Moonlight Sins
Page 18
The three of them watched her thread a pale arm around Dev’s. The eldest de Vincent glanced down at her. She smiled breezily, but Dev’s face remained impassive and that smile of hers didn’t last long.
“Wow. They seem so in love,” Troy commented.
“Yep,” Lucian replied as he glanced at Gabe. He was now busy staring at his polished loafers, looking like he wanted to sink through the damn floor.
“Where’s your uncle?” Troy asked, dark brows furrowing together.
“In one of the back rooms with some of their friends,” Gabe answered, angling his body so his back was to Dev and Sabrina. “Probably getting drunk.”
“Sounds like he’s going to have a better time than we are,” Troy replied, casting another gaze over the crowd. “Well, I’m going to be heading out of here, but before I go . . .” Troy faced them both. “I’ve been holding the chief off as much as possible, but we’re going to have to talk soon. Real soon.”
Lucian figured the autopsy reports would be back or coming in soon enough. He nodded. “Message received.”
Troy clapped him on the shoulder and then did the same to Gabe. “See you all later.”
The brothers watched Troy make his way through clusters of well-wishers. It was Gabe who broke the silence with a heavy sigh that seemed heavier than the chatter around them. “I have this feeling we aren’t going to be happy with what that autopsy shows.”
Lucian’s jaw locked down for a moment and then he said, “As do I.”
Progress required patience of the virtuous level. It required someone who was able to occupy their body while they waited. At least that was what Julia believed as she watched Madeline.
The woman had held the paintbrush for about an hour before she’d gazed upon the palette of paint. Julia had demonstrated with another brush on what she’d discovered wasn’t an actual canvas but several sheets of thick parchment paper.
Julia painted what looked like a lopsided stick figure, but that was the best she could do. About thirty minutes ago, she’d pulled the sheet she’d been messing with off and now Madeline was staring intently at the blank page, the paintbrush trembling in her hand.
A mix of boredom and anticipation swirled inside Julia as she sat there. She could’ve turned on the TV, but she didn’t want Madeline to become distracted even though she figured that her holding the paintbrush was probably going to be the only progress she’d make for—
Madeline moved.
Julia bit down on her lip as the woman’s hand hovered over the tray of paints. After a couple of moments, she dipped the brush into a canister of brown paint and then lifted her hand to the paper. Her wrist flicked and a faint line of brown paint spread across the canvas.
“That’s it, Madeline,” she said as she watched the woman make small brushstrokes with the deep brown color. “That’s amazing.”
And it was amazing that Madeline was already painting—painting what appeared to be small wisps of lines, but still, that was actually miraculous.
Maybe even a little too miraculous, whispered a voice in the back of her head.
Immediately, Julia felt terrible for thinking that, but she had realistic expectations of this endeavor. Patients with these kinds of conditions could take weeks and months, sometimes even years to make the smallest of change. Even then, it was no small feat.
But Dr. Flores was of the belief that this was psychological, and if that was the case, physically Madeline could do anything she’d been able to do before. There were mental roadblocks instead of physical.
Chewing on her lip, she studied Madeline as she continued to work with the brown paint. After a bit, she changed up the color, choosing a red that reminded Julia of the velvet that covered the chairs in the room Julia had been seated it when she first arrived.
As Madeline worked on the painting, Julia was torn between wanting to pat herself on the back for thinking outside of the box and being in a state of not believing any of this was really happening.
But maybe this was some sort of key that would eventually unlock whatever Madeline was going through and Julia needed to take advantage of that. “Do you know where you are, Madeline?
Her hand stilled over the canvas.
Hoping she wasn’t making a mistake, she drew in a shallow breath. “Do you know you’re home?”
Madeline started painting again, shading in the crimson along the top of the parchment.
“Do you . . . do you know where you’ve been?” When Madeline didn’t answer, but kept painting, Julia rubbed her palms along her knees. “It’s okay. You just need to know that you’re safe here.”
