense this one was going to be a doozy, one the likes of which Jager had yet to see. It was fueled by her love for her sister and her mother, and her outrage at the man, Mitch’s father, who’d played a huge absent role in their current situation, even before his death.
She trembled with rage and sorrow and sobs. “Is that all you can say? ‘What’? She’s dying—your sister! My sister! Your. Father’s. Daughter. She’s only thirteen and she’s dying, Mitch. Your father wouldn’t acknowledge her. And he wouldn’t even contribute to the huge medical bills we’ve incurred. I insisted Mom make a stink, take it to the media, but somehow, I don’t know how, she still loved your dad. Oooh, if I could’ve just gotten my hands around his neck, why I’d’ve…”
She started to launch herself at Mitch.
Mitch flinched.
“Anj.” Holy shit. A meltdown, but rightly so. Jager caught her just before she bolted out of reach. He wrapped his arms around her from behind. Keefer stepped up and stood at attention at her side making it known he also supported her, but wouldn’t allow the assault.
Jager held her flailing body, fending off kicks and swinging punches. Her shouts he could do nothing about.
“Shh, shh, Anj,” Keefer whispered. “Don’t want the whole hospital to hear the conversation.”
Anjelee went limp and wept. Vivien crossed the room and patted Anjelee’s back while she remained in Jager’s arms.
Mitch didn’t say a word. He just stared agog between Vivien and Anjelee.
Truly, none of this was Mitch’s doing—he’d been a victim of his father’s denial of an illegitimate child, too. But could Jager really blame Anjelee or Vivien, either? They were desperate and they hadn’t gotten help from the rightful source...who happened to be dead now. It was either obtain Mitch’s father’s money in a roundabout way through Mitch, or bring public scandal upon Mitch by dragging his mother and a sister he hadn’t even known he had, into the public eye.
“Anj, honey, don’t, please…” Vivien’s wet eyes gleamed. She reached for Anjelee’s hand and tried to tug her out of Jager’s arms, but Anjelee jerked her fingers free and barreled on instead.
“No, Mom, this finally needs to be resolved.” To Mitch she said, “Look, here’s the deal. Ali needs a new kidney, but me and Mom aren’t a match, so we’ve got her on the donor registry. But with all the other bills and dialysis charges that have been piling up this last year, we don’t know how we’re going to pay for the transplant surgery—if they can even find a freaking match for her. So far, no luck. No matches in the database, to date. And guess what else, Mitch?”
He swallowed, his aqua eyes huge and wary. “What?”
“Your father refused to even be tested to see if he was a match. He wouldn’t come and see her, and he wouldn’t take our calls pleading with him to please at least try to save his daughter’s life. He said he couldn’t afford the publicity it might cause his movie-star son,” Anjelee sneered.
It took a while, maybe a few minutes, for Mitch to finally blow out a breath and drop into a nearby chair. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
Vivien dug into her purse and drew out a photograph. “How about you just listen and look for now?” She kneeled at Mitch’s feet, the picture pressed to her ample breast.
Mitch stared straight ahead, his gaze avoiding her, but he nodded.
She cupped his face and guided it toward her so he had no choice but to look at her. Her eyes devoured him, her smile warm and gentle. “I can see some of him in you, you know. It’s been hard seeing your face up there on the big movie screen, knowing his blood flowed in you.”
“I...I...”
Vivien held the photo up for Mitch to see, then took one of his hands and closed his fingers over the snapshot. She pointed at it as he held it. “This is Ali before she got sick. She looks just like her big brother.”
Mitch’s hand trembled. He stared at the picture. It was surreal, just like a scene in one of his movies.
“Y-your right, she does look very much like me.” He traced Ali’s face. “She’s...she’s really my—? Whew. Wow. This...this is really hard to soak in.”
Vivien patted his knee. “I know. I know.”
“I’m…I’m really sorry, f-for him, I mean. H-he always had his faults, but I never dreamed he’d had an affair, much less had a daughter he denied, and worse, one he refused to donate a kidney to. If I’d have known sooner, I swear…” He choked on his last words, and moisture filled his eyes. He drew Vivien into his arms and they cried together for a long moment.
“Hush, hush now. It’s not your fault, honey,” Vivien fin
ally assured him, and reached up and twined her fingers in one of his hands while he continued to hug her shoulders. “And even though we’ve sort of turned it into your responsibility and made a gigantic mess of things, it’s really not your problem. I would be devastated, but I would understand if you walked away.”
“Mom!” Anjelee gasped.
