Chapter 17

chapter seventeen

F or 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 Ma ma 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 Jensen 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.

Nicola looked at the clock and realized she didn’t know where her phone was. Jensen had taken it away the day before, so she would sleep, but she wanted it now. Rising, she started toward his office That would be the one place she thought Jensen would keep her phone. She found it on his desk, but it was turned off, so she booted it on.

“What are you doing?” Alfie said from the doorway.

She jumped and turned around. “Oh, Alfie. Wow, you scared me a little. I guess it’s because I am so jumpy since the accident yesterday.”

She saw a voicemail from Jensen from about fifteen minutes earlier. Clicking it on, she listened. Nicola, it was Alfie who screwed with your brakes. Carino and I are on the way.

She looked at Alfie and knew in that moment, he understood what had just happened. He pulled a small revolver out of his jacket pocket.

“I really hate that it has come to this.”

“Why?”

“Why do I hate that it came to this, or why am I going to shoot you?”

“Why are you going to shoot me?”

“Simple. It will hurt Jensen.”

“They know it’s you.”

“I gathered that from your expression. But, at this point, I don’t really care. Right now, I just want to make him suffer.”

“Why? What did he ever do to you?”

“He treated me like an outsider,” he said, his voice rising just a little. She knew if she could get him distracted by talking about himself, she might be able to get away or at least charge him.

“An outsider? How, by giving you a job?”

“No. At Wulf, only family members get the higher positions.”

“You are VP of Acquisitions. Did you really think you would get CEO?” she asked, inching closer.

“He was always talking down to me,” he continued ignoring her question. “The man treated me like a subordinate.”

“You are a subordinate. You work for him.”

“I’m better than him. My father made his millions on his own.”

“And from what I understand, he lost it all on his own too.”

“You bitch,” he screamed.

“And why all this hatred toward me? What did I do?”

“You helped him stay clean. Even when I came to New York while you were gone, and we went out, you took care of him. You are the one he needs, always. You don’t think I know you’ve started an affair.” He snorted. “Jensen was never that good at hiding his feelings. He’s been half in love with you for years, but the way he acted today told me all I needed to know.”

“So, you’re going to kill me and then what? Kind of hard to get away on an island.” She inched even closer, and he still didn’t notice. He was so insistent on explaining himself to her that he paid no attention to what she was really doing.

“I don’t give a flying fuck what happens. I just know he will suffer. Hell, he would probably start using again, and that would be a just reward, especially since I took him on his first trip.”

She blinked. “What?”

“I helped him score his first hit of heroin. Did Jensen not tell you? It was so easy really. He was drowning in all the responsibility of running the company when dear old dad died, so I took him out. Easy enough to get him hooked.”

Rage filled her as Alfie’s confession sunk in. They hadn’t been out partying together, that she could forgive. Alfie had known that Jensen already had a problem with drinking and hooking him on heroin would be easy.

“You bastard,” she screamed and rushed him. Alfie was ready for her though. The gun went off and she felt the searing heat of the bullet as it passed through her right shoulder. She ignored it and kept on until she could grab him. He smacked her across the face, and she temporarily lost hold of him. She tasted blood, but again, she paid no attention to the pain. She grabbed him once more and kneed him in the groin, then took him down on the floor. Nicola got hold of his wrist and slammed it until he released the gun. It slid across the floor out of his reach. She punched him, ignoring the searing pain in her shoulder. The crack of his nose bone under her fist had him howling.

Blood spurted, and he screamed. “You broke my nose, you bitch.”

Sirens sounded in the distance, and all of a sudden there were hands on her pulling her off of him. With what strength she had left, she tried to fight off whoever it was, but then she heard Jensen’s voice and realized it was him.

“Hey, love, come on. Carino will take care of him.”

She let him pull her into his arms. “He’s a bastard.”

“He is.” Then hugged her close, causing a shaft of pain to radiate from where she had been shot. She whimpered and he pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

The room was starting to spin. “My shoulder.”

Jensen apparently hadn’t noticed her wound. “What happened? You were shot?”

“Jensen, I’m really dizzy.” The room sped up around her as she felt herself falling into a dark abyss. Then she remembered nothing at all.