A Little Harmless Fantasy (28 page)

Conner turned his attention away from Zeke to focus on Carino. “I’ll
help. I have a few connections still and I’ll have Jennifer
call around too. She just left and she had ties to the Secret Service
through a family member. She might be able to find out just where
they are in the negotiations. I know they were trying their best to
get him to turn state’s evidence.”

Before anyone could say anything else, the doctor stepped in. “Well,
this room is just a little too crowded. Everyone out.”

Conner opened his mouth at the same time that Rory and Zeke did, but
Maura stopped them. “Do you mind if my friend Jillian stays
here?”

The doctor smiled. “Of course not. That means all the men need
to hit the road.”

Zeke wanted to kiss her but from the look on Conner’s face he
thought it would be best that he didn’t. They filed out into
the hall.

“As I said, we’ll talk about it,” Conner said.

Rory stepped in. “Not that it is any your blood fucking
business, but if you discuss this, I want to be there when it
happens.”

Conner’s phone rang. “Jennifer calling me back.”

Zeke watched him walk down the hall to speak.

“Do you think he’s going to cause us problems?”
Rory asked.

“He’ll try. He’s always been too protective when it
comes to Maura.”

“No more dizziness?” Doctor Akako asked.

“Nope, just tired. I know that’s from some of the pain
meds.”

She nodded. “You won’t be alone tonight?”

Jillian snorted but said nothing thankfully.

“No.”

“I figured those two Alphas who shot me threatening looks every
time you drew in a breath would be hanging around for awhile.”

“When can I travel?” Maura asked. She wanted to leave, to
get away from there.

She ignored Jillian’s stare. Maura had decided during all of
the mess that she wanted to go back to Miami as soon as possible.

“I would say at least a few days. You should spend most of your
time resting. Traveling would not be good.”

“We have a company jet with a bed. I can sleep my way back to
Miami.”

The doctor sighed. “Okay, but maybe wait a day.”

She nodded.

“I’m going to get the nurse to get the paperwork ready
for you.”

When they were left alone, Maura said, “Stop staring at me and
being quiet. You’re freaking me out.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. It hurts, but I think I gave him a few nice bruises
too.”

“The guys were a mess when they called. I’m surprised it
took Conner this long to figure it out, but then he was holding out
hope that you were still a virgin.”

Maura smiled then winced.

“Oh, sorry,” Jillian said.

“How pissed do you think he’s going to be?”

Maura didn’t have to say who she was talking about.

“It’s hard, hun. He sees you like a father would and
knowing that you are having some hot freaky sex with two men is going
to be hard for him to take. He still sees you as the teenager he
raised.”

She nodded.

“You’re not having any issues here?”

Maura looked up and around the room. Jillian was the only person who
really understood the way she felt about hospitals. She hadn’t
had a true panic attack for years. “I’m doing okay. I
think because I was out of it when I came in I didn’t freak
out. Plus, I’ve been concentrating on getting those two
Neanderthals to listen to me. Why does everyone think this is
Peterson? They don’t know where we are. We aren’t even
mentioned in anything in the case, mainly because the FBI didn’t
want to drag us into it.”

Jillian laughed. “Oh, honey, they did. Your brother threatened
a few people to make sure that none of you were. I have a feeling he
has some dirt on some people at Quantico and he made sure they knew
it would come to light if they ever pulled you into the case.”

She sighed. “I have to admit, when he does stuff like that, I
love him. Now my personal life, I have a feeling this is not going to
go over well.”

“He’ll live with it. He doesn’t want to see you get
hurt. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“Maura, have you talked about what’s going to happen when
you get back?”

She shook her head. “I think we’re all afraid to talk
about it. We need to and I was going to push for a discussion but
now...I just want to go home.”

“Conner’s going to want to keep you here.”

“Well, fat lot of good that did me.”

Jillian smiled. “You will call me. Don’t hide in the
house and pretend nothing is wrong.”

One of the best and worst things about having your best friend as
your sister-in-law is that she knew Maura too well.

