Teasing Jonathan (6 page)

The door began to open.

“Don’t come in!” he shouted.

“What was that sound!” Michelle yelled from the other side.

“Someone is shooting at me! Call the police!”

Kai’s phone sat on his desk, out of reach unless he threw himself into the line of fire to retrieve it.

“Are you safe?” she asked.

“For now,” Kai assured her. He tried to sound calm but even to his own ears his voice had a tinge of hysteria. He’d never had anyone try to kill him before. Maybe one or two business executives might have considered it from time to time, but no one had ever seriously tried before.

Another sound and a chunk of plaster disappeared. Kai realised the shooter had spotted Kai’s shadow. Kai tried to remain calm, but someone was shooting at him. Someone. Was. Shooting. At. Him!

Frantically, he looked for a clear way to get out of the room. Why did he have to pick the corner office with windows on all sides? What had seemed so pretty for its views now appeared stupidly unsecure. Next time he’d take an inner office with no windows, maybe a supply closet.

“Stay put,” Michelle called out to him. “The police are on their way.”

He barely held back a smart-ass comment. Where the hell was he going to go? Jumping up and running for it would only get him shot. Hell, Kai didn’t even own a gun and he wasn’t the type to shoot back even if he did. No other bullets were fired and Kai began to wonder if maybe the shooter had left.

He wished he could be more proactive. If he could catch sight of his shooter he could at least give a description to the police. However, even if he stupidly popped his head up for a look at the sniper, the odds of Kai being able to see something with his naked eye were ridiculously slim. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart. Even his hands were getting into the act, shaking like a junkie late for his next fix.

“The cops will be here soon!” Michelle shouted through the door.

“Thank you!” he shouted back. He wanted to crawl over and sneak out, but he didn’t know how far down the shooter could see.

If he’d still been sitting in his chair, Kai had no doubt he’d be dead right now. Worst of all, he’d never have had that meal with Jonathan. He longed to see Jonathan with a ferocity that almost took his breath away.

The door slammed open. Kai jerked in surprise from the sudden motion and braced for more gunfire. Two police officers in SWAT uniforms peered into the room. They appeared to assess the situation. The guy on the left scanned the opposite building with a small pair of binoculars while the guy on the right kept his pistol ready. Binocular guy shouted, “Clear.”

“Come with us, Mr Stromwell,” the officer on the right said, motioning him forward.

With a burst of speed, Kai raced through the doorway. He didn’t remember to breathe until he safely stood on the other side.

He collapsed on the bench in the hall. Resting his head on his hands, he tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

“Do you know of any reason someone would be shooting at you?” one of the cops asked. Kai didn’t bother to check who had asked the question. He didn’t care. He wanted his heart to stop trying to escape from his chest.

Kai shook his head. “I’m just a businessman.”

He started shaking as shock set in.

“Hey, babe, I’ve got you,” Jonathan’s deep voice wrapped around him as surely as his arms did a second later. Right in front of the SWAT guys, Jonathan cuddled Kai close until he stopped vibrating as if he’d tumble apart without Jonathan’s hold on him. Only after he had calmed did Jonathan pull back, though he kept a reassuring hand across Kai’s back.

Kai granted him a tremulous smile. “How did you know I was in trouble?”

“Your assistant called me. She said you might want some protection for the next few days while the police sort this out,” Jonathan said as if it were completely natural to rush to the side of a man he’d just met.

“I hope we’re not going to get into a pattern where you have to save my life every day,” Kai said.

Jonathan’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “We need to figure out who’s trying to kill you and maybe cut back the lifesaving to every other day.”

“Is there some place more private we can talk?” the cop asked.

“Y-yes we have a conference room,” Kai said pointing down the hall.

“This way, gentlemen.” Michelle’s confident voice broke into the buzzing noise going through Kai’s head. The room spun a little when he tried to stand. Jonathan gently pushed him back to sit on the bench.

“Mr Stromwell will join you once he catches his breath,” Jonathan said. He rubbed Kai’s back in long reassuring strokes.

