3
HE PROBABLY SHOULDN’T have come down so hard on her—she was the client’s daughter after all. If Kane were here, he’d knock him in the head for running his mouth when he ought to keep it shut, but there was something about the woman that unhinged his jaw.
He wasn’t a stranger to spoiled heiresses but CoCo Abelli took the ever-loving cake. The girl wouldn’t know how to be grateful if someone had saved her life, which is exactly what her father was trying to do. Personally, Rian thought Enzo ought to cut his losses with this one, because she was clearly ruined beyond repair. The only thing CoCo cared about was herself or the next party. Maybe it would do her some good to have a little scare. But that wasn’t his place. Maybe with some luck CoCo would convince her father that his services weren’t needed and he could go on with his life. One could hope.
Throughout the night he kept an eye on CoCo as she partied until the wee hours of the morning, as if purposefully thumbing her nose at him, and by the time the sun rose and everyone had left Rian felt as wrung out as he had during a night watch in Afghanistan. Watching over this girl would be no picnic.
CoCo, her eyes red from a night of hard alcohol and who knew what else, ignored Rian and stumbled to her bed. He rounded up the rest of the stragglers and booted them from the house, finally able to breathe a little easier. The Malibu beach house wasn’t the most secure location. Too many points of entry to defend. If someone were looking to kidnap CoCo, they could practically waltz in and snatch her without breaking a sweat. So that meant they weren’t staying here for the next few days. He figured that news was going to go over like a turd in a punch bowl. He kind of relished the idea of giving her that news. He got the impression not many people told CoCo what to do and when. That was her problem. She’d been indulged way too much in her life. Time for a reality check. The fact that she didn’t believe she was in any danger went to show just how naive she was.
He did another perimeter check and secured all the doors and then decided to take a catnap. He was a light sleeper by nature but his years in combat had trained him to sleep with one eye open. If anyone tried to get past him, he would know it.
He rarely dreamed or if he did he didn’t remember the details. Sometimes when he woke he was left with a hazy idea that he’d dreamed of something but most times it was just a blank canvas. So why did he have the most vivid dream of CoCo? Sun-bronzed skin, a tiny bikini and that achingly beautiful body—correction, it wasn’t a dream, it was a nightmare. He didn’t want to be dreaming of CoCo like that. He didn’t want to think of her in any way except as an annoying client. It was bad business to mess around with the clients.
After about two hours Rian’s cell phone jerked him awake and he saw that it was Kane.
“Yeah, what’s up?” he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“I wanted to check and see how things are going with our newest client. I figured you were on the job last night. Everything cool?”
“I guess you could say that. She’s a nightmare just as I expected. I chased off some guy mauling her in the kitchen and did I get an ounce of thanks? No. She’s an ungrateful bitch and frankly, I’m thinking that giant payday wasn’t nearly enough. Maybe I can tack on a handling fee for my pain and suffering.”
“I thought you said that you tried to refuse the job.”
“I did. I’m just cranky from getting two hours of sleep.”
“You always were grouchy if you didn’t get your full eight hours. You’re such a prima donna. Do you have a plan for the next couple of days?”
“Try not to kill the woman myself?”
“Come on now, I’m serious. The Abelli account is a pretty big payday. Just treat it like any other.”
Rian didn’t need his big brother lecturing him. “This isn’t my first rodeo. I know what I’m doing. If I need your help, I’ll ask for it.”
“Well, aren’t you a bowl of cherries this morning? Get yourself together. Act professional. So what if she’s not the kind of person you want to go have lunch with. That’s probably a good thing—I’ve seen pictures of her. She’s not hard on the eyes. The last thing I need is you messing around with a client because she’s pretty.”