“How’s the head feeling?”
Gabe sat beside her, and a second later, he was the one now holding the ice to her head. In a distant part of her brain, she totally recognized the absurdity of the situation. The brothers known as Lucifer and Demon were currently tending to her like she was an invalid . . . while she was barely dressed.
If her head wasn’t back to throbbing more fiercely, she would probably be uncomfortably and a bit shamefully turned on by this.
“Ms. Hughes?” Lucian said softly.
“Great,” she muttered, holding on to the towel as she got her other arm through the left sleeve. She reached for the ends of the robe, looking up and finding that Lucian was so not looking at her face. His gaze was tracking down her chest, over the slit in the towel. “Seriously?”
The lopsided grin appeared as he reached around her, finding the belt. “I just can’t seem to help myself.”
“Then you need to try.” Ends secured, she glared up at him as he tied the belt, his hands lingering on her sides. “Like a lot harder.”
“So . . .” Gabe drew the word out. “You two got to really know each other when he visited Pennsylvania?”
Julia looked at him sharply, and he suddenly seemed so much closer to her than before.
He tilted his head to the side. “I knew he was going.”
“That’s about all Gabe knows.” Lucian slid his hands off and sat on her other side. His entire left leg pressed against the length of her right leg. “But yes, we did get to know each other.”
Gabe’s gaze slid off Julia’s and centered on his brother. “Not exactly surprised.”
Julia closed her eyes, too tired and head still pounding to really worry about why they were suddenly eyeballing each other. Hell, she didn’t even care at the moment that the first time she’d met Gabe, she’d been naked lying on the shower floor. Maybe tomorrow she’d care but not right now.
Her mind was elsewhere. As she sat there, huddled between the two brothers, she kept seeing the outline on the other side of the shower glass. A small shiver worked its way through her. Could that really have been just flickering lights playing tricks on her mind? Or could someone have been in there, watching her?
Lucian watched his brother show Julia something on his phone and was unable to ignore the irrational spike of jealousy that stabbed him through the gut. Completely ridiculous, but he was picturing picking Gabe up by the scruff of his neck and tossing him through the doors.
Dr. Flores motioned him over to said doors, where he was putting away the equipment he’d used to check out Julia.
“She’s going to be okay, right?” he asked.
“I think she’ll be just fine. Her balance, memory, and reflexes all are fine, so I don’t think we need to pull her in for further testing. She’ll probably have a headache, which is why I left something for her.” He jerked his chin at the unmarked prescription bottle. “If this is more than a minor concussion, which I don’t think it is, we need to pay attention to changes in severity of the pain and changes in behavior that she is well aware of.”
Lucian nodded as he crossed his arms. He’d overheard Flores and her discussing the symptoms earlier. He was still relieved that the bleeding behind her ear had long since stopped and she hadn’t needed stitches. “Is sleeping fine?”
“It is. She doesn’t have dilated pupils or confusion.” Flores turned, facing him. “She should really take it easy tomorrow. Stay in bed. Get rest. That’s the best medicine. She really—”
“I can hear you two,” Julia called from the bed. “Just so you two know.”
Lucian grinned as Flores flushed. “We are thrilled to know your hearing is functioning properly, Ms. Hughes.”
Her eyes narrowed as Gabe sat back in the chair he’d pulled all the way to the side of her bed. “I’ll be fine in the morning.”
“Julia.” The doctor sounded tired. “I understand that this is a new job for you and you want to do your best, but you need to take care of yourself.”
Her lush lips thinned.
“I’ll make sure she rests,” Lucian told him, and he’d swear if her glare were daggers, he’d be dead. “Thank you for coming. We appreciate it.”
“I feel like I need to get a room at your house.” Lifting his bag, he nodded in Gabe and Julia’s direction. “I’ll send you the bill.”
Lucian walked him to the interior door. Richard waited in the hall to escort Flores out, antsy to get out of the house now that the doctor was leaving. He said his goodbyes and then closed the door. Turning back around, he was grateful that Devlin had left the house shortly after dinner. At least he only needed to figure out how to kick one brother out.
Speaking of said brother. He was sitting in that damn chair, staring at Julia, who was fidgeting with the edge of the blanket around her waist. He walked slowly toward the bed. “Do you need anything?”
“No.” She peeked up at him from the stack of pillows that was supporting her head. Her hair had been pulled back from her face, and he was happy to see that some color had returned to her cheeks. She’d been so pale when he first saw her in the bathroom. “I’m . . . God, I’m sorry about all of this. I can cover the bill—whatever he charges.”
Fuck.
Was she really apologizing? The woman could’ve been seriously hurt or worse.
“You don’t need to worry about paying for anything,” Gabe answered. “That’s taken care of. No arguments.”
“Agreed,” he reiterated, feeling a little out of it. Between wanting to rip his brother’s throat out when he saw him standing there with Julia barely in a towel and then his stomach dropping when he realized she’d been hurt, paying the bill for her care was the last damn thing on his mind
He stopped on the other side of the bed and waited until she glanced over at him again. Only then did he sit down.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Making himself comfortable,” Gabe suggested, a wry grin on his face.
