Dalton, Tymber - Fire and Ice [A Triple Trouble Prequel] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (29 page)

And that was it.

“Are there any other questions or concerns?” the attorney asked.

She glanced at him, then at Andel. “Is he…one of us?” she softly asked him in English.

Andel smiled. “James is from dragon lineage, if that’s your question.”

“Ah.” She started to ask Andel something else, but he politely raised a hand to stay her. “Let me read this first, please. Then I will spend all day and night answering anything you wish to ask me.”

Lina nodded. “Of course.”

He broke the wax seal on the envelope and withdrew the single page. As he read it, his eyes brimmed with tears. Then he burst into laughter. When he finished, he smiled and returned the letter to the envelope. He produced a handkerchief from his pocket, dried his eyes, and blew his nose. “I’m sorry, my dear.” He looked around. “There is…an object we need to discuss.”

“The tablet.”

He looked startled. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to discuss this openly.”

Daniel arched an eyebrow at him. “Andel, you’re about the only one in this room, with the exception of Perry Mason, here, who hasn’t been in the loop about the tablet.”

That seemed to confuse him even more. “What?”

Jocko waved him down. “Relax, Andel. It’s under control. Get comfy, it’ll be a whopper of a story.”

* * * *

Lina let the others do most of the talking. She didn’t want to talk. She only wanted to eat and sleep. Sitting still for more than a few minutes in her fairly comfy chair, she found herself dozing off.

A gentle nudge to her shoulder startled her awake. Callie. “Hey, want to go eat? We’ll let the guys finish up here.”

Lina wearily nodded and hauled herself out of the chair. They followed the delicious smell of food through the first floor until they found the dining room, where a long sideboard had been covered from one end to the other in chafing dishes and platters full of nommy goodness.

“They must have told them Wally and the wolves were coming with us,” Callie joked.

As Lina grabbed a clean plate from the stack at the end of the sideboard, a ridiculously stupid thought hit her.

She turned to Callie. “You’re Baba Yaga’s sister.”

A puzzled smile crossed Callie’s face. “Yeah?”

“Her
sister
.”

Callie nodded. “Uh-huh. You okay?”

Lina blamed it on accumulated stress, exhaustion, jet lag, and her period. “I’ve spent all this time bitching about her, when I’ve got you right here!”

Callie’s eyebrows arched as she realized where Lina was going with her point. “Ah. Well, I hate to disappoint you, but while yes, I do have powers, my powers are far less than Babs’. On a scale of one to ten, she’s a ninety-seven, and I’m around twenty-five. Now Brighde, our other sister, she’s older than me, but younger than Babs. She’s about a forty-two.”

Lina blankly stared at her for a moment as the disappointing news sank in. She burst into tears.

Callie looked alarmed. “Hey, it’s okay.” She put her plate down, took Lina’s from her and put it down as well, and hugged her. “Hey, I’ll help you as much as I can. But this is Baba Yaga’s gig, honey. I can only do so much. I’m also bound by certain laws, anyway. If I went willy-nilly, I’d get slapped down in a big way.”

“I thought I was so close to answers!” Lina sobbed against her.

“Hey, believe me, no one has all the answers. Not even Babs. She’s as hamstrung in a lot of ways as any of us are. She’s just…a lot sneakier.”

Without a word, one of the housekeepers brought Lina a cloth napkin and left them alone again.

Lina laughed and blew her nose. “They’re efficient.”

Callie laughed. “Seems so. How’s it feel to be the lady of the manor?”

“I don’t know yet. Ask me in a few weeks, if I haven’t been committed to an asylum.”

They filled their plates and settled in at one end of the long table. The housekeeper filled their coffee cups and water glasses for them and silently disappeared again.

“I wonder if I change my hair color,” Callie said, “if it’d spook her?”

Lina nearly choked on her scrambled eggs as she laughed. “You can do that?”

Callie snorted and, before Lina’s eyes, went from a curly redhead to straight black hair with purple highlights.

Lina’s eyes widened. “Holy crap!” she said.

“Yeah, but—”

“Ahem.”

Callie flinched and turned to see Daniel standing in the doorway, a wry expression on his face.

Lina wondered at the immediate change in Callie’s demeanor. Callie lowered her head. “Sorry, Sir,” she softly said.

He laughed and walked over to her. Smiling, he gently tipped her chin up so he could lean in and kiss her. “It’s okay,” he said. “I heard Lina’s comment. I know you were just showing her.”

Relief filled Callie’s face. Her hair immediately changed back to its previous deep-red hue and curly texture. “Thank You, Sir.”

Lina’s eyes narrowed. “Not that it’s any of my business, but what the hell’s going on here?” She immediately felt protective of Callie. The irony wasn’t lost on her, since Callie was probably far more powerful than Lina could ever hope to be.

