Page 19 of A First for the Playboy Dragon (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #7)
CHAPTER 18
***HARRISON***
H arrison watched the color slowly come back into Juliet’s face, his protective instincts humming through him, the creature inside him awake and paying attention. A lot of what Juliet had said on the trail didn’t make much sense to him, but he’d understood enough to know that she was in trouble and it was her brother’s fault. Reminding himself to be patient, he took deep breaths, fighting back the urge to find the man and make him pay for upsetting Juliet and putting her in danger.
He realized now that the pain and heartache he’d felt had been Juliet’s, not his. It was also clear that he’d jumped to conclusions. “Are you feeling better?” he asked, pulling her a little closer. Do you feel like talking now?”
“I think so, but Max should be here. This involves him too,” she said, then looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Harrison, I never wanted to do it, but Joe…”
“Juliet, there’s nothing to forgive, you didn’t do anything,” he said. “I’ll go get Max, and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Max brought the teapot with him and refilled her cup, then sat down across from them. “Now, what is this all about?” he asked. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you’re going to tell me.”
“I’m not sure where to start,” Juliet said, looking down into her lap.
“How about at the beginning,” Harrison said, giving her a squeeze. “Or do you want me to help?”
Juliet looked up at him. “No, this is my story to tell,” she said, then sat up straighter. “My brother and I were put in foster care when we were kids. Our parents died in a car accident, and there was no family to take us in. They kept us together and we did okay for a while. Then things began to change. Joe started acting out, doing things to get in trouble. I tried to take the heat for him as much as I could, but then when I was sixteen I was almost raped, and they sent me away. Joe went completely out of control after that. He always blamed me, said that I turned my back on him, but I didn’t have any choice, I was still just a kid.”
“That was Joe I saw you with earlier, wasn’t it?” Harrison asked. “Did you know he was on the island?”
She shook her head. “I had no idea. As far as I knew, he was being held by this guy named Mr. Adaloni,” she said, looking up when Max let out a hiss. “I don’t know who he is, but Joe told me he was in trouble, that if I didn’t help him get pictures and information about security on the island, Mr. Adaloni was going to kill him. I agreed to help him, I didn’t know what else to do. It was just supposed to be a few pictures, but then when they found out you were here, Harrison, that all changed.”
When Juliet paused to catch her breath, he looked over at Max. “Do you know who this guy is?” he asked. “What does he want with the island?”
“He’s a big-time drug dealer who works out of this area,” Max said. “No one has ever been able to catch him. He does all his business on private islands, and he’s been trying to get his hands on Heart of the Ocean since I started building here.”
With the pieces beginning to slip into place, he looked over at Juliet. “What did your brother want?” he asked. What did he want you to do?”
“He wants me to steal the security plans for the island. I think they’re planning to attack and take the island by force; he didn’t tell me that, but it’s the only thing that makes sense,” she said, then let out a long sigh. “Joe lied to me. His life wasn’t in danger, the whole thing was his idea, a way to get a promotion in the organization. He hasn’t changed, he’s even worse than I thought. He dragged me into this, and now Mr. Adaloni is going to be angry with me; he’s going to want all the money he spent sending me here, and he might even want me dead since I know everything.”
Protective instincts flaring to an uncomfortable level, Harrison had to take several deep breaths before he could speak. “No one is going to hurt you, Juliet. They’ll die trying,” he said. “How much did you tell your brother about me?”
“Not much,” she said, her face filled with relief. “I never wanted to spy on the island. Other than a few pictures, I didn’t really give him any information. I couldn’t, I felt too guilty.”
“Good, they don’t know who they’re dealing with then. You did great, Juliet,” he said, then looked over at Max. “Are you ready for some fun?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m not about to let that scum have my island,” Max said. “What did you have in mind?”
“A lot of disinformation to start with,” he said. “We need to make a set of fake security plans. Juliet can hand them off to her brother tomorrow morning, and that will buy us some time to figure out how to defend the island and throw them off if they do show up.”
“Then we’d better get to work,” Max said, getting to his feet. “We can use my computer. I’ll go put on a pot of coffee and have someone bring some food up from the village. It’s going to be a long night.”
When he was gone, Harrison pulled Juliet onto his lap, and she snuggled into his arms with a sigh. “I’m really am sorry, Harrison, I never wanted to lie to you,” she said. “I almost ruined the best thing that has ever happened to me for my brother, and he didn’t even deserve it.”
“You did good, Juliet. There’s nothing to be sorry for,” he said, looking down at her. “You didn’t steal the plans, just my heart.”
She smiled up at him. “You’ve got mine too. That’s why it hurt so much when I thought I might lose you,” she said. “I promise there will never be any secrets between us again.”
