Killer Cuisine

This book is dedicated to all the fans who have written and emailed me, asking for Dan’s story. I hope you enjoy!

Acknowledgments

I would like to sincerely thank the members of my Velvet Vaughn Street Team who help spread the word: Cindi R., Debbie M., Gary A., Karen D., Karen J., Lisa B., and Tammy T. You guys are awesome!

I would also like to thank all of the American Ninja Warriors, past and present, who’ve provided inspiration for Dan’s character. Much like Dan, I became hooked from the first time I tuned in. The athletes are incredible role models that prove with hard work, determination and perseverance, you can move mountains…or at least climb them!

And as always, a huge thank you to my mom. I couldn’t do this without you!

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Epilogue

Notes

About the Author

Prologue

Twenty-Two Years Ago

As Kaitlyn Colton dangled upside down from the monkey bars, she decided she was going to marry Danny Bradley when she grew up. Her long black hair swayed back and forth, almost touching the ground as she watched her future husband running circles around the playground, swinging from bars and branches and climbing anything he could, never pausing for a breath. Danny was obviously a little hyped-up on sugar, as her older brother Luke would say. Luke said it about her all the time, and she wasn’t nearly as spazzy as Danny, as her brother Grant would say. He called her spazzy all the time. At least her other brother, Ben, stuck up for her, even if he nicknamed her Katydid. Sometimes brothers were a pain, but she loved them anyway.

Although they lived in the same neighborhood, she’d never met Danny before today. Her oldest brother was best friends with his brother, so she’d met Logan. He was dreamy, too, you know, for an old guy.

She’d been so upset when Mommy drove her to school this morning. Her mommy had enrolled her early, so she was the youngest in the class by almost a whole year! Mommy told her she was smart and would have no problem keeping up. She hoped so. Mommy also wanted her to be in school at the same time with her brother Ben as long as possible. As mad as she’d been, she completely forgave her as soon as she spotted Danny in class. Yep, she was so gonna marry him one day.

She pulled herself to sit on top of the apparatus to watch him. He was currently climbing the side of the building. One of the teachers assigned to playground duty stomped toward him, mumbling something that sounded like Ritalin. Kaitlyn covered her mouth and giggled.

The teacher pointed to the ground, and Danny reluctantly dropped, his smile wide. A lock of black hair curled over his forehead. She sighed. She hoped he didn’t get in trouble. Maybe he thought he was Spiderman or something. She giggled again.

She was so busy watching Danny, she didn’t hear the three boys climbing up the monkey bars behind her. No girls allowed up here, one of the boys announced.

She spun her head around and glared. He looked older, maybe third grade. She crossed her arms. I don’t see a sign.

Don’t need a sign. Everyone knows. No girls allowed, he reiterated with a scowl.

If he thought he could scare her, he was wrong. She had three older brothers to do that, thank you very much. Even though she was younger than most of the other kids, she wasn’t afraid of them. I’m not moving.

Yes, you are, the boy ordered. His dirt-covered hands reached out, and he pushed. She gasped, her arms windmilling as she tried to hook a foot to stop her fall, but she couldn’t. She tumbled backward off the bars. Two hands stopped her descent and then helped her stand on the ground. She looked into the eyes of her rescuer. Danny! The first day of school rocked!

You saved my life, Kaitlyn whispered.

Nah, he said with a shrug. The ground is covered in squooshy stuff. It wouldn’t hurt much. He started to climb the bars, but she tugged his shirt.

Where are you going? She finally got to talk to him…she didn’t want him to leave.

I’m going to teach Mike a lesson.

I don’t want you getting into trouble because of me.

Mike made kissing noises from his perch on top. What’s the matter, Bradley? You need a girl to fight your fights? Danny broke free and flew up the bars. Mike’s eyes widened in fear. Bullies were notorious cowards, her brother Luke told her before she started school. She didn’t know what notorious meant, but Luke was brilliant, so she figured it meant ugly. Mike was ugly. Danny hit him, and they both tumbled off the bars onto the squooshy rubber mat.

