HIS Return (Hamilton Investigation & Security: HIS Series Book 3)

by Sheila Kell

  Please, not my beautiful sweet, innocent daughter.

  “Big Hope Daycare.”

  “Maureen, it’s Emily Hamilton. I just wanted to check on my daughter.” Her throat closed. She’d contacted a crooked SEC agent, who obviously knew what her employer had been doing.

  “Your cousin picked her up already. He said you wanted her home. Funny, I didn’t remember a man on your pickup list, but it was in the computer.”

  A wave of fear rolled down her body. She closed her eyes. “Thank you, Maureen.” With trembling hands, she lowered her phone. “Where is she?”

  He flashed a crooked, now, not so charming smile. “She’s safe. Now, where is it?”

  Emily had to think fast. She didn’t have whatever it was he wanted. This was pure madness. She had to do something to get her daughter back. She wanted to scream for help, but feared he’d run, and she’d never see her daughter again.

  Her cell phone now at her side, she discreetly slid her fingers over a preset number that when answered would be silent on the other end. She slid it in her pocket, out of sight, in case Paul noticed it was on and took it away.

  She cleared her throat. “How do I know you have my daughter and that she’s unharmed? How do I know that once I give you what you want that you’ll release her?” Emily spoke loudly enough that Paul darted his gaze around and then narrowed his eyes at her.

  “I’ll let you speak with her, but I am serious about this. If I don’t return within the hour, you will not see your daughter again, so I’d recommend no games with a passerby.”

  Rage and fear for her daughter made her struggle for control. Everything her brothers had taught her about survival jumbled in her mind. All she could think about was her precious Amber in the hands of a kidnapper. And Emily didn’t have what they wanted in exchange for her. “Until I speak with her, I won’t believe it’s you who has her.”

  The SEC agent removed a cell phone from his pocket and dialed. Staring into her eyes with hard threatening ones, he spoke, “Her mother wishes to speak with her.”

  Emily reached for the phone with shaky hands. “Hello.”

  “Mommy? Tinky man picked me up.”

  At the sound of her daughter’s voice, Emily almost collapsed with relief that was quickly replaced by a resolve to find a way to save her daughter. “I’m sorry, baby. I had something to do. The stinky man will bring you to me soon. Will you be good for Mommy until then?”

  An exaggerated sigh came across the phone. “Otay. I big gurl, not baby.”

  Paul snatched the phone from her and ended the call.

  Emily grabbed at it. “No! I want her back! You have no right to her.”

  He leaned close. “Cry out an alarm and I run. Remember what happens if I don’t return.”

  She wanted to slap the smirk off his face and then shoot it full of pepper spray before running as fast as she could, but she couldn’t do it. She’d put Amber’s life in danger by doing the right thing and calling this man to oust fraud at her workplace. “You’d best not hurt her, or I’ll kill you myself.”

  He chuckled. “Enough dramatics. Where is it? And don’t even try to tell me the office.”

  Obviously, they’d searched her desk. He said it had been downloaded, so it must be small like a CD or thumb drive. She had to delay him until she could think of how to get herself out of this mess. “It’s at home.”

  “See, that wasn’t so difficult. We’ll take a ride to your place.”

  After a short walk and climbing into a cab, Emily still wasn’t sure what she should do. Bringing him into her home wasn’t smart, but she had to get help, and all she could think of was the silent alarm and her handgun waiting for them at her home. He wouldn’t be able to run then and Paul, if that was even his real name, would tell her where her daughter was being held. He’d obviously never seen a pissed off mother bear, and especially not a Hamilton one.

  Nowhere close to calm, but with a plan in place, Emily watched the storm break. The rain shower turned into a heavy downpour, rapidly filling the potholes on the roads, leaving puddles behind that would be splashed upon unsuspecting pedestrians from passing cars. In the distance, a split limb of lightning cracked the sky, lighting it enough to see the dark gray clouds moving away. She’d swim through the streets of New York City for her daughter, buck naked if it were necessary. She closed her eyes, and a tear slid down her cheek. This had to work. She couldn’t imagine anything happening to her baby.

