Holiday in Danger (6 page)

HOLLY

W
HY
DID
I get myself into this?

Holly toweled off her hair and hurried to get dressed. In the dark of the night with the buzz of alcohol and unexpected attention, she’d been turned on and more than a little confused.

In the harsh light of a Monday morning? Pissed was more accurate. Ian had taken advantage. Throwing his guest house at her like scraps for a starving dog then coming on to her and trying to get…what? A threesome? He probably thought she owed him one.

Gah
. He was as bad as her mother. She’d thought money was the cure to everything, too. The minute she’d sunk her claws into old Mr. Mosterly was the minute she’d forgotten all about being a mother.

Holly couldn’t compete with trips to Aspen and diamond necklaces. Show houses in Midnight Cove. Lavish parties for celebrities and rich vacationers. In one year, her mom had gone from an ordinary wife of a lawyer to queen of the grown-up mean girls. A society woman with no time to share custody of an awkward teenager.

Holly huffed and put on her makeup. Ian was just like her. That party? She shook her head.
I can’t believe I let myself get sucked in
. The lifestyle of the rich and famous wasn’t for her. No way. Give her a kitchen, a tiny apartment, and a nice cat, and she’d be set.

She stalked out of the bathroom and yanked open a drawer. Grabbing an armful of clothes, she walked over to the bed and dumped them into her duffel.

Trent was probably just a hanger-on these days. Ian had scored the big money, so he stayed around. One of those always on the periphery just tagging along.

Screw that. Holly wasn’t going to be another one. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand.
I can’t believe I let them kiss me. I am such an idiot.

She threw the rest of her clothes in her bag and zipped it shut. Forgetting Ian, Trent, and ever stepping foot in a Midnight Cove mansion was the best decision she could make. She needed to focus on Hillary and her catering. She could hunt for a job in Los Angeles in her spare time. Focus on work, not on her sudden, throbbing libido.

Sex never fixed anything.

After picking up her bag, she snatched her purse and took a last look around.
Bye-bye guest house. Hello, hotel.
She was strong. Independent. No man was going to hold the reins on her life. Certainly not two.

She flicked off the light and threw open the front door. Her Volvo sat right where she’d left it in front of the house. It seemed only fitting she was leaving Ian’s mansion in the same car her father had driven out of Midnight Cove all those years ago.

Holly threw her bag in the passenger seat and slid in.
Hey, old friend.
She still remembered the day her father came home from work, frown lines etched into his forehead. She’d just turned eighteen.

“How’d you like to move to Los Angeles, Holiday?”

She’d stopped stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce and turned to him. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve got a job offer. A new firm in LA. You and me…we could start over. What do you say?”

Holly had looked at him for a minute and then turned back to the sauce. She’d stirred it around and around until she’d built up enough courage. “What about Mom?”

Her father had set his briefcase on the floor with a thud. “Your mother’s getting married.”

Holly remembered how she’d glanced up and seen regret in her father’s eyes. “Did she even ask about me?”

He’d smiled then, but it was laced with anger. “I think LA will do us both good. I’m going to go change.”

She’d watched him walk away and that was the last time they’d ever spoken about her mother. It had been just the two of them. No fancy cars. No lavish vacations. Just a tiny condo in Encino a few blocks from her dad’s office.

They’d always had each other and for years, that had been enough. She couldn’t believe he’d been gone a whole year.

The engine rumbled to life and Holly blinked back the past. She didn’t belong in Midnight Cove. Getting sucked into Ian’s life and all his excess would only end in heartbreak. Just like it had with Brandon. Her mom. Holly put the car in drive and eased down the driveway and out the open gate.

The sooner Hillary hired a permanent assistant and Holly could get back home, the better. She turned onto the road and accelerated, driving past mansion after mansion. Gated compounds and immaculate landscapes and more money than sense. Thank God she was leaving.

Her parents might have died, but that didn’t make the pain go away. She saw what could have been in every oversized front door and picture window with a view of the ocean. Brandon could have Midnight Cove. She didn’t want it.

Holly huffed and pressed the brake to ease into a curve.
What the hell?
She pushed harder, but nothing happened. If anything, the car picked up speed.
Shit
.

She pumped the brake again and again, trying to get it to work and slow the car down. But the car just kept going. Holly wrenched the wheel as she headed into the bend and the tires squealed as she barreled around it.

Oh my God
. The road sloped down in an arc, hugging the lots on the edge of the ocean until the view opened up and Holly could see the water. If she didn’t slow down, she’d end up careening through the guardrail and onto the beach. No way was she ending up in the ocean.

With a deep breath, she shifted the car down a gear. Then another and another. It slowed, but not enough.
I can do this.
As the car headed for the rail, she pulled on the parking brake. It slowed more.

If only I weren’t on a hill.
As the guardrail neared, Holly turned the wheel. She’d probably hit it, but the spin might stop the car. If she was lucky.

The back end hit first. Metal crunched and ripped and tore with a sickening sound and still the car kept going.

Oh, no
. As the rail gave way, the car rumbled over rocks and boulders until it hit the sand.
Don’t panic. Don’t panic.
Fear clawed at her, digging into her body, trying to mess her up. Make her drown.

Not me. No way.
Holly unbuckled her seat belt. There was only one option left.
With a deep breath, she grabbed her purse, threw open the car door and jumped.

She landed with a thud on the sand, her knees taking the brunt of the impact. She rolled over and over, coming to rest in a bruised and battered ball a few feet from the waves. As she pushed herself up, her car careened straight into the ocean.

