Family Bonds- Eli and Bella (Amore Island Book 6)

by Natalie Ann

  “That’s what you pay me for,” Griffin said.

  Eli shook his head. Griffin may be his head of security, but he was also his best friend. He was compensated well, but he’d rarely thought of him as an employee.

  Bella asked who had the other five percent. Griffin did. Though Griffin had no idea. Eli never told him. No one knew but Eli’s father, Mitchell Bond, and their lawyer, Hailey Bond.

  It’s not like Eli had asked Griffin to put money in. His father fronted a lot of cash for Eli to get the casino going. His brothers wanted in on the action too, but not enough to have a say. It was a family business and Griffin was family to him. So that five percent had his name on it just because of who he was to Eli. It’d been something he’d done a few years ago, lowering his percentage, and he had no regrets either.

  “Please. You don’t take orders from anyone and you know it.”

  “Nope,” Griffin said. “That’s how we got into that mess years ago. Seems like it’s full circle now.”

  “Also, it seems to have ended well enough for us. So, what did you find out today?”

  He hadn’t seen Griffin since this morning when he filled him in on Bella’s appearance and what they were being asked to do.

  “I did some poking around on Oliver and nothing stands out. He has some rivals like every businessman does. A few articles about some robberies of clients at his casino in the past few months but not much more. I didn’t dig too deeply as you said not to. I’ll continue to look into it and try to get a man on the inside, but I moved onto Benjamin Kingston’s family.”

  “And what did you find there?”

  “Old Southern money. Ben’s father, Vernon Kingston has a fairly large and successful law firm that has been in the family for generations. He should have retired long ago but still shows up daily.”

  Interesting. Sounded like a man not willing to let go of any control.

  “I’m going to assume Ben had a law degree too?”

  “He did. Funny how he didn’t go work for the family business but went his own way when it looks like it’s a family tradition.”

  “So a falling out of sorts?” Eli asked.

  “Not that I could find right away. He does have a sister who is a partner at the firm now. Most likely she’ll be taking it over at some point. Gretchen is divorced but has two children, Roman and Riva Carmichael. Both are attorneys for the firm.”

  “Definitely a family business and my guess some tension there.”

  “Could be,” Griffin said. “They are around Bella’s age. Roman is thirty-one, Riva, twenty-nine.”

  “And Ben’s mother?”

  “Deceased three years ago. She was eighty-three and died in her sleep.”

  “Bella hasn’t seen any family since she was young, she’s said. I wonder if she will want to try to reach out to them while she is here.”

  “She might. It’s best you know what you do beforehand,” Griffin said. “I’d like to think she’d keep you posted on it if she does. If she wants to contact or travel anywhere off the island. It will be harder to watch her if she leaves.”

  “She brought up transportation. I said there will be a car at her disposal at all times. I will leave that up to you to set up with one or more men.”

  “I’ll set a tracker on it just in case. I trust our drivers, but you never know. Can’t be too careful when we are going in blind.”

  That was what he loved about Griffin. His military mind never shut off. In the past that could have been Griffin’s downfall. For as much as Griffin backed him years ago, Eli would like to say he saved Griffin from himself.

  He supposed that was why Griffin wouldn’t ever leave his side or did what he asked even when he said he didn’t.

  “Nope. I think she is in for the night,” he said. “She looked exhausted.”

  “And there you were playing bellboy and all. You were in there long enough.”

  He narrowed his eyes at Griffin, knowing he’d have to watch his step there too. It wasn’t just Bella being watched but him also. “I had dinner with her and we talked. She’s been traveling for days and I woke her from a nap.”

  “And you know this how?” Griffin asked.

  “Aside from the fact her hair was messed up and her eyes had circles under them, she’d told me.”

  Her long blonde hair was tousled as if a man were running his fingers through it. Her blue eyes sleepy and sexy. Not fearful like they were when she’d arrived earlier this morning. Not darting around skittish either.

  She was almost relaxed in her suite and that was exactly what he’d hoped to accomplish. He hadn’t told her the letter from Oliver made it seem like she’d be here awhile. No reason to get her more worked up.

  This was going to be her home for the foreseeable future and she might as well get comfortable.

  The more comfortable she was here the easier it would be for him to keep an eye on her.

  “Your mind is going places again, isn’t it?”

  There was no use lying. “I can keep my mind on my job and the task at hand.”

  “You struggled to do it years ago,” Griffin pointed out.

  “How the hell do you know?” Eli asked. “You were drinking at the bar and sleeping in my room that week.”

  After he’d finally been released from security holding, he’d been stunned that Griffin wasn’t. When he talked to Oliver about what was going on, he’d cleared that debt but was told that Griffin wasn’t welcome to stay in a room or gamble anymore unless Eli was fronting it.

  Since he’d paid the debt off for Griffin, the guy had nowhere to go until he’d gotten his next check from the Army. He’d been on leave while he tried to figure his life out.

  Having a soft spot for those that served, and knowing Griffin had some demons he was struggling with, it seemed best to give him a spot on the couch in his suite.

