Read Online Hot Contract by Jodi Henley - Free Book Online Page B

turned
seventeen, with Makena in charge of operations, and four years
later, put their cousin Tris in charge of intelligence. It was the
youngest grouping of corporate officers ever. And it worked right
up until the day Makena had left, his loyalty to Jen taking
precedence over his loyalty to StallingCo.
    She eyed her brother. “Keegan Dalfrey.”
    Percy shot her a sharp look. “Dalfrey? Of
DalCon? Black hair, green eyes?”
    “Blond hair and gray eyes. And what do you
know about him?”
    “Makena?” Percy’s expression closed.
    “I’m out of the loop. Throw me an info-dump.
If your father is running this show, you’ll need back-up.”
    “I still have Tris.”
    “Tris might be related to us, but he isn’t
your friend. You think I don’t see the rage? You bottle it up like
it won’t explode, but you’re that,” Makena slapped his hands
together, “close.”
    Percy stared at Makena, then back at Jen. The
situation between the two of them had never been resolved. Her
middle-of-the-night departure from the family compound had strained
their once-tight friendship to the breaking point.
    “Understand I can’t keep much of a
surveillance team on Jen. When she was disinherited, material
interest in her died. If word spreads that we’re involved with her
again, Dad will have a potential hostage situation on his hands.
But three months ago, Tris began to hear rumors of a group fixated
on the inter-island geothermal linkage.”
    “The Pele Project,” said Jen.
    Makena groaned and buried his face in his
hands.
    Percy looked at him thoughtfully. “Yes,” he
said. “The Pele Project. Threats began pouring in instantly. I left
for Singapore a week later, some problems with our Tri-Weapons
division. Apparently, Dad took things into his own hands and
contacted DalCon. Risk factors must have escalated to a point where
he couldn’t ignore them. DalCon is based out of Seattle. They call
themselves consultants, but they’re troubleshooters. Most of their
staff is former Special Forces.”
    He glanced at Jen. “I imagine they briefed
you.”
    The quail egg churned in her stomach. “Who
linked it back to Dad?”
    “Tris detailed Intelligence to you at the
beginning of your time with the Project. Ops took care of the
logistics of running a long-term low profile surveillance.”
    Makena lurched back, squinting into the
darkness. “Shit! Tris is here?”
    Percy gave him a cool look. “Tris is in
Singapore. Want to talk to him?"
    “Hell, no—that man is so whacked he hits
sanity from behind. Are you crazy?”
    “Sure, Makena.” Percy’s voice was flat. “I’m
insane.”
    Jen dropped her plate. “Tris doesn’t think
so.”
    Her brother looked incredulous. “You talk to
Tris?”
    “We e-mail.”
    “Please don’t.”
    “We’re not allowed to talk?”
    “Tris can do whatever he wants. You on the
other hand...” Percy hesitated. “No.”
    “He’s in so much pain. Don’t you even talk to
him?”
    Makena came out of his funk. “There’s
something wrong with him.”
    “If your father beat your mother to death in
front of you and left you in the desert to die, you wouldn’t be
right either.”
    Makena shook his head. “No one knows the
truth about Aunt Rainey.”
    “Tris said—”
    “Like he’s an objective witness—”
    “Enough,” said Percy. “Tris has no bearing on
Jen’s situation. Whatever the deal, I can have you in a safe house
within the hour. It doesn’t have to be off-island. Take a vacation,
ride it out, I’ll get my people on it and squash it flat.”
    Makena growled. “Don’t ask her. Tell
her.”
    Percy turned on him. “Shut up, Makena! She’s
a grown woman. Let her make her own decisions.”
    Jen moved away from her cousin. A whisper of
music drifted on the breeze. Percy smiled, once again her goofy
older brother.
    She touched her fingers to his. “I can’t
leave.”
    His hand turned up to hold hers for a
second.
    “Why are you giving her a choice?” Makena
pulled at his