Drake Sisters 05 - Safe Harbor

slighted them in some way?
    Maybe they thought I was rude to them. Sometimes people try to talk to me when I'm going out to the car and I can't talk without stuttering so I just smile and wave.
    His heart ached for her. He bent closer, his posture protective, loving. He didn't give a damn if the entire world knew she turned him inside out. "This wasn't your fault. Stop trying to make sense of it. There is no sense to it, Hannah." He used the pad of his thumb, stroked little caresses over her brow. "I love you, Hannah. You know that, don't you? You know I love you."
    He felt her withdrawal, her mind pulling away from his. At once she was cautious.
    You don't have to say that, Jonas. I don't want you to, not now, when I don't even know what I look like .
    "Now you're just pissing me off, woman. Do you think you're talking to that little rodent, Simpson? Why the hell did you keep him on as your agent?"
    Hannah blinked at his shift to anger and then to Greg Simpson. He's amazing in the fashion world. Really has a feel for the designers, who are going to make it and who aren't. He's abrasive and arrogant, but he's made the careers of some of the biggest names in the business. I would never have made it without him .
    Jonas wasn't altogether certain that was true, but what did he know about the fashion industry? Greg Simpson was a respected name in the business and he certainly brought in the deals for Hannah. Jonas had never really inquired too much about the kind of money Hannah made, but he knew it was a lot—more than he cared to think about. "Is he always like that?"
    No. He's a shark during contract negotiations and the clients adore him. He knows exactly what to say to them. He wields a lot of power in the industry.
    There was something more—something he wasn't getting. If Greg Simpson was such a hot agent, then it would stand to reason he'd be smart enough to treat his number one client with kid gloves, but he wasn't doing that. He was insulting and rude. He was giving press conferences when he should be shielding her. Something was very off. "Hannah. Did you tell him you were going to quit?"
    She was silent, but he caught the sheen of tears in her eyes. His gut clenched and twisted into tight knots. Everything inside him went still and the cop took over.
    "When did you tell him you were quitting?"
    Hannah turned her face away. It doesn't matter .
    "That's why he's been such a pompous little weasel. You wouldn't have put up with him if he always treated you like that. You told him you were quitting. You're his number one client and he gets a lot of mileage out of being the agent of number one.
    Damn it, Hannah, why didn't you tell me you quit?" He leaned over her, upset enough to catch her bandage-covered chin and tug until she looked at him. "When we were together, why didn't you tell me? You'd already quit, hadn't you?"

    There was the smallest of nods. I still had contracts to fulfill. I told him no more, that I wouldn't take any more .
    "When?" he demanded.
    Do you remember when you walked in and Greg was on the speaker phone a few months ago? He suggested I get a breast reduction . There was painful embarrassment in her voice—in his mind. Shame even. I don't always fit into the standard size made for runway models, and with the huge fashion shows coming up, apparently some of the designers complained .
    Jonas had been furious, he recalled. Hannah was already starving herself and Simpson was pushing her to lose even more weight. She was as thin as a rail, but she still had generous breasts—something not welcome in the fashion industry apparently.
    That had been several months ago. "You actually told him then that you wanted out?"
    He was definitely going to look into a tie between the couple who had attacked her and Simpson, although it didn't make sense, but he was paranoid where she was concerned. Simpson stood to lose a lot of money if she quit.
    I'd been in the business long enough. I'd made enough money to live comfortably wherever I wanted and I wasn't about to get a breast reduction.
    "Thank God something brought you to your senses. Give me a timeline on this, Hannah. You told him—what was his reaction? When did he start getting nasty with you?"
    Hannah's brows drew together. What are you thinking? That Greg would want to hurt me because I told him I was quitting the business ?
    "Of course not." It was exactly what the cop in him was thinking. Simpson was getting a lot of media coverage out of