Family Bonds- Eli and Bella (Amore Island Book 6) Read online

  The blonde turned, the punch to the gut followed, and he knew right away who he was looking at. How could he forget? “Bella. Is that really you?”

  “Hi, Eli,” she said. “Sorry about not giving my name. Um, is there somewhere private we can talk?”

  “Sure,” he said. “Thanks, Kaitlin.” The first thing he noticed was her French accent was missing.

  “Did you want me to reach out to Griffin?” Kaitlin asked.

  “No. I’ll see him shortly.”

  “Griffin?” Bella asked. “The guy from my uncle’s casino?”

  He laughed. He’d never forget the night he met his best friend and head of his security. “One and the same,” he said.

  “I hadn’t realized you were friends. You said you didn’t know each other back then.”

  “We didn’t back then.” He wasn’t going to get into a conversation about his history with Griffin. He’d stayed at Bella’s uncle’s casino for a total of two weeks. He’d wanted to hightail it out of there, but to prove who he was and what he was doing, he decided to stay that extra week after the incident.

  They were moving back through the lobby. He swiped a card to enter the door to the back, then two more to get to his offices.

  “It’s pretty secure here,” she said.

  “Very,” he agreed. “I learned that the hard way. Or I should say through experience.”

  She laughed. A nervous sound. Just like that night he was dragged into the security pen. “Sorry about that. I explained it all to my uncle.”

  “I know you did. It helped. We worked it out.” Not as fast as he would have liked, but hey, he learned a ton from Oliver Dubois.”

  “I know you’re busy and I appreciate you taking the time to see me.”

  “Never a problem,” he said. After six years she no longer looked like the fresh-out-of-college girl but more like a woman. He might have been attracted to her but wasn’t about to make a move back then. Not after just talking to her got security on him.

  Besides, he’d only been there a week afterward and she was by no means the vacation fling type. He knew. He’d come across enough during his travels.

  He passed by Nancy, grinned at her raised eyebrow and then shut the door to his office and gestured with his hand for Bella to have a seat. “Thanks,” she said. “I’m sure you’re curious why I’m here.”

  “I am. Of course you could be on vacation and wanted to say hi, but that wouldn’t explain your reason for not giving your name to the front desk.”

  “No,” she said. “I’m staying in a hotel in Boston. Or I did last night and took the ferry over this morning. I need your help. Or rather my uncle needs your help. No, it’s more about me.”

  “Really?” he asked. “I find that hard to believe.”

  Oliver Dubois was easily one of the top billionaires in the world. He didn’t own just the one casino in Monte Carlo that Eli was in, but more in Monaco and all over Europe. It was Eli’s luck Oliver had been in town that week. If he weren’t and Eli hadn’t been able to talk to Oliver personally, he might still be sitting in the holding cells.

  “This letter should explain things better,” she said, pulling it out of her purse. “I found it in my room a few days ago along with a plane ticket to Boston and hotel reservations made under my grandmother’s maiden name.”

  Interesting. He reached his hand out to take the envelope. “Do you know what this says?” he asked, noticing it was sealed.

  “No. I had another letter that stated he had to leave the country and needed me to do so also. He’s private and I never ask questions, but he’s never done this before. His head of security is gone too. I sought out his second in command who took me to the airport in the middle of the night for a private flight to get me out of Monte Carlo.”

  Eli opened the envelope and silently read:

  Eli, I need you to watch after my niece for some time. If anyone can it’s you and Griffin on your small island. People are looking for me and it’s not safe for Bella to stay here. She needs to be protected from her past while she is there and doesn’t need to be concerned with the trouble that I am currently going through. I will be forever in your debt if you could keep Bella safe. I’ll be in touch. Don’t try to reach out. It will draw attention to you or Bella. You will be compensated for all your troubles and expenses when I return if you would allow Bella to live the life she is used to in my absence.

  He read the letter over twice. He’d had no idea that Oliver was aware Griffin was with him.

  “You don’t know anything that is in this letter?” he asked.

  “No. Can you tell me?”

  The letter didn’t say he couldn’t, but he was going to be vague. “Just that your uncle needs some time away. He’d rather you are looked after somewhere remote where no one can connect you to him.”

  “Oh,” she said. “I know he’s always been private, but I’m scared for him. He’s the only family I know. He didn’t say anything else?” she asked, her eyes filling with tears.

  Man, he was going to be toast in a second seeing that. He was such a sucker for tears.

  “He mentioned that you needed to be guarded against your past while you are here. He felt that Griffin and I could do that. Can you explain that much to me?”

  He figured saying that much was better than mentioning the current issues since she seemed in the dark. “So he knew that Griffin was with you?”

  “Obviously,” he asked. “What do I need to know about you? Why are you in danger? Or aren’t you? I’m going to assume you are to start before I can go any further.”

  “I don’t think I’m in any danger,” she said. “Not from my past at least. However, my father and mother died when I was a teen and Uncle Oliver became my guardian. He’s always protected me due to my father’s career. He believed there might have been danger, but I don’t remember that ever being the case.”

