“Interesting. Smitty the dwarf made a gold armband for Paz and advised him to wear it for protection.”
“Read our runes, Nira.” Lianne held out her wrist. She wore a watch similar to Jen’s.
Nira grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and wrote down the symbols engraved on their watch faces. “It’s a bunch of random words that don’t make sense.”
Lianne swept her arm in a broad gesture. “That’s because we need our other three sisters to complete the circle.”
I am not adopted, Jen thought. I don’t have any real sisters.
And yet a niggle of doubt plagued her.
What exactly was the personal issue Cousin Clifford was using in his claim against her?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Paz slouched in the passenger seat of their borrowed Acura as Jen drove along North Ocean Avenue in Palm Beach. Luxury condominiums gave way to individual mansions as they cruised up the road. There wasn’t much traffic. According to Jen, most of the residents had escaped up north to their summer homes.
They’d decided to stay a couple of nights in Orlando and drive down on Friday morning. That gave Paz more time to consult with his team and Jen the opportunity to learn more from Nira and Lianne. She already felt close to the two women.
She turned down a private lane that took them past lushly manicured grounds toward a white columned two-story structure. Resembling the home where he’d grown up, albeit not as massive, it reminded him of all the reasons why he shouldn’t have come. Nonetheless, he’d promised to see Jen safely home.
Besides, Dal had yet to figure out how they’d destroy the rift generators, and Magnor was following up on a new lead. An informant had indicated the Trolleks were reestablishing a recruitment center in Florida.
His team may have demolished Drift World, but the Trolleks wouldn’t yield their presence in the state so readily. The confluence of sea currents and solar energy suited their purpose. Zohar wouldn’t allow the beasts to gain another foothold there.
As soon as Paz dropped Jen off and fulfilled his obligations, he’d rejoin his friends.
Meanwhile, thanks to a comm link Paz had set up, Zohar was attempting to reach Primer Pedar on Karrell to request a new ship. He also meant to order Imperial Space Command to patrol Earth’s orbit to repel any further attacks from outside.
Paz swiped a finger inside his collar. Jen had requested he wear a dress shirt rather than his usual T-shirt and jeans. She wore a sexy sheath dress that made him glance repeatedly in her direction.
The soft, vulnerable woman he’d come to know had gone. In her place was a sleek, sophisticated ice queen. Jen had tied her hair into a twist and carefully made up her face. The only finishing touch she lacked was a jeweled necklace to complement her graceful neck.
She parked at a circular drive in front of the stately house. A short staircase led to a set of double wooden doors with inset glass panels.
An older fellow emerged. He wore a slate gray suit that matched his color hair. His face split into a wide grin as he approached them.
“Miss Jennifer, it’s good to see you home.” His eyes crinkled with genuine warmth.
Jen gave him a hug. “Thanks, Eduardo. I am so glad to be here. This is my friend, Paz Hadar. Paz, Eduardo has been on our staff for years. He’s like family to us.”
The men shook hands, then Jen handed Eduardo the car keys.
“We borrowed this baby from a colleague. I’ll need to find a driver to return her to New Jersey.”
“I can make inquiries, miss. If you don’t mind, your parents are in the dining room. They’d like you to join them for lunch.”
“Of course they would.” Jen strode inside with a stubborn tilt to her chin.
Paz’s booted footfalls echoed on the marble floor as he followed Jen past a wide curving staircase and a living room with ivory upholstered furniture, decorative art, and enormous vases of fresh flowers. Tall French doors revealed a pool deck beyond with extensive amenities.
His neck itched and sweat popped out on his brow. An urge to bolt grabbed hold of him. He focused on Jen’s swaying derriere, telling himself he was doing this for her.
Nonetheless, he’d rather face a roomful of armed Trolleks than her parents.
Eduardo led them past a kitchen with gleaming stainless steel appliances and maple cabinets and into a formal dining room. A wide glass table held a gleaming silver bowl of fresh fruit, crystal stemware, and porcelain china plates. An aroma of baked goods made his mouth water.
