Puzzled by his cold, almost adversarial attitude, Kathleen said, “Sure. Here?”
“Let’s go to the sitting room at the end of the hallway. Less chance of being interrupted.”
More than a little curious, Kathleen followed him to the room, unsurprised when he closed the door.
“Is something wrong? Is Eli okay? I—”
“He’s fine—or as fine as he can be since he feels like hell and someone’s trying to kill him. Eli told me who you are, how you came to be here.”
“For some reason, that sounds more like an accusation than a statement. Do you have a problem with me being here?”
“No. My only concern is making sure neither Eli nor my nieces are hurt.”
“How would I hurt them?”
“I don’t know. Maybe by having them care for you and then leaving, breaking their hearts.”
She had said something similar to Eli earlier today. Hearing her point thrown back at her by a virtual stranger wasn’t comfortable.
“Eli, Violet, and Sophia mean a lot to me. I would never hurt them.”
“Perhaps not intentionally. But they’ve been through too much hurt already. They already care for you. Maybe more than care. If you’re not serious about them, stay out of their lives.”
“I don’t believe my relationship with Eli or his daughters is any of your business.” She started toward the door. “And you, Mr. Slater, are an ass.”
Something seemed to soften in his hard expression. “Can’t argue with the truth. I just don’t want to see them hurt.”
“A brother protecting a brother is an admirable thing to do. Your execution needs a bit more finesse, though.”
A knowing smile spread across his face. “Eli knows what he’s talking about.”
“About what?”
“He said I would like you. And damned, if he isn’t right.”
Chapter Thirty-one
Eli stood at the end Sophia’s bed, his heart literally breaking as he watched his six-year-old daughter snuggle close to her sister. Even as young as they were, they were independently minded but still often slept in the same bed. Tonight was no different, but he’d sensed an even deeper need in them to be close to each other. As much as he had tried to make this trip seem like an adventure, they were sensitive enough to know there was more to it than they’d been told.
Sending them away was the right thing to do, but Eli didn’t know if doing the right thing had ever been so hard. His daughters had been his light in all the darkness that surrounded him. Protecting them was his number one job. But, damn, this was hurting.
“Eli?”
He turned, surprised to see Kathleen at the door. She’d said good night earlier, and he had assumed she’d already turned in. Dressed in light blue flannel pajamas, her long hair falling down her back in a single braid, she looked about twelve years old. But he’d held her in his arms, knew that beneath the sweetly prim attire were womanly curves and a delightful feminine softness.
In a move that felt completely natural to him, he held out his hand for her to join him. He saw the indecision on her face, but he also saw something she probably didn’t want him to see and might not even acknowledge. There was the light of hope in her eyes.
Even as she told herself not to, Kathleen found herself joining Eli and taking his hand. He pulled her to stand beside him, and then they both smiled as a protective, even in sleep, Sophia wrapped her arms tighter around her little sister.
When she and Alice were growing up, they rarely had rooms or a bed to themselves. However, even when they did, Alice would inevitably steal into Kathleen’s bed every night. She’d woken almost every morning to find her sister snuggled up to her exactly like this.
“Do you think it’s possible to love too much?” Eli asked.
“Doesn’t seem like there could be too much of something so good and pure.”
“Were you and your sister like this?”
“Yes. Mostly when we were much younger. When she got older, she had an independent streak.” She grimaced, remembering some of the shouting matches they’d had. “It was hard to accept.”
His hand squeezed hers in comfort. She glanced up at him, feeling in this moment closer to him than any man she’d ever known. She took in his pale features, the lines of strain around his mouth, the hint of pain in his eyes, and was reminded of why she’d sought him out.
“Let’s get you to bed.”
Rough laughter rumbled up from his chest. “I’ve fantasized about you saying those words, and now that you have, I can’t do a damn thing about it.”
She tried not to smile, but it was hard. He was really so outrageous about his attraction to her. “Come on, Romeo, and I’ll ignore the obvious sexual harassment of an employee.”
Still holding his hand, she led him from the room. Eli stopped at the door, gave one last glance toward his sleeping daughters, and then switched off the light.
