Page 9 of Justified Fear (TFH Team Bravo #2)

Five

“ D o you want to know why we are having brunch with the Templetons?” Kap asked, his tone leaving no doubt how irritated he was.

They were out back with Maya. He knew that Keely had needed a moment with her very steely-eyed father.

“I don’t know, but something’s off.”

That much he knew. Ryan wasn’t sure what, but the niggle at the base of his spine told him something was off. One thing he knew was that it had nothing to do with Keely. Or at least, not directly.

“Off?”

“Yeah. I know Charity is still digging, but the Kellys seemed to be somewhat clean.”

“But they had four men there.”

He nodded. “Truth is, I’m not sure if I’m getting a bad feeling about that, or something is stalking Keely.”

He glanced at the back door as it opened. Shit . Her father looked like he was ready to question them, and per department directive, there was only so much they could tell him. Even Keely couldn’t truly find out everything they were looking at. Ongoing investigations were primarily private.

“Gentlemen,” Riki said. He wasn’t as big as when he had played in the NFL, but the former linebacker was still impressive.

At least two inches taller than Ryan, and about twenty to thirty pounds heavier, all muscle, there was no way Ryan would win in a fight.

Then, like before, he glanced at Maya. She was lying on the ground, barely paying attention.

Or at least, it looked that way. Maya was always ready to get to work.

“Mr. Templeton,” he said.

“Riki, please. And I’m sure you know what I want to know.”

Why was Ryan eye-fucking his daughter less than forty-eight hours after she had been attacked?

“Hey, I get it,” Kap said, stepping in. He was always smoother with victims and their families. Ryan tended to be too quiet, and it freaked people out. “But there’s only so much we can tell you about the investigation at the moment.”

Another glance between them, then Riki’s gaze connected with Ryan’s. “Is that true?”

“As per directive, it’s against policy to reveal anything in an ongoing investigation.”

“You suspect my daughter.”

Not a question. “No.”

His eyebrows rose.

“At least not now. We had to check her out.”

Instead of getting mad, he nodded. “Thank you for your honesty.”

He wandered off, looking out over the pool. “I thought this would be a new start after the debacle with her ex-partner. I didn’t like her being so far away, but she seemed to thrive from the moment she stepped on this island. Then this.” He sighed. “She has refused to move back to Texas.”

His heart seemed to stutter at that announcement, which made no sense. He had just met her, so the reason he was worried had to be about the case.

“It would be best if she stayed here,” Kap said, tossing a glance at Ryan before he looked at Riki again. “We need her for the investigation.”

“She’s fragile,” her father insisted.

Ryan snorted, earning him a narrowed look. “What?”

“Your daughter? Fragile? That is not close to being the truth.”

“Ryan,” Kap said, his voice darkening with a warning.

“You don’t think a woman who has been attacked is fragile?”

“No. I think she might be vulnerable due to the circumstances, but the last thing I would call your daughter is fragile.”

Her giant of a father crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Ryan. “Explain.”

Usually, he would refuse, but seeing as how this was her father, Ryan felt he should.

“The moment she heard gunfire, she fell to the ground. When she heard them getting closer, she ran into the forest, not out front. Most people would do that.”

“But my daughter didn’t.”

He shook his head. “She ran into the safety of the forest. She spent all night avoiding the perpetrators, not to mention feral pigs. The last thing I would call your daughter is fragile.”

“She needs protection. She should come home.” Ryan was starting to understand that Riki thought of Texas as home. He had a feeling Keely disagreed. As if to prove his point, her voice rang out across the yard.

“That’s because I’m a grown ass woman who was raised by two people who taught me to be independent.” He looked at her and saw her studying all of them. He had no idea when she’d stepped out on the lanai. “French toast is ready.”

As they followed her father into the house, he shared a look with Kap.

Yes, his daughter had been in a situation, but this was a little overbearing.

There was something definitely there, something maybe from her past they weren’t forthcoming about.

As they all sat down, he directed Maya to lie in the corner.

She happily curled up into a ball and promptly went to sleep.

“Does she go with you everywhere?” Monica asked.

“Just about. We’ve been partners for five years.”

“Wow, I didn’t know the Bravo had been around that long,” Keely said as she handed him the platter of French toast. Then, she took the empty seat beside him.

Immediately, his body reacted. Hell, it wasn’t getting any better.

