“She’s going to rip your head off if you don’t watch it,” Devon advised the youngest King brother. “That is a not a woman to suffer fools lightly.”
Zane howled with laughter. “And little brother is nothing if not a fool, huh?”
“You guys are ridiculous,” Jason muttered. “At least she’s out there trying to help us out.”
As if to underscore that thought, Officer Paulsen appeared in the doorway of the little holding area. It was a small carpeted space with windows, chairs, and a low coffee table littered with out of date magazines. It occurred to Orion that this might actually be more of a reception room for the detectives or some such. It certainly wasn’t the usual place they tucked their criminals. Texas hospitality did not extend to those suspected of violating the laws of the land.
“Can you guys hear that?” Officer Paulsen asked the brothers with a mulish expression on his face. “I swear the woman is about to jump over the counter and start strangling the duty sergeant.”
“Just bring them back,” Orion suggested. “It shouldn’t be such a big deal if we’re not being held. And you have to realize that they’re panicked because they were actually at the scene. They saw the whole thing and they’re probably confused as hell as to why someone is talking about armed assault.”
“I suppose it wouldn’t matter if we put you all together at this point,” Paulsen muttered. He motioned to someone standing out in the hallway. “Just bring them back!”
“Four ladies, right?” Devon asked Paulsen. “Our wives and fiancees.”
“Just three actually.” Paulsen ticked them off on his fingers. “They gave their names as Skye Kincaid, Landry King, and Kami Delgado.”
Orion felt his brothers staring at him. He didn’t stare back. There was no point. Skye and the others would know what had happened to Eleni. Until then there was no reason to get all upset or make a big deal out of something that wasn’t a big deal. Yet.
“Oh my God, there you are!” Skye bolted into the light and airy room. She flung her arms around Jason’s neck and squeezed him tight. “Here I was thinking that you’d been thrown into a cell! I was imagining you in the bastille or something similar awaiting your turn at the guillotine!”
“Okay, sweetheart,” Jason drawled as he hugged her tight and pressed kisses to her forehead. “You have really got to tone down that imagination. All right? You can’t just jump to dramatic conclusions with no reason.”
“Sorry!” Skye exhaled a sigh. Then she turned to Orion and strangely held up her phone. “Have you been getting texts from Eleni? She stayed behind at the hospital. Her mother showed up.”
“What?” Orion couldn’t help it. He was absolutely dumbfounded by this bit of news.
Devon groaned and slapped his hand against his forehead. “That can’t be good.”
Kami snuggled up next to Devon and pushed her way beneath his arm. “Actually, I think it’s not as bad as we think maybe. If those two are willing to call a truce, maybe they’ll just wind up eating each other and then the whole thing will be over.”
“Eating each other?” Officer Paulsen looked faintly disturbed.
Orion waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s just say that my mother and my fiancee’s mother are two sides of the same social-climbing, resource-sucking coin.”
“So let’s talk about this assault,” Paulsen said as he looked around at the seven of them.
Orion held up his hand. He knew it was rude, but he couldn’t help but wonder why Skye had said she was getting texts. “What’s this about texts, Skye? Is Eleni texting you?”
“She’s group texting. Maybe you guys aren’t getting reception in here.” Skye looked at her phone. Then she zeroed in on Officer Paulsen. “What’s the Wi-Fi password here?”
“What is this? A hotel or a library?” Paulsen grumbled. Then he sighed and pointed to his phone. “Use the Dallas PD guest setting and you should be able to guest on with just the password password.”
“What?” Landry cocked her head in confusion. “Your password is password?”
“That’s dumb,” Kami agreed.
“Hey!” Paulsen seemed to realize that he was losing control of the room. “Can we focus on the incident?”
“That’s the thing!” Zane told Paulsen. “There was no incident!”
Kami nodded. “Literally, officer. No incident. The woman was drunk off her ass last night.” Kami paused and looked to Skye and Landry for confirmation. “At least that was the impression I got. She had puke on her face and she was still in her pajamas and tripping over the bedspread or whatever it’s called.” Kami made a face at Skye. “Duvet!”
