Protected by Shadows (23 page)

Val stood near, not encroaching on her but not giving her total privacy either. When she met his gaze and arched a brow, he walked away. It was as if he’d just wanted to make sure she was all right.

She must have dozed off for when she opened her eyes, the sun was very low in the sky and Valentino was in the kitchen. Cooking, from the sound of it. She got to her feet and walked in.

He’d changed from earlier whereas she still wore her skirt suit. Her shoes were gone however. She allowed her gaze to rove over his jeans riding low on his hips and the green tee that hung over his waistband.

“Food will be ready in about ten minutes. Your brother should be here by then as well.” He spoke without turning around.

Silent, she left and took a short but necessary shower. Hector had arrived when she walked back to the kitchen in shorts and a camisole. He sat at the table, a beer and food before him. Val held out a chair for her beside her brother and pushed her in after she’d kissed Hector.

“Looks great, man,” Hector complimented.

His voice, unfortunately, remained but an echo of how she knew it was normally. It tore at her all over again to know how much he was hurting, and that she knew something he didn’t. They’d never really kept secrets from one another before. They were family and they stuck together.

Her not telling him about Val had gone over poorly enough, one only knew how painfully this deception would be taken. She smoothed her napkin on her lap and dipped her head. He was right about one thing though, his statement of the food. She couldn’t argue that—it did look good.

Their meal was mostly silent, split by the sounds of eating. Utensils on plates, glasses being picked up and set back—typical family sounds. She hid her scoff of derision. This wasn’t a family.

Not how it used to be in her mind. She was married to a man she’d had to blackmail to get his name. She was lying to her brother about the other brother he had believed passed away. No, not family. This was a big clusterfuck.

“Hector,” she began tentatively.

“Yes?”

“I think Eugene should have a closed casket.”

He placed his fork down and stared at her. She could also feel Val watching her. She ignored her husband and focused on her brother.

“Why? They can fix the bruising with some makeup.”

Why? That was a damn good question. She shrugged. “It was just a suggestion. I know he wouldn’t have liked the fuss of being made over to be ‘presentable’ anyway.” She shook her head. “Forget I mentioned it.”

As expected, he reached for her and took her hand. “No, it’s a great suggestion. I’m sorry, Lex. I’ll mention it to the mortician.”

“I can handle some of that stuff, Hector. Let me help.”

He nodded absently. “Sure.”

Lexy refocused on her dinner. She cleaned up after they’d all finished and Hector spoke to Valentino in the living room. She hugged her brother and he left saying he’d call tomorrow.

“Why the closed casket?” Valentino asked.

“Thought it may be easier for those who have to fix up some guy to look like my brother.” She shook her head. “Hector doesn’t want my help on this.” Lexy threw up her hands in frustration. “Not like
this
is even real.”

Her phone rang and she stiffened. Val met her gaze and gave her a nod. She took a deep breath and answered it. “Hello?”

“Try to listen this time and not create any issues.”

She lifted her lip in a silent snarl at the horrid sound of that computerized voice. “Go fuck yourself.”

“Tsk, tsk. I warned you, do you want us to make an example of your brother?”

She sniffed and said with tears in her voice, “You bastard. Take your threats and fuck off. My brother is dead! Let me mourn him.”

There was silence then the call ended. She exhaled and worried her lip. Valentino sat opposite her still on his call. When he set his cell down she arched an eyebrow at him.

“Well?”

“No luck. Wherever this stuff is coming from, they’re good. It’s bouncing off so many places they’ll never get a lock.” He stood and watched her for a moment almost as if he wanted to say something else. “Night.” He walked away and vanished into the darkness of his temporary bedroom.

She was tempted to follow him. Being held sure sounded like a good thing right about now. None of this was working out how she had thought it would. He was supposed to be the one suffering, not her.

Tomorrow was going to be hell. The reception party for her and Valentino was going down. Plus she had to give over a code she didn’t have. This entire thing seemed to be spinning out of control and she didn’t like the feeling.

After locking up the house, she made her way to her room and collapsed face first on the bed. The chime of her phone had her shoving into her pocket to pull it out.

“Hmm?” she mumbled into it.

“We still want the code and will have someone there to get it tomorrow. Don’t make me have to go after your other brother.”

She lay immobile. “I’m going to enjoy kicking your ass when I meet you.”

“Women are put here to please men. You will please me but don’t think for a moment you will ever lay a hand on me.” If a computer voice could sound menacing, then this one did. Lexy chalked it up to her exhaustion playing tricks on her.

“How am I supposed to know who to give this to?”

“You do have the code then?”

She didn’t want to talk about that. “How do I recognize this person? What are they wearing?”

“No. They will walk up to you and say they’re there for the code. You will give them the sheet and they will leave. You won’t follow them and when we verify the veracity of said code, you will get another set of instructions.”

She pushed up on her forearms and waved her legs in the air. “I don’t like being used like this.”

“This is about you learning to listen. We have already gone over that. You would do well to remember what I tell you. He isn’t as forgiving as I am when it comes to disobedience.” The call ended and she allowed her body to fall back to the mattress.

Think on this, Lexy. He implied that he’s not the top. So he wouldn’t be the top dog in The Watchers. If he’s not, then who is he and how far up is he? Or is he angling to make his way up the ranks?

She screamed into her bedspread, frustrated beyond belief. It wasn’t adding up. “There has to be a piece of this I’m just not seeing. There
has
to be.”

Part of her thought about going to Val’s room and informing him about the call. Her brain reminded her he had a clone of her phone and knew when it rang, which meant he’d probably heard the entire exchange.

