Safe Harbor (Sea Haven: Drake Sisters Book 5)

JONAS paced across the length of the living room in the Drake family home, all the while glaring at the television. ‘She’s been gone a week and hasn’t even bothered to call home, Sarah.’

‘She called, Jonas,’ Sarah reminded him with an exaggerated sigh. ‘You yelled at her and she hasn’t called since.’

‘I wasn’t yelling.’

‘ ‘Get the hell home’ isn’t yelling?’

‘I don’t think it’s necessary for her to be there all week. And why does she have to attend the parties every night?’

‘It’s part of her job.’

‘Is that what she tells you? Look at those men. They’re staring at her.’ He jabbed his finger at the screen, brows coming together in a fierce scowl.

Sarah curled her legs under her, settling back into the plush chair. ‘This is the grand finale of the biggest fashion show held in New York every year. Hannah is a model. Of course they’re looking at her; she’s wearing a gown worth thousands of dollars. The whole idea is to show off the gown. She walks the runway, makes a few turns, people ooh and aah, and the designer is in for the season.’

‘They aren’t looking at the gown,’ he denied. ‘They’re looking at Hannah.’

‘No, Jonas,’ Sarah corrected gently, ‘you’re looking at Hannah. They’re there to see the latest designs.’

Jonas made a sound of disgust as he stopped in the middle of the spacious room, his gaze glued to the television screen. Hannah, tall, thin and utterly gorgeous, walked with complete confidence down the runway, paused, one hand on her hip, a look of haughty disdain on her beautiful face, turned so that the lights picked up the shimmering colors in her gown before moving on to the pounding beat of the music.

‘Why does she have to wear such outrageous makeup? Hell, Sarah, that gown is slashed to her navel and they’ve painted glitter or something all over her front so every man in the place is definitely not going to be looking at the dress. I can’t even describe the dress and I’m looking right at her.’

‘Please don’t tell me you’re gawking at my sister’s breasts.’ Sarah massaged her throbbing temples.

‘Everyone is looking at her breasts.’

‘Go home,’ Sarah said. ‘You’re making me nervous pacing back and forth. And if you hit the counter one more time in the kitchen, it’s going to break and I’m going to ban you from the house for a week.’

He paused to glare at her. ‘You can’t. I’m recovering from a gunshot wound and they won’t let me work. I have nowhere else to go.’

The large rambling house sat on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Earlier, Sarah had opened the blinds so that all the windows displayed the incredible view of the sea. She could hear the soothing waves and sit and sip tea while she watched the blue water shimmer, white caps teasing the surface. The anxiety she’d awakened with had eased until Jonas had arrived to watch the fashion show with her. He’d turned her into a bundle of nerves and her head was pounding. It was going to be a long evening if she didn’t get rid of him.

Jonas was never a restful person, but in all the years she’d known him, he’d never quite given off the amount of tension that was pouring from him now. Sarah wasn’t as sensitive as some of her other sisters, but the energy was still affecting her. She felt almost sick with apprehension.

She leaned her chin onto her hand and studied the way Jonas moved across the floor with quick, restless steps that made no sound. The man was light on his feet and even lighter on patience. ‘I have no sympathy for you. I can hardly believe you were ever an Army Ranger, Jonas. You’re like a crazy person. I swear, you’ve got my stomach twisted up in knots.’

And her stomach was in knots. There was so much pressure it was all she could do not to throw up. Sarah repressed the urge to yell at him. She wanted to watch Hannah’s performance. She was proud of the fact that Hannah was one of the top models in the world. There were very few times any of the Drakes could support her by attending a show. Sarah wanted to at least be able to say she’d watched it on television.

‘She wanted us all there,’ she murmured, her gaze glued to the screen. ‘It was so important to her. Libby’s somewhere in the Amazon and no one knows where Elle is. She just disappears for weeks at a time,’ she added, referring to two of her younger sisters.

‘Joley’s in Europe for her world tour, Kate’s in England researching a book, and Abbey is in Australia doing something crazy with dolphins, leaving me to hold the fort.’