The women had a little laugh about that for some reason. Paulsen looked baffled, but Orion was beginning to realize that this was exactly what women act like when they’re sisters. And these three plus Eleni were most definitely sisters. That was just how it went.
Paulsen waved both hands. “So when you say there was no incident, how did Ms. Olivares-King wind up on the ground?”
“She passed out,” Orion supplied. “She had been passed out earlier too. When I went upstairs to find the Christmas presents that she had pilfered I discovered her passed out in her bed with a bottle of Absinthe on the floor beside her.”
Paulsen gaped as though Orion had just suggested his mother was drinking antifreeze. “Absinthe? She drinks Absinthe? That stuff is lethal!”
“No.” Orion rolled his eyes. This was getting annoying. Why didn’t everyone just back off and let him go find Eleni? He was tired of all this crap and sick and tired of—well, just sick and tired. Then his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out and realized that after signing into the Wi-Fi he hadn’t paid attention to any incoming messages. But he was still supposed to be speaking to Paulsen. “I drink Absinthe. It doesn’t really affect me. That’s why I know the bottle was almost empty. She probably took a swallow and then puked it up on the rug. Then she passed out. Or maybe she just went to sleep. I didn’t happen to see if she had a gun under her pillow or not. But I bet my relatives here will confirm it to you that there was no gun in the downstairs of our house today. Only apparently upstairs in my mother’s bed.”
Eleni was texting everyone. Orion looked at the little screen of his smartphone and felt the bottom drop out of his belly when he realized that Eleni was texting them a play by play of her conversation with their mothers.
“Are you getting this?” Devon was now on his phone.
Orion could not help but laugh. “I think Eleni just made my mother believe that we’re going for a murder conviction.”
“That should keep her busy, hmm?” Zane looked happy as a dog with a bone. “Good God, the woman will be trying to shake us all down for information on the wrong thing!”
“Can someone please explain to me what’s going on?”
Paulsen’s voice was so loud and so insistent that for a second Orion was tempted to shout right back at him. Then he looked at the officer and realized that the man was actually attempting to help them out. He’d been accommodating even when he didn’t have to be. If they made fun of him right now it would mean that they were no better than Tisha or Alaina.
Orion glanced at Devon. Apparently Orion was to be the spokesperson. That was fine. He was the oldest. Sort of. So he took a deep breath and glanced at his siblings—no—his family. He remembered the little medallion that Kami had given Eleni for Christmas just that morning and realized that this was what they all had going for them. Family.
“So here’s how it went,” Orion told Paulsen. “Our mother was responsible for our father’s fake hunting accident.”
Paulsen’s expression grew even more mulish. “If you think you’re going to get the coroner to…”
“Please.” Orion held up a hand. “Let me finish. I’ll be concise. I promise. Then you can ask whatever you’d like.”
“All right.” Paulsen held up both hands. “Continue.”
“Thank you.” Orion gathered his thoughts. “We k
now that our mother was responsible. It was still ruled an accident. And there’s nothing we can do about that. We’ve already come to that decision. Our mother’s accomplice was her lover, Tex Johnson.”
“Your father’s business partner?” Paulsen’s mouth popped open in shock. Was he the only one in Dallas who didn’t already know that?
“Yes,” Orion confirmed. From the corner of his eye he saw his brothers rolling their eyes as they thought about their mother. “Our mother was in flagrant violation of a prenuptial agreement. So it was pretty obvious why she would want my father dead. He was about to divorce her. What she didn’t realize was that her infidelities would actually make her claims on the estate weaker. She assumed that because she was the grieving widow, that she would just get the whole estate.”
“It’s a trust,” Devon informed Officer Paulsen. “Basically everything—including the house—belongs to the company. So our mother has been fighting us in court and trying to keep us all distracted while she does.”
