"She could talk to me," he grumbled.
"Oh, that would have gone over well.” She chuckled. “I understand you met one of her dates at the door wearing your shoulder holster."
He could feel heat creeping into his cheeks. "I’d just gotten home from work. And don’t tell me if you have daughters, that cop of yours won’t do the same thing."
She rolled her eyes. "He probably will, but I have a few years to worry about that.” She shrugged. “Anyway, she just needed a sounding board, and I was happy to be it every now and then. It was better than dealing with, well, you know.”
Her life. From an early age she had accompanied her father on the job. Conner was sure that she didn’t have many dates in high school, and not because her father didn’t allow it. John had been a shit father, that was for sure. No, it was because she was so focused on learning everything she could from him.
“Also, I’ve been chatting with her online for research. I’m writing a romantic suspense.”
“You need my sister for that? You’re ex-FBI.”
“I needed to get an answer about some procedures in Florida law that you have to deal with. Plus, I needed to know what it was like on the Miami scene. My book takes place there.”
“You could have asked me,” he said as the waiter showed up with their drinks.
“You don’t answer your emails.”
He made a face, but he couldn’t argue with her on that. He had been bad about answering emails and keeping up with friends all around. Unless it had to do with the job for the last year, he hadn’t made much time for anything else.
She sipped her coffee then looked at him over the rim of the cup with an expression that reminded Conner of her father. Maria might not be made for the FBI, but she wasn’t a shrinking daisy.
“And don't think you got me off track. She said you had chest pains. Please take that seriously."
"I'm here, aren't I?"
She shook her head. "Somewhat, but not really. The only reason you don't have updates from the office is because your sister won't let you have them.”
“She called me this morning about work, so maybe you should be talking to her about not stressing me out.”
“If she did, there is a good chance she had no other choice. She controls Zeke better than she does you."
"I don't know why he does that. Boy should know better than to let a woman boss him around.
"I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that he's in love with her."
That gave him pause. "What makes you say that?"
"He's a big tough man, and he's doing what she wants. He's your friend, but he does what she wants.” She shrugged. “He's in love."
He pushed that aside. It was bad enough he knew they had some kind of sexual thing going. Conner really wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew that their trip to Hawaii the year before had been the precipice for it. It had only gotten worse since they’d returned. Love was another matter, one that he didn’t even want to contemplate himself, let alone his best friend and only sibling.
"So, you're getting married?” he asked.
Her smile widened, and she looked so young. He knew she was about the same age as Jillian, but he had always thought of Maria as older. Now, though, she looked younger than his sister. In all the time he’d known her, he had never seen her smile like that, and it did his heart good to see it.
"Isn't he cute? I just couldn't keep my hands off him."
He shook his head. "How did you meet?"
"The Dom case. I put myself undercover."
"Of course you did.”
"He liked women who looked like me.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal. “It worked."
And in her mind, that was what was important. It was one of the reasons he’d walked away from the FBI. Anything to win the case wasn't his way anymore. He was relentless, but he definitely wasn't a man who would think putting himself into a trap was a good idea. Not when he’d had his sister to take care of at the time.
"And so you met with Carino when you came here to work?"
She smiled at him. "Yes. He wasn’t too happy about having to play with the FBI, but then he started to like it. A lot.”
The conversation was starting to metamorphisize into something he knew would embarrass him. She might have been his trainee, but Maria had been almost like a younger sister to him.
“Do you know what you’re doing with him?”
“He’s marrying me, isn’t he?” She laughed. “Oh, my God, your expression. Yes, I do know what I’m doing with him."
He let one eyebrow rise as the waiter set the plates in front of them.
She laughed. "I do. He lets me be myself, and I like that. He was the first person in my life who didn’t really look at me as Callahan’s daughter.”
“I didn’t see you that way.”
She shook the salt over her scrambled eggs. “No, you saw me as a little sister, and I saw you as a big brother as soon as I got over my crush.”
“Crush?” he asked.
“Yeah, when I was about sixteen, I had a major crush on you.”
He felt his face heating, and she laughed. “I got over it when you told me I wasn’t that smart. I was a little crushed, but then I proved you wrong.”
He remembered the case then. Maria had been convinced the killer was a woman, and they all told her she was crazy. She had been proven right.
“You have to come to the wedding," she said, breaking into his thoughts.
"I didn't get an invitation."
She frowned. "I sent you one a month ago."
Shit. He probably did get one, but he missed it thanks to his work. "Well, then I'm coming."
"I'm registered at Macy's.”
“Who said I’m buying you anything?”
“I did, and it better be nice or I’ll tell Maura. It’s this Saturday at the Hilton chapel. Dress is Hawaiian formal, which means anything can go,” she said with a laugh.
"Yeah? Can I bring a date?"
"Sure, especially if it's Jillian Sawyer. I had no idea you knew her. I would love to pick her brain."
"Why?"