“That.” Lucian scooted up so his back was against the headboard of the bed. He grinned from where she stared up at him.
She looked away. “You guys don’t have to hang out. I’m okay. You can go home—”
“Go home?” Gabe chuckled. “We are home. All of us live here.”
Her brows lifted.
“Gabe has rooms at the other end of the hall. Dev is in the other wing of the house,” Lucian told her. “And I’m right across the hall from you.”
She closed her eyes, seeming to breathe through her nose. “Of course.”
Lucian grinned.
“I don’t know why I didn’t think you guys lived here,” she said, letting herself rest back in the pillows.
“Probably because most adults wouldn’t want to live in the house they grew up in, but this place is so big it’s like being in your own place,” Gabe answered. “I don’t have to see Lucian if I don’t want to.”
“But you want to,” Lucian cut in.
“How big is this place?” Julia asked. “I haven’t seen much of it.”
“Hell? Around twenty-some thousand square feet.” Gabe laughed when she let out a soft curse. “It’s ridiculous. I know.”
“That’s just . . . wow.”
“Yep.” Gabe’s gaze flickered over to Lucian. “When you feel better, I’ll give you a tour.”
Lucian tilted his head to the side, eyeing his brother. He knew exactly what Gabe was up to, the bastard.
“So,” Gabe went on, refocusing on Julia. “Is this your first time in Louisiana?”
“Yes. I’ve never been this far south before,” she said, smoothing her hands along the bedspread. “It’s always been a place I’ve wanted to visit. . . .” She rambled on, telling Gabe about how she’d love to see the French Quarter at some point and that she had a whole list of foods she wanted to try.
Both of them were staring at her as she talked, and he noticed right off she appeared to be more comfortable talking to Gabe than him. Well, she hadn’t had a
problem when they met in the bar, but things had changed between them.
“I’m sorry,” she said when she stopped and neither of them responded. “You guys probably don’t want to hear about my consuming need to try a fried pastry doused in powdered sugar.”
Gabe gave a curt shake of his head. “Beignets? You’ll love them. And I’d be more than glad to give you an escort of the best places in the city.” He shot Lucian another look that had Lucian’s jaw working overtime. “I actually have an office of sorts not too far from the Quarter.”
Okay. That was enough. “If Ms. Hughes wants a tour of New Orleans, I’ll be escorting her.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Pretty sure I have a say in that.”
“You don’t.”
“I do,” she repeated, staring straight ahead.
“Glad to see a possible concussion hasn’t diminished your stubbornness,” Lucian remarked.
She folded her arms over the blanket. “I’m ignoring you.”
He laughed. “You realize that there is no way we’re going to allow you to work tomorrow, right?”
Julia exhaled heavily. “I appreciate the concern, but I cannot miss work my first full day here.”
“You can and will.” Lucian crossed his legs at the ankles. “It’s not a big deal. We’ve been taking care of Maddie before you got here.”
Julia’s forehead wrinkled. “But—”
“It’ll be fine.” Gabe leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees. “We can take care of it. Dev won’t have a problem with it.”
“What about Mr. de Vincent?” she asked. “Lawrence? I haven’t met him yet, but I figure he’s the one who hired me.”
It occurred to Lucian that Julia didn’t know, and this might get awkward. “He’s not going to have a problem.”
“Definitely not,” Gabe added, sitting back.
She sighed again. “I’m glad you guys can be so sure about this, but I can’t.”
“Well, we’re sure about this, because our father is dead,” Lucian told her.
“What?” Her head jerked toward him so fast she winced in pain. She raised a hand. “Ouch.”
Lucian immediately leaned forward, catching the hand she was about to plant against the side of her head. “Careful,” he reminded her.
Her wide brown eyes fixed on his. “Your father is . . . is dead?”
“Yeah. He passed away a few days ago,” he explained, and he slid his hand down her arm, his fingers slipping under the fluffy sleeve of her robe. “We’ve kept it out the press, but the news just broke tonight.”
Gabe rubbed a finger along his brow. “You’ll probably hear about it eventually. He killed himself.”
“Oh my God.” Julia pressed her other hand to her chest. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Lucian let go of her arm before she realized he was still touching her.
She glanced from him to Gabe. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything, really. It’s not a big deal,” Gabe said.
Her eyes widened. “Not a big deal? Your father—”
“Was a giant, flaming asshole,” Lucian cut in, tipping his head back against the headboard as she looked up at him. “If you had the misfortune of knowing him, you’d feel the same. Sympathy is not needed.”
Julia looked like she wanted to say more but after a moment all she said was, “I’m still sorry.”
He wasn’t sure how to reply to that. Luckily Gabe jumped in, smoothing out the awkwardness, giving him ample time to watch Julia while she was distracted. His thoughts drifted back to what happened. He was almost a hundred percent sure that no one could’ve been in the bathroom. Gabe wasn’t a fucking perv, and even Lucian had his limits. She’d obviously seen a shadow and mistaken it for a person, which was understandable. After all, she was in a new place, but what happened still unnerved him, leaving him uneasy.
