Beautifully Broken (The Broken Series Book 2) (13 page)

Kadyn
reached for his cell phone as he slowly opened his eyes. He glanced at the
clock on the screen.
Three o’clock in the morning?
He groaned. He couldn’t
sleep, he couldn’t eat, and he could barely maintain a conversation that didn’t
involve Kri. Kadyn slowly eased out of Kri’s bed. He could hardly stand to
sleep at his own place anymore. Sleeping in Kri’s bed was the closest thing he
had to being with her.

Kadyn
raked his hand over his head. He suddenly realized that he hadn’t shaved in
days... not a good thing when you’re in the military. He walked to Kri’s
kitchen and grabbed a Mountain Dew from the refrigerator. He cracked the seal
and took a swig from the bottle as he eyed the laptop he’d left sitting on the
counter. He took another drink of Mountain Dew. Then he tapped the spacebar on
his computer to wake it up. He stared at the screen and thought about what he’d
learned the night before.

Cenia
and Mason had searched the Internet alongside Kadyn until shortly after midnight.
They eventually tracked down a couple of news stories in the Jornal de Negócios
out of Lisbon. Interestingly enough, the news stories indicated that Garcia was
being
investigated
for insider trading, money laundering, and tax
evasion, approximately three years ago. They couldn’t find any subsequent news
stories indicating that he’d actually been
charged
with those crimes.

Mason
found an op ed piece in which the author speculated a connection between Garcia
and some Eastern European terrorist group, but the news magazine didn’t look
terribly credible. According to Cenia, it read more like a gossip magazine. A
number of wealthy people from Portugal were being slandered throughout the
magazine.

Then
Cenia discovered a small notice buried in a back page of the Jornal de Negócios
indicating the police had closed the investigation. Kadyn was left debating two
possibilities… either the guy was guilty and he paid someone off to end the
investigation, or he was innocent and simply being black balled by someone hell
bent on destroying him.

Kadyn
sighed. Either possibility would make it harder to find Kri. If Garcia had a
clean record and no terrorist connections, he wasn’t likely to appear on any government
watch lists or in any criminal databanks. If he was guilty and had enough money
to end an investigation, the same problem could hold true, especially in a
place like Portugal.

Cenia
was planning to go into work late so she could try to contact the reporters and
the author of the op ed piece in Portugal. She didn’t speak Portuguese, but she
thought it was likely a reporter in Portugal would speak Spanish, so she was
confident in her ability to speak with them. Kadyn insisted there was to be no
mention of the kidnapping. He wanted Kri’s disappearance kept out of the news. So
Cenia had to gather as much information as she could without explaining the
reason why she needed it. He knew he was asking the impossible.

Kadyn
signed into his online bank. He paid a few bills, then transferred money from
savings to checking so he could pay Kri’s rent. He was going to pay it for as
long as he could, so her apartment would be here when she got home. He didn’t
think he’d be doing her any favors if he packed her things and put them in
storage. Although, he didn’t doubt it was going to be some time before she came
home…
if
she came home.

Kadyn
closed the laptop, polished off the Mountain Dew, and gathered his things. He
locked Kri’s apartment and walked over to his place to shower and shave for
work.

An
hour and a half later, Kadyn was standing in the doorway to Captain Graves’
office. He had dropped by unannounced in the hopes that the officer would share
some information with him.

Captain
Graves looked up from his paperwork. He didn’t look the least bit surprised to
see Kadyn. He leaned back in his chair as he gestured toward the door. “Close
the door, please.”

Kadyn
shut the door. He stood there stiffly as he waited for Captain Graves to speak.

Captain
Graves nodded toward an empty chair. “Please, take a seat, Captain Rand.”

Kadyn
folded himself into the chair. “Thank you for seeing me, sir.”