  Next thing he knew, Griffin was traveling with him again and Eli realized Griffin was exactly what he needed in his casino.

  “They had some good shit stocked in those rooms.”

  “They did,” Eli agreed.

  “And one night when you’d had a little more than normal you’d spilled your guts to me.”

  “Ass,” Eli said, shoving Griffin. “I’d hardly spill my guts to you.”

  “You might have said you thought she was hot and wanted to get her in your bed, but it’s not like you had the room to yourself.”

  “You didn’t take the hint and leave,” Eli said.

  “And have to save your ass from security when they found out. Shit, man, they had you in a holding cell for talking to her.”

  He couldn’t stop the laughter. “I guess you did save my ass back then and plenty more times since.”

  “You’ve got a soft spot for blondes. Normally you go for the strong type. Bella is the only one I can remember since I’ve known you that is different.”

  “She was. And she is,” he said. He’d never felt like he needed to protect someone much in his life, but Bella had pulled at him even then.

  He remembered her looking at the security back then while she did her job. Then she mentioned today that she was used to being watched. It wasn’t a life he’d want to live and he was going to try to let her spread her wings while he kept an eye on her.

  He could do both. He felt he owed it to her to not feel like she was running scared.

  He owed her a lot without her knowing. Her uncle was the one he learned the most from in that one week. He was grateful for the time spent with Bella, but it was the time with Oliver that helped him build what he had.

  And it was Bella that led him to Griffin.

  There wasn’t enough money in the world to repay that.

  6

  Unspecified Time

  “Thanks for taking the time to talk with me,” Bella said several days later when Eli came to her room.

  She’d seen him a few times in passing. She texted him when she left the resort and explored the island. It’d taken her a few days
to do that though.

  She made use of the spa and the beach. She read books; she did some research on Amore Island and briefly her father’s family.

  She played tourist and it got old. She was bored.

  “Not an issue. Are you having a problem with anything?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  He lifted an eyebrow at her terse tone. “What’s that? Why haven’t you said anything before now?”

  “I’m bored. I can’t do this another day, let alone weeks. I was told not to contact my uncle or anyone else back home. They’d reach out to me. I’m starting to think I better make myself comfortable for a long stay. Has anyone reached out to you?”

  “No,” he said.

  “But I know you must be trying to find my uncle,” she said.

  “He asked that I didn’t,” he said.

  “And you wouldn’t care and would do it anyway,” she said.

  “Griffin has been poking around and has come up empty. He’s not doing too much, so he does not draw attention to it for now.”

  She nodded, suspecting as much. “So back to the reason I wanted to talk to you.”

  “You’re bored,” he said, grinning at her.

  That boyish grin of his was back to tormenting her sleep. Just knowing he was within reach and at her disposal if she needed him hadn’t made this time easy by any means.

  “I am. I’d like to work.”

  “No,” he said.

  “Yes. Give me something to do.”

  “You’re on vacation.”

  “Could you sit around and do nothing for more than a week let alone an unspecified amount of time?”

  He laughed. “I could barely do it for a day, but this isn’t about me.”

  “Please, Eli.”

  “That’s the first time you’ve said my name to my face.”

  She paused, not realizing that. “Sorry.”

  “No reason to apologize,” he said. “Just stating a fact. I like the way it sounded.”

  Interesting. Maybe he was thinking of her as more than someone he had to watch out for.

  “Then, Eli,” she said, grinning. He was smiling right back, his dark eyes almost smoldering. Oh yeah. She knew desire when she saw it. She wasn’t one to have a vacation fling. Never. Not that this was a vacation. But she suspected Eli was a pro at it and she’d be wise to remember that about him. “I’d like you to put me to work.”

  He lifted an eyebrow at her. “Doing what exactly?”

  “I work for my uncle. I’m not going to profess to know as much as you about running a casino, but I’ve worked in one since college. I run all the entertainment from a higher level but had to be on the ground too. That’s how we met. There has to be something for me to do here.”

  “There is always something to do here. But you aren’t going on the casino floor as a dealer.”

  She shuddered. “No. I mean I know how they do it, but I couldn’t handle that.”

  “Why?” he asked. “Something tells me you could handle just about anything.”

  No one had ever said that to her before. “Why do you say that?”

  “I know it seems to many you have a sheltered life, but you really don’t. In your youth you traveled the world. You are soft spoken yet firm when you need to be. You’re cultured. Smart. Multi-lingual. I’m sure you speak more than French.”

  “Spanish. Enough to be understood if need be. A little German too.”

  “I learned enough to get by when I traveled. I could almost always find someone who spoke English.”

  “And you stayed in places where it was easier, I’m sure,” she said.

  “I did. My point is. You aren’t sheltered. You are guarded by many and even guard yourself. You lost your parents young and were on your own with a man that spent more time running his business than bonding with his niece.”

  He was hitting close to home. “I wasn’t that close to my parents either. Not like you might have been with yours.”