‘They all deserted me,’ Jonas said. ‘Every last one of them.’

‘You drove them away, you bonehead. Jonas, I think it’s important for you to know your social skills are sadly lacking most of the time, and when you’re injured, they’re nonexistent.’

He shrugged his wide shoulders, his gaze still on the television. He could see why Hannah’s blond curls were famous. The natural spirals cascaded down her back, wild and untamed, adding to her allure. Her large blue eyes and flawless skin showed themselves to perfection on camera, which was why she was sought after by every cosmetic company. She had an enormous, exclusive contract with the leading corporation, but other businesses were always trying to steal her away.

The camera panned the audience and came back for a close-up of her face. Jonas’s stomach muscles knotted, the tension in the room rising perceptibly.

‘She’s so beautiful,’ Sarah said. ‘Sometimes the camera can enhance a model’s looks, but Hannah really looks like that.’

‘There’s a lot more to Hannah than her looks,’ Jonas snapped.

Sarah pressed her fingers to the spot just above her eye that was beginning to throb. ‘I love you, Jonas, I really do, but go home. You hate these things and I don’t know why you’re bothering to watch.’

‘I’m torturing myself.’ Jonas began pacing again as Hannah walked off the runaway, her hips swaying and the gown nearly glowing. The knots loosened just a little and he let out his breath. ‘Why the hell does she have to do that?’

Sarah sighed. ‘Do what?’

‘Expose herself like that. I don’t like it.’

‘Jonas…’ Sarah’s brows came together as her temper began to rise.

‘There’s no way security can watch over her. You saw that crowd. How many people do you think are there? At least two thousand, probably a lot more,’ he answered himself, becoming agitated all over again. ‘Every damn time she goes out, I’m afraid for her.

There are so many lunatics in the world, Sarah, and when a woman plasters herself all over every magazine in the world and is on television batting her eyelashes, you know damned well she’s going to have trouble. She and Joley need to stay home, where I can keep my eye on them. I’m getting too old for this crap and Hannah’s giving me gray hair.’

Sarah frowned. Jonas was sweating. Jonas never sweat, not that she’d ever seen. He was definitely acting far more proprietary over Hannah than usual. She studied him a little suspiciously, trying to read the harsh lines in his face. ‘Has Hannah been getting more letters than normal and you haven’t told me?’

‘Do you even hear yourself? Is it normal to get letters from crackpots? No, there hasn’t been an increase, but the letters she does get are creepy and there are way too many of them. And Joley gets worse. I swear, every nutcase in the world is fixated on that girl. I just want them where I can look out for them, not traveling halfway around the world.’

Of course Jonas wanted to protect them all, it was in his nature. He’d started with his mother and now he couldn’t help needing to see to their safety, Sarah assured herself.

That’s all it was.

She glanced out the bank of windows facing the ocean. The sea was growing a little wild, reflecting her frame of mind. She’d been out of sorts for hours now, and blaming Jonas’s edgy mood. White caps foamed and droplets sprayed high into the air. The wind stirred up the sea, whirling small eddies like minicyclones across the surface. Below, on the rocks, the waves crashed hard. Already dark gray fog crept in from the ocean, slowly blanketing the area. Sarah leaned forward to get a better look.

‘Jonas, were we expecting a storm? I thought it was supposed to be a clear day. The wind is picking up and the fog’s coming in.’

He turned to look at the churning sea, more because of her wary tone than interest. ‘I didn’t pay attention to the weather.’

His gaze jumped back to the television as Hannah once again appeared, this time in a different outfit. The jeans were pencil thin, rhinestones tracking down the sides of the legs and sparkling in twin arcs across her rear, calling attention to the shape and the way the material lovingly cradled her bottom. The tank was short, not meeting the jeans riding low on Hannah’s hips, exposing a band of smooth skin, her intriguing belly button and a shimmering gold chain dotted with rhinestones.

Jonas felt the surge of heat spreading through his body. He couldn’t look at the woman without his body reacting. He spent half his life walking around with a hard-on for her and the other half wanting to fight every man who looked at her. He could still taste her in his mouth, feel the way she was all silky heat, her body wrapped around his. ‘Damn her anyway, Sarah. Why does she have to do this?’

