When she arrived at work, Donovan immediately asked her into his office and wanted her to close the door behind her. She tried to figure out what she’d done wrong. She was on time, and he was the one who told her to take some personal time the day before. She closed the door behind her and walked straight for his desk with her head held high.
“Good morning, Kayla. I have something to tell you. Please have a seat.” He gestured toward the black leather chair in front of his desk. She sat down and looked at him expectantly. “No need to worry. You’ve already been a great asset to us here. The guys all love having you around. You’re like our little sister who we can bug all the time.”
She hadn’t expected him to joke around, but she’d take a joking Donovan anytime over his silent dominant side. She found herself smiling at his words.
“I haven’t had the chance to tell you more about the work we provide for the women’s shelter in St. Johns.”
Her eyes went big, and she felt her embarrassment creeping up in the form of a deep red color on her cheeks. She didn’t want to tell her boss about the biggest mistake of her life, getting hurt and running away scared when she should have trusted her family to take care of her.
“No need to feel embarrassed, Kayla. I value you as my assistant, and I hope that I can even call you my sister in the future.” Her eyes bugged out of her head, making Donovan chuckle. “Yeah, I know we Mills brothers work fast if we see something we want. My brother Duncan is no exception. He called me just before you came in today. He wants to help you wherever he can. He doesn’t know what he’s dealing with, and I offered to help you.
“But know this, Kayla: I offer my help to you, but only you can decide if you want me interfering. We can search for this guy, keep tabs on him, and keep you safe. We’ll know exactly what he’s doing, what he’s thinking even.” Donovan smirked.
Kayla remembered the guys at work saying Donovan could hack anyone and, therefore, could keep digital tabs on them. “Thank you, Donovan. I’m starting to think that I need your help. I don’t think I can go on any longer without knowing what Tom is doing, if he’s searching for me or if he’s going after some other woman. It’s been keeping me up at night.”
“I’m so sorry, Kayla. You’ve been through so much with not only the attack, which is obviously frightful, but also with a move across the country on your own. I’m so glad that you came in that day. We’re happy to have you here. And I don’t just mean around the office. I’m glad that you came into our lives. My brother is head over heels for you.”
Kayla couldn’t process any more information; she just nodded and wiped her tears from her cheeks. She wasn’t a crier. She wasn’t used to having her emotions out on display for the world to see. The emotions were wearing her out, and she felt like she needed to let others take over for a bit.
“Okay, what we normally do in a case like this is to form a team consisting of someone of our PI branch, that’s going to be me, and someone from the local police force—in this case my brother Declan and his partner Caitlin. We’ll probably invite Ronan to the meeting as well, as I’ve hired him on several cases as a bodyguard, and we could use his help in this.
“Dunc and Calum can also assist in this, as I figure that they aren’t the types to sit around and do nothing. You’ll have to forgive my brother for his behavior. I know that he can come on strong when something is bothering someone he cares about and he thinks that he can help out.”
“No way. Duncan? Coming on strong?”
Donovan chuckled at Kayla’s sarcasm. They talked for over an hour. He asked her several questions about her previous work, her life in New Jersey, and about Tom, of course. She didn’t have a lot of information on Tom, but Donovan reassured her that he would find him.
On his way downstairsfromKayla’s apartment, Duncan had grabbed his phone from his back pocket and dialed Donovan.
“Hey, Dunc, you’re up early. I figured you were still with Kayla.” Donovan had been training with Ronan yesterday at Duncan Dojo when Duncan said he was going over to Kayla’s. “Did she blow you off, little brother?”
“Don, I don’t know how to tell you, so I’ll just throw it out there. Kayla may be in need of your help. She was stalked, which is the reason why she moved from New Jersey last month, after the son of a bitch attacked her in front of her apartment. She didn’t press charges, and she ran from her home, quit her work, and now she’s here. And her brother’s here, and he wants her back out there with her family. I don’t know, bro. I... what if she wants to go back, man?”
“Shit, Dunc, I knew something wasn’t right, but I figured she would come to me after she learned exactly what Mills Security does to protect people. Does she know you’re calling me? I don’t think she would want you to tell me her story.”
Fuck, he hadn’t even thought about that. Yet again he didn’t think before he acted. He was trying to help her, but with each try he was making more of a fool of himself. She didn’t even want his help; she was very clear this morning.