Vivien pulled herself from Mitch’s embrace. “Anj, sweetie, please don’t—”
“No, no. She’s right, Vivien. It’s okay.” Mitch sat in silence for a full minute. He fidgeted in his seat, rested his chin on a fist, stared at the floor. At last, his head came up. “Where is she? Here, at the hospital? Can I see her?”
“Of course you can.” Vivien sniffled and dabbed the wetness from Mitch’s cheek with a fresh tissue she dug from her purse. “She’s your sister. You can see her whenever you like.”
Mitch nodded. A muscle in his jaw quivered as he struggled to hold back a new wave of emotion. “Thank you. Does she…does she know who I am? That I’m her half brother?”
Vivien grinned and wiped her nose. “She’s been sworn to secrecy—she’s just bursting to tell all her friends. But yes, she knows. She’s seen every one of your movies.”
Mitch gulped. “Every one? B-but she’s only thirteen. Some of them are kind of…racy.”
“Ali’s an old soul and very mature for her age,” Anjelee put in, her voice now edged with relief and joy rather than rage. She reached for Jager’s hand and weaved her fingers in his. His heart missed a beat. “She’s read some romance novels that’d make even me blush.”
Mitch grinned ruefully at her. “Make you blush? Now that’s kind of hard to believe.”
Jager couldn’t help but snort. “You can say that again, especially after that ‘very mature’ Karibu trip we just got back from. Whew.”
Vivien got to her feet and giggled. “Please, spare me.”
Anjelee slapped Jager’s shoulder. “Yes, spare her. Now shut it. Besides, you’re one to talk.”
Jager pulled her into his arms and squeezed her with a growl. Overwhelmed by emotions better suited for later, he agreed, “Yes, we have lots to talk about. But later.”
Mitch’s gaze found Jager’s over the top of Anjelee’s head. “Jag, I’m going to need to report to my next movie set soon, but during my absence, I want you to get with Vivien and Anjelee and gather all their bills. All of them, not just medical.” Mitch ticked off a list on his fingers. “Pay off every cent, back rent, utilities, cell phones, credit cards, anything, and then set up a grocery stipend, spending accounts, whatever.”
“What? Oh, no, no,” Vivien interjected, backing away from Mitch. “I-I know what Anjelee did to you was awful, and there was a day I would have—no, did take that money, but things are different now. I didn’t tell all this to you today to get money out of you. Really. We’ll manage.”
“This is my sister,” Mitch said with conviction, shaking Ali’s picture at Vivien. “And you’re not going to stop me from taking care of her.”
“But—”
“Mom.” Anjelee raced over and gripped Vivien’s shoulders. She shook her. “Let him. If my last trip had been successful, we’d be using his money again anyway. Please, let him do this for Ali. She deserves a mother who’s not all twisted up with worry and panic. And actually, a brother would be nice for her to have, too. She just needs our love right now, not the guilt she wrongfully carries at having put you into such horrible debt.”
“She’s right, Vivien,” Mitch replied, stepping closer. “Besides, I can afford it, believe me. Even if you owe a million bucks, it’s a drop in the bucket for me. And again, she’s my sister. I can’t just walk away and do nothing. Like Dad did,” he grumbled under his breath.
Vivien’s mouth thinned. She tried to hold back the emotion, but she couldn’t. Tears dribbled like tiny diamonds over her cheeks. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I-I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say ‘okay’.” Mitch winked at her.
“O-okay,” Vivien whispered. “And—and I’ll order a DNA test right away, just so you can be for sure and—”
Mitch cut Vivien off. “No need. When I do the testing to see if I’m a match, it’ll be proof enough. Besides, I don’t need the proof. I see Dad in her already in that picture.”
“You mean...you’re going to donate one of your kidneys to Ali?” Anjelee asked incredulously.
“If I’m a match, you’re damn right I am. I have two, don’t I?” He grinned, the sort that left women and even men breathless in the movie theater. “No need to be stingy about it.”
“Oh. My. God, thank you.” Anjelee ran into her mother’s open arms. They sobbed together, and Jager’d be damned if it didn’t choke him up, too. But he held onto the tears, trying like hell to stay strong.
He glanced at Keefer. Ha, even big, manly Keef clenched his jaw to prevent an outburst.
“I’ll call hospital security,” Jager sniffled as he dialed. “Let them know we’ll need them to lead us up a back way to her room, maybe get a disguise for you.”
Mitch shot one last order at Jager. “Hey, thanks, man. And when you get around to it, find them a nice house with plenty of room. And a swimming pool.”
