Page 4 of Justified Fear (TFH Team Bravo #2)

“Oh, I heard someone coming, so I went up. It’s not the first time tonight.”

“How many times were you up a tree tonight?” Nikki asked.

“Twice. This was just the second time. The first time was because of the pigs; I figured I could hide up there until dawn, and the bad guys would leave. Did you catch them?”

“Not sure, but we can check at the house,” Nikki said. She tried to lead her away, but Keely waited for him and Maya. Then she started walking.

“I hope everyone is okay. There was a lot of gunfire.”

Maya kept close to Keely. She probably sensed the woman’s fragile state. Every now and then, Keely would brush her hand over Maya.

“You look Hawaiian, but you don’t sound it,” Nikki commented.

“My dad is Hawaiian, and my mother is a Texan. I spent most of my life in Texas.”

He knew Nikki was trying to keep the woman talking and alert. She was definitely dealing with a little shock, and soon she would find out that everyone she had been with that night was dead.

Nikki talked to her easily, keeping Keely engaged and somewhat alert. As they neared the edge of the forest, Keely came to a stop.

“Are you sure they aren’t there anymore? They kept looking for me for a really long time.”

“If they are, they would be in handcuffs,” Ryan said.

She studied him for a long moment, then she nodded.

And just like that, she believed him. He had met her just a few minutes ago, and she was trusting him.

As they stepped out into the wide open area, she hesitated again.

Ryan stepped up close to her, letting his arm brush against hers.

He didn’t know why he felt the need to be near her.

It probably had to do with the fact that she was putting up a good front, but he recognized she was ready to break.

He knew the news she was about to get would push her even more into shock.

HPD had people set up massive lights, and people in the white jumpers were milling around looking for evidence. Keely stopped again, drawing in a deep breath. She released it with a shudder.

“It’s really bad, isn’t it?” she said, her voice just above a whisper.

Ryan put his arm around her. He noticed that Maya was leaning up against Keely’s leg. His partner had picked up how brittle Keely’s emotions were at the moment.

“Ready?” he asked. Ryan sensed that Nikki and Rami were watching them, but he didn’t care. Keely was on the verge of falling apart, but he refused to let that happen.

“Not really, but then, that doesn’t matter, does it? Not in the big scheme of things.”

“We can take a second before they question you.”

She looked at him, worry clouding her eyes. “Am I a suspect?”

“Not that I know of, but we need your account so we can find the bastards who did this.”

She continued to study him, then she nodded. “Yes. Let’s get these bastards.”

“A girl after my own heart,” Nikki said.

Keely jolted as if she had forgotten Nikki was there. She turned her attention to his teammates, and he hated it. Again, he thought it was an odd reaction, and he definitely didn’t want to dig too deep to find out why he freaked out when she wasn’t looking at him.

“Then you should have my pistachio cream-filled malasadas. You’ll want to marry me.”

Then her head whipped around, shame filling her expression. “Oh, that’s horrible. Making jokes at a time like this.”

“Don’t worry. We aren’t judging you.”

“Thanks.” Another whisper.

“Let’s go. HPD has questions for you.”

Panic filled her gaze. “You aren’t leaving me, are you?”

Maya growled beside Keely, and Ryan reached down to pat her head to reassure his partner.

“No. I’ll stay if you want me to.”

She released a breath. “Thank you.”

A shout came from the lanai, and he knew that they had been seen. Keely rolled her shoulders back and straightened her spine.

“Let’s go.”

Ryan led her to one of the chairs that littered the lanai.

That’s when she saw more people dressed like him.

HPD were in their uniforms or wearing suits like that frowny detective, Rome Carino.

He was good-looking; however, he was nothing compared to the man who’d saved her.

Task Force Hawai’i members were dressed in cargo pants and t-shirts.

“Ms. Templeton,” Detective Carino said.

“Please call me Keely.”

He nodded. “Keely. Can you tell us what happened?”

“When the guys showed up with guns, or all night?”

“First, tell me about how you were hired.”

She drew in a deep breath and reached down to pet Maya. The rescue dog had yet to leave her side. Her partner, Ryan the hottie, was standing behind her.

“I was hired through my website. I also think they know my Aunty Lulu. She knows I’m trying to get started here, and Mr. Kelly needed a chef for the night. I know he has a cook, but he wanted something special, I think.”

“Was it just you in the kitchen?”