“Yes, I’ll be there in a minute,” Kai agreed. He wanted to cling to Jonathan a bit longer and he didn’t really care who in the company saw him. He’d always been discreet in the past and dated men who didn’t show signs of affection in public, but with Jonathan he wanted to shout out to everyone that the sweet man belonged to him. Whether he did or not remained to be seen, but he wanted him to.

After a few minutes of Jonathan’s soothing presence, Kai nodded his willingness to move forward. “Let’s go talk to them. I don’t really have much to say. I don’t know anything.”

“You might know more than you think,” Jonathan offered.

“Where were you?” Kai asked. “It didn’t take you long to get here.”

A blush crept across Jonathan’s cheeks. “I was coming to surprise you for lunch. I probably should’ve called, but I had to do an errand in this part of town. I figured if you weren’t available I’d just grab a sandwich somewhere.”

“That’s so sweet!” Kai wanted to let Jonathan wrap him in his arms and keep him safe. A foolish image because he’d never depended on anyone in his life. However, he certainly wouldn’t fight it if his highly capable love interest wished to stick around.

A warm glow began in Kai’s chest. Jonathan’s calm, reassuring presence soothed him far more than any medication could. Taking a deep breath, he stood and led the way down the hall.

Before entering the room, Kai straightened his shoulders and gathered his confidence around him like a cloak. He’d never let anyone intimidate him before—he wouldn’t let anyone now, even if the unknown person had bullets and a scope.

Kai stopped in the doorway.

The men in SWAT team uniforms had left and two different men waited for them inside.

A tall blond stood to greet them. Walking forward, he held out his hand to shake. “I’m Detective Fine and this is Detective Breaves.” He waved a hand towards the other man at the table. The dark-haired detective had a swarthy appearance but reassuring hazel eyes. “We’d like to ask you some questions.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kai said, shaking each man’s hand in turn. It wasn’t really. He’d be much happier cuddled in bed with Jonathan than meeting with a pair of cops because someone had just shot at him.

Detective Fine gave Jonathan an inquiring look. “And you are…?”

“His bodyguard,” Jonathan said without hesitation.

Detective Fine latched onto that information like a bloodhound sniffing out his quarry. “You felt you needed a bodyguard before this incident? I was told you had no idea what was going on.”

Kai gave the detective his cool smile, the one he gave company owners who thought they could rewrite the contract after it was signed. “He’s self-appointed. We just met yesterday morning.”

“And yet he’s right here after a shooting,” Detective Fine replied.

“My assistant called him.” Kai knew it sounded strange to any outsider, but he had no doubts about Jonathan’s innocence. “He was already on his way to take me to lunch when she called. He’s not a suspect.”

Kai knew without any further investigation that Jonathan would never shoot at him. If Jonathan had wanted him dead, he could’ve let the car hit him yesterday.

“No offence, sir, but that’ll be for us to decide,” Detective Fine said, a frown marring his face. Deep grooves carved into his forehead attested to the fact that he often scowled.

“You forgot the best reason I’m not a suspect,” Jonathan offered.

“What’s that?” Detective Fine asked.

“I wouldn’t have missed.” Jonathan’s confident tone had Kai glad his suit was buttoned to hide his erection. Strong men were an aphrodisiac to him. Kai barely resisted the urge to kiss Jonathan right there in front of the detectives.

“Could we talk to you alone, Mr Stromwell?” Detective Fine asked. His blue eyes narrowed with shrewd intelligence, as he appeared to assess the two of them.

Jonathan rubbed Kai’s back in support. “What do you think? I can wait right outside.”

Kai appreciated Jonathan checking with him first and not assuming he’d want to follow the detective’s request. He thought it over for a minute before shaking his head. “You might as well stay here. I’m going to tell you everything afterwards anyway.”

Jonathan pulled back a chair for Kai to sit before settling down beside him. Unnerved, Kai stared at Jonathan a moment before taking a seat. In all his other relationships he’d always played the caretaker role. He didn’t quite know how to accept someone else doing the coddling. With a mental shake, he transferred his attention from worrying over potential pitfalls in a new relationship to paying attention to the cops trying to save his life.

“I’m ready for your questions, gentlemen,” he said, wondering what kind of information they thought would solve this case. Kai wished he could point a finger at the potential murderer, but although he had suspicions, he had no proof.