Kaitlyn screamed as they rolled around on the ground. Her brothers fought like this all the time, and she hated it. One of the playground monitors hurried over to break up the fight. The man grabbed Danny with his right hand and Mike with his left. Danny was smiling. Mike was crying. Maybe notorious meant a big baby.

He started it, Mike said, pointing to Danny. Right, guys— He looked around, but his friends were nowhere in sight. Kaitlyn decided they were notorious too.

She marched over to the group and slammed her fists on her hips. Danny did not start the fight. You did, Mike. She looked at the teacher and then pointed to the monkey bars. I was sitting up there by myself when he came up and told me no girls allowed, and then he pushed me off. I would have fallen if Danny hadn’t caught me. Danny saved my life.

Is that true, Mike?

Mike wiped his running nose with his sleeve. No.

Mike?

What? No girls are allowed up there, he grumbled.

Come on, both of you, to the principal’s office.

But…you can’t take Danny. It wasn’t his fault, she protested.

Apparently, teachers didn’t listen to first graders because he took Danny with him. And he got in trouble! They made him sit inside and do homework during recess for three whole days, which had to be torture for an active boy. Mike got three days of actual suspension for pushing her off the bars. Plus, he got a pretty severe warning from her fourth-grade brother Ben. He told Mike (with a two-handed shove) that if he touched Kaitlyn again (another shove), he’d break both of his arms and legs. He would too. Grant said he would help, and Luke offered to bury the body. Yes, her brothers were pains sometimes, but she loved them dearly.

Danny didn’t think he’d done anything special coming to her defense. In fact, he pretty much ignored her for a week, much to her frustration. Then one day, as they were lining up to go inside after recess, he came running up to her.

Kaitlyn, I have something for you. He thrust his hands out.

Oh, how cute! Kaitlyn scooped up the tiny frog.

Huh? Danny looked confused. But…you’re a girl. Frogs are slimy. You’re supposed to run screaming.

Kaitlyn blinked at him. But I like frogs.

Girls, Dan grumbled. National League or American?

National.

Danny gaped. You know what that means?

Kaitlyn shrugged a shoulder. Sure. I love baseball, especially the Cincinnati Reds.

Baseball and frogs. He shook his head. Wanna be my girlfriend?

Okay.

Two weeks later, he broke up with her when she beat him at a game of Chutes and Ladders.

Chapter One

Kaitlyn Colton was being stalked by the ghost of Julia Child.

But that was ridiculous, right? Julia always seemed so nice on television. She’d never heard a bad word spoken about the beloved chef. So Julia liked her alcohol. Who didn’t? Maybe she disapproved of Kaitlyn’s cooking methods. After all, she did crazy things like substitute applesauce or Greek yogurt for butter. No doubt Julia loved to cook with maize. Kaitlyn read somewhere that over five hundred seventy-three pounds of butter was used on her show Cooking with Julia. She’d even read a quote where Julia attributed her longevity to red meat and gin. Kaitlyn tried to avoid red meat and kept her gin-drinking to a minimum.

Seriously, there was no other way to explain all the problems that kept popping up to disrupt filming. She had two days left to finish her audition tape for Killer Cuisine, the new reality cooking competition set to broadcast on CuisineTV network. Instead of showcasing her cedar-plank baked salmon with red onion ribbons, she was standing in the middle of Fresh!, dripping wet, her hair hanging in long black ropes across her shoulders, her mascara running like a polluted river down her cheeks. She looked like a demented circus clown.

Dion McArthur, the owner of Fresh! and her boss, allowed her to use the kitchen to film her segment, and how does she repay him? By drenching his kitchen with water. To be fair, it wasn’t her fault the sprinkler system chose today to malfunction. She certainly hadn’t burned anything to set them off. In fact, she’d never gotten the chance to slide her dish into the oven. Now it was ruined beyond repair, and salmon wasn’t cheap.