The master suite was five doors down the hallway. Kathleen led him inside and went to the bedside table, where she’d already placed a bottle of water and a pain pill. She turned and handed them to him. “I’ll wait until you take this before I leave.”
“Don’t trust me?”
“Not in this, I don’t. I know you’ve been in pain all day but haven’t taken any of the pills the doctor prescribed.”
“I don’t like to take pain pills. They make me feel stupid.”
“Well, you’ll be asleep and won’t realize how stupid you are.”
Another rumble of laughter, and then he winced, grabbed his ribs. “Stop making me laugh. It hurts.”
“Take your medicine, or I’ll tell you all the jokes I know.”
He swallowed the pill. “Happy?”
“Ecstatic. Now get into bed.”
He glanced down at his jeans and shirt. “You’re going to stick around while I strip?”
“I know you’re hurting. Do you need me to help you undress?”
A sexy smile curving his mouth, his hand went to the zipper of his jeans and moved it slowly down. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Kathleen backed away. Okay, so maybe she’d taken this nursing thing a little too far.
“Call me if you need me. I’m right across the hall.”
He waited until she got to the door and said, “Thank you, Kat. It’s been a long time since I’ve had anyone take care of me.”
Refusing to let her heart melt the least little bit, she gave him a perfunctory nod and walked out the door. Even injured, sad over his daughters leaving, and angry about someone trying to kill him, Eli Slater was the sexiest, most dangerous man she’d ever met.
Just what had she gotten herself into?
Saying good-bye to Sophia and Violet had been harder than she’d believed possible. Kathleen had hugged each of them tight, finding it incredibly difficult to let them go. She could only imagine how Eli felt.
The girls had been heartbreakingly brave. Though their little lips had quivered and soft brown eyes had glistened with emotion, there had been no tears. She was glad of that, because she had the feeling if even one had started, everyone would have broken down, including her.
The instant the limo disappeared, headed to the private airport where the Slater family jet would whisk them away to France, the stoic smile disappeared from Eli’s face, and his shoulders slumped as if he were exhausted. She’d checked on him on and off during the night and knew he hadn’t slept well. His face was pale, and the pain in his eyes wasn’t just because he’d said good-bye to his children.
“Have you taken anything for your headache?”
“No. I need clear thinking today.”
“If you’re in pain, how clearly can you think?”
“When I find out who’s behind this, I’ll worry about myself.” His eyes went to the drive where the car carrying his children had disappeared. “If anything happens to them…”
She put a hand on his arm. “It won’t, Eli. You did the right thing, sending them away.”
“I know. Doesn’t hurt any less.” He gave her a puzzled look. “You and Jonah have words?”
“Why would you say that?”
“I know my brother well. And even though you’re often harder to read than a book written in ancient Greek, I definitely sensed the tension between you two.”
“Let’s just say you have a very protective brother.”
His eyes went hard. “Did he say something to upset you?”
Since putting a wedge between the brothers wasn’t something she wanted, she said quickly, “Absolutely not. He just has a gruff demeanor.”
“He didn’t used to. Out of all of Mathias’s children, he was the most softhearted, the kindest. I haven’t shared a lot of our family history with you, but it might help you to understand Jonah better if you knew what he’s been through.”
“I know your father punished him by framing him for a crime he didn’t commit and that he served time in prison.”
“Yes. There is that. But my father also had Teri Burke, Jonah’s fiancée, murdered.”
Kathleen gasped, shook her head in disbelief. “How could a father—”
“Mathias Slater had more evil in him than anyone I’ve ever known. If he wanted something bad enough, he’d kill one of his own kids without compunction. In fact, he’d planned to have Jonah killed in prison, but thankfully, he trusted the wrong person to take care of it.”
“I’m glad I never knew him. And thank you for telling me about Jonah. It explains a lot.”
His expression was even grimmer than before. She imagined that talking about what his father had done hadn’t helped his headache. Since they would soon start digging into Mathias Slater’s past, she had a feeling it would get much worse before it got better.