  Stepping from the cab in front of her home, Emily was thankful the rain had slowed to only misting in the air. She took a step forward and then abruptly stopped, shock reverberating through her. It can’t be.

  Outrage warred with mirth, but with her current situation, distress overrode them both. She now had to depend on the one man who’d abandoned her when she’d needed him most.

  Three

  DARK GRAY TO almost black, water-laden storm clouds engulfed everything outside of Jake’s water-spotted window, creating the turbulence that jostled the airplane to and fro in the sky. Suddenly, they dropped into a seemingly bottomless air pocket. Jake’s stomach lurched, and his fingers dug into the seat rests, his heart pounding with fear. When the pilots finally leveled the plane off, he slammed down the shade on the window and attempted to do the same with the cries of passengers screaming they were about to die. Something that hit a little too close to home.

  He’d spent the past week recovering at Jesse’s home with several women treating him as if he’d been helpless. Initially, walking from the bedroom to the kitchen had exhausted him, so he hadn’t argued with them. But, he’d pushed on so he could strengthen enough to see Em. Amazingly, her brothers had allowed him the time he’d requested before she would be made aware of his presence. Who would inform her had been an ongoing battle.

  The changes that had happened in the family during his absence left Jake’s head swimming. While he’d imagined Jesse would have remarried, for his daughter’s sake if nothing else, he’d been floored to learn that AJ had taken a wife and was soon to be a father. Jake and AJ had been best friends growing up, and he remembered everything about the man. One thing that stood out was that his brother had an unspoken rule of never dating a woman for more than a month. After he’d met AJ’s wife, Megan, and witnessed them together, he’d understood. They had the kind of closeness and love he wanted to have with Emily.

  Thankfully, before he’d been discharged from the hospital, AJ had updated him on the changes in the family to help him not stick his foot in his mouth.

  “All your brothers have left their alphabet agency. They work with Jesse at Hamilton Investigation and Security. Jesse and I both met our wives through there. Although, I was technically still FBI at the time. A fugitive FBI agent, but that’s for another time.”

  Warmth had poured through him when AJ had called them Jake’s brothers. Jake had furrowed his eyebrows, trying to discern the information. He’d had a hard time believing none of their brothers still worked for the government. That was all they’d talked about growing up, their dreams to make a difference. Four years had obviously been too long to stay away.

  Jake had shook his head at the changes in his family’s lives.

  “I’d be careful asking why they left. Some are a little touchier than others about it. Especially Brad.”

  Well hell, that had only intrigued him more, but Jake had made a mental note to hold onto his curiosity until things settled with the family. Alienating any of his brothers before he’d repaired their relationships wouldn’t be wise.

  Jake had cleared his throat, nervous at the reception of the question that had been burning inside him since he’d woken. “What about Em? You said she moved away.”

  He hadn’t wanted her to see him in his current state, but not being around? For so long, he’d envisioned her running into his arms and never letting go. But she wasn’t even near him. Had she g
iven up on his ever returning? He’d given her no reason to wait. He hadn’t said a word to her before he’d left. The cloying emptiness inside him had expanded in an attempt to suffocate him at the thought.

  AJ’s smile died as he stood, thrusting his hands into his front jeans pockets. He’d walked to the window and looked out. The bright afternoon sun highlighted his tall profile. Just like his brothers, AJ had inherited the Hamilton family trademark jet-black hair, golden-brown eyes, and strong facial features. Emily had been the only one to take after their mother. Thank goodness.

  An image of the blue-eyed wildcat had tugged at his heartstrings, awakening a ghost of a smile to his face. His little sprite.

  AJ had remained silent for so long, Jake feared he wouldn’t respond to the question.

  “Like she’d planned, she went to college to be an accountant. Then she surprised us all and took a job in New York City.” AJ had turned back to the hospital bed and captured Jake’s gaze; an amused look had overtaken his features. “Oh. You’ll never believe this. We think Dad is finally serious about someone.”