  “Let’s start with the facts then,” he said.

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “I know you’re a busy man.”

  He laughed. “I might be busy, but your uncle is asking a huge favor of me and he must know I wouldn’t turn you away. I can’t do what needs to be done if I don’t know what is going on. I get the impression you’d rather tell me first, but I can get Griffin.”

  “No. You’re right. I’d rather tell you first.”

  2

  Asking A Lot

  The past few days had been nothing short of mentally and physically exhausting.

  Bella was confused and upset, but she’d made a promise to her uncle years ago that when he asked her to do something, she’d honor it. He didn’t ask much of her and she knew this was serious.

  But to come here to the one man she’d never been able to get out of her mind? That was asking a lot.

  “My father was an American Ambassador to France. He met my mother when she was vacationing in Paris. They had a fast romance and married after just six months. I came along a year later.”

  “That’s not so fast by some people’s standards,” he said. “And I had no idea you were American.”

  “I don’t know my family in America. I met them when I was young but have no memory of it. My father was a busy man.”

  At least that was what was always told to her. She’d heard late night calls that her American family didn’t approve of Ben Kingston marrying Adrienne Dubois. There might have been some fights, but no one told her directly.

  “It sounds it. Did your father’s death have anything to do with his career?”

  “It was ruled accidental, but my uncle never believed it. Or so he said. In 2006 the American Ambassador to France also became the one for Monaco. My mother was thrilled, as it allowed them to spend more time where she’d grown up.”

  “And what year did your parents die?” he asked.

  “In 2006. My uncle always believed it was a political move, but it was ruled as a single car accident. My mother was beautiful. Her family was very wealthy. She might have been considered
a socialite by some. She liked to party, but when she met my father she’d calmed down. The media were following her around when she was in town and she hated it. She hated them getting pictures of me. Almost as much as I hated them taken.”

  Bella remembered it all. It was hard not to. She’d just turned fifteen and was shy and withdrawn. Nothing like what her mother had been as a teen. She didn’t like the attention or the spotlight, let alone having her picture taken.

  Her parents’ security team had destroyed more than one camera over the years.

  “I had no idea,” he said. “I wouldn’t have figured any of this from the hostess I met that one night.”

  She laughed. “No. I’d been out of college for a year and at loose ends. I told my uncle I wanted to work. I wanted to learn more about the casino. He was all for it and said I needed to start from the ground up and asked about my interests. I enjoyed the marketing end of it. The entertainment section.”

  “Makes sense. So, what happened to your accent?” he asked.

  “I never had as much of one as you saw. I played it up more when I was working so people got the true experience. I can speak fluent French and did a lot of the times, but there was a lot of English spoken in the casino.”

  She didn’t always work on the floor. Just a few years of learning the ropes, then she was behind a desk and away from the action and able to drop her accent to the way she’d been in boarding school.

  She stood out being an American, but she was proud of it too. Even though she didn’t know much about her father’s side of the family, she’d wanted to. Maybe now could be her chance since she was here for the foreseeable future.

  “A good thing for me too,” he said. “I could piece sentences together when I needed to.”

  “Anyway. My father didn’t drive often. They were driven around. He always laughed that it was the wrong side of the road.”

  “How long had he been in France?”

  “Over fifteen years. I don’t remember him driving me anywhere. But that night, he and my mother were out alone. He was driving. I think at times they wanted to escape the media and be normal. They’d done it a few times. But they must have been noticed in Monaco. My father was driving too fast to get away, he lost control of the car and crossed lanes, then tried to correct and hit a tree.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t imagine what that would be like.”

  “Thank you. It wasn’t easy. I was in boarding school when it happened. Uncle Oliver had a private jet sent for me. I didn’t spend a lot of time with my parents, but I still loved them.”

  “Of course you did,” Eli said softly.

  His dark hair was slicked back. He looked nothing like the man security had detained for talking to her years ago. Back then he’d been in more casual clothing. Today, he was in a suit, just minus the jacket that she’d noticed was hanging on the back of his door when he shut it.

  Dark gray pants that were easily tailored to his body. A light purple-and-white striped shirt tucked in. No belt. He didn’t need one. Everything fit him well. He was simple and flashy at the same time. She didn’t need to see the classic titanium watch to know it was a Hublot. She was exposed to a lot of wealth in her life.

  “After my parents’ death, I’d gone back to school, then college. My uncle had promised my mother—his baby sister—that he’d watch out and raise me.”

  “No one from your father’s family?” he asked.

  “I didn’t know them,” she said. “I’d seen my parents’ will. I know this sounds morbid, but my parents had already told me who my guardian was. I knew if anything happened to them I’d end up with Uncle Oliver. I did love to visit with him, but we weren’t that close before then.”

  “Did you get close to him after?” he asked.

  “Not like you think. He never married or had children. He protected me. He provided for me. But we never really bonded. Or not like some might think. Maybe in the last year more so.”

