The Chauffeur Page 18

“That’s it. Dad, I’m staying with her. You tell Mom. I am not going to trust little Emily to catch April when she loses her balance or needs support,” Jason snaps at his father after setting me back in the bed.

  “Okay, son. I’ll tell Rita to bring something for her stomach. Will you be all right, April?” Carl asks before leaving.

  “Yes. Maybe I could use some water, too?”

  “Absolutely. Rita will be right in.” He shuts the door behind him.

  “Jason, you don’t need to stay. Emily can take care of me. I’ll be careful when I move around,” I assure him.

  “No, you don’t understand. I feel responsible. It’s because of Kathryn that you’re in this position. I need to make sure you’re all right. I need to be near you, baby. I can’t be away from you, knowing you’re injured or sick, or in danger. Don’t you understand?” he says tenderly, mere inches from my face.

  “You aren’t going to say that I complete you, are you?” His face goes from sincere, to amused.

  “You are such a little shit,” he chuckles.

  I try hard not to laugh because it hurts too much.

  “Yeah, but I’m your little shit.”

  “That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day,” he says, bending down to kiss me. “I’m going to go check on Rita and that soup. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay.”

  Then, just as light brightens a room, the overwhelming realization hits me.

  “Oh, God!” I murmur to myself. “I’m in love with him!”

  Chapter 14

  ~Jason~

  While I watch her sleep, I realize she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. How those insanely long lashes lay over her cheeks, and the way her full lips touch each other. Her skin is flawless, like pure porcelain. I reach up to touch it but pull away because I don’t want to wake her.

  My eyes clench shut at the memory of seeing her, unmoving in the ditch with her head next to that large rock with blood everywhere. I feared the worst, of course. Who wouldn’t, walking upon a scene like that? Even now, my heart races. I thought she was dead.

  I have to fight the desire to clutch her to me, just to hold her … to protect her. I never considered Kate vindictive or capable of harming another person. If it means that I have to give her the building, I will, just to protect April.

  Movement pulls me out of my thoughts, and I watch April’s face for any signs of pain. She rolls over and pulls herself closer to me.

  “Love you,” she whispers faintly, snuggling into my side. Shocked, I look at her to see if she’s awake, but she’s not. Lord, I wish she was awake and saying that, because I knew I loved her the minute I found her lying lifeless. I knew I didn’t want to live without her in my life.

  I move an errant lock of hair off her face, “I love you too, baby,” I whisper to her. I lie back on my pillow and close my eyes. It doesn’t take me long to drift off, and I wake every twenty minutes or so, just to check on her. I finally fall into a deep sleep, only to wake with a feeling that someone’s watching me.

  “Hey, you. How do you feel?” I ask, stretching my aching back. My arm is numb, but I didn’t want to move since April was comfortable holding me.

  “I have a little headache,” she says, moving her body. “My back hurts a little, but nothing serious.” She starts to move like she’s going to get up.

  “Where are you going?” I ask, watching her move, looking for signs of discomfort.

  “I have to go to the bathroom.”

  “Just stand up very slowly, okay?” She nods, and I watch as she carefully gets out of bed and slowly stands, checking for dizziness. She’s still for a minute and then turns toward me, smiles and heads to the bathroom.

  I get up to make us coffee when my phone rings. I follow the sound and find it’s coming from my jeans that are still lying on the floor next to the bed. I look down and see that I’m in my briefs. Rolling my eyes, I slip my jeans on before April comes out of the bathroom. By then, the phone has quit ringing, but I pull it out to see who called. It was Dad. I hit speed dial and call him back.

  “Hi, Dad,” I say, walking to the bathroom just in time to hear the shower tub running.

  “How’s April this morning?”

  “So far so good, I guess. She’s in the shower right now. She has a headache and some body aches, but I think she’s okay.”

  “I made a few phone calls regarding Kathryn this morning, and I have new information. Come to the house as soon as you can. I think Kathryn’s in trouble and is in over her head.”

