Seduced by Chaos (9 page)

Good question. Had she heard Fred correctly? Had someone called and used the code words she and Cara had devised years ago? She had to know.

“Fred.” She sought the little chef’s eyes. She had to see his eyes when he answered her. “Fred, repeat what you told me. Please.”

She felt Teo stiffen against her and Fred’s eyes narrowed as he repeated the phrase, word for word. Her lungs constricted as Teo’s arms tightened around her.

It was exactly what they’d planned. Every word. And they’d been so careful.

They’d never spoken the entire phrase out loud. They’d planned to use it when they’d finally escaped as a signal to let the other know she was okay.

“Lacey.”

They’d had a plan. A good plan. And then Cara had died. And Lacey had been left to execute it by herself.

“Lacey.”

What if Cara hadn’t died? What if she’d survived the fall? But if she had, why hadn’t their captors returned her to their prison? Had she been too badly injured at the time? Had it taken two years for her to heal?

“Lacey!”

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The sharp edge in Teo’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. And the worry in his eyes made her lips curve in a tiny smile. Which just made Teo frown harder.

“Come on, babe. Let me take you back upstairs to lie down for a few minutes.”

Yes, they needed privacy for this. Even though she trusted Fred almost as much as she trusted Teo, Fred couldn’t know her story.

“Yes, I…I think…that’d be good. Fred, could you—”

“Don’t worry,” the
monaciello
waved his hand, eyes still narrowed. “I’ll finish getting ready. You have a rest. All will be ready when you return.”

She and Teo didn’t speak as he carried her back through the kitchen and up the stairs.

But the second he sat on the couch, she bounced off his lap.

“It has to be her, Teo. It just has to be.”

He watched her with narrowed eyes as she began to pace. “So the words were a code? Is that what you’re saying?”

She nodded. “From my sister. It can only be from Cara. No one knew our secret code. Not Carmen. Not any of the guards. It has to be her.”

Teo’s frown devolved into a full-blown grimace. “Whoa, slow down. You can’t be sure about that. Take a breath and think this through, Lace.” His gaze slid down to her shaking hands then back up to her eyes. “You said you saw her fall. You were positive.

Now, after one phone call, you’re sure she’s alive.”

She knew it made no sense. No one could have survived that fall. Especially not tiny, delicate Cara. They were not identical twins. Cara was smaller, her hair more red than brown, her features rounder, prettier.

She looked straight into Teo’s eyes. “I know how it sounds, but there’s no way anyone other than Cara could know that phrase. It had to be her.”

His expression didn’t change, only the furious tic in his jaw belied his emotions.

“Do you have Caller ID?”

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Blessed Goddess, she was an idiot. She rushed to the phone and grabbed it from the cradle. But the last entry was from two days ago.

Teo must have seen the disappointment on her face as she walked back to stand in front of him. “Are you connected to the system?” he asked.

She shook her head. She’d considered having the bar connected to the Etruscan communication system, which used antique phones and enchanted phone lines. By the nature of her blood, she could have requested inclusion in the system. But it was run by a nosy operator and Lacey didn’t want to deal with her questions.

“So whoever called was able to hide the evidence.” Teo’s voice sounded completely calm, reasonable. “Would your sister know how to do that?”

Shit.
Her lips flattened into a straight line. “No. We didn’t have access to computers.

We couldn’t even watch television when we wanted.”

“So if it
is
your sister, she has to be working with someone. Or…it wasn’t her.”

Teo’s expression had hardened into a stone-cold mask. It would have scared the shit out of her if she’d thought that cold anger was directed her way. But she knew it wasn’t. He was outraged on her behalf. Again.

He thought someone was screwing with her. And he was royally pissed off on her behalf.

Leaning forward, he caught her hand as she paced by, forcing her to stop and look at him. “Let me bring in my brothers, Lacey. Let them dig around, see if they can find out who called.”

She wanted to say yes. She wanted to believe that Teo and his brothers could find answers for her. But she didn’t want to put them in any danger because of her. And she wasn’t sure she could handle being told her sister was dead again.