“Mom and Dad, it’s good to see you. This is my friend, Paz Hadar,” Jen said with a wave.
A blond lady with an upswept hairdo, pearl jewelry, and a tanned face rose at their entrance, as did the burly man to her right. The woman extended both hands to Paz in a warm greeting. He wasn’t sure what to do so he took her palms and bowed.
“I’m Lydia, and this is Jen’s dad, Robert.”
“Call me Bob,” the big man said with a broad grin. He shook Paz’s hand, pumping it with vigor while scrutinizing him. Then he gestured toward the table. “Let’s eat or the food will get cold. Eduardo, you can serve us now.”
Paz claimed a seat beside Jen and across the table from her parents. He sat back, waiting for the butler to drop the cloth napkin into his lap. When Jen took hers, shook it, and opened it herself, he copied her motions.
Their customs may be different. Observe and learn.
They began desultory small talk as Eduardo served a starter course of a sweet green melon dribbled with red juice. Its succulent flavor dissolved in his mouth.
“So how did you two meet?” Robert asked between bites, while Paz wondered at the formality between Jen and her folks.
They’d been anxious for her return, and yet neither one of them had embraced her. She sat stiffly at his side.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t know what your daughter has told you, but I got a gig on her film set in Tokyo when their lead character fell ill.” He hoped he’d gotten the slang correct.
He and Jen had agreed on their story during the drive south. It had been an awkward trip. She was still miffed he hadn’t revealed his background, and although he longed to tell her the truth, part of him hesitated to expose his secrets.
He sipped his white wine, swirling the cool liquid in his mouth and appreciating the tang on his tongue.
“So, you just hitched a ride to Florida with Jen on her jet?” Her father gave him a skeptical glance over his water glass.
Paz waited until Eduardo had served their next course, a fish dish from the smell of it. “My travel documents had been stolen, and Jen took pity on me as a fellow American. I had to get home.”
Robert lifted his fork. “And what is it you do when you’re not working as an actor, Mr. Hadar?”
“I repair communications equipment.”
“I see.” His mouth puckered like he’d eaten a lemon pit.
“He’s being modest. Paz is actually an engineer.” Jen clapped a hand on his shoulder and dug in her fingernails. “It’s a good thing he came along. When our plane developed engine trouble, he took over the controls and landed us safely.”
Paz, playing his role, grinned and nodded.
“What happened to the pilots?” Robert’s gaze skewered him.
“We got hit by lightning,” Paz lied. “They were incapacitated.”
“Well, I guess we owe you a debt of gratitude. Tell me, how did you acquire piloting skills? Are you a flight engineer?”
“Not exactly, but my job can involve aeronautical systems. And I’ve taken some flying lessons along the way.”
“You should have come right home after you reached safety, Jen. We were worried about you.”
Jen swallowed a morsel of food. “I know, and I’m sorry, but that storm hit Hong Kong and flights were cancelled. We did the best we could.”
“Does it matter, Bob?” Lydia’s voice wavered. Jen’s mother hadn’t eaten much, mostly pushed the food around on her plate. “She’s here now.”
Paz studied Lydia from under his drawn brows. She was nervous about something, but what? When Eduardo delivered their roasted fowl, she barely touched her portion. Whatever was in the wind, he had a feeling Jen wouldn’t like it.
“Mr. Hadar, I’d be happy to show you our gardens,” Lydia said after the butler took away the remains of his dessert.
He’d thought ice cream a peculiar name for the cold gooey mound but liked to taste different flavors since he’d encountered the sweet on a previous sojourn to Earth. He could easily gain weight if he lived on this planet.
“Sure, that would be great.” He rose, dropping his napkin on the table.
Robert stole Jen away for a private conference. She didn’t even give him a backward glance.
He followed Lydia outside, around the pool area and down a flight of steps to a gravel path shaded by tropical shrubbery. A yellow and black butterfly took flight as they strolled along. Lydia identified the plants in a rote voice as though her mind were elsewhere.