“And this stupid assault thing?” Paulsen frowned. When he frowned he looked a bit like a bulldog. It was an apt comparison since the man was eager, but not particularly adept at following lots of story angles at once. “Does she just think she can make it look like you’re trying to kill her off to avoid the court hearing?”
“Exactly.” Orion was glad the guy finally seemed to be on the right page. “The hearing is scheduled for December twenty-ninth.”
“Oh.” Paulsen shook his head. “You know, I sometimes complain about my mother-in-law. I do. I’ll admit it. But I sure as hell need to stop because your mother makes my mother-in-law look downright warm and fuzzy.”
“Yeah. She has that ability,” Orion agreed. He looked down at his phone. “Eleni is in a cab. Thank goodness!”
“Eleni is who?” Paulsen frowned. Then he brightened and looked at Orion who was the only one obviously not matched to another woman present. “She must be your lady. Right?”
“That’s right.”
“Wait a second.” Paulsen was frowning again. This probably wasn’t good. “Eleni. Eleni Ariosa?”
“Yes.”
“You’re marrying the daughter of Aliana Ariosa?” Paulsen shook his head. “You must be—as my mother-in-law is so fond of saying—a glutton for punishment.”
“Thanks,” Orion sighed.
The thing was that he would have put up with anything to be with Eleni. Anything. Her mother’s money grubbing. Her mother’s shopaholic and hoarding tendencies. And even the whole awkward thing where her mother and his mother were frenemies in the tradition of every middle school girl in the history of the world.
“So can we go home?” Orion wanted to know. He spread his hands to indicate the whole group. “I realize that we’ve not been formally charged, but do you honestly have evidence to do that?”
“No.” Paulsen sighed. He was looking as though he were dreading the next part of this. “We’ll have to contact Ms. Olivares-King and let her know that there was insufficient evidence to press charges and that you were all released.”
“Uh, there is no way that all of you can fit in my car!” Skye said suddenly.
Orion was already heading out of the room. “That’s okay. Eleni has a cab. The rest of us can just hijack it and go back to the house. At least Mother isn’t there anymore.”
“I say we finish our Christmas party!” Devon suggested.
Zane and Jason gave a hear! hear! as they waved their fists in the air. There was lots of giggling and eye rolling from the women, but the mood was decidedly merry. They had beaten Tisha. Today. There would no doubt be another round in just a few days or less. The woman wasn’t going to give up. Ever. Even after she lost this battle to win an estate that was never meant to be hers, they would have to keep an eye on her at all times.
Orion’s feet carried him down the hallway and out the front doors of the police station. The sky was still blue. There was no rain and nothing but a bright Christmas afternoon to look forward to. And then just as Orion looked right down the street in front of the station, he spotted a bright yellow and white checkered cab coming their direction.
Eleni was sitting in the back seat with her nose practically pressed against the windows in her eagerness to see out of the vehicle. The cab roared to a stop at the bottom of the steps. Behind Orion, Landry and Zane were already trotting down the steps.
The door of the cab flew open. As Eleni got out, Landry and Zane got inside. Eleni flung herself at Orion. For just a moment he held her and it was as if time stopped. There was nothing but that woman and the love that he felt for her.
She smelled amazing. Like heaven. Orion inhaled, her hair, the scent of her skin, and finally he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“Sorry I got held up!” Eleni pulled back. “But you guys are free! You’re leaving? Is it all over?”
Zane and Landry were already hanging out the cab doors motioning for Eleni and Orion to get back inside. Orion cupped Eleni’s face in his hands and kissed her on the lips as though they were the only two people on the planet and his brother and sister-in-law were not watching. None of that mattered. The taste and the feel of the wonderful woman he loved was all that he cared about. Ever.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The afternoon shadows were getting long when Orion finally pulled his truck back into Eleni’s driveway. There was no talking as he put the vehicle in park and turned off the engine. They both seemed to be a little wrung out. Or maybe that’s just how she felt and she was projecting that right onto him. It was hard to tell. Right now the whole day seemed like a blur.