"You do realize she is considered one of the smartest authors out there, right? She always hits the New York Times and USA Today. She had a huge contract with NY publishers and walked away from it. She was one of the first authors to sell a million downloads. I would love to talk to her about it."
And it was then that he realized he didn't know. He never asked her about her work. It was a habit of his because there was so much of his job that he couldn't talk about, so he tended to not discuss it at all. But now he realized that he should have.
"Well it is, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Since you both live here, it would probably be easy for you to hook up. How about next week?"
She laughed. "You haven't changed.”
“What?”
Maria shook her head and swallowed a sip of coffee. “Conner, I'll be on my honeymoon."
He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you would be on a honeymoon. Where does someone who lives in Hawaii go for a honeymoon?"
"Tahiti. I have always wanted to see it, so Rome made it happen.”
From the looks the cop had been giving her the other night, Conner was pretty sure if she asked for a trip to Venus, Carino would probably figure out a way to do it.
“I don’t have to ask you if he makes you happy, because he apparently does.”
“He makes me feel whole. That’s all that matters.”
And that is when it hit him. When he had been in bed with Jillian that morning, he had felt something squeeze his heart. Instead of comfort, it had felt like something had grabbed him by the balls. He was desperately falling for Jillian. There was a part of him he held back from everyone, but not Jillian. She might have to tug it out of him, but he could be himself with her. He just didn’t know what the fuck to do about it. Laying it on the line would leave him vulnerable, and he wasn’t about to do that.
“Conner?”
/>
He shook his head and noticed that Maria was staring at him with concern. “What?”
“Are you okay? You look a little odd there.”
He shook off the feeling and smiled at her. “Yeah. Just realized something, but I will work it out.”
She opened her mouth, but he held up his hand. “No, really, I’m fine. Tell me about your book.”
And, he did his best to concentrate on her and not his worries about Jillian. Although, he had a feeling that no matter what, Jillian would always be there in his mind. And that scared him more than anything he’d faced in his life.
* * * *
Jillian returned from her run on the beach a little more exhausted than usual. It had been a few days since she’d ran, and truth was, she hadn’t been pushing herself during the last few days of her last book. The edits had gotten to her, along with the worry of Conner coming to stay with her. Now that he had been there a week, she knew she had been bad about getting out. Plus, add the sex to the equation and she was a little more worn out than she had expected.
As she approached her front door, she saw a package sitting on her doorstep. She frowned at it and then looked around the area. She saw Mick working on his bike.
"Hey, Mick have you seen anyone around here?"
He looked up from his bike. "No, love, sorry. I was out on the bike."
It was just a plain manila envelope with her name scrawled across the front of it. Gingerly, she picked it up between two fingers and shook it. It didn’t sound like there was a lethal toxin in it, she thought with grim humor. She opened her front door and kicked it shut behind her. She walked over to her kitchen and opened the envelope. Glossy pictures spilled out onto the table. Her heart stuttered to a stop.
They were pictures of her. On the beach, on her lanai, with Conner. Jesus, there was even one with her in her bra and panties. The front door opened and she whirled around, a scream lodging in her throat when she saw Conner. He was smiling until he saw her face. The happy look dissolved.
"What's wrong?" he asked and rushed to her.
She handed him the pictures. She watched his face harden even more, his eyes steel when he looked at her.
"Where did you get this?" he asked. His voice had gone cold. A chill ran down her spine, and she had to cross her arms to try to warm herself.
"It was sitting on the front step when I came back from a run."
He carefully set the pictures down on the table and pulled out his phone.
"You're the only one who touched it?"
She nodded.
“Did you see anyone, anyone at all?”
She shook her head. “Mick was here when I got home, but he’d been out on a ride.” Plopping down onto a chair, she shivered. "It's creepy."
"It's criminal is what it is.” He was already dialing a number before she could stop him. She didn’t want to, but there was a little part of her that worried. It would cause a ruckus, and she definitely didn't want it getting out to the public. She didn’t want anyone to see the sickness in the pictures.
He apparently read her expression. “Don’t even think about shrugging this off. Your name is on the front, and it wasn’t mailed. Someone knows you live here.”
She hesitated the barest of seconds then nodded. It was stupid not to have it checked out. Still, maybe they could keep it under wraps and she could keep her location secret. She enjoyed being another transplanted mainlander.
"Hey, Maria, I was wondering if Rome was around. We have a situation here with Jillian."
He was quiet for a second. "Rome, yes, it seems that Jillian might have a stalker. Sure." He rattled off the address.
He hung up and looked at her. "Thanks for not fighting me on this. I have a feeling we would lock horns, and while I would win, you wouldn’t be that happy with me.”
She rubbed her arms again. She had been so hot just minutes before, and now she couldn’t seem to get warm. "That would be stupid. I’m just not that happy about having a cop in my house. They tend to stick their noses into things.”
He gave her a grin that damn near stopped her heart. "What about me?"