“What? A house?” Vivien was at it again. Her pride proved almost as strong as Anjelee’s. Almost. She untangled herself from her daughter’s arms and crossed to Mitch. She tugged on his arm and whirled him around to face her. “Mitch, no, you can’t do that. That’s not what all this was supposed to—”
“Wanna make a bet? One day I want to see her swimming in that pool, so it’s a done deal.” He pulled Vivien into his arms and rubbed her back. She clung to him. “Now, you can thank me by taking me to see my sister. And her doctor. Let’s not waste anymore time, see if I’m a match.”
Vivien and Anjelee wailed again. And damn it to hell and back, the tightness in Jager’s chest finally unfurled. He started to sob, too. And so did Keefer.
Chapter Eleven
Six months later…
They lay on their sides with Anjelee tucked between them, spoon-fashion. Waning moonbeams sliced through the open bamboo doors and glinted off the overhead skylight. Cockatoos and seagulls started their morning melodies, indicating the sun would soon peep over the horizon. She could smell the sea and sweet fruit mixed with the aroma of their post-lovemaking. The surf rushed into the lagoon and lapped against the stilts in a steady rhythm that put her in a contented, almost hypnotic zone. She listened to its song, along with Keefer’s and Jager’s sleepy breathing, and the click-clack of palm fronds on the breeze. The curtains stirred, beckoning her outdoors. Somehow, she untwined herself without waking them, climbed naked from the bed and donned a nearby hotel robe that had been tossed aside after her last shower.
She stepped out onto the breezy deck and took a seat at the umbrellaed dining table. It was perfect out here with dawn’s moonlight sparkling on the Caribbean Sea and a vague orange gleam painting the eastern sea line. A sigh escaped her lips.
I’m so happy.
Everything, it seemed, had turned around to near-perfect in her life.
Ali was the typical high school freshman now, though not so typical in that she not only had a movie star as her brother, but she also had his kidney thriving inside her. There’d been no complications or signs of rejection, and they’d both recovered quickly and had fast become friends. Anjelee grinned. Wow, had they ever. Ali had become the chattery little sister who’d grown to truly love her famous older brother as a brother, rather than with star-struck fan-love.
Mitch had been captivated by his new little sister from the start. He spoiled her way too much. Anjelee laughed and shook her head. Ah, but sweet little Ali deserved it. She’d been so sickly all of her life—until Mitch had saved it. Literally.
Things had progressed in her career, as well as in Keefer’s and Jager’s. Jager now promoted discreet getaways for his clients as an extra perk of his services, and Keefer’s travel agency handled all their private plans and itinerarie
s. Anjelee, in turn, had been given the awesome opportunity to photograph the client and celebrity trips for their own P.R., or when needed, to act as a decoy and lure the paparazzi away from their clients by leaking false tips as to their planned whereabouts. She thrived on all the new excitement, and she had Mitch Wulfrum to thank.
The skylight popped back into her thoughts again and she looked up at it on the thatched roof of their hut. Man, what a fool she’d been to climb onto that roof in Hawaii and take those pictures of the Wulfrums.
And here he’d gone and paid off all of her mom’s bills, bought her a new fabulous house and dumped a pile of bucks into an account making her an instant millionaire. Mitch was an amazing man. There just wasn’t enough time in this lifetime to thank him for all he’d done for Ali and her mom and Anjelee. She would be forever grateful.
And no one knows more than me, how lucky you are, you dumb-ass idiot.
Guilt gnawed at her gut again, but not quite as much as it used to. She was beginning to forgive herself for her horrible, desperate behavior, but it could still lash at her now and then when she got to thinking about it for too long.
Her jaw clenched. “If I had looked up when we were making love last night, and seen someone up there taking pictures of us, I’d have killed them,” she whispered.
A cool gust of wind tossed her hair. She wrapped the robe tighter, drew her knees up and encircled her arms around them. The special love and bond the three of them had, must be very similar to what Mitch, Kiona and Kol had.
Yes, she could see it so easily now...
She dropped her head to her knees and groaned. “Gawd, I was such a moron. I must have caused them all so much pain and stress.”
“No, baby,” Jager said, his voice deep, tender. “It’s all good now.”
She raised her head to find him squatting next to her chair. He was still naked, his cock hanging long and soft between his thighs. Love poured from his eyes. He took her left hand and kissed it...over and over and over, until that warm sexual pull drew on her arousal and flooded her with desire deep inside her groin.
Karibu Heat (Sequel to Kabana Heat) Page 14