  “Is it bad?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, we’ll be over soon.” After hanging up, I turn to check on April, and she’s standing in her doorway, wrapped in towels.

  “Hey,” I say, walking toward her.

  “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes. Should you have washed your hair, April? You have stitches …” I smile when she removes the towel revealing dry hair.

  “We need to go over to the house for breakfast with my parents. Dad’s learned something regarding Kate,” I explain, handing her a cup of fresh coffee.

  “Jason, I’m capable of staying here alone. I’ll be all right.”

  “I know you are capable, April, but you’re not going to. This is not open for discussion. Tomorrow we’ll see how you’re doing, but Sully said today it’s important that we keep an eye on you, and that’s what I’m going to do, so please,” I run my thumb along her bottom lip, “don’t argue with me about this?”

  I bend down and kiss her pouty lips, and when her hands run up my chest and thread through my hair, my body reacts. It’s just a kiss I remind myself. I curse my dick for being too damned responsive. Backing away before we both lose control, I smile at the disappointment on her face.

  “Go get dressed before I remove that towel from your body, baby,” I say, against her cheek, giving her one last kiss. I turn around and open the doors to the balcony to cool my ass off and give her time to get dressed.

  When I hear her in the kitchen, I turn around. She’s dressed in a rose-colored velour sweat suit that perfectly fits her pretty behind.

  “Jason?”

  “April?”

  We speak at the same time and we both smile.

  “You first.”

  “Thank you for yesterday—for finding me,” she says, talking to my chest.

  “I was so scared. When Rita told me how long you were gone, I knew something was wrong. I’m not going to lie—when I found you lying there in that ditch, I thought the worst,” I say, pulling her tight against me. “I have never been so scared in my life. I need you to promise me that you won’t go anywhere without someone with you, okay?” I ask, taking her face in my hands to force her to look at me.

  “I promise. When I saw that car coming at me, I jumped out of the way. That’s when I fell and hit my head, and everything went black.”

  “So, the person who attacked you came back and after seeing you there unconscious, wrote that on your stomach and just left you there.” I get angry just thinking about it.

  “It’s creepy, knowing they had their hands on me.”

  I shudder at that thought and pull her hard against me, not voicing my thoughts out loud.

  “Come on, my dad wants to talk to me. Let’s see what he found out and get some food in you. Then, we’ll sit down, and I’ll tell you everything he has learned so far, all right?”

  “I’d like that.”

  Although she protests, I carry her down the stairs anyway. I won’t have her blacking out and falling, and in the end, I win. I let her walk into the house, though.

  “April,” Rita calls out, hugging her as if she hasn’t seen her in ages. “Are you all right, dear? Are you hungry? Do you need anything? Do you hurt? How’s your head?”

  “Rita! For god’s sake, let the girl breath,” my mom says, coming into the kitchen, rescuing April and taking her in her arms.

  “Are you all right, dear?” April nods and looks for me.


  “She’s fine, Mom. Come on, let’s get some breakfast,” I say, pulling her away from my mother and escorting her out of the room.

  “Thank you,” she whispers.

  “Rita’s made us a gourmet buffet breakfast,” my mother shares. I grin and guide April into the formal dining room. After we fill our plates, we sit next to each other. Mom and Dad come in, shortly followed by Kyle and Nicole.

  “Oh, April,” Nicole says, bending down to hug her from behind. “I’m so glad to see you up and around. You’ll have to tell us what happened.”

  “Yeah, April. Emily is worried, so give her a call today, all right?” Kyle asks. “Today’s her first day on the job, and I know she’ll want to tell you all about the wicked woman she works for.” We all look at my mother and laugh at the look on her face.

  “Kyle, I do have the power to cut your pay, cut your car allowance, and cut your balls off, so I’d be careful if I were you.”

  “Ouch, little brother, that last one might hurt,” I say with a grin.

  “Mommy dearest, please don’t take my hangers,” Kyle jokes over the rim of his coffee cup.

