A Little Harmless Faith

by Melissa Schroeder

  The sound of the tow truck brought him out of his thoughts. He started back on the path to her.

  “Jensen,” she said, her voice wavering a bit. He could tell she was trying to hold it together, but she was seriously close to losing it.

  “I think you could have come up with a better way to avoid a video conference than plowing into another car.”

  She gave him a sad smile.

  “Is there anything wrong with her? Can she go home?” he asked the EMT.

  He shook his head. “She’s fine. No signs of concussion, but she should rest tonight.”

  “I’ll make sure of it. Come on, love. I’ll take you home.”

  “I need to talk to Ms. McCann first,” someone said from behind him. A uniformed cop had a pen and pad out.

  “She needs rest,” Jensen insisted.

  “I need to tell him what happened, Jensen. It’s better if I do it now while it’s fresh in my memory, right?” she asked the cop.

  He nodded and handed her his card. “My name is Officer Tanaka. Can you tell me what happened?”

  She nodded. “I came up to the intersection and the light turned yellow. When I hit my brakes, nothing happened.”

  “What do you mean?” Tanaka asked.

  “The brakes. They didn’t work. My car just kept moving ahead.”

  “When was the last time you had the brakes checked?”

  “I don’t know. It’s a rental.”

  “What company?” he asked. Jensen rattled off the company’s name.

  “I need your contact info because we will probably need to talk again,” he said.

  “Where’s my purse. I have cards in there.”

  Jensen spotted it behind her in the ambulance. He grabbed it.

  “Where?”

  “I have a card holder in there. I can get it.”

  “You will sit there and let me find it.”

  She didn’t look happy about it, but she did as he ordered. He found them easily and handed them to Tanaka. “We are going to be here for another week, but she can be reached at that number. If we need to stay longer, just let us know.”

  “Of course, sir. I hope you’re feeling better, Ms. McCann.”

  “Mahalo,” she said. He smiled and made his way back to the other officers.

  “You said the brakes went out?”

  She nodded, then winced.

  “What?”

  “My head and neck hurt. I didn’t hit anything, but I am still a little out of it.”

  “Let’s go home.”

  “Yes. I could do with a long soak in the tub.”

  She slipped off the jacket and handed it to the EMT. “Mahalo.”

  He led her up the sandy hill, trying his best not give into the urge to lift her into his arms and carry her. Nicola would not appreciate that. He helped her into the car.

  “Give me a second. I want to give them my card too,” he said. She really was out of it because she only nodded, then closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat. He was just glad that he had kept the convertible from the rental company for another day, so he hadn’t had to show up in the limo.

  “Tanaka,” he said. The officer turned.

  “Did you need something?”

  “Yes. Here is my card. I’m going to make sure she rests and that means stealing her phone and hiding it. If you need anything, call me. Tomorrow she will be back in fighting form, but today she needs to rest.”

  “Of course,” he said taking the card.

  “Does it mean something that the brakes went out?”

  Tanaka shrugged. “Could just be that the rental company didn’t keep up the maintenance, but that seems odd for them, especially for the luxury cars like that one. We’ll investigate, which will mean sending the car to have it inspected, especially the brakes. We will figure out what went wrong.”

  “Thanks.” He made his way back to the car and it struck him. She had driven along that road in the morning, the twists where cars were dangerously close to the edge. If the brakes had gone out that morning, she might have gone over the edge. He could have lost her.

  He stopped at the back of his car, waiting again for other vehicles to drive by. Once he got in, he looked over at Nicola. She was sleeping. At least that was something. He started up the engine and pulled out when the road was clear.

  One thing was certain, he would find out what happened and whoever was at fault would pay.

  The next morning, Nicola was sitting at the bar in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She frowned.

  “Are we expecting anyone?” she asked loud enough for Jensen to hear in his office.

  He stepped out and headed in the direction of the front door. “Not that I know of.”

  She heard the murmur of male voices, then Jensen reappeared with a man walking behind him.

  “Nicola, this is Detective Rome Carino.”

  She studied the man. He was as tall as Jensen, but where Jensen was lean like a swimmer, Carino was built like a linebacker.

  “Good morning. Would you like some coffee?”

  “No, thanks. I wanted to talk to you about your accident yesterday.”

  “Why don’t we go into the living room?” Jensen suggested.

  “That sounds good,” Carino said.

  Jensen took her hand and led her into the living area, like she was an invalid. He had been treating her that way since she came home the day before, and it was starting to piss her off. Still, she said nothing because she couldn’t forget the look on his face when she first saw him at the accident scene the day before. His haunted expression had told her he was more shaken up about her accident than she was.

  After they settled on one couch, Carino sat on the opposite one.

  “Before we begin, I thought you might explain why a homicide detective is here to talk to us,” Jensen said.

  “What?” she asked, and Jensen showed her Carino’s business card.

  “It’s what we found and because I got a call from Conner Dillon.”

  “The man who handled our security at the house?” she asked.

  “Yeah, we have a history and similar interests. Anyway, when the word came down about the car, we thought we should handle this one differently.”

