Free A Little Harmless Rumor by Melissa Schroeder Page B

together.
    “No. You have to come here. Del can put you in a safe house, or I have a good friend you can stay with.”
    “Sean.”
    “I can promise you that Ali will make sure you are safe. She was former MI-6. We need to go over everything. We’re missing something. I don’t want you getting snatched up again. I don’t know how long it would take me to find you.”
    She sighed. “Okay.”
    She handed the phone back to Del. “We’ll be leaving here within the hour.”
    “Thanks again.” In the last week Del had done more for him than most people had done in his lifetime. Well, except Randy and Jaime.
    “So, you’re related?”
    “Long story.”
    “I expect to hear it some time.”
    “I promise.”
    Del clicked off the phone without saying goodbye…again. Sean chuckled as he turned his off.
    “So, what was that about?” Jaime asked.
    He glanced over his shoulder to look at her. His heart caught in his throat. Damn, the woman was breathtaking. And not just when she was made up. In fact, he liked her like this. She’d left the makeup off today and had thrown on an old Waikiki t-shirt and a raggedy pair of cut off jeans. She just glowed with happiness, even as she was frowning at him.
    “I had to have Del help with something.”
    She leaned against the doorjamb and crossed her arms. “And that would be?”
    He sighed. “I’ll explain, but not right now. Del’s going to deliver something, and I just can’t concentrate until everything is settled.”
    She didn’t look happy about it, but she nodded. He sensed that she was shifting away from him, if not physically, then emotionally. He wanted to let her go. It was easier, but after the last few days…he couldn’t do that.
    “Hey,” he said walking to her. He slipped his hands around her waist. “I promise to explain everything. Just a few more hours, and I’ll tell both you and Randy everything.”
    “Is that a promise?” Randy said.
    “Damn SEAL,” Jaime said, humor threading her voice. “Doesn’t the way he sneaks up like that irritate you?”
    He smiled. “Yeah, it does.”
    “Well?” Randy asked. He wasn’t smiling, and Sean knew he was serious.
    He walked to Randy and cupped his face. “It’s a promise. No more secrets.”
    Sean brushed his mouth over Randy’s, then looked at Jaime. “I need to do some work.”
    She rolled her eyes. “I’ve heard that one before.”
    “No, truly. This is regular threat assessment I am doing for Dillon and Associates. I’ve been doing side jobs for them for awhile, as long as it doesn’t require me to travel.”
    Randy smiled. “I knew there had to be something you were doing on the side. You have never been one to sit still for long.”
    “Yeah, and I need to do a little work before Del arrives.”
    “I think that’s code for ‘he wants us out of here’,” Randy said.
    “Okay,” Jaime said, even though she did not sound too happy about it.
    “Hey, why don’t you two go out to the beach. It’s not that busy right now, and it’s going to be a nice day. I’ll let you know when they arrive if they get here before you get back.”
    Jaime nodded and Randy gave Sean a look that said he would take care of it. Sean watched as Randy drew her away and up the stairs. He didn’t lie to them. He did have some work to do, and he decided it would be the one thing that would keep his mind off the issue of Emma.

CHAPTER NINE
    J aime looked out over the beach, taking note of the number of locals compared to the tourists. This had always been a local beach until the last few years. Now, more and more people had found out about the beauty of Kailua Beach Park, and they flocked to it. Thankfully, it was a slow day so she didn’t have to be rude with anyone, because she definitely needed to take out her frustration on something.
    With a sigh, she moved her attention to the gentle waves rolling in off the Pacific. She should be enjoying her time. She loved the beach, loved Hawaii in particular, and