She sighed and shoved a hank of hair out of her eyes. The high school kids she hired to film her audition were huddled over their equipment, their voices both animated and distressed. She mentally added the cost of two new cameras to her growing list of expenses.

Lauren Dianetti hurried over to hug Kaitlyn. Lauren was also soaking wet, but the teenager looked fresh and dewy. Kaitlyn looked like a drowned rat.

I’m so sorry, Kait.

Lauren was, bar none, the sweetest girl Kaitlyn had ever met. She’d had the pleasure of watching Lauren grow from a happy toddler to a caring young woman. She’d even served as her babysitter for most of Lauren’s childhood. Lauren’s dad, Matt, and Kait’s oldest brother, Luke, were good friends, even though Matt was a couple of years older and they were both the star quarterbacks of rival high schools. When Lauren’s dad retired from the National Football League and moved back with a small daughter in tow, they’d renewed their friendship.

When a serial killer targeted Matt and his now-wife Jacqueline, they’d hired Luke’s company, COBRA Securities, to protect them. A few months later, Lauren heroically saved Isabella Bradley, Luke’s business partner’s daughter, from a kidnapper, taking a bullet in the process. Thankfully, she’d recovered fully, with no lingering side effects.

Lauren admitted to once having a crush on Dan Bradley, Logan’s younger brother. Dan had been tasked with protecting Lauren from the killer, and she’d been all starry-eyed. But the infatuation quickly passed, and now they teased each other like an older brother-younger sister. It was a good thing Lauren had gotten over him. Dan was a serial dater utterly incapable of monogamy or commitment. Kait should know. She’d been in love with him most of her life.

I’m sorry about the equipment, Lauren. Is it destroyed?

Lauren glanced over her shoulder at the two young men who alternately fussed over the cameras and ogled the beautiful teenager. She didn’t even seem to notice. She waved a dismissive hand. They’re fine. She lowered her voice and cupped her hand over her mouth. Benji and Bryce can be such drama queens. She rolled her eyes, and despite everything that had happened, Kait laughed out loud.

When Kait first heard about the reality cooking competition Kendall Buckley was pitching to CuisineTV, she’d been determined to earn a spot in the cast. She’d dreamed of hosting her own show for years. She used to tape every cooking program she could find on television, and then she studied the chefs to learn their techniques. She’d use a ladle as her microphone and pretended to speak to the cameras. She even practiced hosting her show and made Ben and Dan be her guinea pigs, tasting dishes she’d prepared. It usually ended up in a food fight between the boys, but that didn’t deter her dreams.

Kendall was another family friend. Her fiancé worked for COBRA Securities. In her previous life, Kendall had been a television reporter in New York City before falling in love with Dorian Demarchis and moving to Bloomington to be with him. She didn’t miss being in front of a camera, but she missed the business of television. Kendall told Kait it was after eating one of her meals that she came up with the idea for the show. Kaitlyn had been incredibly honored.

Even though they were friends, Kendall had no say about the participants, so Kait was allowed to enter. There’d been hundreds of entries from all around Indiana and the surrounding states. The honchos at CuisineTV narrowed the list down to twenty-five based on applications and recommendations. Next had been a round of interviews in Chicago, where CuisineTV was headquartered.

The questioning had been arduous and intense, and just when Kaitlyn thought she’d finished, she’d had to whip up an entrée with no advance preparation. After that, the list had been trimmed to a dozen. The twelve remaining contestants had been given five days to film a segment as if they were hosting their television show. The network honchos weren’t looking for anything professional and even said they could use cell phone video apps. Kait decided she wanted to go all out. Go big or go home, right? She asked her boss if she could use the kitchen, and he agreed, clearing three mornings for her use.

Dion McArthur was the king of restaurants in Bloomington and all of Indiana. He owned three local eateries that were widely popular, including Fresh!, and three more around the state. The head chef from one of his other local establishments and one from another branch had also made the cut. He was proud of his employees.