The paintbrush froze, and Madeline appeared to draw in a deep breath. Slowly, she turned her head toward Julia. The woman’s eyes were wide, pupils a stark contrast against the light blue-green.
Julia sucked in a sharp breath as she read the fear in the other woman’s eyes. There was no mistaking that. She looked terrified, and Julia’s stomach filled with knots.
“Madeline—” Julia snapped her mouth shut as she saw the woman’s gaze dart over her shoulder. A prickly sensation broke out along the nape of her neck and spread over her shoulders.
Breath catching, she twisted around on the stool. Her heart lurched into her throat when she saw a stranger standing in the doorway of Madeline’s bedroom. Julia’s body reacted out of instinct. Shooting to her feet, she planted herself in between Madeline and this man as her gaze darted to where her cell phone sat on the nightstand. Damn it, why wasn’t it in her pocket?
A trickle of fear dripped like ice in her veins. Everyone was gone from this house, so whoever this person was, it was very unlikely they belonged here. And that typically wouldn’t be a good thing, but he wasn’t dressed like he was about to whip out a gun and demand access to a safe full of gold bricks. He wore a robin’s egg-blue polo tucked into khaki shorts. She was pretty sure he was wearing boat shoes.
It was like the official uniform of white rich boys.
Then again, she doubted people dressed in all black when they robbed places in broad daylight.
“Who are you?” the man demanded before Julia could speak.
“Who am I?” Shocked, her fingers curled into her palms. This man busts up into this house and asks who she was? But there was something familiar about this man even though she was sure she’d never seen him before.
He stepped into the room, and Julia tensed as her heart thumped heavily against her ribs. “You’re a nurse,” he stated, a muscle along his jaw working overtime. “They hired you, didn’t they?”
She could only assume by “they” he meant the de Vincents, but she wasn’t going to answer. “I don’t know who you are or how you got in this house, but I’m going to have to ask you to—”
“What? Leave? I have more of a right to be here than you.” He stepped to the side, and Julia moved, keeping herself between him and a woman who could not defend herself. The man stopped, eyes narrowing. “You really have no idea who I am? I’m Daniel Gabon.”
While she doubted most robbers and serial killers would introduce themselves, she still wasn’t overly relieved. “I don’t know that name.”
“Of course not,” he replied bitterly. “Why would they tell you about me?”
Her gaze darted to her phone again and then flickered around the room, seeking out a weapon just in case.
Then his entire vibe changed. His shoulders slumped as he shook his head. “Hell, I’m not trying to scare you nor be an ass. You’ve done nothing wrong and you have—shit, you have no idea what you’re in the middle of.”
Julia’s unease grew. “I’m sorry, but I don’t—”
“I’m Madeline’s cousin—my father was her mother’s brother,” he said, thrusting a hand through the short, spiky strands of hair. “I didn’t mean to come off like I just did, but I . . .” His gaze focused behind her, and she realized he could see Madeline now. He cursed softly under his breath. “I was just caught off guard when I saw her—saw both of you.”
“I really didn’t mean to scare you.” He raised his hands as his pleading stare moved back to Julia. “But I had to come here today. It was the first time that I could knowing that they wouldn’t be here.”
Unsure if she should believe him or not, she knew she really needed to get to her phone and text Lucian. She had no idea if this really was their cousin or if he was even allowed to be here.
“Okay.” His Adam’s apple moved on a swallow. “I can tell I’ve really freaked you out. I just had to see if it was true.”
Julie didn’t need to ask if what was true or not.
He was staring at his cousin like he’d seen a ghost. Julia turned at the waist and saw that Madeline had placed her paintbrush down and had shoved her hands into the pockets of her loose sweater.
Daniel walked over and knelt down beside Madeline. Staring up at her, he drew in a ragged breath. “Look at you. I never . . . I never thought I’d see you again, but you’re here, you’re really here.”