Paz plunged his hands into his pockets, making inane remarks about the greenery as he’d learned to do growing up. He felt as out of place here as he did at his parents’ formal estate. Jen’s father had evaluated him as a possible suitor and found him lacking. He could read it in the man’s eyes and in the way he lifted his nose.
Clearly, Jen agreed with Robert’s opinion. She’d dismissed him without even a word of gratitude. In her view, he’d fulfilled his duty in taking her home. He should set up some perimeter rods so she’d be safe here and then leave. Yaron would pick him up in the shuttle a short distance away.
After all, what reason did he have to stick around?
****
Jen had been surprised by Paz’s smooth manners and how easily he’d fit into the moneyed setting. It didn’t jive with his background, what little she knew of him.
His contradictions intrigued her. She wanted to puncture his emotional armor and learn his secrets, but how could they have a relationship when he wouldn’t bare his soul?
As she followed her father down the hall, she thought long and hard about what Paz meant to her. Did she want to continue their association? Was she prepared to let him go? Was her offer of a modeling job merely an excuse to keep him close? Did he even want to be with her anymore?
The overwhelming scent of lilies hit her nose as she entered her father’s study. Her mother loved fresh flowers, and Jen had grown up with the heavy fragrance throughout the house. It reminded her of funerals and dead people.
“Jen, have a seat.” Robert gestured to a chair opposite his favorite La-Z-Boy.
She sank down, her mind already segueing into the distant past. The smell of flowers changed into a cloying perfume. A woman’s familiar face materialized from the haze that enveloped her. They stood inside a thatched roof hut.
“Jorunn, what shall we do? The berserkers are gathering their forces to invade. Their soldiers will march on the village by nightfall.” The woman twisted her hands, her blue eyes wide and fearful. Long blond braids hung past her ears.
Jen’s, or Jorunn’s, stomach roiled. “We have no defense, sister. Our people aren’t any match for those ugly beasts. Mayhap we should save our jewelry. We could use it to bargain for our lives.”
“How? Oh, if only the warriors were here.”
“They will arrive too late.” Her husband and his friends would be away at least another fortnight. “Come, we can sew our jewelry into our clothing. We must hide our valuables before the berserkers get here.”
Freydis laughed with little mirth. “Do you really think that will help? They will drag our people from their homes and ravage the women. Men with any strength left in their limbs will be forced into labor. As for the old, infirm, and very young…well, they’ll likely feel the axe.”
Jorunn grabbed a shift dress and looked for a tool to rip the hem. She felt compelled to save her jewelry, even knowing the gesture was futile. The invaders would strip them bare and give the garments to their own women.
She and the others would become thralls. Life as she knew it was about to end. She’d be forced to leave her home, her family, and her friends. They’d be separated and sold off as prizes of war.
Panic blossomed in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. Never to be free again, to make her own choices, to feel her husband’s loving touch. Only beatings and worse awaited them. Moisture tipped her lashes as her gaze swung to the dagger in her boot. One last choice remained.
“No, Jorunn. There is another way,” Aunt Alba said from behind her.
“What other way?” She whirled but her aunt wasn’t there. Jorunn rushed to the door, glanced outside, but only the wind blew sea air into her face.
“You’ll find it,” her aunt’s voice said in her ear. “It’s your destiny. Pray to Odin, child. With his guidance, you can save your people.”
“How? Tell me what to do!”
“Jen, hon, are you all right?” Her father’s voice snapped her back to reality.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying?” The cobwebs of the past dissolved.
Robert shrugged his powerful shoulders, his characteristic gesture denoting anxiety. Jen straightened her spine, retaining a sense of dread from her vision.
“You need to hear this before we face Clifford at the Board meeting.” Robert’s compassionate gaze held hers. “There’s no way to put it gently. We’d hoped to keep it from you, at least until you got married, but Jen, your mother and I adopted you when you were a baby.”
