"Are you for real?” The behemoth stepped forward, his snarling lips curled in disgust. Nicole could see him shaking in anger beneath the crisp Armani suit.
She straightened her spine and narrowed her eyes. “Yes. I want you to leave immediately.”
“You do know who I am, don’t you?”
“Yes, you’re the idiot who thinks because you have a few coins to rub together, you can treat my staff like your own personal slaves.”
“Your staff?”
“Yes, my staff. I’m Nicole Lamont.”
“Oh really? I’ve been asking for you. I have a complaint to lodge. I think a person of my—”
“Out.”
“But…”
“I said out!” she shouted.
“You aren’t the only wedding planner in Hawaii. You’re making a big mistake. I can make life very difficult for you.”
Nicole pulled out her cell phone and dialed.
“Who are you calling?”
“The police. You are now officially trespassing.”
“But I haven’t changed out of the tux yet.”
“I’ll bill you for it.”
“Oh no, you won’t,” he said and stripped out of his clothes, obviously not bothered by the wide window at his back.
She raised an eyebrow.
“Nine-one-one, what’s the nature and location of your emergency?”
“Yes, I’d like to report a crime. A monster of a man is not leaving my store, even though I asked him politely, twice. I——oh! Oh, please no, don’t hurt me! Send someone quickly. I’m at 6514 Kinikilani Street. Hurry, he’s taking off his clothes!” She held back a smile as the man’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She should have been an actress. Why she chose to become a wedding designer, she’d never know. Although, being married six times practically made her an expert.
“Are you in fear of your life?”
“Yes, I’m in fear for my life. Please, please send someone, and make sure they’re armed.” Her voice quaked, sounding as if she were on the verge of tears.
The rich boy practically ripped his pants as he yanked them off, mumbling profanity. Clothed only in his boxers, he took off toward his Bentley, parked illegally just outside. Seconds later, his tires squealed as he drove away.
Nicole had a smile on her face when she picked up the discarded suit. She felt a hand on her shoulder. The scent of peppermint and lemon accompanied a warm voice in her ear. “If you didn’t have the chief of police wrapped around your finger, you’d be in big trouble for what you just did.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“You feared for your life?” Lea raised an eyebrow.
Nicole shrugged. “You never know when you’re going to die. That is a constant, albeit small, concern of mine.”
Lea chuckled. “You know I love you like a daughter, but your tongue is going to get you into trouble one of these days.”
Nicole smiled. “So you keep saying.”
Lights flashed outside the window. “They get faster each time you call,” Lea said. “I swear, you defy the laws of natural order.”
“This is the police!” a voice from a megaphone called out. “Drop any weapons you might have and put your hands up.”
Lea frowned and raised her hands in the air.
“Oh, put your hands down.” Nicole said. “They aren’t talking to you.”
“I don’t want any misunderstandings. I’ve still got a kid at home that needs me to microwave his meals and wash his underwear. I can’t die on him.”
“Josh is nearly thirty years old,” Nicole said, scrunching up her nose. “He should be washing his own underwear.”
Nicole could see a young, nervous cop approach the front door. His eyes shifted, searching for danger while his gun shook in his hand. Where’s the chief?
He pushed open the door. “Down on the floor!” he shouted, looking at her.
“Are you insane?” Nicole asked. “You can’t come in here waving around a gun and tell me to get on the floor. Did you come to help, or are you going to rob me yourself? I’m the one who called you, you idiot!”
He jerked his arm up, and Nicole found herself looking down the barrel of a firearm that looked far too enormous to be a handgun. She shook, enraged.
“Nicole,” Lea whispered from the floor, “please, just do as he says.”
“Get down, or so help me, I’ll shoot,” the officer shouted.
She hesitated.
“Nicole!” Lea whispered harshly.
“This suit is a Gucci,” Nicole answered. “Do you have any idea how much it cost me?” She glared at the cop as she sank to the floor. “If this dress is ruined, I’m billing you for it.”
“Shut up.”
The police officer searched the shop as they lay on the floor.
“Are you wearing the necklace I gave you?” Lea whispered to Nicole.
“Necklace? Oh good grief, no, I’m not wearing it. It didn’t match my outfit.”
Lea swore. “I told you to never take it off. How do expect it to protect you when it’s lying in your jewelry box at home?”
“Lea, a carving of a god is not going to protect anyone.”
“It’s not just any god, Nicole. It’s Kane, king of the Hawaiian gods.”
Nicole shook her head. “For an intelligent woman, you sure believe some strange things, Lea.”
“Yeah, don’t believe me, but I’ve seen things that can turn the hardest skeptic into a believer.”
Nicole had seen some pretty strange things herself.
The officer returned and looked down on them. Sweat trailed down his neck, soaking his collar. Nicole glared at him.
“You.” He gestured to her. “Get up slowly and keep your hands where I can see them.”
Nicole’s hands were clenched in fists above her head as she struggled to get to her feet in a pencil skirt.
Outside, another police car stopped beside the first, the driver’s door opened, and the chief hit the pavement on a run. At the sound of the door chime, the young cop turned to see who was coming in. A loud pop snapped in Nicole’s ears as a crystal goblet shattered behind her.
“Officer Quail, put down your weapon,” the chief said, his face red from either anger or overexertion. No, it had to be anger; exertion wouldn’t make him flushed. Chief Kennedy was no stranger to the gym. And Nicole heard that since his divorce, he’d doubled his workouts. The results were admired by women, but he was still a far cry from Ty’s physique. Nicole felt the familiar clamp around her heart as she thought of him. Why did she have to compare every man to her post-high school fling? Of course, Ty was also the father of her daughter, Sara, and had a muscle build that was rarely seen off the silver screen.
“I… I’m sorry, sir,” the officer said. “This woman,” he gestured to Nicole, “wouldn’t do what I asked.”
“He ordered me to get on the floor,” Nicole said as she finally staggered to her feet. “In my new Gucci suit!”
Kennedy turned to her. His red face paled as his eyes dropped. He swore under his breath. “Quail, you shot her!”
Nicole looked down. Her beautiful white skirt had a splatter of red across her hip. At the sight, her hip burned and her stomach took a lurch. “Blood? You shot me? I…I’m definitely billing you for this dress,” she gasped just before everything went dark.