Questing (Cosmis Connections, Book One) (40 page)

“You know, I believed they’d have it all too,” Shane agreed. “Okay. It’s worth a shot even though Jordan will be furious at me for interfering if this backfires. She may have kicked him to the curb but I know he’d still do anything to protect her, even from us. My brother is turning into someone I don’t know. If he loses Kiley forever, I doubt if he’ll ever be himself again so yeah, I’m in,” he convinced himself. “When do you want me to do this?”

* * * * *

Tuesday morning, Alyssa arrived at Kiley’s as just as she finished getting ready for work. “Hiya, Kiles. Thought I’d swing by to see how you’re holding up before I go back to convincing the homeless that I’m not exploiting them. Did you sleep at all?”

“Not much.” Kiley was too tired to pretend. “I’m fine, Lyss really. You don’t have to check on me like I’m some kind of invalid. I told you that last weekend, remember?”

“I remember and I don’t think you’re an invalid. I think you’re my baby cousin who’s going through an emotional time and might need moral support.”

“You’re not here to hound me some more?” Kiley was suspicious.

“Nope. You already know my opinion is that you’re not thinking clearly and that you need to go see Jordan so you can find a way to patch the two of you up.”

“Gee, thanks for not mentioning that again.”

“Sarcasm, Kiley? You must be stressed if you’re resorting to that.”

“Sorry. I’m just tired. I know better than to try to outdo you at that since you’re the sarcasm queen.”

“Kiley!” Alyssa feigned shock.

Instantly, Kiley felt bad for her harsh words. “I really am sorry. Here you are, nice enough to worry about me and I’m being a total bitch.”

“Nah, you’re not a total bitch. We both know I’m the queen of that too,” Alyssa joked and was rewarded with a weak smile. “I figure you’re entitled to a few days of self-pity since you threw away the man you love.”

“Lyss,” Kiley warned. Before she could continue, there was a knock. “I can’t imagine who this could be.” Her mind went blank when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

“Morning, Kiley,” Shane began. “I’d like to speak with you for a minute.” He walked in without waiting to be invited. “Hey, Campini. I hate to do this to you but I want a word with Kiley in private.”

“Shane, I don’t think this is such a good idea.” Kiley was close to panic.

“Too bad because I’m not leaving until you hear what I came to say. Campini, before you jump down my throat, I’m just here to talk. I assure you that Kiley will be fine.”

“Kiley?” Alyssa’s expression showed she understood he wasn’t going to reveal her part in initiating his visit.

“It’s okay,” Kiley responded politely. Silently, she was screaming for him to leave. The last thing she wanted was to be questioned by Jordan’s detective brother.

“All right then, if you’re sure, I guess I’ll get to work. McKade, I’m warning you—”

“Yeah, yeah.” With a wink, Shane pushed her toward the door.

“Um…Shane… I’m not so sure…” Kiley fidgeted nervously.

“Too bad, Fisher because I am sure. I have something to say that you need to hear. Perhaps you should call your boss before I get into it and let him know that you’ll be a little late.”

“I can’t be late! Look, I appreciate the thought—”

Shane scowled. “Two choices. One, you can call and say you’ll be late before you sit down and listen to me or two, I can put you in handcuffs, have you fingerprinted, searched and tossed in a cell for the majority of the day until I’m done working. Then, if I’ve calmed down enough to be civil since needing to do that would really piss me off, you can sit in an interrogation room and listen.”

Kiley saw the look on his face and knew he’d do it if she didn’t give in. Quickly, she reached for the phone and called Henry. While she explained that she’d be there as soon as she could, she motioned for Shane to join her at the table. After she hung up she waited silently for him to get on with it while she tried, unsuccessfully, to blink back her tears and hide the way her lip was quivering.

“Kiley, I’m sorry to come on so strong like that. I’m really not here to upset you. I was so afraid you wouldn’t give me a chance to talk to you that I was desperate. I really wouldn’t have taken you in.”

Kiley appeared doubtful. “Okay,” she finally said.