It was essential to Kait to use the kitchen she regularly cooked in because she knew blindfolded where everything was located. The set-up was ideal, and the appliances top-grade. She could move around and chat to the camera without thinking, Where did I put the tarragon?

Kait had been the first chef Dion approached six months ago when he opened Fresh!. She loved his concept of using locally grown products and serving meals that were both healthy and delicious. It was precisely her style. But because of her demanding schedule, she could only commit to Executive Chef part-time. She also taught a class on healthy cooking, gave lectures, and hired out as a private chef to wealthy clients. That’s how she met Dion.

Amy Warren, the woman she shared chef duties with at Fresh!, also made the top twenty-five but hadn’t made it further. Amy made it clear that she thought she deserved the spot. Kait hadn’t ruled out her involvement with all that had transpired with her aborted attempts to film her segment.

It had taken one day to get everything in order, including recruiting Lauren’s help to hire high school students to shoot the footage. She figured if anyone could create a dazzling video, it was teenage computer geeks. Lauren, head cheerleader, student body president, and homecoming queen, knew everyone in school. She asked two boys who produced and hosted a podcast. They’d been overjoyed at the prospect. Kait presumed the chance to hang out with Lauren captured their interest more than the actual video production. Still, she’d been prepared to pay for their time, but they volunteered to do it for free with the stipulation Kait put in a good word for them to be interns on the show. She promised she’d personally hand-deliver their resumes to Kendall.

They started filming on day two of five, only to discover that Kait’s spices were missing. Every. Single. One. And not just Kait’s, but all the seasonings in the entire restaurant. It took so long to round up replacements, they lost the kitchen for lunch prep. Still, she knew what she wanted to make, and the kids only needed one day to put the video together, so they made plans to try again the following day.

On day three of five, she’d been cruising along, chatting into the camera, chopping veggies, when the lights went out. She almost sliced off a finger. By the time the power was restored, they had to evacuate the kitchen again. She regrouped, made plans for the following day, gathered her supplies, and headed home. Losing so much time during the day made her nervous, but surely her luck wasn’t so bad that they couldn’t film the segment the next day.

She woke up early on day four of five, her nerves jumping so much she couldn’t manage more than a few hours of sleep. This was it. She had to film today, or there wouldn’t be enough time to produce the video. Benji and Bryce assured her they could piece together segments from the first two days if need be. Nothing like wearing the same outfit for three days in a row. Thankfully, she wore one of her signature chef coats, so it wasn’t a big deal.

Now here she sat, that same outfit soaking wet, her dreams slipping away like the droplets of water down the drain.

Her cell rang—good to know it still worked—playing Bette Midler’s Wind Beneath My Wings, the tune she’d programmed for her oldest brother. The lyrics, Did you ever know that you’re my hero, perfectly represented what he meant to her. She didn’t want to worry him, so she tried for a cheery tone. Hey, Luke. What’s up?

Are you having a little trouble there, sis?

How did you know? She eyed the people milling about, wondering who was spying for her brother.

ESP, he said—the same BS he’d been feeding her since she was eight.

Seriously? How did you know?

I may not be a detective anymore, but the traits are still there. I never reveal my sources.

She sighed, a lock of hair falling over her face to cover her eye. The purpose of the call?

Your audition video is due Friday morning, right?

Hopelessness washed over her. Yes.

Use the house.

Kait shot upright. Use Luke’s house? With the sparkling gourmet kitchen, panoramic views of the lake, and every appliance any chef would need? He had everything she required—and she should know. She’d designed and stocked the kitchen herself.

You don’t mind?

Kait, damn it. His voice was scolding. It’s your house too. You know that.

It was nice of him to say, but it wasn’t her house. It was Luke’s. He worked hard his entire life to raise her and their two brothers. He’d built a successful business and then designed his dream home. Kaitlyn wanted him to be happy, find someone to share his life with, and fill the house with kids. She owned a tiny bungalow closer to the restaurant in town, but she often stayed at Luke’s.

