All I Need Is You (6 page)

“We need to talk.”

Matt stepped forward then and Eli realized he hadn’t even greeted him. He stuck out his hand. “Thanks for getting to her so quickly.”

Matt returned the handshake and glanced over at Kay. “I’m just glad she came easily. I thought she was going to deck me when I interrupted her studio time.”

“I thought about it,” Kay muttered behind her mug. “Am I in danger? What’s going on?”

Eli retrieved the envelope he’d tucked in the inner pocket of his coat. He sat on the edge of the couch tentatively. “Does this look familiar to you?” He opened it and the cat figurine slid out and into his palm.

“Hey! I have one just like that.” She reached out to touch it and then her gaze settled on Eli. “I have one exactly like that. What’s going on?”

He held out the note next. “Someone sent this to me at ASI headquarters. It had to be checked by my mail department before I opened it, so I didn’t see it right away. It was sent last week.”

Matt leaned over and, after reading the note, shared a look with Eli. He then picked up the figurine and turned it upside down, peering into the tiny hole at the bottom. “He’s taunting us. Showing off that we failed to catch him last time.”

Eli agreed. They didn’t have anything concrete that linked the two yet, but in his gut, he knew this was the same guy.

What did he miss last summer that could have kept her safe? They’d been so sure they had the right guy. The dumb ass had already had a warrant out for a drug charge, so he’d been picked up and was serving time. Could he have gotten someone else to pick up where he left off harassing Kay? But what would be the point if he was already in jail? He had to know that the police would immediately know it was him and give him more time. It didn’t make sense.

Kay’s safety hinged on something that was completely illogical.
 

“This note is sending a pretty direct message. He’s right under our noses and he wants us to know it.”

Kay read the note, her lips moving slightly as her eyes scanned the page. “I don’t understand. What does this all mean?”

“It means we might have made a mistake last summer.” Eli took the figurine from her trembling fingers.
 

“It means you aren’t safe.”

KAYLEE FOLLOWED RIDLEY into the kitchen, conscious of Eli’s gaze on her back.
 

“I figured you could use a break,” Ridley whispered as they sat at the small dining table in the kitchen.
 

“Thanks. A little space is much appreciated right about now.” It had only been a few weeks since she’d last seen Eli at Christmas. So why was her traitorous body reacting like he was just coming home from war? Kay accepted another cup of steaming hot cocoa from Mara, who sat on her left. “Did Matt call you?” she asked the pretty brunette.
 

They’d spent a lot of time hanging out when Matt had been her bodyguard last summer. With her curvy figure, long dark curls, and sultry bedroom eyes, it would have been easy to hate Mara if she wasn’t such fun. It was hard to believe she and Matt were related sometimes since their personalities were such polar opposites. She wouldn’t have guessed that those two could have even come out of the same family, much less be twins.

“He did. He’s worried about you. We all are.” Mara took a sip of her own tea. “How are you holding up?”

Kay shrugged. “Okay so far. I’m just not sure why this is happening. I’m nobody. The album I did with Divine had lackluster sales, and I haven’t released any music since. If it’s true that the police arrested the wrong guy last summer, why would he suddenly start stalking me again now? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Mara regarded her over the rim of her mug. “Maybe this isn’t a stalker. Well, not a random one. Maybe it’s someone you’ve dated who is mad that you’ve moved on.”

“That’s just it. I haven’t moved on. The only things I do are go to work, take care of Hope, and record music. Other than Nick’s clients, I don’t come into contact with many people.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound like much fun.” Mara glanced over Kay’s shoulder. Her eyes narrowed and then sparkled with a mischievous gleam. “You know what you need? You need a man. Penny told me what you guys talked about at Christmas. About how you’re going to let us fix you up on a blind date.”

Kay thought back to all the things they’d discussed on Christmas Day. Once she’d realized that Eli had left his own family celebration just to avoid her, she’d tearfully confided in the other girls. They’d rallied around her, supporting her decision to move on and start dating after the holidays. But she didn’t remember agreeing to any setups. She
hated
blind dates.
 

“But I never said—” Kay’s mouth dropped open as Mara kicked her under the table. “Ow,” she whispered.

Mara typed something quickly on her cell phone and pushed it across the table. Raina, Ridley, and Kay all leaned forward to read what it said.

- - - Eli is outside the door listening.

“What?” Kay exclaimed. Then she crossed her arms. Pretending to set her up on a date to make Eli jealous was ridiculous. And childish. And unlikely to work since he couldn’t seem to care any less about what she was doing.

Mara shot her an exasperated look. “So, who’s up for a little matchmaking?”

Raina raised her hand. “I know someone who’s perfect. He used to be a model but now he’s an actor—”

“No models or actors,” Kay interrupted. Just the thought of it made her feel squeamish. Blind dates were awkward enough. She definitely didn’t want to deal with a guy who was prettier than she was.
 

“Oooo-kay then,” Raina drawled. “What about bodybuilders? Who doesn’t like a strong guy with lots of muscles, right?”

Kay had been pretty sure this was a bad idea from the beginning but she was especially sure of it now. A bodybuilder? Was Raina serious? She looked down at her own body, comfortably ensconced in her favorite pair of worn jeans and a soft sweater. She liked how she looked. Most of the time. But she had no illusions that a guy who spent most of his time in the gym would share her love of elastic waistbands.
 