He turned and headed toward the house. “I’ve got some things I need to take care of this morning. Kennedy and Nick Gallagher will be here at ten. We’ll meet in my office and start tearing into things. Have you met either of them?”
Following him, she said, “Grey’s mentioned them, but I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting them yet.”
“You’ll like them, especially Kennedy. You two have a lot in common.”
“Really? How so?”
His eyes went warm with appreciation as he gave her a charming, mischievous grin. Kathleen felt the impact to her toes and had to swallow back a sigh of longing. She was so mesmerized by the look, and so happy to see his sadness disappear, that she didn’t protest when he took her hand and led her up the porch steps into the house.
“For one, you’ve worked for two of the same employers. The irascible one and the charming one.”
“She’s worked for both you and Grey?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll see if she can give me tips on dealing with my irascible boss.” She glanced at her watch. “Now I’d better go make a call to the charming one.”
He grinned again and then kissed her hand before letting her go. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
Kathleen stood at the entrance to Eli’s office. She could hear his voice, but since his office was empty, she wasn’t sure where it was coming from. Seconds later, a portion of the wall opened, and Eli stood there, holding a cellphone against his ear. When he saw her, he motioned her forward.
Curious, she walked toward him, and Eli backed away, allowing her to enter. A few feet inside the room, she jerked to a stop and swallowed a gasp. Not only was this a hidden room, it was filled with stacks of files and reams of paper. More than a half-dozen whiteboards stood against the wall, covered with the names of people and companies.
“She’s here now, Justice,” Eli said. “I appreciate the help. No, that’s okay. I’ll call you if we come up with something.”
The instant the call ended, Kathleen asked, “What’s all this?”
He gave a broad wave of his hand. “Welcome to Eli’s World of Insanity.”
“I don’t understand.”
“After my father died and my brother was arrested, I tore apart every business deal, legitimate, illegitimate, and in between. This is the result.”
She was speechless and more than a little ashamed of herself. Even though he’d made reference to the work he’d had to do to repair all the damage left by his father and brother, she had never fully comprehended what that had entailed. But looking at the evidence, she could only imagine the endless months this had taken him. To do this in addition to handling the day-to-day details of running the Slater House Hotels enterprise, plus his family’s other businesses and being a father, was nothing short of remarkable.
Seeing all of this only reinforced what she already knew. Eli Slater was a man of tenacity, grit, and enormous strength of will.
Though she already knew the answer, she had to ask, “You did all of this by yourself?”
“I’m fortunate to have many good people working for me. It’s in everyone’s best interest that the Slater empire survives. While they handled the legitimate businesses, I concentrated much of my efforts on this.” He shrugged. “It was either that or lose every damn thing. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“So this is Eli’s famous war room.”
At the sound of the deep masculine voice, they turned. A tall, dark-haired man stood at the door. Beside him was a lovely woman with chestnut-colored hair and an obvious baby bump.
“Hey, guys, come join the fun. Kathleen, this is Kennedy and Nick.”
As she’d told Eli, she hadn’t met either of the Gallaghers, but Grey had mentioned them several times. He seemed to think a lot of both of them, and it was a testament to his friendship with Eli that three of Grey’s employees were going to devote all of their attention to finding out who was threatening Eli and his family.
“Teresa told us to come on in,” Kennedy said. “She said to tell you she’s headed to the market with Gunter.”
“Thanks.” He nodded toward a narrow table against a wall. “There’s coffee and pastries. Help yourselves. Then we’ll get started.”
The instant Kathleen, Kennedy, and Nick were seated, Eli began. He’d conducted hundreds of business meetings in his life, but none like this one. Determining who was behind the threats was forcing him to have to go back through shit he had hoped to never have to deal with again.
He could almost hear Mathias’s evil laughter. One more way to torture the son he’d despised.
Standing at one of the whiteboards, he said, “This is the list of all the shell companies Mathias and Adam created. Fortunately, most of them were dormant. Mathias would use one for a short time, close it up and move on. He had five employees totally devoted to overseeing these companies. He played them like Whac-A-Mole. As soon as one shut down, another was ready to pop up. The employees saw to the emptying, refueling, and making sure that nothing blew back on Mathias.”