“Fine.” She pries the phone from her ear and presses the mute button. “He wants to talk to you.”
That, I didn’t expect.
Reluctantly, I hold out my hand, hoping he just has basic questions. “All right. Sit down. Relax. Water?”
The only other thing in Joe’s fridge is beer.
“No thanks.” She hands me the phone. “Just…he means well.”
If that’s true, why is she wringing her hands?
I unmute the phone. “Tanner Kirk here.”
“Who the fuck are you? Hours after she’s attacked, I finally find out. Someone should have called me. I’m her brother. I live on the island, but I’m finding out last? What the hell is going on?”
Yep, he’s pissed, but he’s obviously concerned, too. “I got a phone call a couple of hours ago from a mutual friend that your sister was the target of a gang bent on violence, and I agreed to help.” I don’t mention the intruder since I’m pretty sure nothing would keep him from coming if he knew. “I’ve done some bodyguarding in the past, and I’m a firearms instructor. I’ve agreed to teach Amanda how to shoot. I’ll be keeping her in a secure location. You can call her anytime you like, but I won’t disclose to anyone where we’re going.”
“I’m not sure who our supposed ‘mutual friend’ is, but I don’t know a damn thing about you, so no. You’re not keeping my sister’s location a secret from me. And you better not touch her, pal. She’s already been through a lot simply for the sin of losing her heart to the wrong asshole. She’s fragile and halfway broken. I’m warning you now… Don’t you dare fucking take advantage of her.”
Whoa. “I’m a professional, Mr. Lund. My job is to protect her body, not to ravish it or whatever.”
No matter how much I’d like to.
On the other side of the room, Amanda gapes, then storms back in my direction and sticks out her hand, lips pressed together mulishly.
“Your sister has something to say,” I drawl and hand the device back to her.
This ought to be entertaining.
“Knock it off, Stephen!” she hisses. “Tanner is trying to help me, and you’re being an ass.” She pauses to listen, then her eyes widen with fresh fury. “Stop acting like I can’t be trusted alone with a man. This is a very different situation than…well, you know.” Another breather where she’s presumably listening again. “What are you saying? That you think I spread my legs for every guy? One. That’s my ‘number.’ What’s yours, big brother?”
Is she saying she’s only ever had sex with Barclay Reed?
At Stephen’s reply, she grips the phone, jaw clenched. “Fine.” She looks my way. “How old are you?”
Why does it matter? “Thirty-eight.”
I’ll be thirty-nine in less than two months, but I doubt that factoid will make the conversation more productive.
“Thank you,” she says to me, then turns and speaks into the device again. “I’m sure you heard he’s not even forty, so take your judgmental crack about me being attracted to guys nearly Social Security eligible and shove it.”
She jerks her gaze away, but not before I see her cheeks turn red. And her eyes fill with tears.
That’s it. I don’t care what these people can do to me for sticking my nose in their family business. I’m going to tear this guy a new asshole.
I cross the room to her and hold out my hand. “Let me talk to your brother again.”
“It’s not your problem.”
“The minute I took this job, it became my problem.”
Her sigh sounds defeated. “It won’t change anything.”
The fuck it won’t. I motion with my fingers at her to give the device over. “Hand me the phone.”
With a shrug, she puts it in my hand. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The second the device makes contact with my palm, I point to the spot where she stands. “Stay here.” Then I plaster the device against my ear, head out to Joe’s balcony, then shut the door behind me as the warm Hawaiian breeze hits my face. “Listen, I don’t know what the fuck is up with you, but your sister has been through a lot in the last few hours. If you actually care about her, you could try backing the hell off and—”
“My sister has been through a lot for the last two years, but she chose to get involved with Barclay Reed.”
Maybe so, but… “If you were so bent up about it, why didn’t you stop it?”
“Because I didn’t know it was going on until it was too late. I was based out of New York, and Amanda moved to LA. But even if I’d been there, I doubt I could have stopped her. She’d had a serious case of hero worship for that lying bastard since she was a teenager. She was so excited to work for him. When I found out about their affair, I wasn’t terribly surprised since she has daddy issues.”
“Do you think that just because she was attracted to someone older?”
“Why else would she have looked to a man old enough to be her father for approval and affection? Why else was she anxious when she didn’t hear from Reed frequently? Then again, he gave her more than one reason to feel insecure.” Before I can ask what he means, Stephen goes on. “But she has a son now, and it’s been almost two years since Reed dumped her. The time has come for some tough love. How else will she figure out why she looked to a womanizer Reed’s age so she can knock it the fuck off? You insisting on being alone with her isn’t going to help.”
God, he annoys me. “First, I’m not old enough to be her father. Second, I’m sure when she got involved with Reed she never imagined she’d be dealing with angry mobs threatening her life. And third, if she’s seeking something emotionally to find happiness, then who the hell are you to question what she needs? Clearly, Reed wasn’t the right guy, but just because you disapprove doesn’t make her wrong. I admit that I only met your sister a few hours ago, but I know she needs your support now, not your scorn. If you can’t manage that, then why don’t you fuck off while I help her solve this problem?”
“You know what? If you manage to make her problems disappear, I can almost guarantee she’ll develop a case of hero worship for you, too, and latch on tight. I don’t think you want that.” He pauses, and I can almost hear his thoughts turning. “Unless you’re already hot to fuck her.”
“If I am, you’re the last person I’ll admit that to. But even if Reed may have seen her as a piece of ass—”
“He saw every woman as a piece of ass. My sister is just one in a long line of executive assistants he knocked up.”
Did Amanda know that when she went to work for him? Surely not. Despite Stephen’s claims that his sister is looking for a daddy to save her, she seems to have plenty of gumption without a man in her life.
“Like Evan Cook’s mother?”
“She was one, yes. Reed had three illegitimate children—that we know of. We’re all betting there are more.”
“He sounds like a real peach, but I’m nothing like him. My job is to make sure your sister stays safe. Nothing is more important to me right now.”