  She did wonder why he’d almost softened at times. When he was in town he wanted her to learn the business by his side. He talked to her more about her life and her dreams in the recent year.

  He encouraged her to see the world and said he’d send security with her.

  But she didn’t. She was content to stay where she was. She’d traveled enough in her life. She’d hid from the world. She wanted a simple normal life that she started to realize she might not get.

  “So now you’re on Amore Island. And you have no idea how long you’ll be here?” he asked.

  “It seems it. I guess I planned on staying in Boston though.”

  “No. I’ve got family there. I’ve got a lot of connections there. But I can’t watch you if you aren’t on this island.”

  “I don’t need someone to watch me,” she said firmly. “That isn’t what this was about.”

  Good lord. Talk about feeling like she was helpless.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “No. I don’t. What else is in that letter?”

  “Until I can figure out more of what is going on,” he said, “I’d like you to stay here at the resort.”

  Guess he wasn’t telling her and she’d just have to trust him. “Great. Living in a casino.”

  He laughed. “Housing isn’t that easy to come by on this island. Though my family owns a lot of properties and homes, I’m not sure how fast I can get you one. We have suites with kitchens in them. It will seem like an apartment.”

  “Do you live here?” she asked

  He lifted an eyebrow at her. “I live in the penthouse.”

  “I was only curious,” she said quickly.

  “Why don’t I make arrangements for your luggage to be brought over?” he said.

  “No. I can get on the ferry and bring it back myself. I’ll return tomorrow,” she said.

  “I’d prefer that you are here now since I know about this situation.”

  “I’m not letting some stranger go through my stuff,” she said primly.

  He ran his hands through his hair. “Let me call my brother, Egan.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Because he owns a charter company on the island. He has a few choppers and flies back and forth to Boston multiple times a day. I’ll have him get you there to your hotel to retrieve your possessions and then bring you back. You can trust him, but I can send Griffin over with you also if you’d like.”

  “No. I managed to get to America alone, I can do this. It’s fine.”

  “Then I’ll make the arrangements,” he said. “Give me a minute.”

  It didn’t seem like she had much of a choice. Just like most of her life.

  3

  Having His Back

  “You’re joking, right?” Griffin asked him two hours later in his office.

  “You read the letter,” Eli said.

  “Twice.”

  “Then you know I’m not joking,” he said.

  “This doesn’t say much,” Griffin said.

  “Nope.”

  “So you want me to look into this, I’m assuming,” Griffin said, frowning.

  “Of course. Discreetly.” He looked at his best friend. The guy that was more a brother to him than his brothers at times. The one that had his back when he didn’t need to. Then he had Griffin’s. “I know you’re not happy about this. Or at least that it’s for Oliver. But don’t think of it being for him, but for Bella.”

  Griffin snorted. “The guy is a dick.”

  Eli laughed. “He was that day. But he did give me some valuable information that following week. He let me talk with Bella about how the entertainment was run. She showed me rooms. We had a few one-on-ones.”

  “I would have just left town after that if I were you,” Griffin said.

  “No one stopped you from going. You’re the asshole who said you wanted to do it the hard way.”

  Griffin grinned. “I was thirty grand in the hole and hungover that morning. I should have kept my mouth shut and not drawn att
ention to myself.”

  “But you didn’t. I even told you to ease back, but you never do.”

  “It’s not my nature. Once they found out we didn’t know each other I was going to be stuck there figuring out how to pay him back.”

  Eli shook his head. He wouldn’t let that happen and had squared up Griffin’s debt in exchange for staying by him that week in case there’d been any more trouble. Hired muscle. The way Griffin had taken that guard down even hungover. Oh yeah, that was the type of man he wanted having his back.

  “It all ended well,” Eli said.

  “I’ve still got your back and will for this too,” Griffin said. “So where is she?”

  Eli looked at his watch. Griffin had a similar one on that Eli had given him for his thirtieth birthday two years ago. The guy all but shit himself when he opened up the box and saw the ten-thousand-dollar watch that he’d been busting Eli about for a year.

  “My guess is in her hotel in Boston gathering her things. Egan flew her there and will bring her back. She’s got a card to her room.”

  A room that wasn’t under her name. No reason to take chances. He had the front desk mark it reserved per him. No one would question it. He did it often with guests that wanted to stay hidden while they gambled or escaped.

  But it would be recorded with Griffin. Everything was documented with security. Just not always at the front desk for all staff to see.

  “What did your brother say about it?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “It’s not the first time I’ve done it and it won’t be the last. Egan figured it was a wealthy guest that was coming back to stay here.”

  It worked in his favor to have so much at his disposal. Bella didn’t even question it. Why would she when she was used to this life?

  “So how does she look?” Griffin asked with a big grin. He didn’t smile often or at least around those he wasn’t close to.

  “The same. More mature. She looked like a kid back then. I don’t know her age, but she did say she was fresh out of college so I’m going to put her about twenty-eight, twenty-nine now. No accent either.”