The water lapped over the trunk and doors. It whooshed inside the open driver’s side, splashing and cresting in waves throughout the interior until at last, the ocean claimed it all.

The hood disappeared into the water and Holly crumpled into a heap on the sand.
I saved myself from an out-of-control car.
A laugh bubbled up inside her and gone were thoughts about Ian and Trent and the mess she’d made that weekend. She’d saved herself from an out-of-control car. She was alive. A survivor.

Thank God for self-defense school.
Holly stared at the spot where her car had been, watching the waves lap up on the sand like nothing had happened. She snuffed back a sob.
Damn. I loved that car.

* * *

IAN

Ian wiped the sleep from his eyes and poured himself a cup of coffee. After Holly had run out on them the night before, he’d said goodnight to Trent and gone to his room. But sleep didn’t come.

All he could think about was how she’d run away with anger etched into the lines on her face. Was it because she’d kissed two men? Or was there something more behind it?

He knew she’d had a crush on him when they were younger. She’d hang around outside when he came home on the holidays. Always offered to babysit Mandy when he was home for the summer.

But it was different then. He was in college and she was in high school. She was off-limits. And then one day she was gone. He’d come home and her house was on the market. She’d moved to California with her father and her mother was marrying Mosterly the resort tycoon.

It didn’t seem real.

Ian never thought he’d see her again. Hair like amber honey. Deep brown eyes. And now a body he could lust after every second of the day.
Fuck
. He closed his eyes and took a sip of coffee. He could still feel her breasts pressed against his chest. Her hips beneath his palms.

“Sleeping while standing up? That’s a new one even for you, isn’t it?” Trent walked into the kitchen and grabbed a mug. He poured a cup of coffee as Ian exhaled.

“I was remembering last night.”

Trent snorted. “Which part? The one where you invited a shit ton of bimbos and money-flashers over?”

“The pool. Holiday.”

“Oh, that part. Yeah, well don’t hold your breath. There won’t be a repeat.”

“How do you know?”

“She’s gone.”

Ian shrugged. “She has a job, Trent. She’s probably at work.”

“With her suitcases?”

Ian spun around. “You’re serious? She left? When?”

“Early this morning. I was out for a run and came back just as she threw her stuff in the car. She pulled out and I checked out the guest house. She’s gone.”

Piss
. “Did she leave a note? Anything?”

“Not that I saw.”

Ian set his coffee on the counter. He’d wanted her to stay and get to know him all over again. In all the years since they’d been neighbors, he’d never forgotten her. He’d always wondered about the girl next door.

Damn
. Ian gripped the counter edge in his palms and leaned against it. “You think we pushed her too hard?”

“She ran away, didn’t she?”

Ian exhaled. He didn’t mean to scare her off. He wanted just the opposite. Why he ever suggested the three of them…

His phone buzzed on the counter and cut off his thoughts.
Oh, no.
He muttered a curse and Trent stiffened beside him.

“What is it?”

Ian grabbed the phone and swiped it open. “It’s Holly.”

“What about her?” Trent’s voice cut through the silence and Ian glanced up.

“She’s been in an accident.”

“Is she all right?”

Ian ran his hand through his mop of hair. “Hillary doesn’t know. She’s at the hospital being checked out.”

Trent slammed his mug on the counter. “I should have stopped her this morning and told her not to go. Instead, I just watched her drive away.”

Ian’s phone buzzed again and he almost dropped it.
Holy shit. That can’t be right.
“According to Hillary, her brakes failed. The car crashed into the guardrail down the hill and ended up in the ocean.”

“How’d she get out?”

Ian glanced up. “She jumped.”

“Christ.” Trent stalked back and forth in the kitchen, running his hand over his buzzed hair. “She did everything right and she still could have died.”

Ian nodded, but he couldn’t shake the dread washing over him. It settled low in his gut and he exhaled. “You don’t think it was intentional, do you?”

Trent’s cold gaze mirrored his own. “If it was, then we’ve got a massive problem. Trying to kill someone is a whole hell of a lot more serious than a few threatening emails.”

Ian nodded. He hadn’t taken the threats seriously until now. Sure he’d called Trent and asked him to come out, but it was as much for a visit as it was for a job. Anyone with an internet connection could send nasty emails. It didn’t make for real danger.

But tampering with a car? If Holly hadn’t known what to do…if she hadn’t been so in control…she could be dead because of him. Ian turned to Trent. “What do you want to do?”

“Get Holly back here. ASAP. She needs to stay in the main house where I can watch her. Keep her safe.”

“What about the investigation?”

“I’ll start working overtime. We’ll find out who did this and put an end to it.”

Ian nodded again. “We damn well better. No one’s going to be put in danger because of me.” He grabbed his keys and headed toward the garage.

“Where are you going?”

“To the hospital. She needs to know what’s going on.”

“You should let me check out your cars. I can see if any have been tampered with.”

Ian turned grim. “Whoever did this couldn’t get past the garage security. It’s got full surveillance inside and an alarm on every possible entrance. They went after Holly’s car because it was out in the open. A sitting duck.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is. And now we’ve got to fix it.”

Ian turned and strode down the hall. Damn if he was letting some psycho with a bone to pick with his business hurt someone as innocent as Holiday. Trent was right. He never should have asked her to come stay. But now that he had, she couldn’t leave.

What if someone attacked her? What if the next time she couldn’t save herself? She needed them whether she liked it or not.

* * *

HOLLY

Holly shifted in the hospital bed. “I’m fine. Really. I don’t need to stay for observation.”

The nurse gave her a sterilized smile and flipped the page on her chart. “The doctor wants to monitor you for a concussion. You had a nasty spill.”