You’ve come to my rescue once again. Thank you.

Break a leg, sis.

#

As soon as Kaitlyn informed Lauren about the venue switch, she rounded up the boys and their equipment and herded them into Kait’s cherry red BMW. The boys oohed and ahhed, begging to take turns behind the wheel. She just laughed. No one drove her baby. She made a quick stop to pick up fresh ingredients and then motored to Luke’s house. He and his business partner, Logan Bradley, had built their company from the ground up. It started with just the two men and Dan. Now they employed so many people, she’d lost count. They had more jobs than they could handle. They’d even signed a contract with the government. She was so proud of her brother.

Kaitlyn pulled up to the massive security gates that led to the sprawling compound that served as COBRA Securities headquarters. You had to pass through two checkpoints to get inside, the second one staffed. Her car had a chip that automatically opened the first gate, so she motored through as soon as it opened. Guests had to press a button and talk to whoever was working the second gate. The boys were wide-eyed as she navigated the road through the trees.

Geez, paranoid much? Benji asked. I feel like we’re going to Fort Knox or something.

The security might seem excessive, but almost everyone who worked here had a military or law enforcement background. They’d all collected enemies over the years. Luke and Logan believed in being prepared for anything, and they wouldn’t take chances with the lives of their employees or their own families. The facility included an underground bunker with backup computer operations in case the compound ever came under fire. They’d also constructed two exit tunnels, one that led to the road and another to the boathouse on the lake. They’d even bought up all the surrounding land, and many of the agents had purchased plots and built houses.

It’d been a major fight when Kaitlyn wanted to move to her own house. Luke wanted her tucked safely behind the secured walls. Her bungalow was tiny and didn’t have the lake view, but it was closer to work. At the end of a busy day, the short commute meant she could be home faster to soak in the tub with a glass of Merlot and relax. Luke finally relented—after wiring her place with top-of-the-line security.

Kaitlyn pulled up to the guard station and rolled down her window. The staffed gate might be extreme, but it gave Tucker Nash an important job where he felt like he still contributed. Tucker stuck his head outside and waved. He was a retired marine sniper and looked the part. Few criminals would choose to go up against him. They didn’t know that inside that barrel chest beat the heart of a teddy bear and that when Tucker stepped out of the booth, he was missing both of his legs, courtesy of a roadside bomb in Iraq. He walked with two prostheses and hand crutches. Yes, they needed protection, but she knew Luke and Logan created the position especially for him. They could’ve gotten by with just the gates. Being in charge of security gave Tucker a purpose he’d lost when he left his legs in Fallujah. He was proficient with computers, but Post Traumatic Stress Disorder made being around too many people tough, so he had everything he needed to work from the booth.

She chatted with him briefly and asked about his twin daughters. They were just about to hit their teens and gave their parents fits. Kaitlyn waved goodbye and drove around to her brother’s house. She surreptitiously checked to make sure she didn’t run into Dan. She both hoped she did and dreaded it. She was sick. Truthfully, after everything that had gone wrong this week, she didn’t feel like dealing with him today. Or else she wanted to throw herself in his arms and beg him never to let go. Yep, definitely sick.

No chance encounters as she parked in Luke’s cobblestone driveway. She guided the teens inside and left them to entertain themselves with the gigantic television and game console in the great room as she ran to her room to shower after the morning’s water adventure. Since they’d changed the venue, Benji and Bryce wouldn’t be able to use any of the footage they’d already shot, so they had to get it all done today. The bright side was that there was no time limit except for what the boys would need to finish the project.

Once Kaitlyn dried her hair, changed her jacket, and applied makeup, she headed back downstairs. Benji and Bryce were engrossed in a game of Mortal Kombat while Lauren chatted on her cell. When Lauren saw her,