Captain
Graves steepled his fingers in front of his mouth as he silently studied Kadyn.
Finally, he spoke. “We’re having a press release in three hours, so I might as
well tell you what we know. The car bombs have been linked to four men, all U.S.
citizens. One of the men was overheard blaming another for the devices not
going off. They were in a bar up in Baltimore. All four men have been linked to
an extremist group that has been threatening to overthrow the government. They’ve
historically targeted gun control advocates, but they apparently have a beef
against the Pentagon over our recent use of drones. We already have two of the
men in custody. We’re hoping the press release will help us locate the other
two men.”

Kadyn
leaned forward in the chair. He braced his elbows on his knees as he raked his
hand over his head. He took a deep breath and blew it out as he tamped down the
fears that were festering inside of him.

“I’m
sorry, Captain Rand. There doesn’t appear to be any connection between these car
bombs and the kidnapping of Ms. Stone. While there are a number of men named
Michael Garcia on our watch list, I have confirmed through Customs and Border Protection
that none of the men on that watch list were documented as being in country on
the day of the attempted bombing,” Captain Graves noted sympathetically.

Kadyn
nodded.

Captain
Graves continued. “I had my investigators do some digging on terrorist networks
known to be operating in Eastern Europe. We couldn’t link anyone named Michael
Garcia to any of those terrorist groups. I’m sorry, but I don’t know what more
we can do to help you. We don’t have enough information to pinpoint which
Michael Garcia we’re dealing with. There are over two hundred thousand men with
this name in our databanks. Without some evidence that Ms. Stone was taken out
of the country or across state lines, we had to turn the kidnapping
investigation over to the local authorities. Here is the business card for the
officer who is now heading up the investigation.” Captain Graves pushed a plain
white business card across the desk.

Kadyn
stood. Although it took some effort, he held his back perfectly straight. He nodded
once as he reached for the captain’s hand. “Thank you, Captain Graves. I
appreciate your time.” Kadyn shoved the business card in his pocket and left
the office without looking back. Over the course of a ten minute conversation,
every last hope he had of the feds finding Kri had completely disintegrated.

My
arms were stiff. I stretched my limbs, then froze when my hand brushed over a
well-muscled chest. My eyes fluttered open, then widened with surprise. I had
already grown accustomed to waking up alone. I hadn’t expected to wake all
tangled up in Michael’s arms.

Michael
ran his hand soothingly across my back, and my tension eased. He smoothed the
hair out of my face. He smiled when our eyes met. “
Bonjour, mon coeur
.
It looks beautiful outside. Shall we explore Paris?”

I
smiled. The glimpses of Paris I’d seen from the yacht had left me wanting more.
“
Oui,
” I responded. If I was going out in public, I needed to start
practicing my French.

Michael
raised a single eyebrow. He nudged me back against the pillows and pinned me
beneath him. His eyes flooded with desire the second he fit his body to mine. His
lips captured mine in a passionate kiss. He broke the kiss abruptly, then gently
scolded, “You make me want you even more when you speak French,
mon amour
.
I have already warned you about playing with fire.”

I
didn’t even register the words. My entire body ached for the kiss he’d broken
off so abruptly. I tangled my hands in his hair as I pulled him down for more.

A
low growl vibrated through his chest. He pinned my hands above my head as he
took control of the kiss. His tongue seduced mine in deep, demanding strokes. He
shifted his weight and nudged my legs apart as he ground his hips into mine.

My
eyes nearly rolled back in my head when I felt him harden against me. I whimpered
softly as I arched against him, then froze when I realized what I was doing.

Michael
groaned as he broke the kiss. “If you don’t want this going any further, you’d
best go. Get ready, and I will ask the cook to deliver breakfast.”

I
smiled shakily as I scooted toward the edge of the bed. I was still reeling
from the kiss, shocked by my response, and grateful for the reprieve. I glanced
back at Michael as I walked toward the bathroom. “Thanks, Michael.”

He
was sprawled out in bed with his arm thrown across his face. “You’d best lock
the door behind you. I’m already thinking of joining you in the shower.”