“No. I promise. I don’t think this is Peterson. Even if
it were, coming here apparently did not help one bit. They found
me—whoever it is. I want to go back to familiar surroundings.”

The door opened and Conner stepped inside. His face was pale, his
eyes cold. Zeke and Rory followed. They didn’t look much
better.

“We have a problem,” Conner said.

At first, she thought it was her relationship with the guys but
apparently not. “What?”

“Peterson has disappeared and the FBI doesn’t know where
he is.”

“Didn’t they have protection on him?” Jillian asked
as she stood up.

“They were trying to back him into a corner and since he would
not turn on his former bosses, they left him out to dry. They had a
car on his house, but sometime during the night, he disappeared.”

“You mean they think the Mafia got a hold of him?”

“That’s not the really bad news.”

“Dammit, Conner just tell me.”

“The name of the company, your name in particular, came up in
some documents.”

She frowned. “Documents?”

“Bloody hell, this is painful,” Rory said as he stepped
forward. His expression softened as he took her hand. “Love,
there were some transcripts of bugged phone conversations. Peterson
mentioned you to his lawyer more than once.”

“Yes. He told his lawyer it was you that brought the FBI in,”
Zeke said.

“What? How did they find that out? There’s the
confidentiality thing with the lawyer. That’s against the law.”

“Not when the lawyer is on the take,” her brother said,
his expression turning even darker. “They arrested him a day
ago.”

“What are you saying?” Jillian asked.

“Maura might have a hit out against her because the FBI is
planning on bringing her in to testify.”

“I want to go home.”

“We’ll get you out of here as soon as we can, love,”
Zeke said as he sat on the bed next to her hip.

“No. I want to go back to Miami.”

He shared a look with Conner. “It might be better to stay
here.”

“Fat lot of good that did me. No. I want to be home.”

She needed her house, the one she felt secure within. Conner opened
his mouth to argue but Jillian shook her head. Thank God her best
friend at least understood.

“We can wait until tomorrow, but I want to go home, be in my
house. The doctor said since I had a private jet where I could
recline she was okay with it.” She looked at Rory and Zeke.
“You can stay if you want, but I’m going home.”

* * * *

By the time they got Maura settled in her bedroom, Rory was sure
Conner was ready to kill them all. There was no doubt her brother had
picked up on the relationship they all shared. He had never thought
to keep it private. He had only done that because Maura had wanted
him to.

Jillian had stayed by Maura’s bedside probably because she
didn’t want to see the argument.

He walked into the home office of the house and settled on the seat
behind the desk.

“So you want to tell me what was going on?” Conner asked.

“What do you mean?” Zeke asked.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Zee, he wants to know about the
three of us.”

Conner glanced at him then back at Zee. “You’re my best
friend, Zeke. I wasn’t really happy when you were together, but
this crosses the line.”

“I don’t think you have a say in the matter,” Rory
said. His temper was starting to boil, but he didn’t want to
come to blows with Conner. It would make him feel a hell of a lot
better, but he didn’t want a disturbance in the house. Maura
needed rest.

“I think I do. I’m her brother.”

“And we’re her lovers,” Zee said quietly. He was
angry. Rory knew his lover well enough to see the anger in his eyes.
And the hurt. Rory knew that Zee thought Conner thought he wasn’t
good enough for Maura. It had nothing to do with Zee or even Rory.
Conner would never think a man was good enough for his baby sister.

“She’s not equipped to handle a relationship like this.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” Rory asked.

“She’s too naive. She doesn’t understand what all
this means.”

He looked at Zee who rolled his eyes.

“I think you still see her as a fifteen-year-old. She’s
not. She’s a grown woman and we left the decision up to her,”
Rory said. “What you don’t like is your sister likes the
arrangement.”

Conner made a face and Rory felt a little sorry for him. He didn’t
have any sisters, but he was pretty sure he would beat the living
crap out of a man saying that about his sister. Conner had more
restraint than Rory would have. Of course, he wasn’t going to
test it, because there was a good chance Conner was ready to lose it.