Heart still pounding, she inched toward her phone. “How did you know Madeline was here?”
He glanced over at her, some of the hardness returning to his jaw. “My cousins sure as hell didn’t tell me.” His nostrils flared. “They always blamed me. You know? Every time when we were kids and we would do kids’ stuff, it was always my fault,” he said, and the senator had mentioned them running off together. “I mean, sometimes it was, but we were kids.” A brief smile appeared as he turned back to his cousin. “They blamed me when she—when she disappeared the last time. Thought I had something to do with it. I didn’t.” There was a pause. “Is she okay?”
Julia swiped her phone off the nightstand. “She’s doing well. You didn’t tell me how you knew she was here.”
“I heard some rumors a week or so ago,” he said as he lifted a hand to Madeline. He didn’t touch her. Just held it out toward her. “I have a friend who works at the hospital Dr. Flores runs. They said they saw someone who looked so much like Madeline that they’d swore it was her.”
Julia sat on the edge of the bed and quickly unlocked her phone. Glancing down she thumbed thru the contacts, stopping when she saw the name. She clicked on it.
“But they brushed it off. You know? Everyone thought she was dead,” he continued. “Except me. I didn’t.”
Her fingers froze when she saw Madeline had pulled her left hand out of her pocket. Julia’s lips parted as the woman offered her hand to Daniel. Holy crap. If she wasn’t sitting, she’d have fallen down.
Daniel curled his palm around Madeline’s and his smile was full of relief. “You’re painting?” he asked, voice hoarse.
Madeline stared at her cousin, but her lips didn’t move. There was no verbal response, but Daniel squeezed his eyes shut nonetheless.
Julia had no idea what was happening, but she fired the quick text to Lucian and then held on tight to the phone as she rose, moving so she was close to Madeline in case . . . well, in case anything happened.
“She . . . just started painting today,” Julia said, feeling like she had to say something.
Daniel lifted her hand, pressing it against his forehead. “Madeline loved to paint. Could sit for days and do it if you left her alone.” He lowered their hands. “Damn. It’s a relief to see you.”
Julia felt the phone vibrate in her hand and resisted the urge to check it. Lucian was calling.
“You’re going to be okay,” he said, and it sounded like he was telling himself that. He let go of her hand and rose, slipping his hands into the pockets of his shorts. He glanced at Julia. “Has she said anything about where she’s been?”
Julia shook her head.
He gazed down at Madeline, who was now back to staring at her painting. “I know you’ve texted one of them.” Daniel let out a hoarse chuckle.
Her heart squeezed. No point in lying. “I did. It’s my job.”
“I understand,” he said almost wearily as he stepped back. “I better get out of here before they kick my ass out of here.”
Julia’s eyes widened.
“You look surprised? You shouldn’t be. Those brothers . . .” He trailed off with another rough laugh. “I just wanted to see if it was possible. That Madeline was here. That’s all.” He bit down on his lip, reminding her of Lucian. “Can I leave you my number? In case . . . well, in case something happens? You could let me know? I’d be eternally grateful if so.”
Julia agreed, taking his number even though she had no intentions of actually using it.
“Thank you,” he said, nodding in her direction before he started toward the door. “I really am sorry for the way I acted before and for scaring you. Truly.”
She forced a smile as her phone started buzzing in her hand again. “It’s okay.”
“I’ll see myself out.” He started through the door, then stopped, looking back at Madeline. She’d picked up the brush once more and was moving it along the canvas. “Look, I feel like I need to say this to you.”
“What?” she asked.
“Be careful with them—the brothers.” Daniel’s gaze met hers. “They’re not . . . they’re not good guys, okay? You don’t know me at all, but believe it when I say that all of them are dangerous and they shouldn’t be trusted. Madeline knew that, and look at what happened to her.”
Chapter 15
As Lucian stood on the porch outside of Maddie’s room, he almost felt like he’d stepped into an alternate universe sometime after leaving the house earlier.
