by Amber Kell
Kai shook his head. “I’m just a businessman.”
He started shaking as shock set in.
“Hey, babe, I’ve got you,” Jonathan’s deep voice wrapped around him as surely as his arms did a second later. Right in front of the SWAT guys, Jonathan cuddled Kai close until he stopped vibrating as if he’d tumble apart without Jonathan’s hold on him. Only after he had calmed did Jonathan pull back, though he kept a reassuring hand across Kai’s back.
Kai granted him a tremulous smile. “How did you know I was in trouble?”
“Your assistant called me. She said you might want some protection for the next few days while the police sort this out,” Jonathan said as if it were completely natural to rush to the side of a man he’d just met.
“I hope we’re not going to get into a pattern where you have to save my life every day,” Kai said.
Jonathan’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “We need to figure out who’s trying to kill you and maybe cut back the lifesaving to every other day.”
“Is there some place more private we can talk?” the cop asked.
“Y-yes we have a conference room,” Kai said pointing down the hall.
“This way, gentlemen.” Michelle’s confident voice broke into the buzzing noise going through Kai’s head. The room spun a little when he tried to stand. Jonathan gently pushed him back to sit on the bench.
“Mr Stromwell will join you once he catches his breath,” Jonathan said. He rubbed Kai’s back in long reassuring strokes.
“Yes, I’ll be there in a minute,” Kai agreed. He wanted to cling to Jonathan a bit longer and he didn’t really care who in the company saw him. He’d always been discreet in the past and dated men who didn’t show signs of affection in public, but with Jonathan he wanted to shout out to everyone that the sweet man belonged to him. Whether he did or not remained to be seen, but he wanted him to.
After a few minutes of Jonathan’s soothing presence, Kai nodded his willingness to move forward. “Let’s go talk to them. I don’t really have much to say. I don’t know anything.”
“You might know more than you think,” Jonathan offered.
“Where were you?” Kai asked. “It didn’t take you long to get here.”
A blush crept across Jonathan’s cheeks. “I was coming to surprise you for lunch. I probably should’ve called, but I had to do an errand in this part of town. I figured if you weren’t available I’d just grab a sandwich somewhere.”
“That’s so sweet!” Kai wanted to let Jonathan wrap him in his arms and keep him safe. A foolish image because he’d never depended on anyone in his life. However, he certainly wouldn’t fight it if his highly capable love interest wished to stick around.
A warm glow began in Kai’s chest. Jonathan’s calm, reassuring presence soothed him far more than any medication could. Taking a deep breath, he stood and led the way down the hall.
Before entering the room, Kai straightened his shoulders and gathered his confidence around him like a cloak. He’d never let anyone intimidate him before—he wouldn’t let anyone now, even if the unknown person had bullets and a scope.
Kai stopped in the doorway.
The men in SWAT team uniforms had left and two different men waited for them inside.
A tall blond stood to greet them. Walking forward, he held out his hand to shake. “I’m Detective Fine and this is Detective Breaves.” He waved a hand towards the other man at the table. The dark-haired detective had a swarthy appearance but reassuring hazel eyes. “We’d like to ask you some questions.”
“Nice to meet you,” Kai said, shaking each man’s hand in turn. It wasn’t really. He’d be much happier cuddled in bed with Jonathan than meeting with a pair of cops because someone had just shot at him.
Detective Fine gave Jonathan an inquiring look. “And you are…?”
“His bodyguard,” Jonathan said without hesitation.
Detective Fine latched onto that information like a bloodhound sniffing out his quarry. “You felt you needed a bodyguard before this incident? I was told you had no idea what was going on.”
Kai gave the detective his cool smile, the one he gave company owners who thought they could rewrite the contract after it was signed. “He’s self-appointed. We just met yesterday morning.”
“And yet he’s right here after a shooting,” Detective Fine replied.
“My assistant called him.” Kai knew it sounded strange to any outsider, but he had no doubts about Jonathan’s innocence. “He was already on his way to take me to lunch when she called. He’s not a suspect.”