Hope sucked.

“Lacey. Take a breath. You’re going to hyperventilate.”

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He was right. Her breathing had shallowed out to the point where she began to feel lightheaded. But she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.

“Come here, hon.” Teo tugged on her hand and she let him guide her down onto the couch, one knee on either side of his hips. “Breathe with me.”

As she settled onto his lap, the seam in her jeans brushed against her clit, reminding her of the last time they’d been on this couch hours ago.

But Teo didn’t have sex on his mind. His expression showed such worry.

She wanted to soothe him, to tell him it would be okay, which was completely ridiculous. She should be running far and fast.

But she didn’t want to leave him.

How had he come to mean so much to her in so short a time? Her heart thumped a little faster but she was able to breathe a little easier. Leaning in, she let her forehead rest against his.

They sat there for a few minutes, just breathing. His heat seeped into her, warming her. Letting her mind clear of everything, her body followed suit and relaxed into him.

“All right, Teo. Tell your brothers. I want to know if my sister’s alive.”

* * * * *

Lacey knew exactly who Teo’s oldest brother Cam was the second he walked through the door around midnight.

He was almost as tall as Teo but built like a linebacker. They shared the same hair color and the same nose and Cam’s features had the same hard cast to them as Teo’s.

But it was how Teo had described his personality that clinched it. He’d said his brother looked like he ate light bulbs for breakfast. She hadn’t really understood what he’d meant until Cam walked in, his arm around a cool blonde who had to be his mate, Stella.

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As he closed the door behind him, Cam let his gaze take the lay of the land before he ushered Stella toward a table against the wall in the back. From there, he’d be able to see the entire room.

Business was still good, with seven customers at the bar and another eight at tables around the room. Teo had helped her behind the bar all night, though he was careful to stay behind it and not deal with the customers more than he had to. If they hadn’t been so busy, she would have asked him what was up with that. She filed it away for later.

Fred’s dinner menu pulled in a decent crowd every night but by eight o’clock, the regulars held down their places. The table of unsuspecting
eteri
nurses glanced at Cam and Stella when they walked in, their eyes registering Cam’s appeal then going back to their discussion. The two
Enu
and three shapeshifting
versipelli
males met and held Cam’s gaze for a long second before nodding and turning back to their companions.

Wow, the guy should have a ring they could kiss.

Her palms began to sweat.

“Chill.” Teo’s voice whispered along her ear, raising goose bumps. “Cam doesn’t bite. But I will if you ask.”

His tease had the desired effect as a smile curved her lips and she glanced up into Teo’s warm hazel eyes. “Behave. I’m busy and if I stop to think about any of this, I might run screaming.”

Teo shook his head. “No, you won’t. You’re stronger than that.” He set the pitcher he’d filled on the counter so he could tilt her chin up with one finger. “You’re not making a mistake trusting me, Lacey.”

She knew that. She just hoped no one got hurt because she’d been selfish last night.

Teo must have read something of her thoughts in her eyes because he sighed and shook his head. “Deliver this then I’ll introduce you to Cam and Stella.”

He gave her ass a quick stroke before walking back to his brother’s table.

Skin tingling from his touch, she huffed and grabbed the pitcher.

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The nurses, involved in an intense debate about trauma versus emergency, barely glanced her way when she set the pitcher on their table. No help there avoiding what was coming.

Hell, she might as well cluck.

Her chest tightened as she turned and walked to their table, more than half hoping someone wanted to place an order. No one bothered her and by the time she arrived at Cam’s table, she could barely breathe.

Before Cam or Teo could say anything, Stella stood, a warm smile on her face, hand outstretched.

“Hello, Lacey. I’m so glad to meet you. I’m Stella de Feo. You have a great place here. I keep telling Cam we need to get out more, but my stick-in-the-mud mate is more interested in staying home.”

And just like that, Stella staved off Lacey’s panic attack and aligned herself as an ally. Lacey smiled into the woman’s pale green eyes.