  The abrupt change of subject had hit Jake like a slap in the face, closing the conversation on Em. He had sensed something was missing, but knew it wasn’t the time. There had to be a reason for her to move away. He wondered if she’d found someone else, and AJ hadn’t known how to tell him.

  After nearly a week, his impatience at not regaining his strength fast enough had taken over, and he’d decided it was time. It irritated him to not be 100 percent, but he wouldn’t wait any longer. The Hamilton brothers could be angry all they wanted. He didn’t need their permission. He and Em were grown adults.

  As if they’d read his mind, his brothers had asked to speak with him. He owed a great deal to these men, but he couldn’t remain there with them. He needed to move forward with his life. Whether or not that included Em, he wouldn’t know until after they’d spoken.

  They’d each found a space to lounge, filling the couch and the chairs in the family room. Before he sat, AJ had dropped a piece of paper in Jake’s lap. “It’s time.”

  Puzzled, he’d lifted the paper and read it; his hands still had an annoying light tremble to them. His breath had caught. An airline ticket to New York City. Em. He took it as their blessing for him to visit her. Not that he’d planned to wait for it, but it would be welcome.

  Devon, who’d left the CIA to work with his brothers, had ran his hands through his long curly hair and cleared his throat. “Just like things have changed with us, they’ve changed with her, Jake. She’s not the girl you remember. We can’t say how she’ll receive your sudden appearance, but we do know it needs to happen before she finds out you’re here.”

  Still looking the Navy SEAL that he’d been, Matt had leaned forward. “And, you need to decide how you feel about her, and what you plan to do about it. We won’t tolerate you messing with the life she’s set up for herself.”

  So, finally sitting in a large metal tube, rocketing through a thunderstorm, he remained unsure what he’d say to the woman he loved. It had been four years, and he’d yet to find the words that would make things right. And what was right for the two of them? There was no doubt in his mind that they belonged together.

  Flight attendants hustled through the cabin collecting trash as the captain announced their final descent.

  When he’d queried her brothers as to what they thought her reaction at seeing him might be, he’d received five shrugs that now ate at him. She had every right to be angry with him for acting as he had, leaving without a word, but would she at least allow him to explain why he hadn’t returned before now?

  After checking into his hotel, he strode toward the address AJ had provided, and when it started to drizzle, he stopped to purchase a NY baseball cap from a small tourist shop. After receiving no answer at her front door, Jake sat on Em’s cement front steps as the drizzle turned into a rain shower, the fat droplets beating loudly on the striped awning that barely covered him, coursing to the ground like a waterfall. He didn’t care if his jeans, T-shirt, and tennis shoes were soaked. He had to see her. Had to see if she still loved him.

  As much as he hadn’t wished to admit it, she had a reason to detest him for leaving her like he had. Begging her forgiveness was what he’d intended to do, and he wasn’t above groveling when it came to Em.

  He folded his arms over his knees and leaned his head down atop his forearms, hoping this bad turn of weather wasn’t a sign of how their initial meeting would go.

  Jerking awake, Jake looked up and spied a shapely leg slip out the door of a cab, followed by another. He followed the vision up a figure that made his mouth water. Four years without a woman was a long time.

  He caught the woman’s gaze and couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. Em had been a beauty growing up, but she was a stunner as a woman. Were her curves and breasts that pronounced before? And had her bottom lip always been that full? How had he not noticed?

  Standing, ready to speak, Jake faltered when he caught sight of a man, reeking of power, stepping up behind her. Was this a boyfriend? A lover? A husband? Was this what her brothers had meant about her changing? Had they been trying to prepare him for the fact she’d tossed aside her childhood infatuation for him?

  “Jake,” Emily’s soft voice broke. “Did Aunt Betsy send you?”

  He stiffened. Son of a bitch!

  Four

  OF ALL THE fucking luck! This was not how Jake had pictured his reunion with Emily. Hell, several scenarios had run through his mind, but witnessing her with another man had at no time entered his dreams, especially one she had just warned him was a threat.