Sarah rose and walked to the window, staring transfixed out to sea. ‘She does it because it’s her job and she makes a lot of money at it, Jonas.’ She murmured the words absently, her mind on the growing turbulence outside. The weather and the angry ocean seemed to match Jonas’s dark, edgy mood.

Jonas glanced at her, but his gaze was drawn back to Hannah, his stomach back in knots, muscles tight. He actually felt sick. ‘I want her the hell out of there.’ He shoved his hand through his hair. ‘I mean it, Sarah. I’m putting my foot down with her. This is the last show she does. She can just retire.’

That pulled Sarah’s attention back to him. ‘How are you going to do that?’

‘I’m just going to tell her. She can live with it. I’ve had to put up with this crap for years.’

‘You want her to retire when she’s at the peak of her modeling career? You are aware she’s the most-sought-after runway model in the world right now and that modeling careers don’t last very long?’

‘I don’t give a damn, and if you ask me, this one’s lasted far too long. She hasn’t liked it for a while, but she’s too stubborn to admit it—or maybe she’s plain afraid to admit it—afraid of the reaction. It can’t be the money, she has enough for ten people.’

‘What does that mean?’ Sarah demanded.

‘She detests exposing her body to everyone, she always has. Look what they’ve done to her.’ He gestured toward the screen. ‘She’s made herself into a pleaser and they want bones so she’s given them bones. I hate that she shows her body to everyone like that, but you know what, Sarah? Hannah detests it more than I do.’

‘You’ve made yourself believe that to justify your attitude.’

Jonas shook his head. ‘You have. I feel it every time I see her on a runway or on the cover of a magazine, or worse, on a television commercial. She’s successful, but she hates every second of it.’

‘You don’t know the first thing about Hannah,’ Sarah objected.

‘No, you don’t know the first thing about Hannah,’ Jonas countered. ‘All of you think you help her, but you don’t, because you don’t understand her.’

Sarah glared at him. ‘You’re really making me angry, Jonas. Why do you have to be such a jerk about Hannah? She’s a wonderful model, she always has been.’

‘She detests going out in public. She’s a model because all of you have done something she thinks is spectacular with your lives and it was expected of her to be spectacular as well. And don’t tell me that isn’t the truth, Sarah. How many times did I hear all of you telling her she’s beautiful and should be a model when she was in school? It came up in every single conversation about her future. That and how brilliant she is, how she has a gift for languages and can speak fluently in a half a dozen, so of course she needs to travel. That’s such a must when you’re brilliant. Heaven forbid a Drake do something as mundane as stay at home and be a wife.’

Sarah glanced at him sharply. ‘She is beautiful. And she’s perfect for modeling. She gets to travel and yet someone is looking out for her, which we both know she needs. She’s too shy to go on her own.’

‘She never wanted to go in the first place, Sarah. You all pushed her into it.’ He threw his hands into the air, his dark anger matching hers. ‘You turned her into a Barbie doll afraid to think for herself.’

‘That’s bull, Jonas. Hannah wanted to be a model and travel. Remember, we’re able to read one another fairly easily. I think we’d know if she hated it.’

Jonas swung around, for the first time she could ever remember looming over her in an intimidating manner—and he was intimidating. He actually took an aggressive step toward her and his fingers were curled into two tight fists, his knuckles white. ‘Would you, Sarah? Are you so certain of that? Hannah is powerful, maybe much more than you ever conceived. She would never want any of you to think she wasn’t happy. Surely you’re aware she has an eating disorder. How long have you known that? Or didn’t you?

Was she successful in hiding that as well?’

Sarah opened her mouth to protest, and then closed it just as abruptly. Hannah did have an eating disorder. Libby had uncovered it only a few weeks earner, but all of them should have known. Hannah was capable of hiding her true feelings from her sisters—at least all but Elle—maybe even Elle. Sarah frowned. In truth, she didn’t even know for certain whether or not Elle could always read Hannah. Unfortunately, Jonas was right about Hannah’s abilities. She was powerful and she did love her sisters enough to hide her feelings if she thought they’d be uncomfortable.