She stared at him for a second then said, "You don't count. You're not FBI anymore, and well, you are kind of good in bed. So, I can forget about the cop thing. Unless you have some handcuffs we can use."
“Later,” he promised as he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. His body heat warmed her, and she started to shiver. The enormity of the situation hit her then. It seemed like such a simple thing, a plain envelope. But it had changed everything. Now she thought about everything she had done the last few days and wondered how much of it the creep had watched.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice vibrating against her ear.
She nodded and snuggled closer, taking the comfort he offered. The raw scent of him tickled her senses and somehow calmed her. She sighed. "I hate to say it, but I kind of missed you today."
He brushed his mouth against her temple. "I missed you, too. Did you keep yourself busy?"
"Wrote a few thousand on the new project. Then needed a run. I've been bad about that lately."
"You run?" he asked with enough surprise that she looked up at him.
"Yes. Do I look like I am out of shape?"
"No, it's just that running just doesn't seem to fit. I just thought you were naturally this shape.”
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, what does that mean?"
He sighed. "You’re so ‘go with the flow.’ Living in the moment."
"Most of the time. But, with my career, I can't be too lazy. I find running keeps my mind focused. And I do spend most of my day in the chair. At the rate I eat, that could lead to disaster."
"Yeah, your career…"
She looked at him, but there was a knock at the door. She walked over and had her hand on the knob, but Conner stopped her. He gave her a look that told her it was stupid to even think of opening it.
"Who is it?" Conner asked.
"Mick and Adam."
He sighed with a hint of irritation and opened the door.
"We just wanted to check on Jillian."
Conner was blocking her from stepping in front of him. She could feel the testosterone rising in the room. "Why would you do that?"
"Because of the envelope," Adam said.
"What do you know about it?" Conner asked, and she heard the accusation in his voice.
With a groan she smacked him on the ass. He glanced over his shoulder at her with a look that told her she was pushing it a little too far.
Jillian rolled her eyes. "I asked him about it. He was working on his bike in the yard. God."
She pushed Conner aside. "Conner's already called the police."
She could tell that Mick wanted to ask more, but he glanced toward Conner and decided against it.
"Well, if you need anything, you have our numbers. We asked Jamie if she saw anything, and she didn't."
"Thanks, guys."
They were walking down the steps when a dark sedan pulled off Kam Highway and into her driveway.
"I guess that’s your friend and her cop. That was quick."
"They live in Laie and were on their way home. They weren’t very far away when I called." He watched them get out of the car. "Oh, and two warnings. Maria wants to ask you about writing, and we're going to their wedding this Saturday."
With that, he walked down the steps to greet his friends. The grim expression on his face was mirrored by the cop. He didn’t look very happy. She didn’t know if it was the situation or the fact that he had been on his way home. It was then that she realized Conner hadn’t asked her to go to the wedding, he’d ordered her.
She didn't mind taking orders in the bedroom. If she had any doubts, last night and this morning had taken care of that. In fact, thinking about what he might do next time they were in bed had her body humming with need. Still, it didn't mean that she was going to accept him telling her what to do outside of the bedroom.
They would
have to talk about it later because that wasn’t really important right now. She followed him down the stairs and went to talk to the detective and his fiancée.
But they would talk about it. She might be a submissive when sex was involved, but the man needed to learn that she ran her life and no one else.
Chapter Eleven
Conner watched as Rome looked over the letter. He might not be who he expected Maria to end up with, but Conner was damn happy he was on the HPD. Anyone with that determined look in his eye would definitely be of some use in this. He’d pulled a pair of gloves out of a box in his car and slipped them on before touching the pictures. Maria had brought in a plastic bag that Rome was now slipping the pictures into.
"I can have the lab take prints off it, but my guess is that the bastard didn't leave any." He looked up at Jillian. "Have you had issues with stalkers before?"
She shook her head.
"Are you sure?" Conner asked.
She rolled her eyes. "I think I would know if I had a stalker."
"No, not always," he said.
Her eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth, but Maria stopped her.
"There’s always a chance that you’ve had one and had no idea. Many times the first indication people get is an attack."
She shrugged. "It would be hard to track me. I doubt very much this is someone interested in me because of my books. I know that people are never safe, not in today’s world, but I’ve taken measures to make it harder for anyone to find me."
"What do you mean by that?" Maria asked.
"All of my mail goes to a post office box in Atlanta. My PA picks it up and handles it."
"Does she send it to you?" Rome asked.
Jillian glanced at him. "No. She scans it and emails it to me. I really don't get that much physical mail since people use email more often."
"And she’s the contact on your website?" Maria asked.
Jillian nodded.
"Then we need to know what she doesn't forward to you. There might be some of it she just deletes."
"Anyone could track you through her," Conner said.
"I don't know how. I have a direct deposit that goes into her account monthly. I am an LLC that is based in Georgia, so all my banking is done there. No one knows where I live."
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