Jet only realised she was crying when Dan eased back and looked down at her. She hadn’t allowed herself to shed any tears until now but there was no denying the wet patch on his T-shirt. She had no idea how long they’d stood there holding each other. It had felt like moments and hours at the same time.
‘Hey.’
She resisted closing her eyes at the sound of his deep voice. Even in her distressed, injured state, a part of her body she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge ached for him.
‘Hey,’ she replied.
‘So, I was in the area and thought I’d drop by and see how the other half live.’
Jet’s laughter surprised her, but once it came she couldn’t stop and fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. Happy tears, if that was possible.
Dan grinned and looked around him. ‘Nice place. I can see why you like it. Except for the lack of a wine cellar. You can’t have a wine cellar living in the penthouse, so it loses some points for that.’
‘It has been an issue, I’ll admit.’
‘That’s alright. We can arrange for a steady supply of wine. I’ve got contacts.’ His smile faltered and the spark in his blue eyes dimmed. ‘God, Jet. You scared the hell out of us.’
Her own smile faded. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘No. No.’ He shook her gently. ‘You have nothing to be sorry for, do you hear me?’
The vehemence in his voice surprised Jet. It took a lot for this good-natured, affable man to lose his cool and that made his words all the harder to take. She sniffed and wiped away fresh tears.
‘Thank you for coming,’ she whispered instead. ‘My phone call worked then?’
Dan grimaced. ‘You bet it did. We were able to record it.’
‘You did? How much did you hear?’
Judging by the way Dan’s frown lines deepened, he’d heard most of it. ‘Enough for the police to find you. It was a smart move to say you were in a car near your office. And now the recording will be evidence. So you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.’
Thank God. Jet released a tight breath and stepped out of Dan’s reach. What would have happened to her if she hadn’t been able to make that call? The alternatives were too sickening to comprehend. It was tempting to have him wrap himself around her again so she could forget, but after being unwillingly brought into her mess, he deserved her honesty.
‘No. I mean, yes. Yes, I’m happy to talk about it. At least that means when tomorrow comes I don’t have to talk about it.’
Dan nodded. ‘How many of them were there?’ he said gently.
‘Three. One with me in the back seat and two in the front.’
‘The one in the back seat was the one who hit you?’ Dan’s voice was dangerously low.
‘Yes. And before you ask, I didn’t get a good look at his face. Or any of their faces. They were all wearing caps and sunglasses. The most I can tell you is they were well-dressed, all had dark hair, five o’clock shadows and they appeared to have olive skin. That’s it.’
‘They’ve got to have some connection to Benedetti.’
‘I’m pretty sure that’s the first lead the police will be following up. They weren’t stupid though. They’ll have alibis and I doubt his immediate friends would take such an obvious risk.’
‘True. Alex has a big circle of connections. Whoever it is will feel the heat with the police watching and trying to search them out.’
That had occurred to Jet as well, and it gave her some comfort. At least it would make it harder for them to target her in the future.
She picked up the glass of water she’d left sitting on the bench and took a sip, needing time to think. She hadn’t had any real time since the police had found her to try to make sense of everything. First they’d asked questions, the Commissioner had arrived, then the paramedics. It had been a long night.
They both turned at the sound of someone approaching.
‘Juliet. I won’t ask how you are. I’m glad your home safe.’
‘Not safe enough,’ Dan muttered from beside her. ‘And it’s Jet.’
At the sight of Marty standing in the doorway, Jet set her glass down unsteadily. She suddenly felt close to tears again. ‘Marty,’ she managed.
‘I’m not here to ask questions. Dan wanted to see you. I must admit I wanted to do the same after listening to what you went through.’
‘I’m—I’m OK.’ She offered him a weak smile, then whispered. ‘Just. What did you tell Cynthia?’
‘The truth,’ Marty replied simply.
‘Oh. Oh.’ Jet gulped in a breath and reached for a nearby kitchen stool, lowering herself onto it. ‘She knows?’
‘She does. What little I was able to tell her before we left, anyway. I dare say she’ll have more questions upon our return. What she hasn’t already stayed up late googling, that is.’
Dan grinned. ‘Jesus. Glad I’m not you, Dad.’
‘I’ll keep,’ Marty threw back with a grin so like his son’s Jet was glad she was sitting down.
It was hard to believe only two months ago she hadn’t known these men, this family. Now that she did, she couldn’t imagine not knowing them.
Marty directed his gaze back to Jet and his expression turned serious. ‘You should get some rest. We’re not here to stay.’
Jet nodded. ‘Thank you. I need to. Wait. You’re not driving home again tonight, are you?’ Jet glanced at the clock on the wall in the kitchen. It was after eleven.
‘I’m staying here tonight.’
Jet and Marty both stared at Dan.
He shrugged. ‘If I were Jet, I wouldn’t want to be alone tonight.’ Dan gestured around him. ‘A place this big has to have a guest bedroom somewhere.’
‘The Commissioner has assured Jet there will be a police presence outside,’ Marty said. ‘To answer your question, we were going to stay in a motel for the night.’
‘No, don’t do that.’ The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. ‘I have two guest bedrooms in addition to mine. Please stay here.’
Dan looked at his father. It was obvious he wasn’t going anywhere.
If Marty thought Dan was being presumptuous, he didn’t make light of it. ‘So long as you’re comfortable, Jet. I’ll inform Gordon and let Cynthia know, then get our things. Dan, you might as well stay here.’
Marty left them alone, and Jet stared at her hands resting on her lap.
‘I was going to ask you to stay anyway,’ Jet told Dan.
‘That’s good, because I wasn’t taking no for an answer.’
Jet raised her head to look at him and almost smiled. He was such an intriguing man. Easygoing but determined. Gentle but firm. Funny and likeable. Gorgeous. Sexy.
Aware of where her thoughts were leading, she looked back down at her lap.
Dan stepped in closer and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘I’m not trying to be a control freak like your ex-husband. I know he used to try to boss you around.’
‘What? No!’ Alarmed, Jet met Dan’s gaze and reached for his hand. ‘You’re nothing like him. You couldn’t be like him if you tried. Honestly, I’m glad you’re here.’ So glad it scares me, she thought, but didn’t say it.
‘And I meant what I said,’ Dan continued. ‘I’ll stay in the guest bedroom. You’ve got enough to deal with without having to worry about ...’ He shut his mouth like he’d said too much.
‘Us? This?’ Jet squeezed his hand.
So scared, she thought again, but ignored it. Scared was being in the back seat of that car with three men intent on blackmailing her, hurting her. Dan would never hurt Jet. And whatever this was between them, it might be an unknown for both of them, but it was nothing to be afraid of.
‘You don’t need to stay in the guest bedroom.’
Dan dropped her hand. ‘No. That wouldn’t be right. You’ve just been ... I mean, you need time to ... Shit.’
Jet took his hand again. ‘Dan. You were right. I don’t want to be alone tonight. It would be nice to have someone lying next to me.’
‘Someone? So I’ll do?’
She attempted an offhanded shrug. ‘I guess so. You can hold me if you want.’
‘How about we get a head start?’
Dan pulled Jet into his arms again and she didn’t resist. She let her head rest on his chest and instantly relaxed against him.
No, there was nothing to be scared of when it came to Dan Rhodes. And with his arms around her, it was almost possible to believe there wasn’t evil lurking outside of her apartment, too.