“This isn’t an interrogation,” Detective Fine reproved. “You are the victim here and we aren’t accusing you of anything. We only want to determine who might be responsible for this attack and possibly save your life if you really are the target.”

“You don’t think I’m the one they’re trying to kill?” Kai frowned as he tried to reason out the detective’s thinking. Hope bubbled up because he’d prefer to think some other hapless soul was the real target.

Detective Breaves shrugged, straining the seams of his suit with his large shoulders. “It’s too early to tell at this time. However, it is a large building—a shooter could’ve mistaken one window for another.”

Kai nodded. “That would make the most sense. I can’t think of any reason someone would want me dead.”

“What about yesterday morning?” Jonathan asked.

“What about it?” Kai didn’t understand what Jonathan was talking about. “That was an accident. That SUV driver almost took out ten other people.”

“But what if they only meant to take out you?” Jonathan’s eyes were trying to convey a message Kai didn’t understand. Surely there were easier ways to kill someone especially if you didn’t care if it looked like an accident or not.

Jonathan quickly recounted the close call with the SUV. The detectives leaned closer as if they were now engaged in what was going on. Jonathan had a quiet magnetism that pulled at the people around him. In a calm manner, he finished stating the truth as he saw it and waited for their questions.

“I hate to say it, Mr Stromwell, but your friend has a point. Two incidents in a row do seem more than a little suspicious. It sounds like someone is on a deadline and needs you killed soon. Otherwise, why would they be escalating attempts so quickly?”

Kai didn’t want to admit that the police might be right. “It doesn’t make sense.” Damn he sounded whiny. “I’m not an angel by any means, but I haven’t done anything worth being killed over.”

“Someone disagrees. I want you to make a list of people you’ve interacted with in the past few months and another list of deals pending. There has to be a link,” Detective Fine insisted. “Your bodyguard can help you with that.”

After goodbyes and giving Kai a card with Detective Fine’s number and an email to send the list to, the detectives left.

As soon as the door had closed behind the detectives, it opened again and Michelle entered. “I’ve postponed your meetings for the rest of the day, and I updated your schedule to reflect the changes. I also downloaded all the pertinent documents to your laptop.” She handed over a computer bag with a tense smile. Kai couldn’t help thinking Michelle appeared more upset than Kai felt.

“Hey, I’m fine.”

Michelle nodded, blinking back tears. “Yeah, I know. Don’t forget to review the files for tomorrow’s meetings once you’ve had a nap.”

Kai smiled at her bossy tone. The normalcy of her behaviour lightened his mood.

“Thank you.” He couldn’t remember ever having had a more stressful day in his life. He turned to Jonathan. His comforting presence made the entire situation tolerable. “How soon can I hire you for real?”

“I sent you an email with the paperwork. You can fill it out online then return it to Sin,” Jonathan said. “You should be more cautious, though. For all you know, I could’ve set this whole thing up and you’d be employing a murderer.”

Kai knew Jonathan had a good point—after all, how much did he really know about his new friend? He shook his head to dispel his discomfort. “I’ve made a lot of money from trusting my instincts. They tell me you only have my best interests at heart. I need a nap first, though. I don’t want to make decisions because I’m stressed. Could you hold off on being my potential murderer and take me home? I don’t think I can drive.” Kai tried to keep his voice steady, but he knew it shook at the end.

Stress and exhaustion beat down at him. He needed his big bed and an hour or two of darkness to rest.

Jonathan nodded amiably. “I’ll try to curb my homicidal tendencies until later. Let’s get you home.” He held out a large hand to help Kai up.

He gratefully accepted the assistance. Locking his knees so he didn’t tumble to the ground, it still took him a minute to gather the strength to walk out of the conference room.

Jonathan’s supportive hold on his arm was the only thing keeping him upright.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Jonathan said, his warm, deep voice soothing Kai more than anything else had that day. At least one good thing had come out of this entire debacle—Jonathan.

He let Jonathan keep an arm around him while they walked to the elevator. The ride down to his car was made in silence. Jonathan didn’t try to pump him for information or give him any platitudes of how things were going to be all right. Instead, his quiet presence did more to soothe Kai than a million words wrapped around him.