‘That can’t be true,’ she murmured aloud, suddenly anxious. Hannah’s panic attacks had started in school and continued throughout her modeling career. She seldom gave interviews because one of the other Drake sisters had to help her overcome her nerves.

Could she really want to stay home and not travel the world? Was it possible she detested her glamorous job?

‘Come on, Sarah, you don’t want it to be true. You all are so certain you know what’s best for Hannah and you make certain she knows it, too. The only time Hannah is really herself is when she’s messing with me because I’ve made her angry.’

‘You mean you hurt her,’ Sarah accused, beginning to lose her own temper, but angrier with herself than with him, because she was beginning to suspect he might be right—and that would mean they had all pushed Hannah into doing something she didn’t want to do.

It would be like Hannah to stay quiet even if she was miserable.

He shoved a hand through his hair, clearly agitated. ‘I don’t mean to hurt her. I want her to stand up for herself, to be who she really is, not who she thinks we all want her to be.

When I make her angry, believe me, the real Hannah comes out.’

‘She isn’t like that.’

‘She’s a pleaser. You know she is. She wants everyone around her to be happy. You all expect her to be successful, and not just moderately successful; the demand is for a high achiever. All of you are fantastic at what you do…’

‘And so is she.’

‘But she detests it. She’d prefer to live quietly, to stay at home and just keep everyone happy.’

Sarah shook her head.

‘That idiot agent of hers tells her to lose weight and instead of telling him to go to hell because she’s so afraid she won’t be perfect enough for all of you to love, she starves herself. I kept thinking she’d finally be done with it and walk away, but she’s killing herself, slowly maybe, but it amounts to the same thing. So I’m going to put a stop to it.’

‘I think you’re wrong,’ Sarah said, but it was no longer the truth.

Jonas swore softly. ‘I should have stopped her from leaving.’

‘Nothing could have stopped her, Jonas, she made a commitment and Hannah always honors her commitments.’ Sarah turned her back on him, once more staring out the window at the sea. Far out, through the gray fog, she swore she saw twin columns of water, whirling cyclones, spinning across the surface. The water had gone dark and turbulent, much like she was feeling. ‘What happened to my calm, peaceful day, Jonas? I was going to curl up on the couch and watch my sister do her thing since I couldn’t be there in person.’

Jonas turned back to the television. ‘Did Hannah really ask you if you could go to the event?’

‘Yes.’

There was a long silence while three models came out together and walked the long runway, pausing to do a turn as they strutted, their attitude a performance in itself.

‘She invited me as well.’

Sarah stiffened, whirling to face him. ‘She did what?’ A chill crept down her spine.

Goose bumps rose on her arms.

Jonas turned to face her and, for the first time, allowed her to see how ravaged and drawn he was. ‘She’s never done that before. She knows I hate it. Why would she ask me, knowing I’d be sarcastic and mean if I went with her?’ There were shadows in his eyes. ‘I haven’t slept in days, Sarah.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me right away? For God’s sake, Jonas, you’re like us. You know you have your own gifts. If you feel something is wrong, you have to say so.’

‘I’m not like you, not really,’ he denied, this time shoving both hands through his hair, leaving him more rumpled and distraught than before. ‘I just figure if anything is really wrong, you’ll know. None of you have indicated there’s a potential problem so I just ignored the feeling I had. I don’t have any special powers, Sarah. I don’t.’

She flashed him a look of disbelief. ‘Why couldn’t you sleep?’

He shrugged again, muscles rippling across his arms and back as he paced restlessly. The TV announcer began describing another gown by a famous European designer, once again drawing Jonas’s attention so that he stopped and stared at the screen. Hannah moved into the bright lights to a thunderous applause, spiral curls in platinum and gold hanging to her waist, her famous blue eyes shadowed with glitter to match the gold threads gleaming through the dress.