  As the daughter of a U.S. senator, the family had worried about Em’s safety so they’d instilled in her to make a statement with “Aunt Betsy” in it if she felt under duress and needed help. A small shiver jostled up Jake’s spine at hearing it from her for the first time. Especially as those were the first words spoken between them for so long.

  Jake swiveled his head and assessed the man accompanying his Em. While still not at full strength, he knew he could take the man who placed his hand intimately on the small of his sprite’s back and whispered in her ear like a lover. He narrowed his eyes at her unwelcome reaction to the man, and it took almost everything he had to hold himself back from ripping the man’s head off. Jake didn’t yet have a right to Em, but this guy would not touch her again.

  Composing himself, he controlled the rage that had skyrocketed to the surface after burning a path through his veins, vaporizing the lust-filled jolt he’d initially felt upon seeing her. Smiling, he hoped his words soothed her, letting her know he understood and wouldn’t allow anything happen to her. “Of course she did, sprite.”

  “Tell her I’m okay. But Jake, would you come back later? I can’t chat right now.”

  The look of fear in her eyes almost undid him. Reining in his emotions to detach himself enough to think strategically was a challenge. This was Em. The little girl who had followed behind him. The teenager who had flirted with him. The woman he’d found in his bed. The woman he’d thought of constantly since he’d left.

  Jake turned back to the man beside her, slowly approached and reached out his hand. “Jake Cavanaugh. I’m Emily’s brother.” The man didn’t need to know he wasn’t related by blood. He only needed to know someone was there to protect her.

  He extended his hand to shake the one Jake offered. “Paul Thompson. Look, buddy, we’re in a hurry. She can chat with you later.”

  Raising his eyebrows in question, Jake gripped Paul’s hand and squeezed until he saw the asshole wince. “Is that so?” Before the man could issue a response, he twisted the threat’s right arm behind his back, pushing up until the fucker cried out in pain.

  Em’s scream broke through the red haze of rage and jealousy that held him. “Enough, Jake! Just hold him for a minute.”

  Puzzled, he turned hi
s attention to her and wasn’t prepared for the man to use his left elbow to deliver a painful blow to Jake’s stomach, doubling him over while he lost his grip on the man. “Oomph.” A sudden vision of fists hitting him while being tortured flashed in his mind and an unwelcome shiver surged through him. Before it could grab hold, he stomped down on it. This was about Em, not him.

  Had Jake misread her signal? Was this a man she loved and the threat wasn’t to her, but to him if he interfered?

  Jake ignored the rain that had begun to fall in earnest again, sliding off the bill of his hat. None of them moved to take cover. He didn’t fucking care if this was her lover. This was not a man he’d allow her to be with, and he knew her brothers would agree. How the hell could they have let her move here alone?

  The handgun suddenly pointed at him didn’t faze him, but the scream that ripped through the air took his breath away. He almost couldn’t push Em behind him fast enough.

  Paul quickly glanced around, probably ensuring there were no witnesses, giving Jake the opportunity he needed. He put his weight into the swing with his right arm and every bit of strength he could muster. His opponent made a slight move, and Jake’s fist connected with the man’s temple instead of his jaw. Em’s threat dropped like a stone, his head smacked on the sidewalk, blood trickled from underneath it, diluted with the water mixing with it.

  Emily rushed to the man’s side, kneeling down and grasped the front of the man’s suit. “Paul! Paul!”

  It shocked him to know she’d rather have a man who was obviously brutal to her. And by knocking her lover out, he’d most likely never gain her forgiveness for leaving without a word.

  Jake glanced around, noticing the few stragglers on the street rushed around with their heads down, acting as if they hadn’t seen anything. Removing his cell phone from his pocket, he knelt down on the other side of the man and felt for a pulse. As he relayed the need for an ambulance, Emily tried to stop the bleeding and wake the man. Her attachment to him unnerved Jake.