“You okay?” Orion glanced over to the passenger side of the truck.
Eleni could not even muster the words to tell him yes or no. Maybe she didn’t really know the answer. It was hard to say. So she managed a nod and left it at that. He reached across the space and touched her hand. She laced her fingers with his and sat there for a second just absorbing the sensation of it all.
“Was today a good day?” Eleni suddenly whispered. “Because I feel like it wasn’t, but when I look back at everything that happened I realize that it was a good day.”
“I think it was.” He spoke slowly as though he were letting the words slowly process in his mind. “We had a great time with my brothers and their wives. That’s important. Actually, it’s more than important. That’s the first time that we’ve all been together—Gemini included—and we’ve just sat around and enjoyed each other.”
“Then your mother had to get involved,” she said bitterly. “And then my mother had to get involved.” Eleni added that last bit with no small amount of frustration. “I still can’t believe there were hospitals and police stations involved in our Christmas festivities. What is wrong with them?”
“Alaina and Tisha?” He cocked his head to one side and shrugged.
Perhaps that shrug was somehow more significant to Eleni than she would have initially thought. Why? What was this emotion roiling around in her belly anyway? Why did she suddenly feel as though she were perched on a cliff waiting to fall over?
The first tears caught her by surprise. They plopped on the top of her thigh and dampened her slacks. Within seconds she found herself practically lifted across the bench seat into Orion’s lap. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her forehead. His words didn’t make sense. They weren’t even understandable. Maybe that didn’t matter. It was the tone that she needed. The sense of security and acceptance.
“It’s all right, baby. It’s all right.” He kissed her face and stroked her cheeks.
She was wedged into the center seat despite the gearshift and the steering wheel. The awkwardness of the position did not matter. She clung to Orion as though he were a lifeline. Pressing her face to his chest, she exhaled slowly and then inhaled the scent of him. Familiar. It was familiar and beloved, and suddenly she wondered if she had ever actually told him how she felt.
This was important. So very i
mportant all of a sudden. “Did I tell you that I love you?”
Her whispered words seemed to hang between them in the close confines of the truck’s cab. He gazed down at her and put his palm against her cheek. His thumb skated over her lower lip. His expression was unreadable. His dark eyes were so beautiful and she was reminded of the way that they looked when he was in his wolf form. So human. So sensitive and caring and so intelligent. It was all there on his face and she felt as though it were only increasing with each passing moment.
He began to close the distance between them. His lips got closer and closer to hers until they finally settled into place. Eleni exhaled a little sigh. The softness of his kiss was incredible. She had never experienced such a beautiful sense of knowing beyond doubt that she was cherished.
His mouth moved against hers, slowly, languidly as though there was no rush and no reason to do anything but linger over her lips. She moved her hands to his neck and lightly tangled her fingers in his hair. The feel of those silky dark strands was intoxicating.
The more he kissed her, his lips lightly teasing and coaxing, the more Eleni felt her arousal pushing higher and higher. She wanted him. She needed him. But somehow this contact, this intimacy was enough. She moved her fingers from his neck to his shoulders. The sheer breadth of them was enough to make any woman swoon and he was all hers.
Finally Orion groaned and broke away from the kiss. He pressed his forehead to hers. His breath whispered across her cheeks and for just a moment she felt the wild urge to start ripping her clothes off. It was enough to make her giggle.
“Hey now,” he said gruffly. “No man likes to hear a woman laugh at him.”
“I was just thinking that I have this urge to rip my clothes off and make love in the front seat of this truck.” She felt a hundred times naughty for saying such a thing out loud.
But Orion only grinned at her. “The idea does have merit. But I’m reminded of what it feels like to get arrested.”
“Arrested?”
“Sure. I don’t want to go back to the police station simply because one of your neighbors calls in a complaint that someone is doing it in the front seat of a truck. I think that’s still illegal. Indecent exposure and all that.”
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