‘Sometimes when I look at her,’ he admitted, talking more to himself than to Sarah, ‘I can’t breathe. I’ve felt that way since the first time I ever laid eyes on her.’ His fists dropped to his sides, but they were clenched tight, so tight his knuckles were white. A muscle jerked in his jaw and his mouth tightened as the camera once more panned the audience, the commentator gleefully announcing that everyone who was anyone was at Fashion Week in New York.

‘She has a wicked sense of humor, if she ever lets it out,’ he added. ‘I sometimes stir her up just to see her retaliate.’

The camera picked up glamorous stars and public figures, wealthy icons and hotel owners, as well as reporters and numerous identifiable people from the fashion industry.

Movie stars and politicians, household names, people from the music industry were all represented and, along with them, their bodyguards. Sarah drew in her breath sharply, one hand going to her throat.

‘Jonas,’ she whispered. ‘I think I saw Ilya Prakenskii in the crowd. Why would he be there? He’s a Russian hit man, isn’t he?’

Jonas’s eyes gleamed like twin chips of ice. ‘That’s his reputation, but no one has ever managed to pin anything on him. If he’s there, he’s guarding Sergei Nikitin.’

‘That man who was so fixated on Joley? I know he has a bad reputation as a mobster, but Nikitin seems so young to have risen to so much power so fast.’

‘He’s definitely with the Russian mob.’ He glanced at her and then back to the screen.

‘You’re afraid of Prakenskii. Has he contacted you since the incident with Aleksandr and Abbey?’

‘You mean when he saved Aleksandr’s life and we had to give him our word that we’d return a favor?’ Sarah asked with a little shiver. ‘No. I’d hoped we’d never see him again.

He’s a very powerful man. Like Elle, he has tremendous gifts.’

‘What aren’t you telling me?’

Sarah bit her lip. ‘He has a path to Joley’s magic. He can touch her, talk to her, fight magic with magic—and he’s powerful, Jonas. To save Aleksandr, we made a deal with the devil.’

‘I hope he’s not the threat I feel.’

‘Why would he save Abbey’s fiancé and then harm Hannah?’

‘I’ve never understood half of what people do to one another,’ Jonas said, pushing his hand through his hair once again. And he didn’t either. Why people were so cruel to one another, why money and power drove them to kill and betray, he would never understand—not in a million years. And how he himself had gotten so good at killing and figuring things out, his mind cool and clinical in a crisis when he was so emotional deep inside where no one saw—no one but Hannah.

All the while the commentator rattled on about New York Fashion Week being the biggest gala in years, the best collections, the fabulous designers. Jonas turned his attention back to the screen as the camera once more took in the crowd. He spotted the elusive Russian hit man, standing just to the back of Sergei Nikitin, the mobster. His stomach did another somersault, the knots tightening, his fist clenching. Was it possible Nikitin wanted retaliation against the Drakes? There was something. Someone. He just couldn’t find the threat, but he felt it on the outer edges of his consciousness, whispering to him, digging at him, making him hyperaware.

Sarah watched Jonas, not the screen. His gaze was fixed, and his body was utterly still as if he were hunting. She hardly dared to take a breath, afraid of disturbing his concentration. He didn’t believe he had paranormal talents, but the Drake sisters had always been aware of his abilities—just not exactly what they were. He was certainly in tune with them—and with danger. His face had the grim expression he often wore when he was investigating a particularly intense crime.

Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat, fighting to remain calm. Apprehension ate at her, so strong she could barely breathe. Was the familiar feeling the beginning of warnings, precognition kicking in—or was it empathy for whatever Jonas was feeling—because she was beginning to get the impression something terrible was about to happen.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Damn it, I don’t know.’ His gaze went dark with anxiety. ‘She’s in trouble, though. I know she is. I should have gone with her.’

Sarah swallowed her alarm, forcing down panic. ‘Calm down, Jonas. I want you to sit down and take a few deep breaths.’

‘Go to hell, Sarah. I’m not some little kid. Hannah is—everything to me.’

