“I want him to love me,” she admitted.
Riddick’s nose crinkled up like he smelled something bad. “Yeah, I was afraid of that.”
“You don’t like him?”
“No, not really. But, I guess you could do worse,” he admitted grudgingly. “He’s not all bad.”
“There’s nothing bad about him. Except that he won’t kiss me again.”
Riddick rubbed the back of his neck. “OK, I was wrong. I don’t really want to talk about the kissing.” He shuddered. “But I can tell you this. Any idiot can see that he wants you. So if he’s not kissing you, he’s got a good reason. At least in his mind, it’s a good reason.”
She leaned forward. “What would be a good reason?”
“If I had to guess? I’d say he was protecting you from something. Maybe he doesn’t think you’re ready for a relationship? I don’t know.”
Seven frowned. “Shouldn’t it be up to me to decide what I’m ready for?”
He chuckled. “You sounded exactly like Harper when you said that. And yes, it should be up to you to decide what you’re ready for. But sometimes men can be stubborn assholes when it comes to stuff like that.”
He sounded like he was speaking from experience, so Seven took him at his word. “So, what should I do now?” she asked.
Riddick stood up and offered her a hand. She let him pull her to her feet as he said, “If you want advice on how to get your man, it’s time to retire the second string—me—and call in the big guns.”
“You mean Harper, don’t you?” she asked as Riddick slung an arm around her shoulders.
“Abso-fuckin’-lutely.”
Lucas had told her that when it came to hugging, she’d eventually just know when the right moment was. He was right.
Twisting slightly, Seven wrapped her arms around Riddick’s waist and rested her head on his chest. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He was still a moment, but then his arms closed around her. “You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
She thought for a moment. Riddick said love was taking care of someone because you didn’t want them to have to take care of themselves. Vi had told her love was putting someone else’s needs above your own, thinking of that person before you thought of yourself.
Well, that pretty much decided it.
“I love you, too, Riddick,” she said quietly.
His grip on her tightened for a moment. “Everything’s going to be fine, sweetheart. I promise.”
As they walked out to Riddick’s Harley arm in arm, he said, “You know that if he ever hurts you, I’ll snap every bone in his body, right?”
She blinked up at him. “Is that another thing you just do for the people you love?”
“It is in this family, sweetheart.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
About an hour later, the cavalry—Harper, her sister, Marina, and her mother, Tina—arrived at Lucas’s house.
If Seven hadn’t been told otherwise, she would’ve assumed these three women weren’t related by blood. In contrast to Harper’s slender, willowy form, Marina looked strong and athletic, curvy. And while she was built like Marina, Tina’s teased cloud of platinum blond curls stood out in direct contrast to both her daughters’ darker locks.
They all sat down in the living room, huddled together like football players during a timeout.
Harper clapped her hands together. “OK, we don’t have much time because I have to pick Haven up from the sitter before six, so I’ll sum up why we’re here: Seven needs to get laid and we’re here to help her get her man.”
Marina raised a brow, incredulous. “We’re here to help her get laid? On what planet can she not walk into a bar, crook her little finger, and Pied Piper her way out the door with twenty dudes?”
Tina frowned at her daughter. “Seven’s a nice girl, Marina. She would never pick up men in a bar.”
Seven wasn’t sure what she’d ever said to give Tina the idea that she was nice girl, but she’d take the compliment. And given the way Tina’s power wafted through the room like expensive perfume, Seven wasn’t at all comfortable with the idea of disagreeing with Tina about, well, anything really. Empaths had always made her nervous. And even among other empaths, Tina was extraordinarily powerful.
“Seven doesn’t want to pick up men in a bar,” Harper explained patiently. “She wants Lucas.”
Marina’s eyes widened. “Lucas? You mean Lucas Cooper? The cop? The crazy-hot one who looks like the love child of Wolverine and Jamie Lannister?”