“Yes. Wait, are you talking about servers?” He nodded. “Well, Yazmin was the server. She was their usual housekeeper, from what I understand. Then they had A Plus Spirits handle the alcohol. Ray was the bartender.”

“You didn’t handle that?”

She shook her head. “I don’t have a liquor license. I also don’t know how to make all the drinks. It is too much, with handling the meal.”

“Tell me about the guests.”

“There were four guests other than the Kellys. They were all men and looked to be in their forties.”

“Was there any kind of problems? Arguments of any kind?”

“Not that I noticed. I talked to the Kellys—they wanted me to meet the guests. People like to show off their chefs at something like that. Then I went outside because Mr. Kelly kept the windows shut. Standing in front of that stove for two hours…I was ready to pass out.”

“Is that why you dropped your chef jacket?”

She sighed. “It was hot, but I was worried it would be easy for the guys to find me with it on.”

“I should have kept it. I heard the guys traipsing around, but they never got close to me. Also, it was cold out there later on, and I have scratches everywhere.”

“Keely, did you see any of the men?”

“The ones with guns?”

He nodded.

“No, sorry. I was standing out here when I heard the shouting. I thought it odd because it had been a pleasant night. Being a private chef can sometimes be uncomfortable. People forget you’re there and say things you don’t want to hear.

” She rolled her eyes. “I had one woman ask her husband for a divorce while I was standing there. Like, who does that?”

“Is there a reason you didn’t just run out front?”

She frowned. “Not sure, other than I didn’t know if they had anyone out there. I assumed they came in that way since I was standing in the back and didn’t see anyone. I dropped down on the ground, crawled, and called 911. Then I heard they were looking for me, so I ran.”

There was a long beat of silence, and she looked around at the circle surrounding her. They were all sharing looks. Another chill skated down her spine, which was weird considering how hot it was.

She looked at Ryan the Hottie. “What?”

“Did they say your name specifically?”

She closed her eyes and thought back to the moment right before she ran.

“Keely?”

She opened her eyes. “No. They just knew a chef had been hired for the night. I heard them say they were looking for the chef.”

Detective Carino nodded.

“Can you tell me what happened to everyone else?”

Even before the detective told her, she knew.

“They’re all gone.”

She shivered again. She knew it was muggy outside, and she was still sweaty. For some reason, though, she was freezing.

“I think Keely needs to get some medical attention,” Ryan said.

“I don’t?—”

“There are paramedics waiting to assess your condition,” Rome said. “I would hate to tell them they came here for nothing.”

“Oh.” She sighed. She hated hospitals, but just talking to the EMTs wouldn’t be that bad. “I guess I can have them look at me then.”

“Morrison, do you mind taking her out there?” Carino asked.

“I can go by myself,” she said, just as Ryan said, “Of course.”

With regret, she stood. “Thank you for finding me.”

Then, she started toward the back door of the house, but Ryan stopped her.

“Let’s go this way,” he said gently. It was then that she realized that it was probably a mess inside, and they were still gathering evidence. Her eyes filled up with tears, but she blinked them away. She would have plenty of time to cry later. She would not do it in front of strangers.

“So,” Seth said, looking at Carino, “we have someone missing.”

Carino nodded. “From what I can tell, it’s the bartender.”

“Are we sharing jurisdiction, or do you want us to take over?”

“The Governor has already said he wants you on lead for this one. We’ll assist.”

“It’s odd,” Rami said.

“What?” Seth asked.

“She has said a few things that point to training, or at least some kind of training like self-defense. Do we have a background on her?”

“Not yet.”

“I picked up on that, too,” Nikki said. Seth cocked his head, and she sighed. “The jacket.”

“She was right about that chef jacket,” Seth said. “It would have stood out in the forest.”

“Did she say anything else?” Kap asked.

“Not really. I mean, it was smart not to go out front. She also knew to go up trees because of the feral pigs. But it was convenient that she was outside,” Rami said.

“Or really freaking lucky,” Seth said.

“She’s holding it together really well, too. Another point to training. And she mentioned dropping to the ground,” Nikki commented. “Still, that might be the shock. Sometimes it hits you later.”

They all nodded.

“Your main focus is finding that bartender. He either helped the guys who got in, or he’s been kidnapped. Either way, he might be the key,” Carino said.

“Carino, press is showing up,” one of the uniforms called out.

Dammit . The fact that the jackals were already here meant this was going to be a total shit show.

“Yeah, really glad I get to toss this thing in your direction,” Carino said.