“Well, I guess I should get to the point.” Shane let his nervousness show as if he thought it would help. “As I understand it, you didn’t let Jordan give you details pertaining to his discussion with Samuels about Winslow.”

“It’s over. Isn’t that all that matters?”

“No, I don’t think so. Not if it being over with Winslow makes it over with Jordan. I already know you saw him leave the station. And I know you heard Brian expounding on the moves Jordan made but what you don’t know is that most of what he said was for my benefit. When we were younger Jordan and Brett used to take turns ambushing me to see if they could overpower me. My only excuse is that we were kids. Fortunately, we never seriously hurt each other. It’s also fortunate that I left for college before they finished growing because they could have bested me no problem by the time they were. Anyway, the first time they came looking for me at the station, we got to teasing about it and Brian overheard us. See, that’s why he felt the need to rib me a little.

“Kiley, you have to believe me. My brother is the best kind of man in all ways. He’s honest. He cares. He gives his word and stands by it. Once you have his friendship and loyalty, you can count on it forever. He loves you, no matter what. I know he does.”

“How can he?” Kiley blurted out before she could stop herself.

“Oh, I assure you he does.” Shane didn’t seem entirely sure that she was referring solely to the way she had ended their relationship. “I could tell by the way his concern was first and foremost for you the night you were drugged. He thought about sending me and Brett to find your cousin second and left Winslow’s part in all of this for last. If he hadn’t loved you then, he would have passed you off to one of us, sent the other to be with Campini, grabbed Winslow and demanded that Vincent take them to Samuels instantly. Instead, he waited until you were able to discuss it before he confronted him, then respected your wishes on what happened to Winslow. If it had been up to the rest of us, we would have let him fend for himself with Samuels.

“Think about it for a minute. My brother is the most honest, legitimate to the point of being obsessive, businessman ever. To protect you and to ensure things turned out the way you said you wanted them to, he had someone’s private bank account frozen. Now it may have been undetectable. It may or may not have been done legally but who knows?

“Then, the man who tried to use you was right in front of him, giving Jordan every opportunity to beat him senseless and all he did was only what was needed to defend himself. He left the station under questionable circumstances with the man he’d just tangled with and a lawyer of dubious, at best, repute. He willingly got into a highly visible car with a man who is well known and goes to the house of someone rather high up on our list of commonly known but untouchable money movers. I say untouchable only because we can’t ever prove anything. And yes, I went there after him so I do know what I’m talking about here.”

“Oh my God,” Kiley finally realized what he was getting at. “He could lose everything he’s worked for. Or at least his reputation and credibility. Shane, so could you!”

“Possibly, but that’s the point. Jordan loves you so much that he was willing to risk it. Putting it simply, you’re worth it. You mean more to him than all that.”

Silent tears streamed down Kiley’s cheeks. “What about you?”

“He’s my brother. Even though I knew he could have handled everything without me, I needed to be there with him. To me, he’s worth it. And, since I trust his judgment, so are you.”

Shane grabbed the box of tissues from the counter and sat back down beside her instead of across from her. “Please, Kiley will you let me tell you what happened at Samuels’ house?”

Kiley dried her tears and finally met his eyes. “Yes.” For the most part she let him speak without interruption. When he concluded, she asked, “Do you think Samuels meant it when he said he wouldn’t use your going there to his advantage?”

“Yes and so does Jordan,” Shane answered honestly. “He’s very proud of you.”

“I don’t think so.” She tried to laugh.

“He is, Kiley. I told you how he described you to Samuels. I spent a lot of time with him last weekend too. At one point he was telling me more about you, about your family. You haven’t had the easiest life and yet you’re not bitter or withdrawn,” Shane sighed. “Jordan said he will always love you and I believe him. You broke his heart and it’s tearing him to pieces but I think there’s a part of him that’s weirdly fascinated because he can’t figure out why you’re doing this.”

Shane seemed undecided for a moment and then added, “Something I left out is that Jordan thinks you need to work on your self-confidence. He mentioned it several times, including during his discussion with Samuels.” He let his statement sink in. “How right is he?”

