Model Bodyguard (Haven Investigations Book 2)

by Lissa Kasey

  Jacob glanced up. “What?”

  “Kisten was dead, given something before they slit his wrists—trying to make it look like a suicide.” The police hadn’t released the bit about drugs in his system yet so I couldn’t imagine Jacob knew. “Odd coincidence, don’t you think?”

  Jacob was frowning at the table, shoulders tense, obviously thinking hard. I waited. Hoping he’d tell me something, give me a name. Anything.

  Ollie yelped, making me realize my grip on him had tightened too much. I let him go, resting my hand on his hip instead. “Sorry, baby,” I whispered to him, nuzzling his cheek. He sighed softly.

  Jacob wouldn’t look at me anymore. He stared at his coffee like it held all the answers.

  “Stay here for me, please. Maybe watch one of those animes you were telling Jacob about? Just for a few hours,” I said to Ollie. I wanted Ollie nowhere near this case anymore. Fuck, this was all going to shit.

  “Okay,” Ollie grumbled, his voice was still rough with sleep and I loved it. “But just until lunch. Then you either meet us somewhere or be back here for food.” He glanced at the kitchen and wrinkled his nose. “We need to go grocery shopping. You come home with sushi and all is forgiven.”

  I laughed and kissed him, lifting him until I could set him on the seat beside me. “Deal. And since I only have a few hours, I better get going.” I checked my gun, put a jacket over it to keep the natives from getting wary, and took my keys from the peg, still fuming. Ollie accompanied me to the garage, giant frown on his face. I kissed him again, hoping to remove the frown.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked quietly.

  “He knows,” I said. “I’m almost certain of it.”

  “Who knows what?” He yawned and stretched.

  “Jacob knows who’s doing all this. The blackmail, the toys, and who probably killed Kisten.”

  “How do you know that?”

  I sighed and threw my hands up in the air, not sure how to explain. “He knows something.”

  “Okay. Maybe he suspects someone, but doesn’t want to name names until he’s sure?”

  “It’s my job to look into those things. It’s what he hired us for.”

  Ollie crossed his arms over his chest, lower lip taking a beating from his teeth. “I’ll ask him about it. If he says something, I’ll let you know right away.”

  “Find out who abused him, Ollie. I think this all goes back to that.”

  “But that was years ago. When he started the tour. You really think they are still around?”

  I did, but the anger wasn’t getting me anywhere. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath, imagining the anger and tension releasing with it. Ollie waited, and when I opened my eyes, stood close. “Let me talk to Joel. Maybe I can get it out of him.”

  “You’ll be back for lunch?”

  “Yes,” I promised. He accepted another kiss from me. I shoved him toward the door. “Keep an eye on the rock star.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  THE DRIVE took almost an hour. I spent the entire time thinking—probably too hard—about Jacob’s past and who was connected to him. I had my suspicions. Now I just needed confirmation. The perp was obviously smart, as he’d left little actual evidence of what he was doing. But I was certain it was all tied together now: the articles, the toys, and even Kisten’s death. Jacob was someone’s obsession, and his attempt to close himself off from that person forced their hand. Or at least that’s how the perp would have seen it. If I could get confirmation from Joel, I’d confront him, maybe get a confession I could take to the police. Either way, this all needed to end.

  Tomas called and I stuffed the phone clip in my ear so I could answer. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Finally talked to the last reporter guy.”

  “Yeah?”

  “He had no idea what I was talking about.”

  I frowned. “He was denying it?”

  “No. I don’t think so. I caught up with him and met him for coffee early this morning. Either he’s a really good actor or he’s legit. Had no idea who Jacob even was. I played a song or two for him and he shrugged, saying he was more a classic rock guy.”

  “So someone was using his name? Did you find the right guy? Maybe someone with the same name?”

  “As much as I can be sure. Ollie’s the one who tracked him down. Has he ever been wrong with one of his background checks?” Tomas pointed out.

  “No.” But background checks only told so much of the story. “Classic rock? He was an older guy?”