Anytime he even thought of her, heat blazed through his body like he was a thirteen-year-old with his first crush.

He cleared his throat. “Team Bravo.”

“Excuse me?” She was smiling at him, giving him a view of her one dimple. It was the cutest thing. He lost his train of thought.

“What?”

Kap took pity on him. “Task Force Hawaii started with one team, but as the need with other issues started to overwhelm the local and state resources, they decided to expand us. The original team is Alpha. We’re Bravo.

Our mission is usually just search and rescue, but we are also on call to help out with any situations on Maui. ”

“And that’s why you were sent after me.”

Ryan nodded. “Maya’s the best dog on the island.”

She looked over at his partner. “Is she allergic to anything?”

“Just certain types of grasses.”

Another smile.

“So, there are just two teams?” Riki asked.

“No, well, right now yes. Team Charlie will be up and running within the next six months. They’ll be our counter-terrorism arm. There’s also a plan for Delta and Echo.”

“You can’t tell that our commander was in the military, can you?” Kap asked with a chuckle.

After that, they dug into their meals. The moment the French toast hit Ryan’s taste buds, he had to fight back a groan. Jesus, it was good, but then…it could be that Keely made it. Ryan was starting to think anything she made would be delicious.

As the meal progressed, Kap and, to a lesser extent, Ryan, did their best to find out more information.

He didn’t want her family to think they suspected her.

Granted, he was sure there were people at TFH who might still suspect she was in on it.

It didn’t make sense that she was involved.

She had no connections to the men or the Kellys before that night.

They were also finding out that while the Templetons stayed out of the limelight now that he was retired, they were okay with sharing information with Kap and Ryan.

“So, you ran away to the CIA,” Riki said.

He shared a look with Kap, who said, “Come again?”

“Daddy, you’re confusing them.” She turned to both him and Kap. “CIA is the Culinary Institute of America. It’s where I went to school.” She glanced at her father again. “And I didn’t run away. It’s the premier culinary school in the country.”

“You could have gone to UT on a full ride,” her father insisted. He looked over at Kap and Ryan. “She was an honor student.”

“Who did not have a culinary program. I wasn’t made for regular college.” She glanced back at the men. “So, you two are not from Hawai’i originally, right?”

He nodded. “California. Most of my family is from the Bay Area.”

“And I’m from Georgia.”

“Where in Georgia?”

“Tifton. A little place very few people have heard of.”

“It always interests me how people end up in places. The things they bring with them.”

“You mean the recipes, Keely,” her mother said with a chuckle. “She’s always loved to hear about family recipes.”

Since he knew next to nothing about cooking, he let her and Kap talk about Southern food. Before he was ready, the meal was over. He tried to offer to clean up, but her mother wouldn’t hear of it.

“Don’t worry. This was a meal of thanks,” Monica said when it was just Ryan and her. “Just offer to clean up next time.”

Before he could ask her about the confusing comment, Kap called out that it was time to go.

He joined Kap, Keely, and Riki by the door.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” he said.

“Yes. That is the best French toast I’ve had in a while,” Kap said.

Keely blushed a little. “Thanks.”

“I’ll walk you two out,” Riki said.

Kap stepped out following Riki, but Ryan wasn’t ready to go. Maya stood by his side waiting.

“Thanks again for brunch.”

She smiled, and that dimple winked at him. “No problem.”

Then, they said nothing else.

“You’ll call me if you find anything out? Or if you find Ray. He was annoying, but I hope he’s okay.”

“Annoying how?”

“I got that he had worked a lot of parties there. I also understood that he is more established than I am on the island. But when I work, I am there to work. I’m not there to pick up a man. He was constantly dropping hints of doing something together.”

His hands were in fists. “Did he try anything?

She blinked. “No. It was just kind of gross, you know? He thought I would take the food the host paid for and go out for a party after dinner. That is not how I work.”

His mouth twitched. “No.”

“But if you find him, please let me know. I hate that I couldn’t get word to them to run, but it was probably already too late. They were inside when the shooting started.”

“Hey, don’t feel guilty. Like you said, they were inside when it started. There was no way for you to make it back in there.”

She sighed. “Yeah, well…I still feel bad.”

He nodded.

“I have the same number. Dad got me a replacement, so just call me on that number. You know. Anytime.”

He nodded, and the urge to brush his mouth against her cheek almost overwhelmed him, but he suppressed it.