Page 53 of Queen of Diamonds
She followed Taylor into another room and, at the sight of a leather couch, headed straight to it.
“This is Nate’s office. No one will bother you in here. I’m going to fix you a cup of tea, then go tell the guys that I’m taking you home with me.”
“Thank you.”
“Sweetie, you’re family. We take care of our own, no thanks necessary.”
Rand pushed his chair back, intending to follow Kinsey. She was clearly distraught, not that he blamed her. Knowing Summer had watched them made him want to hurt something, specifically Sebastian Summer.
“Stay,” Nate said. “Taylor will take care of her.”
That was his job. But she’d fled when he’d tried to take her hand to let her know that he was here for her. He reluctantly settled back into his chair. “She’ll stay with me.” On that he was resolute. If her brothers whisked her away to their compound, who knew when he’d get to see her again? He was the one she needed, the one who could and would help her get through this.
Nate shook his head. “No, she needs her family right now.”
“I’m in love with her, so that makes me her family, too.”
“How did that happen?”
He managed not to roll his eyes at Nate. “How did you happen to fall in love with Taylor?”
“She didn’t give me any choice.”
“There you go.”
“She loves him, too,” Alex said.
Court smirked at his brother. “You’re such a romantic, baby brother. You want everyone to love everyone.”
“So sue me if I want to see the people I care about happy.”
“He’s right, though,” Rand said. “She told me last night at the hospital that she loved me.” He sat forward, putting his hands flat on the table. “When I first met her, I didn’t know she was your sister. If I had, I wouldn’t have gone near her, but truthfully I’m glad I didn’t know. I get that you want to take care of her, but so do I. And I’m not backing down on this.”
Court tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. “Why don’t we table a decision on where Kinsey goes for a few minutes? I need to bring you up to speed on what I’ve found on Summer before she comes back. Hearing it would only upset her more.”
“Fine,” Nate said, giving Rand a dark look before turning his attention to Court. “Talk.”
“You already know about his expulsions from high school and college. Jacob Summer has twice, that I’ve found so far, paid off women to keep quiet about his son. Both were employees of Summer Fashions who’d filed sexual harassment charges against him with EEOC. They were later dropped.”
“Money change hands?” Rand asked.
“Yep. I was able to get both of them on the phone this morning. One said she’d signed an agreement not to talk about it and refused to say more. That confirmed that she’d received money. The second was very chatty, even though she admitted that she’d also signed an agreement. She regrets that she let Jacob Summer coerce her into dropping the charges against his son. She didn’t want to, but he said if she didn’t, he would ruin her life, that she’d never be able to get another job. Then there’s one more woman I haven’t been able to reach. A third employee who filed a sexual assault charge with the police. That was also dropped, so I’m guessing his father got to her, too.”
Rand fisted his hands. He didn’t know the women’s circumstances and didn’t blame them for caving in to a bully, but if they’d not backed off their claims, Kinsey might have been spared Summer’s attention.
“Did you get the police report for that one?” Rand asked. Court darted a glance at Nate, and Rand got the impression that he was worried about the reaction to the answer from the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office.
“Yeah, he attacked her in the bathroom at Summer Fashions.”
“The fuck,” Nate said.
“I want to kill him,” Rand said. If Sebastian Summer was in front of him right now, he wouldn’t have any qualms about carrying out that threat. And he’d very much like five minutes in a room with Jacob Summer.
“The police took him into custody early this morning,” Nate said. “I was there to observe the detective in charge of the case question him. At first Summer denied everything, but when confronted with the list of witnesses, especially that one was an FBI agent, he admitted to following Kinsey into the bathroom. He claims she asked him to, but then changed her mind about wanting to have sex with him. According to him, he was leaving when a man attacked him for no reason. All bullshit, of course, and with Kinsey’s testimony and yours, Rand, along with her injuries, he’s not going to get out of this one. His past history will also work against him.”
Rand had thought he already hated the man to full capacity, but he was wrong. “Did he admit to breaking into her apartment and planting the cameras?”
“Not at first, but when the detective told him his fingerprints were on the cameras, he claimed it was a game Kinsey wanted to play, a fantasy of being watched that she wanted to act out. She had a habit of leaving her keys on her desk, and he had a copy made. Because she supposedly left her keys for him to find, he wasn’t really breaking in.”