“Um, I’m not sure if that would be such a good idea. I’m not that athletic.”

Mara waved away her concerns. “That’s okay. You shouldn’t have to pretend to be something you’re not. I’m not athletic either. We’ll just find you a guy who appreciates other things. You’ve got a great rack. And plenty of guys are breast men.”

Kay almost choked on her cocoa just as there was a soft
oomph
outside the door as if something had just knocked into the wall.
 

Mara tittered behind her hand. Kay dabbed at the spots on the front of her sweater with a napkin and glanced behind her at the doorway nervously. She wasn’t so sure baiting Eli like this was the way to go.

“What about T.J.?” Ridley piped up, mentioning an R&B singer that Jackson had recently signed to his label.

Kay shook her head. “I’m not dating another singer from the label. If it doesn’t work out, it would be weird.”

“Actually, he’s perfect because he’s only in town for a month or so to record his album. Then he’s going back to L.A. because he has a condo there,” Ridley said.

Kay looked around at the other girls, sure she was missing something. “Why would I date someone who’ll be gone in a few weeks? What’s the point?”

Mara hugged her. “Aw, you’re so sweet and innocent. It’s almost a shame that we’re corrupting you.”

Ridley finally took pity on her. “What Mara is trying to say is that sometimes you date guys just for the fun of it. Not because you plan on being together forever.”

Mara pursed her lips. “Actually, I was trying to say she should date him because I heard he is
huge
. Like barely able to walk straight while carrying that—”

The door to the kitchen burst open. They all jumped, including Kay. Eli stood in the doorway for a moment before he crossed the kitchen to stand behind her chair. His fingers curled over the top of the wood so hard it creaked. Kay gulped when his eyes landed on her.
 

“We need to go now. I want to get to your place and make sure it’s safe for the night.”
 

Eli regarded his sisters-in-law with a scowl before turning his dark look to Mara. Kay shrank back into her seat, but Mara just grinned.
 

“Oh hi, Eli. Lovely to see you,” she chirped.
 

“Um hmm,” was all Eli said in reply.

“WE NEED TO get to your place.” Eli ignored Mara and the other girls’ knowing looks. He didn’t doubt for a minute that they knew he’d overhead their conversation. Their amused grins told him that.
 

As far as he was concerned, he’d shown some serious restraint so far. They were trying to set Kay up with some big-dicked player who’d probably use and abuse her. What the hell were they thinking? He was shutting that down.
 

Immediately.

Kay raised her eyebrows. “We?”
 

“I’m not letting you go there alone.”

“I figured I wouldn’t be going home alone, but isn’t Matt coming with me?”

“No.”

She made no move to stand up, so he pulled her chair out. It made a loud screeching sound as it dragged over the tile floor. Kay jumped up and gave him a dirty look before marching back into the family room. The other girls abandoned their drinks on the table to follow. Their expressions were a little too bloodthirsty in Eli’s opinion. He had no intention of being the sacrifice.

Matt stood near the door, talking to Jackson. He looked up when they entered. “Hey, are you guys getting ready to leave?”

Kay turned toward him with what looked to be desperation. “You’re not coming with me?”

Matt glanced at Eli before responding. “I was just assigned to a new client. I’ve been working with him all week. It would be unprofessional to yank me off his job and then force him to reacclimate to someone else. I thought Eli explained everything.”

A strange sense of satisfaction came over Eli as he watched Kay’s face. She was stuck with him and apparently didn’t like it. He knew he’d hurt her. Their kiss at Christmas should have never happened. But he was the best man for this job. He hadn’t protected her well enough last summer, obviously, or this dickwad wouldn’t still be out there toying with her. This was his chance to make it right.
 

Eli wasn’t going to leave her safety up to some new associate who might screw it up. Even if he hadn’t gotten the right guy before, he’d kept her safe. They’d kept her security low-key since last summer, but it had been there. She didn’t go anywhere without letting someone know and her cell phone and car were constantly being tracked. She also had a state-of-the-art security system at her apartment so she was safe while she slept.

“Is there a problem, Kay?”

She wouldn’t meet his eyes. To his surprise, it was Mara who answered.

“It’s no biggie. She’s just nervous about her date.”

Eli gritted his teeth at the reminder of the conversation in the kitchen. He was careful to keep his face neutral when he replied. “Her date? What date?”

“We’re setting Kay up on a blind date. She’s looking for Mr. Right. Or Mr. Right Now. Whatever. Either way, I know we can find the perfect guy for her.”

“I’m sure Eli doesn’t care about that.” Kay grabbed her coat and slid her arms into it. “I’m sure he has a lot of important stuff to do running his company. In fact, maybe it would be better if Tank or one of the other guys stayed with me for a while.”

“You don’t want me on your case, Kay?” Eli tucked his hands in the pockets of his jeans, the better to enjoy watching her squirm as she tried to figure out how to respond.

“It’s not that.” Kay made several indistinct gestures while pointing at him. “It’s just that, I don’t know…”
 

“You’re kind of scary,” Mara supplied.

“Mara! I think Mara meant to say you’re a little intense sometimes.”

“And you’ll scare her date away,” Mara finished.

Kay dropped her head into her hand. Eli bit his lip to hold in a laugh. Damn if she wasn’t cute when she was embarrassed.