Sarah’s heart jumped. Jonas had never admitted his feelings aloud for her sister. He didn’t even seem to notice what he was saying, and with Jonas, that was a bad sign. The Drake sisters had been born with special gifts, talents they relied on and were an intrinsic part of their lives. They’d always known Jonas had the same rare abilities, just as fundamental to him as breathing, yet he didn’t seem to fully comprehend how to develop and use his talents on demand. The abilities were there, forces to be reckoned with. Sarah could feel the energy pulsing through the room, emanating off him in waves as he tried to ferret out the danger to Hannah.

‘The reason you’re going to figure out what’s wrong is because she is everything to you.

We can take a plane to New York and be there in a few hours. She’s safe right now. She’s surrounded by television cameras and celebrities. There must be a few hundred private bodyguards in that building along with massive security.’

Jonas’s gaze leapt back to the screen, shaking his head. ‘She’s not safe,’ he repeated, his white teeth snapping together. ‘There’s someone…’ His voice trailed off and his attention slipped from Sarah wholly back to the screen. His eyes had gone cool and assessing, his body utterly still, all of his concentration centered on the crowd behind Hannah.

Sarah heard the boom of the ocean, a portent of trouble. Her heart pounded along with the waves. She was suddenly very, very frightened for her sister. She searched the crowd, trying to see what bothered Jonas. The cameras jumped from inside the show to outside, where a crowd pushed along the sidewalk hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the celebrities. There were so many movie stars inside and the fans had come out to see them.

A reporter focused on several small groups holding protests across the street, each outshouting the other. There was the inevitable animal rights group protesting the use of real animal fur for clothing. Sarah moved closer trying to catch a glimpse of faces.

Hannah never modeled animal fur, but she had refused to represent or join or in any way have her name used in conjunction with the large and well-known group, as she’d researched it very carefully.

Evidence had come to light that the members ‘rescued’ animals from sanctuaries where the animals were well cared for, but kept in cages. The reporters had dutifully filmed the rescues, never realizing the real story was that the animals were immediately euthanized as there was nowhere to put them and no way to feed and care for them once they were taken from the sanctuaries. Hannah had been vocal in her refusal to join after she had done extensive research and several other misdeeds had been uncovered, rocking the foundation of the group.

‘They hate her,’ Sarah pointed out. ‘I recognize the man with the beard. He threatened Hannah when she talked the reporters into investigating.’

‘Yes,’ Jonas agreed. ‘It’s a powerful group with many celebrities lending their names without knowing what really goes on. Hannah blew their organization’s secrets wide open and they lost a great deal of support, but more importantly, respectability. That means they’ve lost funding.’

‘Did she get any letters from them recently?’

Jonas kept his gaze glued to the television screen. ‘She gets letters from everyone, and yes, specifically, there were letters calling her a bitch and saying she wasn’t going to get away with trying to ruin their organization. I talked to the board members and they said they couldn’t control fanatics and had no way of knowing who would try to intimidate anyone in their name. They said they were grateful to Hannah for finding the bad apples in their group.’

‘And you bought that?’

‘Not for a minute.’ Jonas frowned as the camera panned the crowd and settled on a second group of protesters. Realizing the television camera was on them, the people held up signs, shaking them and shouting, calling the fashion show abhorrent and an abomination against all that was moral and right.

Sarah sighed. ‘Now he’s going after the fashion industry? That’s the Reverend RJ. I think RJ stands for reject from theology class. He’s very charismatic and has been gathering a good-sized following. Elle told me about him. He’s been under surveillance for some time because he’s very inflammatory and his ‘religion’ is officially considered a cult. He’s moved his followers into the mountains about two to three hours’ drive from here.’

‘Yeah, the deputies have told me how uncooperative they are. They don’t allow anyone onto their property. He’s building a fortress up in the hills, but so far, he hasn’t really done anything wrong and his followers keep to themselves.’

‘He’s going to be a problem,’ Sarah said, staring at the man on television as he waved his arms and gestured wildly. ‘He’s a long way from California.’