  “Keep it up, son, keep it up,” Mom warns, taking a bite of her eggs benedict. “I can always get my grandchildren from Nicole and Jason.

  “April, how’s your head this morning?” Dad asks, coming over to examine the stitches.

  “It’s throbbing a little bit, and I’m still tired, but I’m feeling okay.”

  “Jason, you didn’t keep her awake last night did you?” he unfairly accuses.

  “No! She slept pretty good. I’m the one who didn’t sleep,” I say, regretting the words as soon as I said them. I quickly stand up to get some more bacon, hoping that my comment goes unnoticed.

  “Why?” April asks as soon as I’ve spoken. I shrug and retake my seat.

  “It’s because you watched over her, isn’t it?” my mom asks, placing her hand on my arm. I only shrug again, stuffing my mouth, so I won’t have to speak.

  That’s when I feel a warm hand on my thigh. April mouths, ‘thank you.’ I nod, refocusing on my plate rather than the small hand resting dangerously close to the slow-growing thing stuffed tightly in my jeans.

  After breakfast, I let April know that I’m going to have a chat with my father. She flashes me those beautiful eyes, and I think her dream-state admission may be true.

  I can’t resist and bend down to kiss soft lips, noting how warm they are against mine. We hold eyes for longer than normal before I turn and head for my dad’s office.

  “What did you find out?” I ask my father.

  “We investigated the large deposit that was made to Kathryn’s account in Switzerland. It came from Italy and then from Madrid. Before it went through Madrid, it came from Cairo. But the big news is that it was initiated in Somalia.” I look numbly at my father, digesting what he has just said. Then it finally hits me.

  “Somalia? As in the cartel?” He nods. I can’t process the information that’s running through my brain fast enough.

  “The next step is to find out if she’s involved as deeply as I suspect, or if they’re using her. Either way, the CIA is all over Somalia, and if they trace any of those funds to the U.S., all hell will break loose for Kathryn,” he explains. “I want you to stay the fuck away from her, Jason. Don’t even call her. If your name comes up on the agency’s list, they will watch you for the rest of your life.”

  “Do you think the cartels are after April?” I ask, worried he might confirm my fears.

  “No, they wouldn’t dabble in petty business like this. They’ll stay low to the ground. I do have someone keeping an eye on Kathryn now. After what happened to April, we can’t risk another incident. Next time it could be more dire. Should I place someone on April?” he asks, reaching for his phone.

  “No, I’ll take care of it.”

  “I think Kathryn got mixed up with someone wanting to make a deal, and then when you interfered by buying the plant in Romeoville, they came down on her hard. My guess is that they planned on laundering money. That’s their M.O.”

  “I wonder what they intended to use the building for,” I muse.

  “So do I. Finding out might take longer than hunting down the source of her money did, but at least we’re making progress.”

  “But if you don’t think it’s Kathryn doing this to April, then who is?”

  “I didn’t say I don’t think Kathryn is involved, I said I don’t think the people she’s involved with are behind it. Just give me some time, Son, we’ll get it figured out.”

  “Are you going to get the CIA involved?” I ask quietly.

  “Fuck no! They’ll just power play, and I don’t want them to know my business. We’ve managed to keep them out so far, I don’t need them snooping, although they’re all over Somalia. I might have to hide for a bit, but that’s nothing new.”

  “Thanks for doing this. Seeing her like that messed me up.”

  “I’ll find out what’s going on, Jason. You just watch your girl, and I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  After leaving my father’s office, I search for April. Rita points me to the covered patio in the backyard where she’s visiting with Nicole and Kyle. I can’t help but overhear their conversation. Rita tries to push me away from the door, but I listen anyway.

  “He was scared, April,” Kyle tells her.

  “I know,” she replies quietly. I know she’s either nervous talking about me or the subject matter.

  “I’m talking about scared to death. He thought he had lost you before he had a chance,” my brother reiterates.