“Yep,” Harper said, making a popping sound on the “p”. “That’s him. He’s into her, too, but he’s slow as Christmas making his move for some reason.”
Marina’s eyes drifted over to Seven. “Lucky bitch,” she said, sounding awed.
Seven didn’t take it personally. If she was able to pull this off, she would be a lucky bitch.
“So, Marina,” Harper said, “you’re on hair and makeup.”
Marina nodded and pointed to what looked a fishing tackle box that she’d left by the door. “I brought my stuff, but I don’t know how much I’m gonna need.” She studied Seven’s face, then scowled. “I’m used to making the old crones on the morning show look like they aren’t tragic plastic surgery victims. I’m not sure I know what to do with this kind of canvas. I mean, shit, she doesn’t have one single visible pore!”
“Just keep it light,” Harper advised. “Enhance, don’t spackle. And natural but pretty with the hair. Nothing fancy.”
“Gotcha.”
Harper pointed at her mother. “You’re on dinner. Did you bring the stuff for your lasagna?”
“Sure did,” Tina said, then patted Seven’s knee. “Don’t you worry, dear. Nothing puts a man in the mood faster than a good meal. People get pregnant after eating my lasagna.”
Harper wrinkled her nose. “Gross, Ma. That makes it sound like there’s magic sperm in the sauce or something.”
Tina pursed her lips. “Well, of course there’s not sperm in the sauce. I just mean that my lasagna puts men in an amorous mood. Why, the first time I made it for your father, he—”
Marina clapped her hands over her ears. “La-la-la,” she sang loudly. “I can’t hear you. La-la-la.”
Tina opened her mouth to speak, but Harper silenced her by holding a hand up in front of her face. “I beg you not to finish that sentence. Beg. Seriously.”
With a few additional exasperated, under-the-breath comments about ungrateful wretches, Tina made her way to the kitchen to begin cooking.
Marina led Seven to the bathroom and had her sit on the toilet seat lid while she unpacked her travel kit. Harper grabbed an armful of clothes and stood in the doorway explaining the different perks and drawbacks of each prospective outfit while Marina worked on her hair and makeup.
An hour later, the nearly orgasmic smell of Tina’s lasagna filled the air and Seven barely recognized the woman in the mirror.
“Wow,” she breathed, leaning towards the mirror, staring at her reflection with wide eyes.
Behind her, Marina smiled. “I know, right? Do I do great work, or what?”
Seven nodded slowly. “It’s…wow.”
Marina reached over and continued to fluff Seven’s hair while she spoke. “I only snipped about two inches off the ends, but taking even that much extra weight off lets your natural curl spring up a little. After that, I just did a little side part—which is totally sexy on you, by the way—added some gel, dried it with a diffuser and voila!”
Seven had no idea what a diffuser was and had never used gel, but even she couldn’t argue with the results.
Her dark brown hair was usually a heavy, somewhat frizzy, tangled mass of waves that she’d taken to wrestling into a ponytail each morning so that it didn’t get in her face while she was working or training. But with Marina’s help, it was smoother, lighter, and significantly…fluffier. The curls were looser than Harper’s, but pretty and feminine nonetheless.
“It’s gorgeous, Mar,” Harper said from her spot in the doorway. “What did you do to her face? It doesn’t even look like she’s wearing makeup.”
“Just tweezed the brows a bit—you’ll need to do that from now on, girl. Don’t let them start growing together like that again—and added a little contour color to highlight those ridiculously high cheekbones, finished it all off with a few swipes of mascara and some lip gloss.”
“Voila,” Seven whispered, still entranced by the stranger in the mirror.
“Yep,” Marina agreed, somewhat smugly. “Voila.”
Giving her head a shake, Seven glanced down at her dress. She’d never worn a dress before. It felt strange to have practically the entire length of her legs exposed. “Harper, are you sure about this dress? I could always just wear my—”
“No!” Harper and Marina answered in unison. “You’re wearing that dress,” Harper added, her tone leaving no room for argument. “It was made for you.”