  “Yeah, probably late forties, maybe early fifties.”

  “Can you cross-reference all of Jacob’s family and staff with him? See if he knows or knew any of them in the past?”

  “You have a hunch?” Tomas asked.

  More than a hunch. “Yes, and I’m on my way to confirm it right now. Send me a text when you’re done?”

  “Sure,” Tomas said and wished me luck before hanging up. Everything was starting to fall into place. Unfortunately, that made my gut churn with anxiety as I found a place to park and wondered what Kisten had known that had gotten him killed, and if he’d told Joel or maybe Joel had told him….

  The inpatient facility was pretty high-end. Even in my many stays in mental institutions as a youth, I’d never had one this nice. It was decorated like a swanky hotel. The staff were dressed like doctors and nurses, but instead of uniform colors, it was designs like ice cream cones and teddy bears. The outfits almost felt juvenile, but the few residents we’d passed as a male nurse showed me to the meeting area had all been adult.

  I’d had to put my gun in a safe. No weapons allowed in the building. I didn’t have a gun safe in my car, and hadn’t thought of it until that moment, but the facility provided safe places for all personal items. I was to leave my phone and any other device that might show the residents media, which made sense.

  The room they brought me to was styled as a sitting area with plush chairs and large windows that let in a lot of light, but I knew they had to be at least coated with break-resistant material. Throwing furniture at windows to try to escape, even if it was just to fall to their death, was common in facilities like this. I’d tried it a time or two myself.

  Joel came in looking tired, eyes red and puffy. He wasn’t the fashion plate either of his older brothers was. His hair was long, falling into his face, messy. And he was thin, almost painfully thin. I hoped they were making sure he ate while he was here. His outfit was plain gray cotton, shapeless, but free of ties and the sort of thing that ripped easily. If I hadn’t known what to look for, I wouldn’t have noticed that there were no tissue boxes in the room, or throw pillows, and all the furniture was secured to the floor.

  An orderly accompanied him, showing him to a seat, then taking a place beside the door like a guard. Joel tucked his bare feet up under him on the couch and wrapped his arms around his knees, looking more like a wounded twelve-year-old instead of the twenty-seven-year-old he was. I silently cursed Jacob for not telling me what I wanted to know and making me come here to badger his mentally ill brother for answers.

  “Hey, Joel,” I said to him. “I’m Kade, Ollie’s boyfriend, and a friend of Jacob’s.”

  “You’re pretty,” Joel told me.

  “Thank you.” I gave him a small smile.

  “Not as pretty as Ollie, but pretty. I like how your hair curls. Kisten used to wish his hair would do something other than flop around his head.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” I told him. Truly sorry.

  Joel let out a long breath, buried his face in his hands for a minute before looking back up at me with wounded eyes. “Emily said you’re keeping Jacob safe.”

  “I’m trying,” I promised him. “But I need your help.”

  Joel shook his head. “I can’t help. Kisten’s gone. There’s no more help.”

  “You’re getting help here,” I reminded him. “You’re letting them help you.” I really hoped he was letting them help him.

  “Mayb
e.”

  “Would it help if Jacob came to see you?” Had any of his family come to see him? I frowned, thinking I should ask if I could see his visitor log before I left.

  Joel stared at me, expression unreadable. “You think he would? He’s important. Has to go sing for people.”

  “His family is important, and you’re his family. I bet he’ll come see you if you want him to. I can tell him.”

  “He didn’t go to see Josh when he was sick.”

  “Ever?” I asked, not believing that. Jacob was detached from his family, yes, but I didn’t get a total loser vibe from him. “Josh was in and out of the hospital, right? Did Jacob ever visit him?” I prayed the stupid rock star had at least shown that much compassion.

  Joel seemed to think for a minute, then shrugged. “In the beginning. He actually had to reschedule a bunch of shows after Josh’s first suicide attempt. Levi had a fit because he had to reschedule everything and pay some big deposits back.”

  “That was before Emily took over as manager?” I clarified.

  “Yeah. Emily was better about rescheduling.”

