by Sheila Kell
The tension and worry that had settled in the room, worrying how Amber would be after her kidnapping, relaxed. Apparently, the criminal had been excellent with her but hadn’t wanted to be taken into custody. Thankfully, he’d allowed them to take Amber before he’d begun his deadly gunfight with the team.
Jesse eyed him, raising an eyebrow, a question in there. Jake nodded, signaling that he had a clear level head and was ready for what was about to happen.
“Em, we need to talk.” When Jesse spoke, a hush fell over the room.
Trent walked to AJ, holding out his arms for Amber. “I’ll take her until you need her.” Exiting the room, he blew kisses on the little girl’s stomach, eliciting the cutest giggle Jake had ever heard.
A red haze filled his vision. It should be him taking care of his daughter, not Em’s lover. He wanted to scream and reach out and snatch his daughter from the man. But, he needed to hear what was happening. What had put his family in jeopardy? Yes, he considered them a family. The three of them. And they would be soon.
Emily plopped down, with AJ settling himself on the arm of her chair. “Sit your butts down. I hate it when you loom over me.”
“Well, if you weren’t so damn short.”
She narrowed her eyes at Brad. “Do we want to talk short?”
Her brother scowled. His little sprite still had the ability to put her big brothers in place. Pride filled him, making him want to puff out his chest and tell the world this was the woman he loved.
He may have been in love with the eighteen-year-old Em, but he knew that no matter how much she’d changed, he’d still love everything about her. She’d been in his heart since they’d met.
Jesse led the conversation. “What’s going on, Em? Why did someone kidnap my niece?”
AJ reached down to hold one of her fidgeting hands. Christ. Jake could see her visibly shaking. He felt the urge to jump up and pull her into his arms, making the world safe for her and his daughter.
“I’m not quite sure exactly what’s going on. When I overheard my boss speaking with someone and said something about their Ponzi scheme, I freaked. I decided to call the SEC, but somehow got Paul, a crooked agent. He had to be in cahoots with my boss.”
Jake wiped his sweating palms on his jeans, remembering how he’d almost fucked up any chance of rescuing Amber alive by knocking the man out. It was pure luck the man who kidnapped her didn’t listen to his instructions, or Paul had lied about having to return in one hour.
“When I met Paul, he told me they had Amber and wanted something I had. He said I’d downloaded files from my computer. I have no idea what he was talking about.”
Devon leaned forward on the couch. “Did he say anything else about the download? When? What it was?”
Em shook her head. “No.”
Every muscle in Jake tightened, his pulse pounding in his ears knowing this wasn’t over. If they thought Em had something important enough to kidnap her daughter, they wouldn’t give up. By the serious looks on the men’s faces, they knew it as well.
“This is important, Em. Think back. What files had you accessed recently? Maybe you inadvertently downloaded them.”
“I have. The only thing I’d been working on was an audit of Mr. Mills’s account. The only problem there was my coworker had misplaced some of his money.” She shrugged, removing her hand from AJ’s. “I just don’t know.”
Emily furrowed her eyebrows, her face appearing deep in thought before her eyebrows bolted high enough they almost touched her hairline. “Wait. When I went back to my desk after I’d heard Mr. Wright, his assistant was in my work area. She never would’ve waited for me there. She always told us her time was too valuable to wait for anyone and that’s why we had to come to her when she needed to speak with us.”
“Teri Sheppard?” Ken asked.
“That’s her. Did you talk to her?”
“No. The boys said it looked as if she’d packed a bag or two and left hurriedly.”
By this time, Jake wanted to fly back to New York City and beat the shit out of some people until he got the answers they needed. He’d remained out of the conversation until now. Sure he wasn’t part of the brothers’ security company, but he was family. “What happened this morning?”
Her eyes met his for the first time since they’d been in the room and an electrical storm zipped between them, almost knocking him off-balance. Nothing that strong had passed between them before. He tried to hold onto it, but she cast her gaze away. Fuck. She doesn’t want to look at me.