“What?” Her blood ran hot and cold. Icy tendrils pierced her skin. She shot to her feet. “You’re joking.”
“No, I am not.” He leveraged himself upward, stepped forward, and placed his hands on her shoulders. “We were desperate to have a child, but Lydia couldn’t conceive. Then one day, her sister Alba said she’d heard of a pregnant teen who wanted a home for her infant. Would we be interested?”
Jen’s mouth dropped open. Aunt Alba had been involved?
“We jumped at the chance and took you as a babe. I didn’t want to tell you like this, but Clifford is challenging your right to inherit his family shares. You need to know what you’ll be up against. Of course, our attorney has been advising us. Alba definitely left her portion to you in her will. But Clifford’s smear campaign can have harmful repercussions.”
She pursed her lips. She’d never liked her cousin and while she could understand his motives, he’d still gained his mother’s other assets, including her two homes.
Never mind Clifford. What about the repercussions of the bomb her father had just dropped?
She’d been adopted—like Nira and Lianne.
Her throat constricted. Was that why her mother had constantly criticized her as a youth, because she blamed Jen’s heritage for their differences? If only Lydia knew how astute she’d been. Jen shared far more with her so-called sisters than with the parents who’d raised her.
She swallowed her shock, planning to revisit it later.
“What happened with Yeager Capital Investments? Did they come around with an offer?” She hoped her Dad, and she still planned to call him that, had acquired the extra financing they needed to dodge Clifford’s bullet. Her cousin’s proposed merger was merely a ploy to push them out the door.
A grin split Robert’s face. “Yeager signed the deal. The company will be okay once the Board votes in our favor.” He paused. “I hope you’ll forgive your mother and me for not telling you the truth sooner. We just didn’t want to hurt you. We’ll always love you as our daughter.”
“I know.” She hugged him, savoring his comforting embrace even as anger swept her. Would he have revealed this news if Clifford hadn’t posed a threat? And if not now, when?
She could understand his motives. He and Lydia had probably been afraid of her reaction. She might turn away from them. But while an adjustment to their relationship would be necessary, they were still the f
olks who’d raised her.
Behind his back, she squeezed her eyes shut. This revelation had only plunged her deeper into the morass opened by the Trolleks.
****
When Jen returned home after the exhausting Board meeting, Lydia intercepted her in the foyer. Robert had gone to the company office following their appointment.
“How did it go?” Lydia asked, wringing her hands.
“We won. I’m just glad it’s over. Clifford wasn’t happy, but he had no choice with a unanimous vote.”
“Thank heavens.” Lydia’s face sagged with relief. “Um, did your father talk to you about…?”
“Yes, and don’t worry, you’ll always be my mom.” Swallowing her mixed feelings, Jen gave her adoptive mother a quick embrace. Then she stepped back and peered into the hallway. “Is Paz still here?”
“He’s exploring the wine cellar.”
A rush of pleasure pricked her skin. She’d expected him to leave shortly after her departure.
Lydia lowered her voice. “He’s a nice, polite fellow, but how serious are you about him?”
Jen grimaced at the worried frown on Lydia’s face. “We work together, Mom.”
“Come on, I see the way you look at each other. And while he’s presentable enough, you can’t exactly expect us to introduce him to people as your boyfriend. He’s a part-time actor and a repairman, for heaven’s sake.” She said it as though he had a disease. “Imagine what our friends would say.”
“Oh, like they don’t have their own boy toys?”
“That’s different. They don’t marry them.”
Jen’s eyebrows lifted. “Who said anything about marriage?”
“Then why bring him home?”
“He wanted to make sure I got here safely.”
“That’s very sweet of him, darling. I suggest you send him on his way before he gets other ideas.”
Jen clamped her lips tight. “I’ll do what I damn well please.” Brushing past, she descended into the brick-lined chamber where her father kept his collection of vintage wines.
Warrior Rogue (The Drift Lords Series) Page 27