  She’d noticed Eli talking to an older man once on the floor. One that looked very similar to him. There was laughter and caring in their gestures and she suspected the man was Mitchell Bond. When she’d gone back to her room she’d looked up Eli’s family and found pictures of his father and brothers.

  Even when she flew with Egan to Boston, the younger Bond had been talkative and friendly. Nothing like the man of a family that was worth billions. Maybe Egan didn’t have the kind of wealth his brother or father had, but he had his own.

  The Bond family seemed down to earth. Something she’d never experienced in her life. Even with her parents. She’d always had to be on her best behavior. There were eyes on her at all times.

  Boarding school was no different.

  As an adult, working for Uncle Oliver, eyes were still on her.

  Now, it was only Eli’s. She’d like his eyes on her another way but wouldn’t dare say that.

  “I’m sorry for that,” he said. “But take this time to try to be someone you haven’t been. There is no reason to work.”

  “I already feel different than I have. Maybe in some ways, it’s like the princess getting some freedom, though I’m far from royalty.”

  She had a lot of wealth from her parents’ death. Her mother was worth much more than her father. She wouldn’t have to work a day in her life, but it was what she wanted to do. She enjoyed it.

  Not having access to her money didn’t bother her. She knew this was temporary. She didn’t have time to make arrangements and her uncle never led her wrong, so if he felt there was a reason she had to leave, then she’d do that.

  But she’d be damned if she was going to sit in this beautiful room or on the beach the whole time.

  “That’s good. Keep doing that,” he said.

  “I’m not going to spend my days at the spa or salon. I can only take so much of sitting on the beach in the sun. Though this island is beautiful and I’ve explored it, there isn’t a lot in terms of shopping and I’m going to need more clothes than the two suitcases I came with.”

  “So you need to go shopping for a day. I’ll take you to Boston.”

  She sighed. “I’m sure you are very busy and don’t need to take a day off. Let alone spend it shopping with me. I would like to go but can take the ferry over like everyone else.”

  “No, Egan can fly us there and back.”

  She hated that not only was he not understanding but also making her decisions. “That is one day. You’re missing my point. I’m good at what I do at the casino. Let me help you here.”

  His shoulders dropped and Bella felt she was getting through to him. “What is it you want to do? You tell me.”

  “You’ll let me work?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “If I’m in the casino it’s easier for you to keep an eye on me.”

  “Now you’re playing with me,” he said. “You could also work in my office next to me and I’d be able to watch you.”

  She wasn’t sure if the chills in her body were from annoyance or excitement but pushed it off. “Is it working?”

  He laughed. “You’re much more outgoing than I remember. Long gone is that skittish girl looking over her shoulder at the security.”

  “I lost that years ago. Security is always around. I know it. Subconsciously I just know they are watching, but they don’t make me nervous.” It was like a shadow that was always present even on a dark day.

  “Let me talk to Griffin in regards to having you walking around. In the offices that is easier.”

  “Really? You’re going to put it on him and make me feel like I did years ago.”

  “I didn’t think you’d hit below the belt like that.”

  She grinned. “So it is working?”

  “You don’t know?”

  “I’ve never tried it before,” she admitted.

  “You’re killing me here. I don’t know too many women who wouldn’t want to just take this time and enjoy themselves.”

  “I’m not
like a lot of women.”

  “So I’m seeing. It also happens that my director of marketing is going out on maternity leave for eight weeks.”

  “When is she going out?”

  “In a week,” he said. “Or so she hopes. It’s a planned delivery. She has assistants that can and have been ready to step up in her absence.”

  “I won’t step on anyone’s toes, but being one person down, there has to be something for me to do. Anything. I’ll seat people for shows.”

  “Let me talk to Robin and get back to you.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  “It wasn’t hard because you got your way. And I’ll talk to Egan about flying to Boston tomorrow to get some shopping done.”

  “Really?”

  “I’m sure you’re going to need clothes to work.”

  Her smile was massive now. She got her way. Damn, that felt good. The guilt over manipulating him was gone. She’d never been one to do that and didn’t think she was now. She thought her request was reasonable.

  “I will.” She’d noticed that many wore black and she didn’t have a lot of black clothes with her. The boutiques and supercenters on the island weren’t going to offer much in the way of clothing options for her.

  “You can wear what you want. We are business casual. I’m not going to make you wear black like most of the staff. There is no reason for it. I’m sure you’ll be moving around. Be comfortable and wear what you want when you want once I figure it out.”’

  “Thank you, Eli,” she said. “See, I said your name again.”

  He shut one eye to look at her. He was accommodating and playful at the same time and she was getting a glimpse of the man from six years ago that had flirted with her but went no further. She hadn’t known if he wasn’t interested in anything more than being charming or if he was fearful of her uncle’s security.

  It was nice to see him being more himself with her than she’d seen of him with others.

  As she moved around the casino and resort she’d seen him often talking with guests and staff. He was smiling, laughing, grinning, slapping people on the back.