  “I’ve never seen him like that,” Nicole says, chewing on her groomed nail.

  “His skin tone was gray. It was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. He was shaking when he carried you into the house. It broke my heart seeing my brother like that,” she says, looking at Kyle for confirmation.

  It’s time I break up this tea party. I don’t want anyone telling April I love her before I do.

  “There you are.” I graze her shoulder as I take the seat next to her.

  “April, do you know of anyone that might be doing this to you?” I ask.

  “No, no one. I didn’t have any problems before coming here,” she says adamantly.

  “Emily said that James was pretty pissed off at you for leaving. Do you think this could be him?” Kyle suggests.

  “No. He might have been angry, but he’s just an asshole in general.”

  “But wasn’t he angry that you refused him after he hit on you?” Nicole asks.

  “How the hell do you guys know all of this?” April asks, frowning.

  “Well, Emily told me, and Adam told Nicole,” Kyle confesses. I can do nothing but shake my head at how much these people gossip amongst themselves.

  “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” I bark, feeling somewhat insignificant.

  April frowns at my outburst. “Because there wasn’t a reason to tell you, Jason. I would have told you sooner or later, but shit keeps happening around here, and it never seems to be the right time.”

  “Will you tell me now?”

  April tells me everything James has done to her. How he touched her, made lewd comments and innuendos. I don’t think I heard anything beyond how he touched her. He touched her ass, her breasts, and now I want to kill the bastard.

  “When was the last time you spoke to Sam?” I ask.

  “At my dinner party. We don’t speak as much as we used to when we worked together. Plus, he’s seeing somebody. He’ll be at the party on Saturday, though.”

  I feel as if I’m going to have a heart attack. “Tell me you’re not still having that.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Yeah, Jason, why wouldn’t she?” my sister asks. I look at all three of them, and they’re frowning at me as though I’m about to take away their favorite toy.

  “In case you forgot, April has stitches and has been banned from driving,” I rem
ind them, standing to take my seat.

  “She is not going to do anything but lie beside the pool, brother dearest. We will do everything else,” Nicole snaps out at me. “There’s no reason not to go forward with it, so don’t be a party pooper.”

  “But no swimming? Please?”

  “Jason, I love that you want to take care of me, but please don’t treat me like a child, all right? I know I have a concussion, and I wouldn’t think about going under the water.” When she begins to massage her temples, I know her head must hurt.

  “All right, I’m sorry, it’s just—”

  “I know, and I thank you, but I won’t do anything to harm myself,” she says, laying her hand on mine. “I think I need to take my meds now.”

  “Let’s get you back home.” Taking her by the hand, I help her up. “Nicole, can you come sit with April for a while? I have an errand to run, and I’ll be away for a few hours.” I wait for April to protest, but she doesn’t. When April doesn’t argue about being babysat, you know something’s wrong.

  “Where are you going?” Nicole inquires, following us to April’s.

  “I have some work to do.”

  My father and I recognize that we’re dealing with two separate individuals. Kate is one. And I desperately need to find out who the other is as quickly as possible.

  ~.~

  The remainder of the week goes by relatively quickly and without incident. April is going stir crazy and is bored. Trying to keep her at home is no easy task, but she has an appointment with Sully today that will, hopefully, clear her for driving next week. Plus, her pool party is tomorrow, and she wants her stitches out so she can swim.

  “April,” I shout to her from the living room. “Come on, we don’t want to be late.”

  “I’m coming. Do you know how hard it is to brush your hair with stitches?” She rushes out of the bedroom, a sandal in one hand, trying to slip on the other as she walks. The glory of her braless breasts as she hops across the floor transfixes me. I roll my eyes at myself and look away.

  It hasn’t been easy sleeping with April every night this week and not make love to her. I’ve wanted her, but it’s more important that she heal.

  After helping her into the car, we make our way to the hospital to get a clean bill of health. I know she wants to resume her normal life—or as normal as we can make it. I still don’t want her going out alone.