Callie laid her hand over Daniel’s, where it rested on her shoulder. She smiled at Lina. “It’s okay. Do you really think a wolf could do something to me that I didn’t want done?” She looked up at Daniel with love in her eyes. “He’s my Sir. I love Him. He’s the first man in my entire life who understood what I wanted and needed.”

Lina knew that look. Lovesick puppy. Every man in her house wore that look at one time or another. Hell, she probably wore it a few times herself.

That wasn’t a look easily faked.

“You’re into, what, that freaky stuff?” Lina asked.

Daniel laughed. “Yeah, and having two dragon mates is totally vanilla. What we do is totally consensual. I wasn’t sure if I’d make it out alive from our first date. I only knew she was my mate and I loved her.” He looked down at her and stroked her hair. “I’d kill and die for her, believe me. Just like I’m sure your mates would for you.”

Lina’s face reddened. “Okay, I got it.
Touché
. Sorry.”

“No, it’s all right,” he said. “I appreciate that you feel protective of her like that. That’s the mark of a good friend.” He reached out a hand to Lina to shake with her.

Lina accepted it. “I think she’s probably going to do more to save my bacon than the other way around, but thanks.”

Daniel walked over to the sideboard to fill a plate. Callie smiled at Lina and leaned in close. In a low whisper, she said, “Besides, Sir is fucking hot in the sack.”

“I heard that,” he playfully said from the sideboard. “Wolf ears, pet.”

“Who says I didn’t mean for You to hear it, Sir?” she innocently shot back.

His amused laugh vaguely reminded Lina of a wolf’s howl.

* * * *

The rest of the group, minus the attorney, made it into the dining room a few minutes later. Zack took point on the discussion after they sat down. “We figured you’d probably want to get some sleep first,” he said. “But after that, I’m guessing you want to start that search?”

Lina nodded after glancing at the housekeeper, who silently stood inside the doorway, ready to refill drinks or food. She didn’t need him to hit her over the head with a sledgehammer. They would
ixnay
the
alktay
about the
ablettay
while the staff was around. “Yeah. After I’ve had a nap would be good.”

Her men didn’t need to ask her if she was in the mood to fool around. They were asleep almost before their heads hit the pillows. She lay there for a moment staring at the ceiling. This felt surreal. A week ago, she was in Yellowstone. Now, she was in a house—
her
house—outside of Paris.

Okay,
their
house, because even if it was hers, she considered it theirs.

She closed her eyes. Immediately, she found herself standing along the side of a rural road. She got the distinct feeling from local trees and vegetation that she was in Florida, confirmed when she spotted the wrecked car on the other side of the road. The tag on the back was for the Sunshine State.

It looked like the accident had just happened, from the way steam still rose up from the front end. As she approached, she realized there were two occupants in the front. Both appeared dead.

The scene changed. She was still there at the wrecked car, but now there was a tow truck driver preparing to winch the demolished car onto the back of a flatbed wrecker. Three men who looked identical and distraught stood there, talking with a Florida Highway Patrol officer. The Lyall brothers…

Lina opened her eyes. She was safe in bed between Rick and Jan.

She was way too tired to think about it right then. What she wanted was sleep. Just good old dreamless, boring sleep. She closed her eyes again.

By the time Lina awoke seven hours later, she felt reasonably human again. Jan and Rick were still softly snoring on either side of her. She carefully climbed out of the bed via the end and made her way into the bathroom. There, she drew herself a hot bath and settled in for a relaxing soak. She’d already finished and dressed when Rick and Jan dragged themselves out of bed.

“I’m going down to Bertholde’s room,” she said.

“Do you want us to come with you?” Rick asked.

“No. If I’m not safe in this house, then I’m pretty much screwed. I want some alone time there.” She took her cell phone with her. Around her, the house felt quiet, no sounds of the others stirring yet. She made her way downstairs and found Bertholde’s room again.

She shut the door behind her and threw the curtains open to let light into the room. She sat on the bed and called Lacey. The Seer answered immediately.

“There you are. I was beginning to worry.”

“Sorry. I had to sleep.”

“Where are you?”

Lina looked around. “I’m in Bertholde’s room. Sitting on her bed.”

“Good. Get up and go to the back staircase.”

Lina stood and walked out into the hall. She didn’t know where the back staircase was. She assumed it was in the opposite direction of the main staircase.

“Let me find it.”

“Okay, tell me when you do.”

Lina made two more turns and found it. “I guess this is it.”

“Is it anywhere near the kitchen?”

“I don’t think so, but then again, I’m lost.”

Lacey laughed. “What’s it look like?”

“Stairs.”

“No, dear. Carpeted, banister color, that type of thing.”

“Oh. No carpet, just wood.”

“That’s it, then. The service staircase by the kitchen is carpeted. Slowly ascend the stairs. One step at a time. Do not rush.”

“Um, okay.” Lina took the stairs one at a time.

“Anything?”

“What am I looking for?” Various pictures and photographs lined the wall. Was it something hidden behind a picture?

“Listening for, Lina. Listening.”