Kai knew without any further investigation that Jonathan would never shoot at him. If Jonathan had wanted him dead, he could’ve let the car hit him yesterday.
“No offence, sir, but that’ll be for us to decide,” Detective Fine said, a frown marring his face. Deep grooves carved into his forehead attested to the fact that he often scowled.
“You forgot the best reason I’m not a suspect,” Jonathan offered.
“What’s that?” Detective Fine asked.
“I wouldn’t have missed.” Jonathan’s confident tone had Kai glad his suit was buttoned to hide his erection. Strong men were an aphrodisiac to him. Kai barely resisted the urge to kiss Jonathan right there in front of the detectives.
“Could we talk to you alone, Mr Stromwell?” Detective Fine asked. His blue eyes narrowed with shrewd intelligence, as he appeared to assess the two of them.
Jonathan rubbed Kai’s back in support. “What do you think? I can wait right outside.”
Kai appreciated Jonathan checking with him first and not assuming he’d want to follow the detective’s request. He thought it over for a minute before shaking his head. “You might as well stay here. I’m going to tell you everything afterwards anyway.”
Jonathan pulled back a chair for Kai to sit before settling down beside him. Unnerved, Kai stared at Jonathan a moment before taking a seat. In all his other relationships he’d always played the caretaker role. He didn’t quite know how to accept someone else doing the coddling. With a mental shake, he transferred his attention from worrying over potential pitfalls in a new relationship to paying attention to the cops trying to save his life.
“I’m ready for your questions, gentlemen,” he said, wondering what kind of information they thought would solve this case. Kai wished he could point a finger at the potential murderer, but although he had suspicions, he had no proof.
“This isn’t an interrogation,” Detective Fine reproved. “You are the victim here and we aren’t accusing you of anything. We only want to determine who might be responsible for this attack and possibly save your life if you really are the target.”
“You don’t think I’m the one they’re trying to kill?” Kai frowned as he tried to reason out the detective’s thinking. Hope bubbled up because he’d prefer to think some other hapless soul was the real target.
Detective Breaves shrugged, straining the seams of his suit with his large shoulders. “It’s too early to tell at this time. However, it is a large building—a shooter could’ve mistaken one window for another.”
Kai nodded. “That would make the most sense. I can’t think of any reason someone would want me dead.”
“What about yesterday morning?” Jonathan asked.
“What about it?” Kai didn’t understand what Jonathan was talking about. “That was an accident. That SUV driver almost took out ten other people.”
“But what if they only meant to take out you?” Jonathan’s eyes were trying to convey a message Kai didn’t understand. Surely there were easier ways to kill someone especially if you didn’t care if it looked like an accident or not.
Jonathan quickly recounted the close call with the SUV. The detectives leaned closer as if they were now engaged in what was going on. Jonathan had a quiet magnetism that pulled at the people around him. In a calm manner, he finished stating the truth as he saw it and waited for their questions.
“I hate to say it, Mr
Stromwell, but your friend has a point. Two incidents in a row do seem more than a little suspicious. It sounds like someone is on a deadline and needs you killed soon. Otherwise, why would they be escalating attempts so quickly?”
Kai didn’t want to admit that the police might be right. “It doesn’t make sense.” Damn he sounded whiny. “I’m not an angel by any means, but I haven’t done anything worth being killed over.”
“Someone disagrees. I want you to make a list of people you’ve interacted with in the past few months and another list of deals pending. There has to be a link,” Detective Fine insisted. “Your bodyguard can help you with that.”
After goodbyes and giving Kai a card with Detective Fine’s number and an email to send the list to, the detectives left.
As soon as the door had closed behind the detectives, it opened again and Michelle entered. “I’ve postponed your meetings for the rest of the day, and I updated your schedule to reflect the changes. I also downloaded all the pertinent documents to your laptop.” She handed over a computer bag with a tense smile. Kai couldn’t help thinking Michelle appeared more upset than Kai felt.