‘Free television time. He can look important and gather more followers,’ Jonas said. ‘I’ve never understood how educated people are taken in by con artists like the Reverend.’ He inhaled sharply. ‘Right there, to the left of the Reverend’s little flock. That’s Rudy.’

‘Rudy?’

‘Rudy Venturi. He writes to Hannah nearly every day. I should have known that little pervert would go to her event. The idiots advertise months in advance and might as well shout to every whacko out there to come and get her.’

‘The idea is for people to come to the fashion show, Jonas.’

‘Well, they’ve come,’ he replied grimly, ‘and my gut is telling me Hannah is in trouble.

Try her cell phone.’

‘She isn’t going to have a cell phone on her in the middle of a fashion show,’ Sarah said, but she picked up the phone and began to punch in numbers. ‘What should I say?’

‘You tell her I said to get the hell out of there now. Don’t take any crap from her, Sarah.’

He stalked across the room, reaching for the phone. ‘Here, let me tell her.’

Sarah hastily hung up. ‘She isn’t going to listen to you when you’re barking orders. Can’t you just tell her you think she’s in danger? If you start swearing at her, she’s going to turn stubborn.’

Jonas turned away from her, but not before she saw the shadows in his eyes. He was really worried. It had nothing to do with Hannah’s lack of attire, something he harped on regularly, but this time, she could tell, he was thinking of little else but Hannah’s safety.

With her heart pounding, Sarah quickly left a message telling Hannah they thought she was in danger and to please have an escort take her out of the situation.

The New York Fashion Week was one of the biggest events of the year. Sarah doubted Hannah would get the message at all, let alone comply. ‘Even if she does leave, Jonas, will that make her safer? Right now, she’s in the middle of a large crowd. Maybe she’s safer there.’

‘She’d be a hell of a lot safer with me.’ His gaze was back on the screen, his white teeth snapping together with impatience. ‘Why the hell are they showing all the protesters? I want to see the crowd pushing up against the ropes.’

‘Who does Hannah have for security?’

‘Her idiot agent hired someone. I can’t wait to tell him he’s fired.’

Sarah’s eyebrow shot up. ‘You’re going to fire Hannah’s agent? Does she know?’

‘Do I really give a damn?’

‘Jonas, you’re so arrogant. That’s not going to get you anywhere with Hannah.’

‘Being nice hasn’t gotten me anywhere.’

Sarah nearly choked. ‘Nice? You’ve been nice to her?’

‘Considering what I wanted to do, then yes, I was being nice. Stop distracting me. I need to figure this out. Who do we have in New York?’

She knew he was thinking out loud and refrained from answering. No one was in New York. None of her sisters were even in the country. She felt helpless to warn Hannah. She pressed her fingers hard against her temple trying to still the throbbing pain there. Maybe she was just allowing Jonas to freak her out. She wanted that to be the case, but she was so afraid it wasn’t. She knew—knew—Hannah was in trouble. The knowledge was bone deep now and she was thousands of miles away without a way to warn her sister.

She looked at the television set, waiting for the commercial break to be over so she could look at her sister walking down the runway. Hannah would know. Sarah crossed her arms across her waist and hung tight. ‘She’ll know, Jonas. Just like you—like me. She’s going to know there’s danger and she’ll be careful.’

Jonas flashed her a quick repressing glare. She was a security expert. The fashion show and the party that would be held afterward were a bodyguard’s nightmare and she knew it. She’d done her time filling in as a bodyguard, and that many people crushed into one room with booze, dancing and wild music was going to be the worst possible scenario to keep a client safe.

‘She knew before she left or she wouldn’t have asked me to go with her,’ Jonas said.

‘And she still went. Damn her for that.’

‘Jonas, that isn’t helping. Hannah has a job to do. If she gives her word that she’s going to be somewhere, she has to be there. Her word is every bit as important as yours is. People count on her. Having Hannah model their clothes can mean a successful season. It’s huge to have her on board.’

‘I can’t believe you’re defending what she’s done. Her life is in danger, Sarah. Can’t you understand that? Her life. She’s risking her life for a fucking fashion show. You tell me how that’s not just plain insane?’