She jumped when her home phone rang. Rolling toward it, she grabbed the receiver and put it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Sorry to bother you, Dr Cam—Cassano. We got a call from the cops, since you’re the vet on call this month for strays and accidents they find. They have a dog who got hit by a car. They’re on the way to your clinic.”

“Don’t worry about it, Lisa. Thanks for the heads up.” She ended the call and left the bed. “Damn it, forgot I was the one on call.”

It didn’t take her much time to slip into some scrubs and pull her hair up into a ponytail. She fastened her watch and made her way to the door. This was going to take some time and seriously reduce how long she could sleep. As she opened the front door, Valentino appeared behind her.

“Going somewhere?”

“Clinic. Have an emergency coming in. I forgot my clinic was the one on call this month for anything animal control or the cops pick up. I also handle the surgeries, and that’s what this one is.” She scrolled through her phone and placed a call. “Hey, can you meet me at the clinic? Emergency coming in. See you then.” She grabbed her purse and keys. “See you.” Shutting the door behind her, she exhaled then hurried down to her car.

After hopping into her Spyder, she cranked the engine and left.
It’s going to be a long night.
Thankfully, Rona Tyne was waiting for her. The woman was an exceptional technician and one Lexy preferred to have working with her in surgeries.

“Already opened the place up so when the cops get here all is ready. Since you never said what kind of surgery we were doing, I haven’t pulled anything other than basics.”

“Thanks, Rona. I don’t know any more than what I said to you.” Lights flashed as the cop car turned into the drive. The women stepped forward to meet them.

Two men exited from the car and nodded. The driver looked familiar to her but as they pulled the dog from the back, her attention went to the canine completely.

They shifted the large animal to the stretcher they had and carried him in, the officers following. “Thank you for bringing him in,” she said as the doors shut behind them. They set him down on the prep table. He barely moved.

Lexy grabbed her stethoscope and glanced up at the two men again. They both waited. “We got it from here, gentlemen. If you would just leave your cards, we’d appreciate it.”

They looked at her then nodded again. Rona locked the doors behind them as Lexy continued her initial assessment. The dog had a muzzle on and was still growling behind it. He was too injured to move much, but he made his intentions perfectly clear.

“Let’s get this party started,” she said, wheeling him into the surgery room.

Seconds later, music pumped in through the speakers and she smiled at the sound. It was the soundtrack for one of the
Underworld
movies. She scrubbed up as Rona administered the anesthesia. Once the dog was under they worked swiftly to assess and figure out the best way to patch him up.

He looks like a wolf hybrid. And I was so right, this is going to be one hell of a long night.

Chapter Fourteen

Valentino shoved his hands in his pockets and reclined against the tree behind him. He didn’t want to take part in this—parties weren’t really his thing. But there was no way around it. There was a decided wave of sorrow in the air as everyone had heard about Eugene.

Lexy had smiled at them all and thanked them then reminded them that Eugene was a huge fan of parties and would want all of them to have fun. So they were doing the best they could. Crossing his arms, he looked for his wife.

She stood with two other women, talking and laughing. To observe her, one would never know she’d not made it in until after ten this morning after having been up all night performing surgery. The woman made it work. She wore another pair of those damn shorts, which drove him wild showcasing her long, toned legs. The heels only added to the fantasy and her camisole top hid nothing. Not from his imagination or anyone else’s.

A lot of the guests had dressed similarly—the women anyway. Many of the men watched them closely but none were rude or needed to be put in their place.

When she’d gotten back to her house from surgery, he’d been in the living room watching television. She’d moved right by him as if he wasn’t there and to the shower.

He had bided his time, but she’d continued to treat him as if he weren’t there. Then it was time to go to this and they’d ridden in silence down the street to the park, where they were now. She put on a good show, playing the doting wife when she had to, but otherwise he knew she was ignoring him. As she’d suggested they do—stay out of one another’s way.

He watched her laugh at something one of the women said, he didn’t know what she’d said that was so amusing for her back was to him so he couldn’t read her lips. But he could read Lexy’s.

“Oh, he’s awesome in bed.”

He grinned. Leave it to women to get to conversations about sex. Lexy looked up and he watched a practiced smile lift her lips. He blew her a kiss and she shook her head before breaking the eye connection.

Valentino skimmed over the gathered group. Some he knew, most he didn’t. These were Lexy’s friends and neighbors. He pushed from the tree and entered the fray. He brushed by Paula with a nod and smile as he’d been doing to most of the people. She looked good—her blonde hair drawn back into a braid swung with each step she took. A tight shirt and pants added to the picture. No heels though, she wore slip-on canvas and he knew it was in case she had to run.

They were at the drink table. “How you doing?” he asked, reaching for a Coke from a tin tub full of ice.

“Fine,” she said, her voice a soft drawl. “You?”

“Same.”

He looked up when Lexy walked up to him. Her gaze moved over Paula before returning to him. Never once did her smile leave her face.

“They want us up in front of everyone,” Lexy said.

“You’re the boss, hon,” he replied, drinking some Coke then meeting her on the other side of the table.

As he went around it, he saw Paula give him a small salute and he knew she was laughing at him. He’d not worked with her a lot but had found her to be an exceptional agent. Good head on her shoulders and she didn’t back away from anything.

“We’re here to celebrate today the marriage of Valentino and Lexy Cassano,” Barbara Kramer spoke to the crowd. “And while we also mourn the passing of Eugene Camden, as Lexy reminded us, he did love a party.”