“Hey, I’m fine.”
Michelle nodded, blinking back tears. “Yeah, I know. Don’t forget to review the files for tomorrow’s meetings once you’ve had a nap.”
Kai smiled at her bossy tone. The normalcy of her behaviour lightened his mood.
“Thank you.” He couldn’t remember ever having had a more stressful day in his life. He turned to Jonathan. His comforting presence made the entire situation tolerable. “How soon can I hire you for real?”
“I sent you an email with the paperwork. You can fill it out online then return it to Sin,” Jonathan said. “You should be more cautious, though. For all you know, I could’ve set this whole thing up and you’d be employing a murderer.”
Kai knew Jonathan had a good point—after all, how much did he really know about his new friend? He shook his head to dispel his discomfort. “I’ve made a lot of money from trusting my instincts. They tell me you only have my best interests at heart. I need a nap first, though. I don’t want to make decisions because I’m stressed. Could you hold off on being my potential murderer and take me home? I don’t think I can drive.” Kai tried to keep his voice steady, but he knew it shook at the end.
Stress and exhaustion beat down at him. He needed his big bed and an hour or two of darkness to rest.
Jonathan nodded amiably. “I’ll try to curb my homicidal tendencies until later. Let’s get you home.” He held out a large hand to help Kai up.
He gratefully accepted the assistance. Locking his knees so he didn’t tumble to the ground, it still took him a minute to gather the strength to walk out of the conference room.
Jonathan’s supportive hold on his arm was the only thing keeping him upright.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Jonathan said, his warm, deep voice soothing Kai more than anything else had that day. At least one good thing had come out of this entire debacle—Jonathan.
He let Jonathan keep an arm around him while they walked to the elevator. The ride down to his car was made in silence. Jonathan didn’t try to pump him for information or give him any platitudes of how things were going to be all right. Instead, his quiet presence did more to soothe Kai than a million words wrapped around him.
“Why don’t we take my car?” Jonathan said. A gentle touch to Kai’s hip herded him towards the visitor’s parking section.
“Okay.” It wasn’t like he could drive with his fingers shaking and his knees still trying to wobble out from beneath him. He knew it was shock making him behave so passively but he couldn’t gather enough brain cells to argue.
Jonathan led him to a silver SUV. He must have looked really bad because Jonathan opened the passenger door, tucked him inside then buckled his seatbelt before slamming the door shut.
Once Jonathan was settled in the driver’s seat he turned his attention back to Kai. “Is it all right if I take you to my place? I don’t know if yours is safe right now.”
“My sister is there,” Kai argued. “If it’s not safe, she needs protection too.”
“No, she’s at work,” Jonathan countered. “I had a tail put on her.”
“But I haven’t done my paperwork yet,” Kai said. They’d seemed pretty focused on turning in the right forms. He’d doubted they’d start any duties without everything filled out.
“I know, but I didn’t want her to go around unprotected because we didn’t have time to file papers. Your sister is important to you. I want to help you keep the people you love safe.” Jonathan’s brown eyes bored into Kai.
“Take me home with you. I don’t want to be alone,” Kai confessed.
Maybe it was almost losing his life twice in twenty-four hours, but Kai needed to lie in bed and just be held. He hoped Jonathan could help him.
Chapter Four
Jonathan couldn’t keep his gaze from drifting to Kai. He’d almost lost him today. He could’ve called and discovered Kai dead in his own office. Who could want to kill this adorable man? For the first time since he’d left the military, Jonathan considered himself to be in a war zone. No way would he let enemy fire reach Kai if he could stop it.
During his talk with the police, Kai had mentioned Nelson Andrews and Jeni’s old lover Deke, both of whom had possible motives. Which of the two of them would be willing to hire a hit man or possibly be skilled enough to do it themselves, he didn’t know. He doubted a soft executive would have the backbone to pick up a weapon himself and mechanics weren’t exactly snipers. More information would emerge once Patrick got back to them about the background checks. The company had put a rush on the job in order to try to narrow down who might want Kai dead.
