Lincoln was not a man to take disappointment well. It went against his nature to settle and what he’d been expected to settle for this day was Lily’s indecision. It irritated him how cavalier she was being about the state of her career. But then, she was a stupid woman, led by her emotions. Her not wanting to do the job complicated things. But to stay here? In this place? God, she’d lost her mind.

Now she was just being lazy, idly chatting with her niece while the crudest, loudest people imaginable drank and ate and did unconscionable things like make out in not-dark-enough corners and cackle when even the most asinine things were uttered.

“You want a drink, brah?” one of the boys who’d settled around the niece’s fiancé asked him, merely shrugging and walking away when Lincoln only glared at him.

“Ridiculous,” he said, pulling out his cell to check the flight schedule for the fourth time since he’d been there.

Two flights ready for tomorrow and a third later in the afternoon. He had no idea how long Lily would take to settle her niece with whatever it was she required, but he hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

“You that sober kine, brah? Drink?”

“For the love of— No, thank you,” he answered, nose flaring at the burning smell of cinnamon coming from the aluminum tumbler the boy offered him.

“Your loss, yeah.”

They’d not let Lincoln simply wait for Lily. Instead, he’d been pestered with invites to play cards and dominoes, to eat his weight in foods he’d not touched in over a decade and to drink and drink and drink more until his wits were dulled and then only God knew what would become of him. These people were low-rent idiots only interested in laughing and carrying on like the world was not the cruel, cutthroat field in which Lincoln enjoyed eradicating his enemies and attaining what he wanted. At present, what he wanted was Lily Campbell’s total submission, and her clients, both of which had evaded him for nearly a year now.

His wants would take time. He knew that, but the threats that lay before him, the ones waiting for him when he arrived would take finesse in eradicating.

“Perfect,” he said to himself, watching as Lily’s niece left her, smiling wide as she passed the doctor Lily had been eating with that morning at breakfast. The small café had been substandard, the food boring and plain, but when Lincoln saw how closely Lily sat next to this Keilen person, how easily she related the embarrassing details of the pornographic pictures circulating around the office, he knew who his greatest threat was. The same asshole that walked across the lawn and stood in front of Lily.

He observed them—the smile Lily offered him so easily, the way he leaned toward her, arm outstretched on that filthy truck so that his fingers nearly touched her shoulder. She didn’t seem to mind. Lily, in fact, was an entirely different creature in this remote place full of tourist traps and exaggerated surfer dude paradise. Lincoln thought it was all so primitive, beneath anything Lily needed, he was sure.

Keilen moved in closer, his mouth precariously close to Lily’s ear and Lincoln decided he’d seen enough. He’d let her have her fun. He’d let her do whatever she wanted with this man, no matter how carelessly she went about it.

For his part, Lincoln had work to do and calls to make. He moved down the stairs, dusting his jacket as he went, slowing his steps as he reached the truck where Lily and Keilen spoke and flirted like horny teenagers eager for a dark corner and no interruptions. Pathetic, he thought.

“Lily,” he started, not caring that the man was in mid-sentence, not really caring that whatever he’d been saying had made her laugh.

“Lincoln,” she said, pulling the smile from her mouth.

“I’ll be at the hotel the rest of the night. It would be wise for you to join me at ten tomorrow morning. I’ve scheduled a conference call with Ellis to discuss the remote access and if that will suffice.”

“Why?” she asked, head tilting.

“I am trying to help.” Jaw clenching Lincoln inhaled, glancing off toward the beach on the other side of the property to settle his temper.

“I appreciate your help, Lincoln, but I didn’t ask you to do that. If you’d just let me speak to Ellis…”

“I’ve been instructed to take lead on this…”

“If that’s the case, then you don’t need Lily, do you?”

Lincoln didn’t bother to respond to Keilen’s question, instead focusing on Lily and the lowering of her mouth as she watched him. “Why are you lead?”

“Because your access to the network is limited, and Ellis trusts me…”

“And he doesn’t trust me anymore? Even though I did nothing?”

“It’s a matter of reputation, Lily, not actions. No matter what has occurred or who is at fault, your reputation has been tarnished at the firm. Ellis simply wants me to intercede so that there is no idle gossip to interfere with the necessary work our staff completes.”

“Lincoln, I don’t think…”

“This is the way things are, Lily.” He grabbed his cell, pulling up the Uber app. “Ten a.m. It would be in the best interest of the firm and your career to make the meeting.”

He didn’t let her interrupt again. Lincoln walked down the drive, his back to Lily and Keilen, waiting on the pavement for the car to arrive. He didn’t care much what either of them thought of him or let himself worry if Lily would show in the morning. He’d need the time anyway, to do some investigating and prepare for what needed to be done.

Lily might be home, she might think staying was best, but once Lincoln was finished with the task at hand, Oahu would be the last place she would want to be. And when she left, he’d be waiting, ready to bring her back to him and the life she deserved.