“Fine. Mushroom and Canadian bacon. Cream, although I’ll agree with you on the Irish part. I devour books, and not just romance books either, thank you very much. I prefer horror or thrillers. Which is exactly what I love in my movies. Classic rock will work, although you need to mix in a little heavy metal. Wine. Margaritas occasionally. I’m not much of a hard liquor girl, but you give me a milkshake and I’ll drink you under the table. And yes, I adore chocolates, especially chocolate-covered cherries. Yummy.”
“You are now officially making me thirsty. And very, very hungry.”
We both laughed for a few seconds, but the heaviness of what we were dealing with was never far from our minds.
Another bout of extreme nervousness filtered into my system. As I rose from the table, I was surprised how shaky my legs felt. The freeing moment faded, my thoughts skittering once again at the ugliness that life could be.
“I promised Briana I’d always take care of her. You have no idea how angry I am at myself. She’s just a child, completely innocent and I abandoned her. I’m a terrible sister. After everything she went through, years wasted, my God.” I pressed my fisted hand to my head and within seconds, he’d taken it into his, suddenly standing right beside me. He was dangerously close, the sweep of goosebumps nothing in comparison to the heavy throb between my legs.
“Listen to me. And I seriously want you to pay close attention to what I’m about to say. Okay?”
Even though I tried to pull my hand free, he refused to allow it, tugging me closer until I felt the need to anchor myself. I did so by placing my palm against his chest. As always, the rush of vibrations from the touch was stifling, but he had a tremendous way of making me feel as if there was no one else in the world. “Okay.”
His smile was brief. “I don’t know what the two of you went through, but I completely understand the complex and sometimes insanely annoying sense of protectiveness found in older siblings. My sister was infuriating when not terrorizing my brothers or offering her sweet smile while trying to win one overon me. It took me a very long time to both realize and accept that she was her own person and there was little I could do to prevent her from the dangers of the outside world. Other than to be there for her. She made her choices and you bet I’ve felt guilty. More times than I can count, but even if I’d managed to alter her decisions, I knew in my heart she’d resent me for the rest of my life. Try and give yourself some slack.”
There was such a haunted look in his eyes that I was momentarily captured by the harsh reflection. While short lived, it allowed me to experience one of the darkest, most intimate portions of his life. If only by standing on the outside looking in. My reaction was involuntary, the subtle profoundness of his words exactly what I needed. I leaned into him while wrapping my fingers around his shirt. “Thank you.”
Very slowly he lowered his head, leaving me breathless, an ache forming that rattled my senses.
And in that moment, all I could think about, all I hungered for was for him to kiss me. Yet as if the magic had been shattered by an unseen force, we both pulled away.
The strangeness of the emotions was overwhelming, enough so I turned away from him.
“Do you honestly think we’ll find her? Or save the other women? Bring the justice you want so badly? I know that’s what you want to happen and for some crazy reason that defies logic, I do trust you, but those men are dangerous.”
Kendrick took a deep breath, staring off into space for a few seconds. “Come with me.”
After grabbing the stack of sketches and with his grip on my hand firm, he dragged me from the kitchen, heading downthe hallway and up the stairs to a door that had been locked. When he opened the door, I was shocked to see the number of computer monitors and systems lining one wall. On another were smaller monitors highlighting what appeared to be every inch of the house, including cameras pointed toward the ocean.
“What is this place?”
“Call it command central. We all have one, although mine is much less sophisticated.”
“What happens here?” I was fascinated, walking closer to the security monitors. In watching nothing but the waves churning against the shore, I had a sudden more intrinsic comprehension of the level of danger existing in the darkest corners of the city.
As Kendrick flanked my side, he pointed to another console. “As I mentioned before, within our group, we have people skilled in everything from hacking to effective breaking and entering into the most secure facilities. And yes, we employ criminals as they provide information that we would otherwise not be able to obtain. We have worldwide connections allowing us access to highly secure data from financials to every dirty little secret used in manners of blackmail and extortion. We use every covert method available to get what we want. And we are very successful.”
Another shudder caught me off guard as I fully comprehended what he was sharing with me, trusting me. “You take the law into your own hands.” I don’t know why the pieces were finally forming into an intricate puzzle, but they were. Now I realized the group he was a part didn’t simply cross the line of lawful and unlawful; they obliterated it. “How many people have you brought justice to?”
“Six or seven, give or take.” The sly smile on his face was a clear indication details wouldn’t be forthcoming.
“This must cost a fortune.”
“Four of the five founding members have plenty of money, including Maverick, the guy who owns this place. I assure you he can afford the glitz and glamor of million plus dollar systems given his illustrious writing career.”
“Maverick?”
“Maverick Callahan.”
I had a sudden death grip on his arm. “The author? Please tell me you’re talking about the author ofKill Me DeadandThe White Silence.”
He laughed subtly as if remembering a conversation, hanging and shaking his head. “You’re a fan. Fabulous.”
“Are you kidding me? I have every book he’s ever written on the bookshelf in my bedroom. He’s the most dynamic author I’d ever read; his colloquialisms and the captivating way he describes the darkness every one of us have inside is phenomenal. He is without a doubt the man I’d most like to meet and share dinner with. You know, to ask questions.”
I couldn’t quite decipher his expression, but I had a sense he was a wee bit jealous. For a few seconds, he regarded me in silence, his sapphire eyes sharp.
“Of course after you and I have a proper dinner together.”