“Thank you for coming.” With her eyes, she included Cam in her greeting as Teo laced his fingers with hers and pulled her to his side. Cam’s expression lightened as he watched them, and when he smiled, he became almost as handsome as Teo. Almost. “I appreciate your time but I’m still not sure this—”

“Lacey.” Teo cut her off, his dark eyes reassuring. “Give Cam a chance to do his thing. Please.”

Well, when he asked like that…

* * * * *

The bar started to clear around twelve-thirty and at one-fifteen, Lacey closed the door, resting her head against the solid oak for a few seconds.

Power infused the entire building, warding it against magic intended to cause harm. She’d paid the
strega
, the Etruscan witch who’d set up the wards, extra for an 73

Stephanie Julian

additional spell to warn her of the arrival of a
Mal
. So far, that spell hadn’t been triggered.

Sighing, she thought about making a run for it. But how stupid was that? This was her place. Teo only wanted to help. His brother was a professional investigator and…there was that phone call this afternoon.

Teo and Cam turned at the exact same time with the same intense expression. It would have been amusing if she’d been in a better mood. At least Stella’s smile was reassuring.

Teo held out his hand and she moved without thought to take it. Pulling her onto the chair next to his, he put his arm around her shoulder and drew her close.

His warmth curled around her like a blanket. She felt safe. And that was dangerous.

But oh-so good.

“Teo’s filled me in on the basics,” Cam said, drawing her gaze to his. His brown eyes were warm. She’d missed that before. “Tell me about the phone call.”

She took a deep breath and recounted the entire conversation from start to finish.

Then she told him why she thought it was Cara.

He listened without comment, nodding encouragingly when her voice cracked and tears filled her eyes. Once she started, she couldn’t stop the flow of words. Hope made her babble, made her mention things that would never help find Cara. How she loved the color yellow and hated shrimp.

Cam never looked bored or aggravated or frustrated. He listened to every word as if they held equal weight. And when she finally wound down, Cam wanted even more information.

“Did you notice any of the guards paying more attention to your sister?” Cam asked. “Did she mention any guards in particular or tell you she thought they were nice? Attractive? Friendly?”

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As Cam’s intent became clear to her, her stomach turned over and she shook her head. “No. No, she never said anything like that. Those men were evil. We were nothing to them except toys to play with when they were horny.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to take them back.

She heard Stella’s softly indrawn breath, watched Cam’s mouth flatten into a line and his eyes go black with fury.

Teo’s arm tightened around her shoulders and she swore she felt his anger rise around him like a wave. Shame, something she’d sworn she would never feel, wanted to swamp her. She didn’t want Teo to see her the way the
Mal
had—as some kind of animal to be used for their purposes.

She didn’t want his pity. Or anyone else’s.

Sitting up straighter, she shrugged her shoulders to get him to remove his arm.

Even as she wanted him to draw her closer so she could draw on his strength.

Something she swore she’d never do. She didn’t want to be dependent on anyone. She had to know she could take care of herself.

Instead of releasing her, Teo slid one arm under her legs, picked her off the chair and sat her in his lap. Tilting her chin up, he laid a heavy kiss on her lips. She tasted a little anger but his desire overrode it. She wanted to sink into that heat but Cam and Stella were watching them and she knew they probably didn’t trust her. Probably thought her very nature was making Teo want her.

Which was more than likely true…

“Damn it, Lacey. Stop.” Teo pulled back far enough to look into her eyes. “I can practically hear what you’re thinking and it’s not true. You’re not using me. You’re not putting me or Cam in any more danger than we can get ourselves into on our own. And I do not think you are in any way responsible for what those bastards did. So stop.” He leaned closer, put his lips right against her ear. “Or I swear I’ll spank you.”

Damn the man. How had he learned to read her so well in so short a time?

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Her smile caught her by surprise, as did her blush. “Not fair, Teodoro.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Nothing in life is, babe. Deal with it.”