Marina said, “If he doesn’t jump you tonight, he’s gay. Or his dick’s broken. Trust me, looking like that, you’re getting laid tonight.”
Tina glanced at her over Harper’s shoulder. “Oh, sweetheart, you look lovely. That boy doesn’t stand a chance. He’ll be drawn to you like Winnie the Pooh to a honey pot.”
Harper pulled a disgusted face. “Don’t say honey pot when we’re talking about sex, Ma.”
Marina snickered while Tina scowled and said, “How is it that you girls can turn even the most innocent of comments into a sexual innuendo?”
“God-given talent,” they said in stereo, then laughed and shouted, “Jinx!” at each other.
Seven wished she could laugh with them, but at the moment, a lump of emotion and self-doubt was threatening to cut off all her air. Her self-doubts were annoying like that. She could be perfectly happy, starting to feel normal, and the doubts would come up out of nowhere and smack her in the face, reminding her that if these people—this family—had any idea what she’d done, what she’d been, they would never be willing to stand by her side again.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Tina said, elbowing Harper out of the way.
Grabbing her chin and forcing eye contact, Tina stared Seven down and said in a stern voice that completely belied her soft appearance, “I won’t allow you to start feeling sorry for yourself. You will not doubt yourself ever again. The kind of person you were when you were with Sentry? You were the kind that survived. Did what you had to do in order to survive. You had no choice. Do you understand me?”
Seven could only nod dumbly.
“Shit,” Marina mumbled, stuffing her make-up and hair accessories back into her travel kit. “She broke out the mom voice.”
Tina ignored her and continued speaking to Seven as if they were alone in the room together. “Do you forget who you’re with, child? You’re here with the best empath and psychic,” she gestured to Harper, “Sentry ever had. The reason it’s so easy for us to accept you? First of all, we’re not that different. Harper and I both did things for Sentry we aren’t proud of. Like you, we had no choice. You are no less deserving of love and happiness than we are. And second of all? We’ve already felt and seen the type of person you are. You can’t hide anything from the two of us.”
“It’s true,” Harper added. “I didn’t want to say anything, but when I first hugged you? At the office? I picked up visions, just flashes really, of what happened to you at Midvale. And also some flashes of your past assignments with Sentry. From what I saw? You only did what you had to do. You never had a choice.”
“There’s always a choice,” Seven said quietly.
“Given the information put in front of us by Sentry at the time, how could any of us have made different choices?” Tina asked.
Harper sighed when Seven didn’t reply. “Well, if you don’t believe us, maybe you’ll believe Hunter. As head of the Vampire Council, he has access to all of Sentry’s records. I had him look into your…clean-ups.”
Clean-ups, Seven thought. What a lovely euphemism for kills.
“I looked at every one of them, Seven,” Harper went on. “Every single one of them. And if I’d been in your shoes, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. Hunter agreed with me.”
Tina let go of Seven’s chin and rocked back on her heels. “See how we’re not that different after all?”
Seven closed her eyes and focused on the sounds of their breathing, their heartbeats. They were telling her the truth. They knew all her secrets and accepted her anyway. And if they accepted her, didn’t it make logical sense that she should start accepting herself?
It’s what Lucas and Vi and Riddick had been telling her all along. It all made sense. And it was so simple! These people loved her, faults and all. They’d support her no matter what, and she’d do the same for them.
“Holy shit,” she blurted. “I really am part of your family now, aren’t I?”
There was a loaded pause before Tina, Harper, and Marina all burst out laughing.
“As if there was ever any doubt,” Tina finally said, giving her a motherly hug.
Marina smirked. “So, we should bring her to the next family dinner? Introduce her to the rest of her family?”
Harper groaned. “Let’s not scare the girl off just yet, okay?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
He’d spent days—hours and hours of his life he’d never get back—following up on one unreliable eyewitness account after another, and Lucas was no closer to finding out who’d taken that shot at Seven than he’d been when he started investigating. Mischa and Hunter apparently weren’t having any better luck checking things out on their end, either.
