Page 77 of Booked for Kidnapping

“She had a new medicine to test. I’m pleased to report the steak did not rise up to kill her, and she’s on a new regime to control her dietary problems. She still has to be careful about her blood sugar, but she isn’t forced to be fully vegan anymore, although she does take care to limit how much meat she has.”

“That’s great!” I hesitated. “And your dad’s heart issues?”

“My mother will love you forever if you check him over.”

I sighed, scarfed down my breakfast in record time, and grabbed Bradley’s phone, summoning his father under the pretense of having a question.

“I’m going to get yelled at when he realizes he’s been tricked,” Bradley muttered, shaking his head and taking his time with this breakfast. “Now I just need to figure out a way to be able to have dairy.”

“I’m sure someone will figure out a medicine that actually works for you one day.”

“If only.”

Within a few minutes, Bradley’s father knocked on the door, and I grinned at the older man, waiting for him to step inside before bolting the door closed.

“I feel like I have been tricked into coming into this room, and I’m concerned.”

“Beatrice snitched.”

“About what, precisely?”

I laughed at how Mr. Hampton did a great job of preserving whatever other dirty secrets my friends and family kept from me. “A sedative bomb that hit him and his bodyguard. Also, we have to go to the airport later to pick up my cat.”

“I’m aware. Technically, we don’t need to, as they’re getting a rental of their own, but I assumed you would not be happy if I didn’t take you to see your fluffy goddess.”

“You are absolutely correct.”

“All right. I shall tell you about the day I almost had a heart attack because someone tried to kidnap my boy right from my yard.”

“You will tell me after I check to make sure you don’t have a heart attack.” I turned off the bracelet meant to control my abilities, removed it, and handed it over to Bradley. “That seems like a fair exchange. Story time for a functioning heart.”

Mr. Hampton chuckled, and he sat on the edge of the bed. “Which one got to you?”

I pointed at Bradley. “I would have gotten around to it when I checked everybody else, but when he’s worried and his mom is worried, that means I’m worried, and you do not want to wake the sleeping bodyguard beast.”

“She’s in highly irritated future-wife mode, and I’m finding this to my liking,” Bradley announced.

“That’s a rather unique way of expressing how much she loves you,” his father muttered. “Honestly, I thought the pictures did a better job.”

My eyes widened at the blatant verbal slaughtering of my dignity. It also made me wonder what the hell pictures he’d taken. Spluttering, I retrieved my phone, sat down on the other bed, and searched the internet for my name and Bradley’s, time filtered to be for the past week, and clicked on the image results.

Apparently, Bradley’s father had become obsessed with taking photographs of us, as there were a horrifying number of them, including some from when I’d been hiding behind him and Bradley had first caught sight of me. “You had security nearby?”

“Yep. I’d sent them ahead; I have a team in California, and it was fairly easy to get them to the beach to keep an eye out for you. They had spotted you playing on the beach, and I had them play tourists while making sure you didn’t slip off. We hadn’t even gotten in the air before I’d confirmed you were actually here.”

“Dad!”

Mr. Hampton chuckled. “What?”

“You had not told me that.”

“Why would I tell you? How could I get a good picture of you if I spoiled the surprise? I knew where she was the entire time, and she had protection. Of course, by the time she went hiding into the bushes, the security team was starting to get concerned. If we’d been delayed, they would have fetched her and given her water and basic care until we could arrive. I managed to convince them to just patiently hide out and wait for us.”

How ruthlessly sneaky. “That’s just fucking brilliant.”

“I certainly thought so. I’ve been getting pictures of you two since we picked you up, and the best of the lot has been going to the media. It’s doing a fine job of establishing you two are a genuine couple.”

“People think we’re not because of the bill?” I guessed.