Em relayed what had transpired in her meeting with Paul and subsequent interaction with Jake.
No one looked his way or appeared to condemn him for what he’d done when he’d thought he was protecting her. He wiped his hand over his face, exhausted and frustrated. None of this helped them. “Shit. The two men we know were involved are not available to question.”
A snort escaped Brad. “One of them permanently.”
Jake caught the slight nod Jesse gave AJ. He held his breath knowing the question his brother was about to ask.
AJ turned to Em, pulling her hand on his thigh and covering it tightly. “We have to talk with Amber.”
He’d never seen someone stand so quickly. Her protectiveness made him want to smile. It meant she’d been a great mother, not that he’d really expected any different. She’d always mothered them.
“No way!”
AJ stood in front of her, reached out and held her by the shoulders. “Em, we don’t want to do it, but we must. She might know something to help us.”
Her eyes watering had Jake jumping to his feet. “I agree with her. Leave Amber alone.” He fisted his hands at his sides ready to swing at anyone who disagreed. He’d never felt so violent, especially against this group, until his daughter was involved.
“Look, we’ll be easy with her.”
“Jesse, please….”
“Trust me, Em.” After she nodded, he turned to Jake, pointing a finger toward his chest. “And you, back off.”
Jesse’s eyes remained locked with his until he reluctantly consented with a short, sharp nod.
“Ken, get Trent and Amber.”
The mention of the man’s name made Jake’s blood boil. He needed this shit to be over with so he could kick Trent to the curb and marry Em. Hell, nothing was stopping him from marrying her. If she fought him, he’d tie her up and carry her to the church. He didn’t care if a shotgun wedding was what they had. He knew she still had to have some love for him. She was just hiding it for some reason.
Amber raced into the room, heading straight for Em. “Mommy, Unca Twent thay bad woid.”
Another fucking bad mark against the man. That was it. He was talking to Em right after all this. She was dumping Trent, and the two of them were getting married. It shouldn’t be a problem as it was something she’d always wanted. Christ, he’d heard it enough growing up.
Trent shrugged sheepishly. “It just slipped out.”
The little girl pointed at Jake. “He nice.”
His gaze snapped from Amber to Em to see what she would say… what she would do.
She looked from their daughter to him with uncertainty in her eyes.
His heart stopped for a brief moment, and his breath caught as if all the air was sucked from the room. Maybe Em would tell his daughter the truth. He wasn’t sure he was ready. Hell, he could turn out like his father.
Jake’s pulse raced. Good God, what if I turn out like my dad? Amber deserves better than that. But, he’d promised himself he’d never be like the man and now was the time to keep that promise. He knew what not to do. Now he had to figure out what to do.
No one moved while Em walked toward him, Amber’s hand in hers. He watched the hard swallow slip down Em’s throat.
Nervousness skidded up his spine. She was going to do it.
&n
bsp; “Amber, this… this is… your daddy.”
The little girl’s eyes widened, and Jake knelt when she walked to him. Reaching out her hands, she put them on his face and whispered, “Daddy?”
Jake couldn’t bring any words forward to answer. He blinked rapidly to clear the tears that had formed in his eyes. Gaining control of his emotions, he nodded. “Yes, princess.”
She squealed and launched herself into his embrace, her short arms hugging him so tight he almost choked. Snippets of hands wrapped around his throat, cutting off his breathing, squeezing the life out of him, flashed before him. He snagged the little girl and yanked her arms from around him.
A rapid heartbeat banged against his chest, and his breath came in short, jerky puffs. He blinked the little girl into focus. It wasn’t a terrorist torturing him. It was only his daughter. His sweet daughter who looked at him with confusion in her eyes.
He had to get a grip. He stood, pulled her back to him and held her in his arms. He closed his eyes and sighed in contentment.
He hoped no one noticed his reaction.
