“What time is this to ring?” Hone demanded.
“Six isn’t early.”
“It is when you have a willing woman in your bed.”
“That better not be Cassie,” Jack snapped, his attitude reminiscent of the Jack of old, before Emma smoothed his rough edges.
“There was trouble at the motel last night. A prowler. Cassie had to call the cops.”
“Crap. She okay?”
Hone heard Emma prattling in the background. He wasn’t surprised to find himself speaking with her instead of Jack. Knowing she’d want to talk to Cassie, he returned to the bedroom. Cassie was propped against his pillows. He took a moment to savor the sight before handing her the phone. Emma continued to prattle and squawk.
“Emma wants to talk to you.”
He handed over the cellphone, and she shivered at the hand-to-hand contact. His taniwha sighed happily. Interesting.
Terrifying.
No. No more touching. He stepped back. Away.
“Hi, Emma.” Cassie listened, held the phone farther from her ear. “Emma! I’m okay. I rang the police and—”
Emma interrupted. “Why didn’t you ring me?”
Hone eavesdropped without shame. Knowledge was power. Heneededto know this woman.
“Hone came. It was late and I didn’t want to wake you and Jack.”
“What will you do about the concerts?” Emma demanded. “Someone ran you off the road and you had to report a prowler. You’ve been home days. Days! You shouldn’t be on your own. You need security. What if it’s a fan? A smart one who’s figured out the truth?”
Hone dropped onto the side of the bed, pretending interest in sleep. Fan? Concerts? What the hell was Emma babbling about?
“When is the first concert?”
“Saturday.” Cassie dissected his expression until he felt like a nuisance bug. Seemed her vision worked okay this close. He shut his eyes a scant second before her gaze tickled over his face.
“What about security?” Emma demanded.
“Didn’t think I’d need protection. This is New Zealand, not the States.”
“Hello?” Emma screeched so loud even Hone winced. “Prowler? I’ll talk to George, see if he’ll give me time off to bodyguard you while you’re performing.”
While Hone digested this, he heard Jack’s curse of protest.
“I can afford to pay for security.” She glanced at him, and this time Hone stared back openly. “We can discuss this later. I have things to do today.” She hung up on Emma mid-lecture.
“Why do you need security?”
Cassie wet her lips. “I want a confidentiality agreement before I answer that.”
Hone froze. “I’m your friend. Emma’s friend. I’d never hurt you.”
“My last boyfriend—Kevin—I found him in bed with another couple. We’d been together for almost a year. I was planning on forever with him.”
“An agreement won’t prevent me from fucking around,” Hone spoke bluntly, but he took his phone and hit speed dial. “Dad, do you have free time this morning? Good, I need to see you. I’m bringing someone with me, and we need a non-disclosure contract. Nine? Sure, that works. See you then.” He hung up and turned to Cassie.
His dragon purred, ecstatic at their proximity.