“So let me get this straight.” His hands were resting on the railing, his back slightly bowed. “Madeline actually responded to the whole painting thing. She’s actually in there painting right now. I just saw that with my own two eyes. I have no idea what in the hell she’s painting, but she is?” Pausing, he looked over at Julia. “Right?”
A look of sympathy crossed Julia’s face. “It’s a lot to handle. I was seeing it happen and I still couldn’t believe it.”
“And not only that, my cousin Daniel found out a way to get into the house, scare the crap out of you, and he managed to get my sister to respond to him? She placed her hand in his?”
Julia nodded. “That’s . . . what it looked like to me.”
“Damn,” he muttered, lifting a hand off the railing and rubbing it across his chest. He was happy to hear that Madeline had responded to someone. Seriously, but damn if that didn’t sting like a bitch. He was her brother—her twin. And when he was around her, she didn’t even seem to know he was there.
Dropping his hand, he let out a ragged breath as he glanced over at her again. “Should’ve warned you about Daniel. I just didn’t think he’d find out about Maddie.”
Julia had told him what Daniel had said about someone at the hospital thinking they saw Maddie. All of them should’ve been better prepared for the chance that rumors would’ve gotten out and made their way back to Daniel and to others.
“He startled me, but it’s . . . it’s okay.” Julia folded her arms around her waist. “He didn’t try to hurt me or Madeline. He just really caught me off guard.”
He shook his head. “No. No, it’s not okay. He knows he’s not supposed to be here.”
“How did he even get in the house?”
Lucian frowned as he stared out over the land. “That’s a good question. I know he didn’t come through the front door.”
“Is there any other way to get in?”
“Daniel knows this house well enough to travel it blindfolded at night, so if there was one window unlocked, he would’ve found it.” That was something he already had Richard checking on.
“I didn’t tell him anything other than Madeline not being very responsive and that she just started painting.” A faint, warm breeze lifted the stray hairs around her face. “He actually didn’t ask a lot of questions. I don�
�t think he had a chance. He realized pretty quickly that I’d texted you and he left after that.”
“I didn’t think you would’ve told him anything we wouldn’t want out.” He curled his fingers around the railing, crushing the vines under his palm. The last thing Maddie needed right now was the kind of bullshit that followed Daniel around. Turning back to the land below, he eased his fingers off the railing. “I’m not worried about that at all.”
Even though he wasn’t looking at her, he sensed her inching closer. A moment passed and she asked, “I know it’s not my place to ask, but why is Daniel not allowed to be here? I mean, she did respond to him. That’s a really good thing.”
Lucian pushed off the railing, facing her. “First off, it is your place to ask. You’re living here. You’re taking care of Maddie. And you managed to get her to do something other than sit and stare at a wall, so you’ve earned that right.”
The set of her shoulders relaxed. “Okay.”
He cocked a hip against the railing, loosely folding his arms. “The reason Daniel isn’t allowed here is a long story.”
“We have time,” she insisted. “Madeline’s had her dinner and we can see her from where we are.” She gestured at the door with her chin. Maddie was sitting in front of the easel.
Lucian stared at his sister through the door for a moment, still shocked to see her painting. Since she’d returned, he feared that nothing would change for her. That her life would consist of having someone assisting her with nearly every basic need. Seeing her doing something, anything, on her own almost brought him to his knees with relief.
And as terrible as it sounded, he was glad he now had a reason to have Julia’s undivided attention. He was discovering that was extremely hard to do, something he’d never had experienced before.
Normally he always had women’s one hundred percent attention.
So, this was a humbling experience for him.
Lucian tore his gaze from Julia, focusing on the doors. “Growing up, Maddie and I were close. It was Dev and Gabe and then Maddie and me, but because I was a boy, Maddie got left out a lot whenever my brothers and I would want to do something. None of us did it on purpose.”