He looked back at the world around him. Tears slid down Em’s face. With his hands full, he couldn’t reach out and wipe them away for her. He did mouth the words, “Thank you,” receiving a brief nod from her in reply.
Amber loosened her hold, leaned back and looked at him. Jake shifted her to his arm like he’d seen Em do and smiled. It felt so natural to hold her.
“You came home like Mommy thaid.”
“Yes, Daddy’s come home.” He left off it was where he’d remain, home. No matter what.
He was thankful for the fact that she was too young to understand how long he’d been away from her. This child amazed him. She’d had a big day by being kidnapped and then meeting her father for the first time, and she held up as if it were a normal day.
“Put me down.”
He bent over to set the girl on her feet before she fell from his hold. When he stood, he noticed the room was vacant except for him, Em and Amber. When the hell had that happened?
“I need to tell uncas Daddy home.” Amber raced from the room.
“Em.”
She turned from watching her daughter race away. “What, Jake?”
Was that hostility he detected in her voice? The men’s joking came back to him. He hadn’t asked her to marry him. Did he dare? He wouldn’t allow any other answer than yes, and her current demeanor didn’t emanate any semblance of a yes to anything he said, but he had to try.
Taking her hand in his, he pulled her a step closer to him. “Let’s talk about getting married.”
Before she could respond, a loud ruckus came from the front of the house as the rest of the family arrived. In a whirlwind of movement and noise, Em was out of his hold and hugging her father as they whispered to each other, a tear sliding down her face. Jake could’ve sworn Blake’s eyes were also wet. When they finally broke apart, her sisters-in-law rushed to them, each pulling her into a tight embrace.
His hope to gain an answer from her disappeared. He was truly happy to see the rest of the family; he only wished they’d arrived at a different time. Smiling, he allowed himself to be drawn into the chaos that now reigned around him with adults, children, and pets greeting each other.
Reagan skipped behind Amber. The cousins stopped in front of him, and his daughter pointed. “That my daddy.”
Joy swirled within him. One of the best things possible had turned in his favor. His daughter had happily accepted him.
Eight
EMILY’S SISTERS-IN-LAW HERDED her into a guest room on the pretense of Megan needing rest after the flight. Although dragging her and Kate along wasn’t questioned by anyone. She remembered getting away with anything with her brothers when she’d been pregnant. She’d found the one thing the men feared: a pregnant woman.
“Wait. I don’t want to leave Amber.” After the events of the day, she didn’t want to let her child out of her sight. Those few minutes, when she’d been in another room with Trent, had been pure torture. She trusted her family, but her daughter could get lost in the mix, and someone could snatch her without anyone noticing.
Kate touched her arm, empathy in her eyes. “It’s okay. You know your brothers won’t allow anything to happen to her while she’s with them. Besides, I imagine Devon and AJ have two girls and a dog tackling them.”
Devon had somehow become Reagan’s favorite uncle, and AJ had become Amber’s. The men would roll around on the floor playing with the little girls, acting a fool and not caring.
Megan collapsed on the bed and rubbed her hand over her swollen belly. “Well? Did you tell him?”
Emily sat on the chest that still held some of Jesse’s childhood toys and sighed heavily. She had expected this question would be the first thing from the women. Although she’d never told them that Jake was the father, her brothers, who couldn’t keep their mouths closed with their wives, had spilled the beans. “I told them both.”
Kate took a seat next to Megan on the bed. “And?”
“I couldn’t help it. He stood up so protectively of her with my brothers. Then Amber singled him out. It felt right to tell them.” She looked down. “I cried. For a moment I thought he was going to also.” He hadn’t tried to disguise the wetness behind his eyelids.
She’d wanted to see her daughter with Jake for so long, and it was more beautiful than she’d imagined. Although his initial reaction to Amber’s hug confused her. He’d jerked her away like he’d been frightened of her. But, then he’d pulled her back close.