Worry gnawed at Jonathan. He’d have Patrick reorganise his schedule so he could watch Kai himself. It was completely against company policy, but he didn’t give a damn. No one could protect Kai like he could. They could use someone else for Jeni unless the pair were together. He could watch them if they were in the same location. Otherwise they needed two security personnel.
He clenched the steering wheel with the same amount of force he wished he could use on the shooter’s neck, only easing off when his right hand began to cramp. He’d find out who threatened Kai, then he’d take care of it.
“Hey—easy, babe.” Kai’s silky voice washed Jonathan’s irritation away.
“I’m the one who’s supposed to be calming you,” he reminded Kai. He darted a glance over at Kai. Kai’s calm gaze met his. The shocked expression he’d worn before had faded and a glint of determination now filled his eyes.
“I’m fine. I’ve moved past shock and fear and I’m going into the time-to-kick-someone’s-ass phase,” Kai said.
“No! You aren’t to touch anyone. That’s what I’m for. Even if we discover who’s behind this all, you let me and the police handle it. I don’t want you injured because you thought you were going to be John Wayne.”
“But I’ve always loved westerns,” Kai protested.
Jonathan gritted his teeth and took several slow breaths before answering. “Shoot-outs are only fun in the movies.”
Kai gripped his shoulder. “Military?”
Jonathan nodded. Luckily, his town house came into view, allowing him to avoid further conversation on a topic he’d prefer to stay away from. Kai could discover Jonathan’s secrets after they had taken care of Kai’s problem. Jonathan needed to appear invulnerable to his future lover. Kai had to have confidence in his protector. Who would trust someone to keep them from harm when they still jumped at shadows and hid from nightmares?
“Cute place,” Kai said into the sudden silence.
“Thanks. I’ve been living here for about a year. I still have some boxes in my garage, but overall I’ve settled in.” Jonathan let out a long sigh at the change in subject. “Come on in. I’m sure I’ve got something to drink.”
Jonathan turned off the car then got out, walked
around and opened Kai’s door.
“I could’ve done that,” Kai protested.
“I know, honey, but just let me take care of you for a bit,” Jonathan coaxed.
“I’m usually the one taking care of people. I’m not used to being the one taken care of,” Kai confessed.
“Well, get used to it.” Jonathan couldn’t explain his compulsion to protect Kai. His friends had always teased him about his ‘hero complex’, but he’d never truly wanted to be anyone’s hero until now.
Jonathan wrapped an arm around Kai and led him up the short flight of steps to his front door. He quickly disengaged the security system, ushered Kai inside then locked the door behind them.
“Nice,” Kai said as he scanned the living room.
“I’m glad you think so,” Jonathan replied. He’d painted the room in warm caramel tones. He had needed the cosiness after his bad dreams and couldn’t stand the impersonal white someone had painted it before. It had reminded him too much of the many hospitals where he’d visited his injured friends. Luckily, his landlord was ex-military and had understood.
The couch had chocolate brown microfibre upholstery that matched the overall look of the room. After a bad dream, Jonathan often sat on the couch and watched old movies as he rubbed the soft material with his fingers. The floor was covered in warm wood. Scattered pieces of blown glass added colour to the otherwise brownish room.
“Do you do glass blowing?” Kai asked his eyes focused on a bright red glass bowl.
Jonathan shook his head. “No. I have a friend, Chris, who’s getting his MFA in fine arts and he’s always bringing pieces over. He ran out of room in his apartment so I offered to let him keep them here. He switches them out every now and then. They don’t really belong to me—they are sort of on an ever-rotating loan.”
He smiled as he thought of his vibrant friend. Once a month, Chris showed up on Jonathan’s doorstep with a box of glasswork and a bag of Jonathan’s favourite doughnuts. It was a system that worked for them.
Kai frowned. “What kind of friend?”