Some time passed before Gabe rose from the chair. “I’m going to head out.” He crossed the short distance and then bent down, touching her hand and then the side of her cheek. “If he gets annoying, yell and I’ll come kick his ass for you.”
Lucian snorted.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied.
Gabe’s gaze lifted to his, and then that bastard picked up her hand and kissed the top of it. He straightened. “Let her get some rest.”
Julia was frozen beside him.
“Good night, Gabe,” he said, voice harder than necessary.
Gabe grinned. “Good night.”
She murmured something in return and then fell silent until Gabe was out of the bedroom, door closed behind him. She sucked in a deep breath. “You guys are . . .”
“What?” Lucian asked when she didn’t continue.
“You guys are really touchy and really friendly.”
He chuckled. “That means we like you.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep.” Lucian nodded. “Because friendly is usually the last word people would use to describe us.”
She seemed to sink farther down in her pillows. “You can leave, you know?”
“I know, but I’m keeping an eye on you just like the doctor ordered.”
“I don’t think that’s what Dr. Flores meant.” She yawned, and then her brows pinched together. “I can’t believe I fell and knocked myself out.”
“It happens.”
“In the shower while naked,” she added.
“Well, most people are naked while in the shower.” He grinned, somehow knowing she rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see. “By the way, I brought over the addendum to your contract,” he said. “It’s in the file, beside the food you haven’t eaten.”
Her lips twitched and then a miracle happened. She smiled just a little. “I feel like I’m going to end up owing you guys money before this assignment is over.”
Lucian knew that wouldn’t happen. Silence fell between them, and he would’ve thought she’d fallen asleep if it weren’t for the way her fingers tapped aimlessly on the blanket.
“Don’t you have something better to do?” she asked. “I don’t mean that in a bad way, but I’m sure there’s something else you could be doing.”
“There’s always something else I could be doing, but I’m fine right here.” Truth was, one of his buddies had invited him to the Red Stallion tonight. He’d thought about going to just get himself out of the house and away from Julia, but he’d rather be here. Odd. “I won’t stay forever. I just want to make sure you’re really okay. Don’t tell me I don’t need to. I know that. I want to.”
Her lips parted, but she snapped her mouth shut. A couple of more moments passed. “I know it sounds like you didn’t have a really good relationship with your father.” Turning slightly, she lifted her chin. Their eyes locked. “But I still am sorry.”
A weird pressure clamped down on his chest and then moved into his stomach, forming a bitter, messy knot that he wasn’t sure he could unravel. “Me, too.”
Chapter 11
Julia had no idea where the brothers were, but she knew if they caught her out of bed and in Madeline’s room, there’d be hell to pay.
She wasn’t being stupid about her injury. Julia was taking it easy, but her headache was nothing more than a dull throbbing and after spending all morning in bed, she knew that checking on Madeline wasn’t going to harm her.
Plus, she really couldn’t stay in bed any longer. Not when that allowed her brain to overanalyze every second of the time spent in the shower. With the sun streaming in through the porch doors, it was hard to say for sure what really happened last night. Had it been a shadow? A person? She wasn’t sure.
And when her brain grew bored with obsessing over the whole shower incident, she was thinking about the fact that Lawrence de Vincent had passed away only a handful of days ago and no one had mentioned it until she had said something about him. That piece of knowledge seemed like something someone would’ve mentioned right away. Granted, the d
e Vincents were obsessed with privacy, but come on. It seemed weird to her. And that wasn’t even taking into consideration Lucian and Gabe’s response. Julia wasn’t naïve enough to believe that everyone had awesome parents like hers, but their reaction seemed extreme.
Then again, everything about the brothers was extreme. She really didn’t want to think about the fact the first time she’d met Gabe she did so freaking naked, but he talked to her and treated her like he’d known her for years. He’d shown up that morning, carrying a breakfast tray, and chatted with her about the woodwork he’d done throughout the house.
The same could be said about Lucian. Well, there were other reasons for why Lucian acted like they’ve known each other but it was . . . different. He’d stayed the night before until she fell asleep, and while that should’ve felt imposing, it hadn’t.
It left her feeling confused more than anything else.
Sighing, she pushed those thoughts out of her mind as she moved across Madeline’s bedroom. Someone had moved her out of the bed, most likely one of the brothers. She was in the chair by the window when Julia crept into the room. Blood pressure and pulse were within expected limits.
“How are you feeling today?” Julia asked, brushing Madeline’s hair back around one shoulder. “Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day outside.” A thought occurred to her as she walked around the chair. “I wonder if we can get you outside before it gets too hot? I’m sure you would enjoy that.”
Julia noted that Madeline’s gaze was fixed on the painting again. Curious, she walked over to it to get a better look.
Faint traces of brush lines swirled into shades of green and brown, eventually giving way to the slate gray of tombs. The detail was amazing, from the tiny blades of dying grass to the scroll design on the columns of the tomb. Even the angel’s face at the center of the tomb was painstakingly re-created. It almost looked like a photograph.
That painting was beautiful but it was also morbid.
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