  “Is that why Jacob wanted her to take over?” That had been on my mind for a while. If Jacob already had a manager, why did he need his sister to take over? Couldn’t Levi have just hired accountants if the work was too much? I imagined a manager to a rock star probably paid better in both money and prestige than an accountant did.

  Joel shrugged.

  “Someone still wants to hurt Jacob.”

  His eyes widened. “But you won’t let them. Emily said you were a Marine. I’ve seen a lot of movies with Marines. You’re like ninjas, only American.”

  I swallowed back a laugh, because we were so not ninjas, though it was cool to be compared to one. “I won’t let anyone hurt him, but I need to find out who is trying to hurt him. Do you know who that might be, Joel?”

  Joel buried his face in his knees and hugged himself tightly. “No.”

  Okay, so much for direct. “Did someone hurt you, Joel? Like when you were a kid? Did someone touch you?”

  “Kisten said it’s in the past. We can’t let the past define us. He protected me. Wouldn’t let anything happen to me.” He hugged himself tighter. “I’m all alone now.”

  “That’s a great philosophy,” I admitted. “But I need to know who hurt you so I can keep them from hurting you again. You’re not alone, Joel.” I decided to throw my suspicion out there and see if I caught anything in my net. “Was it Levi?” Because who else had been there their entire life? Who else had access? Who else had Jacob tried to quietly push aside, only for his sister to turn around and marry the bastard?

  Joel looked away.

  “Has he tried to hurt you lately?”

  “Emily says I’m safe here.”

  “Does Emily know that Levi is the one who hurt you?”

  He shook his head, fists clenching and unclenching against his thighs.

  A thought occurred to me. “You told Jeremiah you were next. Did Levi threaten to hurt you? Did Levi hurt Josh?” Abuse him? Maybe even kill him. “Like he hurt Kisten?”

  Joel’s eyes went wide again and he shook his head back and forth violently. The guard moved from the door. “No no no no no no no,” Joel was chanting. The guard gripped Joel’s hands and pulled him off the couch, crushing him in a hug that put Joel’s face to his chest. It was visceral. Something I’d never seen in a medical facility before, but it worked. Joel clung to the man, and the guard, orderly, whatever he was, whispered soothing words. I didn’t think I was going to get anything more out of Joel.

  “Thanks, Joel. I’ll have Jacob come as soon as he can, okay?” I told him.

  Joel didn’t answer. He just seemed to be melted in the arms of the man who held him. I wondered if Kisten had done this for him, and cursed myself for not solving this soon enough to save him. Dammit.

  I made my way back to the locker, strapped my gun back on, and flipped over my phone to find I had almost a dozen missed calls from Ollie. It wasn’t after lunch, but it was getting close, so I wasn’t late yet. We’d agreed on a late lunch around two to give me enough time to drive back, pick up food, and meet them at the house. It was just after one. His calls had begun almost an hour ago.

  What the hell? Was something wrong at home? Had the media found them? Or worse, had Levi shown up on our doorstep? My blood turned cold. I dialed Ollie back, a little frantic to sign out of the facility and get back to the SUV. If I rushed I could make it back to the house in forty-five minutes. If I drove like Ollie normally did, maybe thirty. Fuck.

  There was also a text from Tomas stating that the only person the last reporter had in common with Jacob was Levi. They’d gone to college together, been roommates, but other than both knowing accounting, had nothing else in common. Fuck!

  Ollie answered breathlessly on the third ring just before I was about to panic. “Hey,” I said, happy to hear his voice.

  “I lost Jacob, but I think it’s okay. I think I’ve found him. I just need to pick him up and yell at him. Sorry, I was totally freaked out,” Ollie said in a rush.

  “Wait, what? You lost Jacob? Did he crawl into the vents?” I asked, hoping for a bit of lighthearted humor instead of the heavy shit we were wading through.

  “We went for coffee. Jacob complained he wanted some venti mocha something or other.”

  “What? I told you not to leave the house.”

