Page 34 of Kage

I lifted my gaze briefly.

“You know, in abduction 101. It was as if they were playing a role, not obeying orders. I know that sounds crazy. Do you know why this happened? I mean if it wasn’t for ransom then why go to all the trouble of breaking into my condo? There are plenty of beautiful women on the island. They had their pick.”

What she said didn’t sound crazy. But it was troubling. What if the kidnappers were attempting to lay the blame on someone else? It had been proven successful in other crimes.

“That’s a very good question and one I intend on discovering the answer to. Maybe this has nothing to do with your father.”

“Maybe,” she said and cocked her head as I pulled out an oversized bandage.

“Or it has everything to do with him and the business that he’s in.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What are you trying to say?”

“You are right that I spent as much time as I had looking into your father and his business, including people he associates with.”

Her huff was full of new vigor and annoyance. “Are you trying to suggest my father is a criminal?”

“I’m not suggesting anything. There are enough people to do that for me.”

“You fucking bastard.” She started to climb off the counter, but I stopped her, pushing myself between her legs.

Not a good idea. She immediately shoved her palms against my chest, her eyes opening wide.

There was a flash, a strange vibration of electricity we both obviously felt. Almost immediately, she curled her fingers, leaning back as far as she could.

I took a step backwards, giving her space. What the fuck had that been about?

“This isn’t about attempting to hurt your feelings or malign your father, Juliette. However, the reason I’m damn good at what I do is because I look at things from all sides. That’s all.”

At least my answer appeared to appease her for the time being. I placed the bandage on her knee and grabbed the tape.

“Is that necessary?”

“I don’t want the wound to become infected. It’s the last thing we need to deal with.”

“Oh, yeah. No hospitals.”

“Not right now. Your condominium was in a very private location. The perpetrators had no issue with the locks and used the darkness to hide what they were doing.”

“So you’re suggesting the attack might have been random.”

“I’m suggesting they had an easy time getting in without being seen. Is there a slight chance the attack was random? I can’t ignore the possibility.” When I was finished, I rose to my full height and her eyes followed my face.

“But you don’t believe it.”

“Again, I look at everything from all sides. I’m certain you’d like to see the men responsible for kidnapping you arrested.”

Her nose wrinkled and the flash in her eyes returned. That was also the moment I noticed the freckles covering the bridge of her nose. She was fresh faced, not like the women my father had once tried to set me up with. Juliette was a natural beauty. Dark eyelashes framed the flecks of gold in her irises, a vivid complement to the color of blue in her eyes.

“Of course I would. But I won’t bring my father down to make that happen.”

At least her personal line had been drawn in the sand. I could live with that.

“Understood,” I said gruffly. Another thirty seconds ticked by. “I have something that belongs to you.”

“You do?”

“A couple items actually. Do you need help getting down?”

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