I
nearly tripped over my feet. I darted inside the bathroom and locked the door. I
fell back against the door. “What were you thinking?” I asked myself irritably.

“I
wasn’t,” was the response. I pushed away from the door and walked to the sink
so I could brush my teeth. I turned my back to the mirror so I wouldn’t have to
look at kiss-swollen lips and lust-filled eyes. I padded over to the shower and
turned both shower heads and all twelve jets to cold.  I forced myself to stand
in the frigid water until I couldn’t take it anymore. I nudged the temperature
a little higher so I wouldn’t have to shave over goose bumps.

I
was still shivering when I toweled off. I tugged the bathrobe on, applied
makeup, dried and curled my hair. There was no way I was going out looking like
a wet dog in Paris. By the time I left the bathroom, a breakfast tray had already
been delivered to our room. I went straight for the coffee, hoping to clear my
head.

Michael
showered while I dressed. I tugged on a pretty coral dress and matching shoes
with gold embellishments before settling in to eat breakfast.

Michael’s
hair was still wet when he joined me. For some reason, this really screwed with
my head. I suddenly found myself wondering what he looked like naked and
soaking wet. My hands trembled as I poured him a cup of coffee. I did an
internal eye roll, then forced the image from my head.

Michael
reached for a croissant. He inhaled it on the way to the closet. When he
returned, he was wearing dark gray slacks and a white dress shirt. He’d left
the top few buttons of the shirt undone. He looked as frazzled as I felt. He quickly
downed his coffee before pulling me laughing out the door.

He
sent a quick text while we walked down the hall. By the time we reached the
front door, the car and driver were waiting for us. Michael helped me into the
car. He spoke to the driver in French, then tucked me under his arm. “What
would you like to see first,
ma chérie?
”

“Le
Louvre
,” I responded decidedly.

Michael
sent another quick text, then prompted the driver to go.

By
the time we reached the museum, Rafael and another man were waiting at the curb
for us. Michael offered me his hand as I stepped out of the car. He motioned
toward the man next to Rafael. “This is my bodyguard, Jean.”

Jean
nodded his head once. “
Bonjour
, Madame Stone. It’s a pleasure to finally
meet you.”

I
smiled politely. “
Bonjour,
Jean.” My head tilted as I studied his face.
“You were on the yacht last night. I remember seeing you when we first boarded
the boat.”

He
grinned. “You are very observant, Madame Stone.”

I
turned and smiled at Rafael, who was standing a bit too stiffly. “
Bonjour
,
Rafael. I’m glad you could join us.” I knew he was being paid to be there, but
I didn’t want him feeling like that was the only reason he was there. If he was
going to be my bodyguard, then I wanted our relationship to be on more friendly
terms. I didn’t want either of us feeling uncomfortable, especially if we were
going to be spending a lot of time together.

He
smiled as his eyes met mine. Suddenly, he looked a lot more like the man I’d
walked alongside in the garden. “
Bonjour
, Madame Stone.” He nodded at
Michael. “Monsieur Garcia.”

Michael
wrapped his arm around me. “Shall we?” he asked as he took a step forward.

Jean
turned and walked a few feet in front of us. Rafael fell in behind me. It was a
bit unnerving being sandwiched between three men, but I quickly forgot about
the bodyguards when we stepped inside the Louvre.

I
had heard stories about the Louvre, but I never realized just how large the
museum was. The place extended across multiple city blocks. Michael and I
wandered through the museum, admiring the paintings and statues for over three
hours. I was certain we could spend a week in that building and still never see
all that it had to offer. While most of the sightseers jockeyed for a glimpse
of the Mona Lisa, it was Monet’s paintings that captivated me most.

I
glanced questioningly at Michael as we walked out of the building. “I don’t
understand why everyone was so enthralled with the Mona Lisa. There are so many
more impressive works of art displayed in this museum.”