  “What the bloody hell are you talking about?”

  “The brake lines had been cut.”

  It took her a second to absorb that information.

  “The brake lines?” Jensen asked. “You’re saying someone did it on purpose.”

  “Yes, and whoever it was did it well. Are you the main driver of the car, Ms. McCann?”

  She nodded. “Since we rented it when we arrived.”

  “So, tell me,” Carino said. “Who wants you dead?”

  17

  For a long moment, neither he nor Nicola responded to the absurd question.

  “Kill me?” Nicola asked, her voice sounded so small. Jensen slipped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

  “Yes. We found a tiny hole in the brake line. It tells us that either the person didn’t know what they were doing, or they were very crafty.”

  “Why would that make them crafty?” Jensen asked.

  “It means they knew it would be a slow leak, so they would be safely out of the area. Seeing where you had your accident tells me you were very lucky.”

  She nodded. “I drove to my friend Serenity’s house that morning in the opposite direction.”

  Her voice shook, and he pulled her closer. Jensen hated this. He hated the entire situation.

  “I hear that you’re here for some business.”

  He nodded. “We’re negotiating a deal with the Johnson family on Maui.”

  “You’re buying them out?”

  “No, they are making us minority partners, which allows us to invest some money and then have the possibility to make money later.”

  “Was anyone protesting? The Hawaiians take their land very seriously, especially these last few years.”

  “No.”


  “Oh, but what about Michael?” Nicola asked.

  “Who?”

  “Michael Johnson. He is Robert’s son. He was definitely opposed to the deal.”

  Before they could continue, the doorbell rang.

  “Bloody Grand Central in here today,” he said as he went to the front door. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but he refused to believe anyone would want to hurt Nicola.

  When he looked through the peephole, he saw Alfie. He opened the door.

  “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

  “Sorry, I stopped by because I heard what happened with Nicola. Is she okay?”

  “Yes, although I’m not sure for how long. How did you get in?”

  The gate was open. I made sure it closed when I came through.”

  Dillon had given Carino the code, so Jensen assumed he left the gate open. “Come on in. How did you find out?”

  “I came over this morning from Maui, but I checked in with the Johnsons. They told me.”

  He led Alfie back to the living room, but there was a part of him who didn’t want Alfie there. He felt guilty for it. Not because of their friendship, but because he knew Alfie was harmless. He’d lost most of his friends when his father had lost their money, so Jensen had gone out of his way to stay on friendly terms with him.

  “Nicola, I just found out and came over,” he said, taking Jensen’s seat next to Nicola. Jensen did everything he could to control the growl vibrating in his throat. Nicola had made it clear in the past that Alfie was not to her taste, but Jensen still didn’t like him sitting next to Nicola.

  He got a look from Carino that told Jensen he knew of his interest in Nicola. He made a motion with his head.

  When he stood, Nicola said, “Wait, do you need to talk about this more?”

  “I’m going to give him the contact details for Michael. We’ll be right back.”

  The glare she sent his way meant he was going to pay for this.

  “Are you talking about Michael Johnson?” Alfie asked.

  “Yes,” Jensen said. “It’s a long shot since he lives on Maui.”

  “But I saw him here. He was down hanging out at the Wailana Coffee House this morning. He said he was staying at the Hilton.”

  “You talked to him?” Nicola asked.

  “Yes. You think he had something to do with this?”

  She opened her mouth, but Carino stopped her. “We’re going to talk to him, that’s for sure, but I don’t want to jump to any conclusions.”

  “Of course.”

  “You said he’s at the Hilton?”

  Alfie nodded.

  “I’ll have some officers go down there and make sure he stays put so I can question him.”

  “I want to go too,” Jensen said.

  Carino shook his head. “I really don’t think that is a good idea.”

  “Either I go with you or I follow you.”

  He wasn’t happy with the situation, but Carino was smart enough to know that Jensen meant what he said.

  “Alfie, do you mind staying here with Nicola?”

  “Sure,” he replied.

  “I can take care of myself.”

  He sighed. The woman was a pain in the arse a lot of the time. It was probably one of the reasons he loved her.

  “May I have a word with you?”

  She frowned, and if they had been alone, she probably would have told him to bugger off. But, with the audience, she behaved. She rose and followed him into the foyer where they had a little privacy.

  “I don’t need to worry about you.”

  “I can take care of myself. My father taught me how to defend myself.”

  “Did he now?”

  She nodded. “He didn’t like that Mama and I were out on our own. He wanted to make sure I could defend myself no matter what the situation.”

  “Even so, I would feel better if he were here.”

  “I wouldn’t,” she said.

  “Why not?”

  “I know he’s your friend, but he gives me the creeps. It makes me feel bad to admit.”

  “We’ll only be an hour or so, then I can come back and kick him out.” He took her hand and pulled her into his arms.

  She smiled at him. “Okay.”

  He knew it probably wasn’t a good idea, but he bent his head and kissed her. He meant for it to only be a simple kiss, but he felt himself falling fast. It didn’t matter where they were when he kissed her, he didn’t seem to be able to keep it sweet. Instead, he wanted to devour her. For once, he listened to his better instincts and ended the kiss.

