“I’ll have to check your surveillance camera footage and see what you left out.”
Rafe laughed. Sebastian wouldn’t be able to see what Rafe had because the cameras were only positioned to catch anyone climbing the gates or walls. Rafe wanted his privacy. What if someone broke into his home and stole his surveillance tapes? And saw him shifting as a wolf? And shared that with the world? So there were no security cameras on the inside or around the pool shower, just on the walls and entryways.
“So what do you want me to do?” Sebastian asked.
“Just act your usual charming self.”
“Ha!”
Rafe raised a brow as they got back to their training.
“Around her? You want me to act my usual charming self? I can see me losing my job in a heartbeat.”
Rafe let out his breath. “Nothing can come between us if she’s here for nefarious reasons.”
“So it’s okay if I see her socially afterward? Once the truth is out in the open? If she’s not really up to something too bad? Just something small?”
A slow smile appeared on Sebastian’s face, and Rafe realized he was giving his personal assistant the look that said he was ready for a wolf fight—and not in play.
Sebastian continued to smile. “That’s what I figured. The lady is all yours.”
Derek had stopped punching the bag, waiting to see how this all played out. Then he swore under his breath and started hitting the bag again. “Hell, here I thought I had a shot at her.”
* * *
“What are you doing here?” she growled when she saw her brother sitting on her patio watching the view. He was trying to appear relaxed, but he was drumming his fingers impatiently on the table, his body tense.
Jade didn’t want her brother to hear her sprinting heart, the fear racing through her blood. She had never expected Kenneth to sneak into her room. Was he here to threaten Toby further?
“I paid for the place. Seems only fair that I can drop in when I feel the need.”
To watch her? Make sure she was doing what he wanted her to?
“You’ve got a good start. Eating with him. What’s next?”
“We’re running tonight.” She hated having to tell Kenneth anything, afraid he’d think she wasn’t doing enough, fast enough.
“How’s that going to help you learn where Rafe’s brother is?”
“Kenneth, if you have a problem with gambling debts, I told you I’ve got money saved. You can have it. Just give me Toby back.”
Her brother was out of his chair in an instant with his hand at her throat, pinning her to the wall. He didn’t squeeze her throat, just locked on it, his eyes narrowed in anger. “You don’t know anything about it. It’s none of your affair. Just do this and you’re free.”
Her blood had turned to ice. She’d never seen her brother in such a rage. “Toby—”
“Yeah, and the damn brat.”
“He’s your nephew, your flesh and blood,” she said, tears in her eyes. She hated showing how emotional this made her when all she wanted to do was hurt him, like he was hurting her.
“He’s no kin of mine.” Kenneth released her. “I’m watching you. So just keep that in mind. And get the job done.”
Then he left.
Wiping the tears off her cheeks, Jade tried to compose herself. She couldn’t look like she’d been crying when Rafe saw her next. She checked her neck, but Kenneth had been careful not to bruise her.
How much did her brother owe Grayton? If Kenneth wasn’t accepting her savings in payment, he probably owed way more than she could afford.
But she still couldn’t understand what Rafe’s brother had to do with any of this.
Her room phone rang, and she jumped a little. She grabbed it up, answered, and Fiona said, “I just wanted to check to see if everything is all right. A man just walked through the lobby, and when I asked if I could help him, he said he was your brother and was just dropping by to check on you. I hadn’t seen him come in earlier, must have been in the little girl’s room for a sec. I know a Kenneth Ashton paid for your room. Was that your brother?”
“Yes, thank you. He said he’d be checking in every once in a while.”
“Okay, good. Had me worried for a moment.”
Jade couldn’t believe her brother had dropped in on her. If only she could get ahold of Lizzie and offer to pay her the savings to turn Toby over to her. But Jade knew Lizzie had every intention of being the coleader of the pack, and freeing Toby was not the way to earn Kenneth’s affections. Damn him.
* * *
Around six, Jade got a call from Rafe, saying he was downstairs. She was surprised he had arrived so early. She couldn’t help worrying that her brother was somewhere just out of sight, watching their every move. She suspected some of his men might be, but the fact that Kenneth was here meant this had to be really serious business. Not that taking her son hostage wasn’t serious enough.
As soon as she met Rafe in the lobby, Jade saw Fiona smiling, her cheeks flushed as she talked to him.
Rafe was smiling, congenial, but as soon as he saw Jade coming down the stairs, he said, “Got to go.” He slipped his arm around Jade’s shoulders, which she really hadn’t expected, and headed for the door.
“Have a nice night,” Fiona called out.
“Thanks,” they both said.
As soon as they were outside, Jade whispered a warning to Rafe. “That photojournalist who took a picture of us at the restaurant? His name was Mr. Marks, and he met me here and asked all kinds of questions. He’s probably watching us now.” She didn’t want to pull away from Rafe, but she didn’t want to give Marks the impression something really was going on between them. She didn’t want to give Rafe that notion either.
Rafe led her to his Ferrari, and when she got in, he shut the door for her and stalked to the driver’s side. Once he was seated and took off for his place, he said, “No problem. As long as it doesn’t bother you, I don’t have any trouble with it.”
“I don’t, but I didn’t want you to have any.” She sat back against the seat. “You didn’t wait until seven.”
“I came early, just in case you wanted to get some dinner,” Rafe said. This time he was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a black T-shirt.
“Someplace casual.” She was wearing a pair of pale-blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a floral blouse, but she had a hoodie too, because she figured she’d need it for the cooler ocean breeze later that night. She hadn’t planned on dinner, and her stomach was fluttery from apprehension. How long could she play her role without being caught? “How’s your foot?” She was afraid he might still have difficulty running on it.
“Much better.”
“So you can run all right as a wolf?”
“Yeah, it’s healing just fine.”
She’d expected him to drive her to his house so they could run along the beach.
When he drove away from the coast, she felt a bit panicky, her skin prickling with unease. “Where are we going?”
“Someplace where I love to get away and run.”
“Far from here?”
“A ways out.”
When he pulled up to a small airport, she stared in shock. “We’re flying somewhere? You don’t mean to run at the airfield, I take it.”