The shooter was a ghost. Fucking Casper.
Lucas was, however, willing to admit that maybe his investigative skills weren’t currently at their finest. He hadn’t slept more than an hour here and there since Seven was hurt. Between obsessively checking the locks on all the windows and doors while she was in the house and making arrangements to ensure she was never alone when she left the house—not to mention the time he spent at work following leads—his free time was pretty much nonexistent. And sleep was the last thing on his to-do list.
But while he was running around like a crazy man, the one thing he did have plenty of time for was thinking. And all that thinking led him to a conclusion he would’ve figured out long ago if he wasn’t such a dumbass.
He loved Seven.
She was on his mind constantly and he didn’t want to be away from her for even a minute. He didn’t care what obstacles they had to overcome—be it external or internal obstacles—he wanted her.
Finally admitting it to himself, realizing that everything he’d ever wanted and assumed he’d never have was within in his grasp was exhilarating. Freeing.
And fucking terrifying.
He should’ve just been honest with her from the start about Vi’s advice and how he was feeling. They could’ve worked through whatever came up together. He hadn’t given Seven nearly enough credit.
How the hell was he going to convince her to give him a chance now? He’d been such a damned idiot for so long, all tied up and twisted in knots over nothing. He shook his head, disgusted with himself.
Ugh. That’s enough deep thoughts on no sleep and no food.
More ready than he’d ever been to fall into bed and not crawl back out for a solid twelve hours, Lucas started to punch in the security code on his front door, only to leap back when someone on the inside threw the thing open, nearly braining him.
“Jesus, Harper,” he muttered.
“Sorry,” she said, not sounding at all sincere. “If her face is scrunchy tomorrow, I’m going to let Riddick break both your legs. He’s been dying to do that, anyway. It’ll totally make his day.”
“Okay,” he answered on autopilot. He had no idea what she was talking about, but more times than not, Harper’s explanations just confused him even more. Better to just roll with it.
Harper nodded
as if they’d come to an agreement, and marched past him without another word.
Her sister Marina trudged out after her, carrying an armful of dresses and a…tackle box? What the hell were these women up to?
Marina stopped in front of him, looked him up and down in a way that vaguely made him feel like a tasty, plated dessert, let out a deep sigh, and grumbled, “Lucky bitch,” before walking away, shaking her head.
Tina was the next one out the door. He straightened up a little when she looked up at him. “Ma’am,” he said with a slight tip of the head.
“I’m glad you finally got your head out of your ass where my daughter is concerned, dear,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Um…thank you?”
“The two of you never would’ve worked out, you know.”
“I know.”
Well, he knew that now, at least. Better late than never, right?
She reached up and pinched his cheek—actually pinched his cheek like his grandmother used to do to him when he was a little kid—and gave a fond, motherly smile. “Now, just make sure you don’t fuck everything up tonight, all right, sweetheart?”
And with that, she gave his cheek one final pat—none too gently, he might add—and left him standing by his front door, completely baffled.
If he lived to be a thousand, he was pretty damn sure he’d still never understand women. Especially not any of the women in Harper’s family.
In the foyer, he took a moment to greet a particularly happy-looking Lucky, who was drooling like Pavlov’s dog. It only took Lucas a second to figure out why.
The heavenly scents of garlic, melted cheese, tomato, and basil wafted from the kitchen. His stomach growled and he might’ve drooled a little himself in response. Tina’s lasagna, he recognized immediately. His absolute favorite food on the planet.
A fact that he planned to take to his grave. If asked in a court of law, he’d swear on a stack of Bibles that his favorite food was his mother’s meat loaf. He’d never admit otherwise aloud.
“Fuck yes,” he muttered. About damn time something went his way today.
Harper Hall Investigations Complete Series Page 72