  He heard a sound and glanced over to see Carino waiting on them. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

  She nodded, and he kissed her forehead. She walked with them to the door and waited until they both got into Carino’s car before closing it.

  “So, along with the call I got from Dillon, I got one from Ross,” Carino said as he started the car.

  “That’s where I have seen you before. I take it you’re a member?”

  He nodded. “My wife and I both are.”

  “Ah.” Jensen glanced at the detective. “I would appreciate it if you keep things about my relationship with Nicola quiet.”

  “Trying to keep it secret?”

  “For now. I just don’t need the irritation my family would cause if it leaked out to the press.”

  “They don’t approve of her?”

  “Good God no. My mother would be thrilled and would start pressuring both of us. Plus, we have other issues.”

  “Unless there is a reason for it to come out in the investigation, I see no reason why it should be an issue.”

  “Good. Now,” he said, as Carino headed toward the heart of Waikiki, “let’s go find this bastard.”

  By the time they arrived at the hotel, Michael was already detained in his room by a couple of HPD officers. When they walked into the room, Michael’s face was white as the sheets on his bed. He looked like he had sweat out enough moisture to fill the Super Pool at the Hilton.

  Anger shifted through Jensen. He curled his fingers into the palms of his hands as he tried to ignore the need to beat the man to a bloody pulp. He lunged forward, unable to really control his rage, but Carino stopped him and pushed him away.

  “I don’t want to have to arrest you for assault.”

  “I should have known you were behind this,” Michael. spat out.

  “Why would you say that?” Carino asked.

  “He’s trying his best to get control of my family’s resort.”

  “You’re an idiot,” Jensen said. “We already have a verbal agreement, and I would have signed the papers if you hadn’t tried to kill Nicola.”

  “Nicola? You mean Ms. McCann? Why would I want to hurt her?”

  “You thought it might help your cause.”

  Carino shook his head and motioned for Jensen to step back. He did, but he started to pace in the small space. It was the best he could do now.

  “What are you doing on Oahu?”

  He glanced at Jensen. “I came here to meet the VP.”

  Jensen stopped pacing. “Alfie? Why would you meet with him here?”

  “He’s been here for days. I came over because he said he had a way to save my resort, plus stick it to you. That man doesn’t like you bruddah.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Jensen said approaching him. Carino stepped neatly in his way.

  “He doesn’t like Wulf?”

  “No, hates him more than I do.” He leaned over so he could make eye contact with Jensen. “He wants to see you ruined.”

  Carino looked at him. “Could this be true?”

  “I don’t see how.” He looked at Michael. “Are you sure?”

  He nodded. “Truth is, I thought he wanted to ruin you financially, not hurt Ms. McCann. I wouldn’t be okay with that.”

  Carino’s phone buzzed. He looked at the number. “I have to take this.”

  He stepped away and Jense
n moved closer to Michael. Calmer now, he tried to think through the last few years with Alfie. Was what Michael saying right? Did Alfie hate him? He had never done anything wrong, other than the usual boyhood pranks. Hell, he gave Alfie a job when he needed it.

  “Are you sure he said these things to you?”

  Michael nodded. “That’s why Dad didn’t want to work with him. He said he couldn’t be trusted.”

  “Wulf, we have a problem. Michael, these officers are staying here until we get this all cleared up.”

  “Am I under arrest?”

  “If that’s what keeps you here, then yes, you are.”

  Carino walked out the door leaving Jensen to jog to keep up with him.

  “What’s going on?”

  The detective pushed the button for the lift. He held up his phone. It was the parking lot at the Aloha Tower Marketplace. He watched it for only a second when he saw Alfie approach the rental car, then slip beneath it.

  “The bastard.”

  “Yeah. They sent it over to see if it was Michael. Call her. Now.”

  He started calling her, but her phone kept going to voicemail. If he had been worried yesterday, it didn’t compare to the terror he felt chilling his blood now.

  “Fuck me,” he said as they stepped onto the lift. “Nicola, it was Alfie who screwed with your brakes. Carino and I are on the way.”

  He heard Carino order more cops and an ambulance.

  “Dammit. She didn’t want him there. Told me he bothered her.”

  “We’ll get there in time,” Carino assured him.

  “Is that why you ordered the ambulance?”

  “I never leave anything to chance. Just pray that he hasn’t realized that we know about him.”

  And for the first time in a long time, Jensen did just that.

  Nicola couldn’t seem to calm her nerves. She’d felt jumpy and irritated since Jensen had left with the detective. She would like to blame it on the situation and not her companion. They were still sitting in the living room watching TV, but she had sat on the couch opposite of his. There was always something off about Alfie. Since first meeting him, she didn’t trust him. She knew that he wasn’t that happy when Jensen got clean. He would pretend, but every now and then, he would make an offhand remark that told her he was a user. Part of it was his behavior toward Julienne. She had told Nicola that he had tried to hit on her when she was barely seventeen years old. Jules tried to steer clear of him ever since. That should have told her something.