“That’s a deal,” he said, then leaned down and kissed her until they were both breathless.
***Juliet***
Juliet took the zip drive from Harrison. “Remember, I’ll be right there the whole time,” he said. I’m sure he’s hiding out in your cabin because we couldn’t find him anywhere else in the village. Just give him the drive and let him go. I know how much he hurt you, but you have to make him believe that you’re cooperating. That’s the only way this will work.”
“I’ll be okay. I just want to get this over with, and then I never want to see my brother again,” she said. “I’ve spent too many years taking the blame for something that wasn’t my fault. I should have cut him loose a long time ago, but he was the only family I had.”
“I know how much that must hurt, sweetheart,” Harrison said, pulling her into his arms. “But we have each other now, and don’t forget about Max and the guys, plus all their wives. You’ve got more family than you’re going to know what to do with.”
“Really?” she asked, intrigued by the idea. “I’ve been alone most of my life.”
“Those days are over, no more solitude for you,” Harrison said. “In fact, I think after you see your brother, we should go over to the other side of the island; I’ll introduce you to Keith and his wife, Stella. I think you two will get along great.”
Harrison’s faith in her made her feel stronger. “Okay, I think I’m ready,” she said. “Let’s get this over with.”
“You won’t be alone. I’ll be right there watching out for you,” Harrison said, then kissed her soundly. “Now off you go, don’t look for me, you won’t see me, but I’ll be there.”
The smell of coffee greeted her when she walked into the cabin, and a flare of anger made it hard to breathe for a second, but she sucked it down, remembering her role. “Joe, is that you?” she called. “I got what you wanted.”
“Well, how about that?” her brother said, walking out of the kitchen in only his pants. And here I thought you were completely worthless. Let’s just hope it’s enough to make Mr. Adaloni happy.”
She thrust the thumb drive at him, anger making it hard to breathe, but she was pleased to see her hands wern’t shaking. “Leave me out of this now,” she said, hoping she looked scared. “I just want to go home and back to my life.”
“Well, here’s the problem with that big sister. You’re much more useful to us right here,” he said. “I think you’ll need to stay for a few more days just in case we need more. After all, you’re sleeping with the head of security.”
“But Joe…” she tried, but he shook his head.
“A few more days, Juliet,” he said. “Mr. Adaloni’s orders, I’m afraid, nothing I can do about it.”
She watched her brother drain the coffee from his cup, set it down on a table, and then slowly get dressed. “I’ll be back, and next time I expect you to have some food here for me,” he said, getting to his feet. “Stay close to your rent-a-cop, I want to know what he’s up to.”
When the cabin door slammed behind Joe, she collapsed on the couch, only realizing then that she had been clenching her hands so tightly that her nails had left marks on her skin. It was impossible to stop the tears that rolled down her cheeks. The image of the sweet little boy Joe had once been swirling through her brain, but she reminded herself that boy was gone. Her brother was a terrible human being. She’d done her best for him, but it hadn’t been enough. He would never change, but it wasn’t her fault. She wasn’t to blame.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on her door, and she got up to answer it, wiping the tears from her face. “You did great,” Harrison said, pushing her back into the cabin and wrapping his arms around her. “He’s a cocky little jerk, isn’t he? He just walked out of here like he owned the island, not the least bit concerned that he might be seen. Max is following him right now. Are you okay?”
“I think so, I’m just…” she couldn’t finish, the tears welled up in her eyes, and she was sure she was going to cry.
“It’s okay to cry, Juliet, he’s your brother,” Harrison said, holding her tighter. “You’re going to have to grieve for his loss.”
When her grief was spent, she looked up at Harrison. “Do you feel better?” he asked, then smiled when she nodded. “Good, let’s get out of here. You need some sunshine and some food, and then we’ll go visit Stella and Keith.”
“What happens now?” she asked. “Do you really think they will attack the island?”
“It will take a couple of days for them to figure out the plans were fake,” he said. “I’ve called in some more men, and they’ll be here this afternoon. We’re going to keep the island well-guarded. If they do try to attack, I plan to have a few surprises for them. No one is going to take this island by force, you can be sure of that.”
“Promise me that you’ll be careful,” she said. “I just got used to having you around.”
“Sweetheart, these guys are nothing,” he said, grinning at her. “Remind me to tell you about the rebels we took out in Afghanistan sometime, those were some scary guys. Plus I do have an advantage, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“I just don’t want to lose you,” she said, hugging him tighter.
“I’m not going anywhere unless you’re with me,” Harrison said, hugging her back. “You’re stuck with me, sweetheart, whether you like it or not. Now come on, I have the urge to feed you, and it won’t go away until I do.”