She had a decision to make. Emily didn’t think he’d give up on the marriage thing. Why wasn’t she jumping for joy? It had been her dream for as long as she could remember. She couldn’t forget the embarrassment of his leaving her. “He told me we were getting married.”
Kate’s brows raised and a ghost of a smile touched her lips. “Told you?”
She nodded and chuckled. It hadn’t been funny at the time, but the more she thought about it, the more it became one of those shake-your-head moments. “Yep, told.”
Megan gasped and covered her mouth. “He didn’t!”
“He sounds like one of the Hamilton men,” Kate added.
Emily smiled. They truly didn’t know how to ask for things.
“What happened this morning? All I caught was Jesse rushing off the phone and telling me to grab a flight home,” Kate said. “It hadn’t made sense since he and AJ had planned to meet us in DC before we flew to Oxford next week for Jason’s birthday surprise.”
“I hadn’t heard of this. What’s the surprise?” She couldn’t believe they’d not shared this with her before now.
Kate leaned back on her elbows. “You know how he is about football.”
Emily nodded. The entire family knew about it. After they’d found his leukemia in remission, Jason had tried out for quarterback at his junior high school. It had been all he’d talked about when he’d been in the hospital before Jesse and Kate had adopted him. They’d all worked with him, improving his strength, stamina, and arm. Wanting him to have a fighting chance, Jesse had hired a trainer to help him perfect his aim and understand how to run the team on the field.
It had worked. He was now the starting quarterback, and the high school coach was already talking with him.
“Since your dad goes every year, he decided to take Jason to Ole Miss’s opening game. He somehow finagled a suite from someone and locker room passes for Jesse and Jason.”
“That is perfect for him. Wait. Why didn’t anyone tell me about it?”
The two women on the bed glanced at each other.
“What?” Emily asked in a strained voice.
Megan appeared to be the one to bite the bullet and tell her whatever it was that was to be a secret from her. “Well, the men knew you would say no so your dad had planned to call your boss, and AJ was t
o show up and take you and Amber along.”
She surged to her feet, blood barreled through her veins, spiking her temper. “They what?” She was going to kill them. How dare they think to manhandle her into doing something she didn’t want to do? Actually, she would’ve said yes if they’d asked her. What the hell made them think she’d say no? It wasn’t like they’d expected Jake to be here.
Kate snorted laughter. “Yeah. We told them it was a bad idea.”
Waving her hand in the air, Megan shook her head. “Who cares about that right now? What are you going to do about Jake?”
What was she going to do? It was the focus of her thoughts. It was too much to process though. “I don’t know. It’s been a trying day, and I don’t want to think about it.”
Kate furrowed her eyebrows. “What happened today? We only got bits and pieces.”
The last thing she wanted to do was recount the story again. Each time, knowing her little girl had been in danger and in the hands of a criminal, she choked up, and her heart sped up to an uncomfortable level.
But this was her family, so Emily told her story again to her captive audience. “It started when….”
“EM, can we talk?”
Dammit. Jake cornered her as she left Reagan’s bedroom where Amber slept in the second twin bed. The little girl had been exhausted and had fallen asleep quickly. Emily had kissed her goodnight worrying what their future held. Apparently, it was time to discuss it.
She swallowed, trying to find her voice and speak without the anger racing through being noticeable. “Sure.”
“Is she asleep?”
“Yes.”
“May I… may I see her?”
Emily almost gaped at him. Was the man choked up? Or was he nervous? Either way, it wasn’t the Jake she’d known. He’d been fearless and smiled all the time, and while he’d become emotional when times warranted, she’d never seen him like this.
His curiosity of their daughter pleased her. She hadn’t wanted him to run again once he’d learned about Amber. She’d yet to hear where he’d been, why he’d left her, and why he was back. She expected she’d learn soon enough. Somehow she doubted her brothers would allow him to get away without an explanation. Hell, she wouldn’t allow him to get away without one. “Come on.”