“That doesn’t matter. She is not sophisticated enough--”

“Stop right there,” Zee warned. “She is an adult,
one who was given the choice. We didn’t pressure her. Your
sister might not have had a lot of relationships when she was
younger, but she is hardly some wide-eyed virgin. We suggested it and
we gave her the choice.”

“And if I say I want to buy you out and send you on your way?”

“Then I guess that’s the end of the business
relationship.”

A beat of silence filled the room. Conner looked stunned but he
recovered fast enough. “Shit. You’re going to make me
accept his, aren’t you?”

“Gentleman,” Jillian said. They all looked toward the
doorway where Jillian stood. Rory wondered how long she had been
standing there.

“I think you might want another opinion on the situation.”

“How is my sister?”

Her expression softened a bit. “She’s fine. She’s
sleeping right now. And thankfully she missed all this crap.”

“Crap?” Conner asked.

“Yes, crap. Lord, you’re having a discussion about her
as if you have something to say about it.”

“I’m looking out for her interests here.”

“By dissolving a partnership with your best friend because he
loves her.”

Zee looked surprised which in turn surprised Rory. Did Zee realize
the way he looked at the woman?

“Yes, I’ve known since the first time I talked to you
that first time you were in love with her. It probably makes it
easier that Rory is too.”

All their gazes swung his way and Rory felt his throat tighten. He
had never said he loved the woman, and he wasn’t in love with
her. Not really. Okay, maybe a little, but he would be damned if he
talked about it in front of her brother and his wife. Or anyone for
that matter.

“What does that have to do with anything?” he asked. The
knowing look Jillian sent him made him want to growl, but he couldn’t
blame her. Even he heard his defensive tone.

“None of this matters.” Conner crossed his arms over his
chest and stared both Zee and Rory down. It didn’t scare him
much, even at all. In a fight, they were about even, but he had Zee
on his side.

“Love doesn’t matter. Conner Dillon, you want to sleep
outside tonight?”

He glanced at her and saw what few probably would ever see. A Dom
going soft. Of course, he understood. When a Dom was in love, he
would do anything to please his partner. And that is exactly how he
felt about Maura.

He waited for panic. Rory had always tried his best to side step
love, but Zee had made him think that maybe he was actually capable
of love. Adding Maura to the mix had been a way of controlling the
situation. But in the process, he had fallen in love. Shit. This was
not supposed to happen. He should have seen it coming. He had been
attracted to her since they met but there was something else.
Something that tugged at his heart just as much as it tugged at his—

“Wake up, Rory,” Jillian said. He pulled himself out of
his haze to focus on her. Her lips curved in smug smile. “Off
in dreamland?”

“This is all well and good, but I think that you need to decide
if you want me as your partner still,” Zee said.

Rory looked at the man he had loved most of his life. Sure, Zee
sounded pissed, but he knew he was hurting. He and Conner went back a
long way. Not a lot of people in their business would accept him for
who he was. Conner always had.

Jillian threw her hands up. “Lord, grant me patience. Y’all
are acting worse than my family. Listen, you’re pissed right
now Conner—for no good reason. Did you tell your sister all the
things you did? Or we do? I mean, that whole honeymoon surprise was
probably not something you would personally want her to know about.”

“Now, Jillian—”

She ignored him and turned her attention to both he and Zee. “I’m
not sure y’all know where this is headed. But, you need to
establish something soon because you’re going back to Miami,
and I have a feeling Maura found a lot of things she now likes.”

Rory couldn’t help but smile. Jillian shook her head.

“Don’t be going all Alpha on me. Unless you want her
joining a club back there and exploring it more with someone else, I
would suggest you start figuring it out. She might wait around for
you to pull your heads out of your asses but she won’t wait
long.”

That had his smile dissolving. “Point taken.”

She nodded. “I brought my laptop and we have a change of
clothes so we can stay the night.”