  “I figured we’d be back long before you were. Just in and out of the shop. I paid for his coffee and turned around and he was gone. Like poof. I checked the bathroom, asked everyone and he was nowhere.”

  “Okay, back up. He had coffee at my house. Why did he need to leave? You can’t tell me he was that desperate for some $10 fluffy coffee that he had to go. He drank his coffee black this morning. No sugar or cream.” He had seemed to be pretty happy just relaxing and watching bullshit shows with none of his family around.

  “I don’t know. I was going over the financial stuff. He was asking questions, then got real quiet and said he needed a real fucking coffee. Told me if I didn’t take him to get one, he’d call a cab and bail. What was I supposed to do? Just let him leave?” Ollie had to be on his hands-free phone clip because I could hear noise around him from the road and the inside of the car. Adele was on the radio. “I don’t get why he just abandoned me at the coffee shop. If he had to go somewhere, why not take me with? It would have been safer.”

  “What financials, Ollie? What was he asking about?” Something Ollie had found made sense to Jacob and he’d bailed. I hoped it was because he didn’t want to chance Ollie getting hurt, and not because he thought himself invincible. “Where did Jacob go?” I got in the SUV.

  “To his bus. The tour one that was supposed to be renovated. There was an account set up, but no money ever put in it.”

  “So the renovations never happened,” I said.

  “Maybe. Probably not. I don’t know. Why would that piss him off enough to bolt? He could just buy a new bus.”

  “With all his toys on board?”

  Ollie snorted. “Minor changes. His old bus had a St. Andrew’s cross that pulled out of a closet like an ironing board. But everything else was just attachable restraints and easy to move stuff like benches. There’s storage for that stuff when the bus is moving, but there’d be storage on a new bus too. He said his changes to the bus were for his privacy. A wall between him and the driver, and he was no longer sharing the bus, so I assume that means he wanted the custom pull-out sofa bed removed.”

  I didn’t want to think of Ollie on Jacob’s little pleasure bus or how Ollie seemed to know it so well. “Okay, so he’s going to look at his bus to see if any of the renovations were done. Where’s the bus? I’ll go pick him up.”

  “I’m almost there,” Ollie said.

  “Oliver,” I said tightly.

  He let out a long sigh and gave me the location. It actually wasn’t that far from me since I was already close to the edge of the city limits. “I’
ll be there before you anyway. I’ll call you when I get there. It would be stupid for both of us to drive all the way out there and he’s not there.”

  “But you think he is,” I pointed out, and Ollie had pretty good instincts.

  “One of the people at the coffee shop said they saw a cab. I called the company, claimed I was a cop, and demanded to know where they were taking the fare.”

  I swore. “Impersonating a cop….”

  “How is anyone gonna know? Anyway, I’m less than ten miles out. It’s fine. I’ll drag him back to the house.”

  “I’m on my way to you now. I will probably be right behind you.”

  “It’s fine, Kade. Really. I’m just going to go pick him up.”

  But something wasn’t right about this whole thing. I put my hands-free in my ear, switching to it as I turned on the car. “Any idea why it wasn’t funded?” Only I knew, didn’t I? Levi wasn’t going to be allowed to play anymore. Not with Jacob. Had he still been abusing Jacob after all these years? What accountant traveled with a band? On the same bus as a rock star? How had he convinced Jacob to let it happen? Blackmail? Threaten the family? Maybe the sister he’d married just to stay relevant? He really had Jacob by the balls, didn’t he? Since Levi had control of the finances for not only Jacob, but the entire family. Shit this was so messed up. “Baby, I think the bad guy in all this is Levi,” I told Ollie. “I wish you’d just go home and let me deal with this.”

  “Levi?” Ollie sounded confused.

  “Yeah. He’s the one who abused Jacob and Joel. Maybe even Joshua. Hell, he might have killed Josh. I don’t have anything solid on that yet, but the facts are niggling at me. The drugs in his system made to look like suicide and then Kisten….” There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. All I could hear was the sound of passing traffic, and the radio. “Baby?”