Page 13 of Until The Stars Don't Shine

She didn’t know.

Her parents hadn’t told her about the threats. And man, there was no job worth being the one responsible for that.

While Kane had been thinking, the security guard radioed for help, finally putting that damned phone away. “Sir, we have a situation by Miss Rockefeller’s room. There’s a man here. He was spying on her.”

Some of the color had returned to Lexi’s face, though she looked less scared now, more angry and bewildered, yet still with enough distaste that showed she doubted his words. “Explain yourself.”

“I think it’s better if we wait for your parents.”

His answer didn’t have the desired effect of calming her. Her brows shot up and her expression changed, those rose-bud lips tightening into a thin white line.

More footsteps crashed toward them, the sound of a heavy person, but this one was surprisingly light on his feet. The hairs on the back of Kane’s neck lifted as his sixth sense kicked in.

Oh Hell.

The thought had barely entered his head when the door to Lexi’s bedroom burst open as a giant of a man barreled in, sparks shooting from his eyes. He must’ve been six foot five of solid muscle, with hands the size of footballs and feet that could stomp a man to death, if the shoe size was anything to go by.

At a little over six two himself, Kane was no shrinking violet, but against this man — who he guessed instantly must be Lexi’s father — even he took a wary step back.

Stonewall took in the situation, saw the gun pointed at Kane’s chest and his jaw clenched.

“You son-of-a-bitch!”

He charged through the room at Kane, a tornado of rage and power. Furniture flew out of his way, flung from those giant hands as Lexi cried out. Seeing the hulking man coming for him, Kane’s mind assessed the situation fast as a flash, all the years of training coming into play.

While Stonewall was big, he was also consumed by emotion, signaling his every intent. When the impact came, Kane sidestepped easily, bringing up a foot to trip the other man. He grabbed Stonewall’s shirt with both hands, so that when he fell, he wouldn’t be injured, as Kane took the brunt of the man’s weight.

Stonewall found himself spun 180 degrees, with his nose pressed against the polished stone terrace floor.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kane saw the guard starting to level his own gun at him, and that was one more than he was comfortable with.

“Bud! Stop him!”he snapped, looking straight at the guard. Bud reacted immediately, flying at the hapless man who, faced with almost ninety pounds of snarling dog, looked instantly terrified.

“Ah!”

Bud snapped his jaws around the man’s wrist, forcing the hand with the gun down, so that it was now pointing at the ground, away from Kane. Threatening growls rumbled deep in his throat, warning the man not to make another move or he risked having his throat ripped out. The guard believed him, standing still and gray as a statue.

“What on earth is happening in here?!” a female voice cried by the doorway. “Lexi!”

Kane looked over to see the spitting image of Lexi if she were twenty years older. Mandy Gray — as Kane knew her to be — had the same killer curves, creamy skin and good looks of her daughter, but where Lexi’s hair was a rich chestnut, Mandy’s was much darker. Beside her stood a man in a designer suit carrying a leather briefcase. He looked uneasy, out of place, like he wasn’t part of whatever was happening.

“Did he hurt you?” Mandy rushed to her daughter. Lexi sagged against the terrace doors, the mace down by her side as her mom took her into her arms.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Kane snapped. “I’m here for the job, Mr. Rockefeller. I’m with Diamond Security. Wilson sent me.”

Stonewall stopped struggling. Kane loosened his grip. Twisting his face to him, Stonewall glared. “Then what the hell are you doing in here with my daughter? Why is she naked?!”

“I decided to see how far my dog and I could get, sneaking onto your property. I wanted to highlight where all the weak points are. I was just passing by your daughter’s room when she saw me and mistook me for paparazzi. I was trying to explain my presence here when you appeared. As for your second question, my guess is that she had just stepped out of the shower when I turned up outside.”

Stonewall’s eyes turned flat as Mandy fell silent. A look passed between them with something unspoken.

Kane released his hold on him, offering his hand to him to help him up, but Stonewall didn’t take it, shooting him another of those death stares as he got to his feet.

Kane wiped his hand on his thigh and whistled. Bud’s ears twisted round to him as he let go of the guard and went back to Kane’s side, though his eyes darted at the group, ready to attack at his command.

Seeing that her parents weren’t alarmed by the sight of him anymore, Lexi’s expression turned from shocked to confused. Grabbing a robe, she slipped into it quickly, securing the belt.

“Will someone please explain what’s going on? Who is this man and why is he here?”

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