“Shane…”

“Stop it, Kiley. I know you’re not seriously afraid of my brother. You may have reacted to the way he seemed at first but, by the next day you knew he was only doing what he had to.” He waited but she was back to crying silently.

“Don’t feel bad. He intimidates me too.” Shane proceeded to tell her much of what he’d recently admitted to Brett in case she hadn’t already heard it. “I’ve been thinking since then. Or should I say I remembered something I always knew. Jordan really does have excellent judgment. I trust his instincts. If he has faith in me, so should I. One of the differences between me and Brett is that he’s never let go of that. I wonder what I’d have accomplished by now if I hadn’t given in to my own doubts. Maybe you need to concentrate on the faith Jordan has in you too.”

Shane stood. “Well, I guess that’s it. I’d better let you go.” At the door, Shane startled her by bestowing a quick, hard hug. “My brother was right about you being the one for that cosmic plan of his. No matter what he will love you forever. Kiley, all I’m asking here is that you think about what I told you. He really is a good guy. If you can get around your own insecurities, go talk to him. I know he still wants you to share his life.” He seemed even sadder if that was possible. “If you can’t, well, then you can’t but I’ll be very disappointed. After I met you for real and saw you with him, I started looking forward to having you as my sister-in-law. I thought it was going to be great.” He brushed a tear from her cheek. “I hope I get to see you again. If I don’t, then I guess this is goodbye. Take care, Kiley.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

After standing there, staring at the door for however long it was, Kiley finally shook herself into motion and headed to work. Henry and Dee spent her entire shift fretting over her. She lost count of the number of times they found her deep in thought, totally unaware of where she was or what she had been doing.

Kiley thought the day would never end. Her mind kept replaying all that Shane had said. At some point, Will’s words from the previous week blended in too. She was relieved to be finally going over the reservation book with the night hostess when she glanced up and found herself face to face with Sadie Brown.

“Good evening. Do you have a reservation?” the other girl asked when Kiley stared mutely.

“No but I’m not here to eat. Kiley and I will need a private table off to the side. We have some things to discuss,” Sadie announced.

The girl’s eyes shifted back and forth between them as the silence stretched. Henry noticed and joined them from the bar. “Is there a problem, ladies?”

“N-no, Henry, thanks,” Kiley said meekly. “Hello, Miss Sadie.”

“Huh,” Sadie grunted. “For a minute there I thought you’d lost your manners along with your senses.”

“Excuse me,” Henry’s protective urged kicked in but Kiley halted him with a hand on his arm.

“It’s all right, Henry. Miss Sadie just wants a word with me. Do you mind if we take a table?” She knew he could feel her hand shaking through his suit coat. After searching her face, he nodded. Stalling for a moment to collect herself, Kiley studied the seating chart. Finally, she marked off a table in the back corner where no nearby tables were occupied. “Miss Sadie, if you’ll follow me?” She led the way and waited uncomfortably for Jordan’s friend to begin.

“Can I get you anything?” Dee appeared with water after Henry suggested that she try to stay close while this formidable woman was there in case Kiley needed her.

Suddenly, Brett was by her side. “I’ll take some water too, Dee, and then I think you should join us. Henry said it’s fine with him.”

The little remaining color drained from Kiley’s face while Dee grabbed two additional glasses. She clasped Kiley’s hand when she took the chair beside her. They both stared as Brett opened his sketchbook and began to draw.

“I can see that I don’t need to ask how you are,” Sadie spoke up, holding Kiley’s gaze. “You’re probably anxious to be away from us so I’ll get right to it. I have a story to share with you.

“My husband was quite a man, in many ways. Five years ago, he met the new boy at the investment firm he used and saw something in him. When the boy tried to stand up for what he believed in, he was let go. The firm thought he was so inept that they opted not to enforce the competition clause in his contract. When he announced his intention to go out on his own, they actually laughed at him and waited gleefully for him to fall flat on his face.