by Croft, Nina
By the time she’d dried herself off and was pulling on her clothes, she still hadn’t decided what to say. She’d have to hope that inspiration came at the right moment. She dressed in a clean pair of cutoff jeans a white linen shirt and eased her sore feet into a pair of flip-flops. A quick comb through her hair and she was ready to face them—sort of.
Julia and Jason were sitting at the kitchen table looking very chummy. They glanced up almost guiltily as she entered the room. They’d probably been talking about her. Julia jumped to her feet and poured a mug of coffee, adding cream and sugar just as Lissa liked it.
Taking the cup, she sank down in the chair opposite and asked Jason, “How’s Spot?”
“Great, he’s taken over the house.”
“Good.” She took a sip of coffee and wondered how long Julia could hold in her questions without spontaneously combusting.
“So?” Julia prompted after thirty seconds.
Across the table, Jason sat back in his seat and regarded them over his mug. “Perhaps I should say my piece first.”
She’d forgotten that bit. Of course, Jason had wanted to talk about Daniel. She licked her lips. “What do you know?”
“Well, after lunch the other day,” he said. “I decided to do a search into his background.”
“You investigated my brother?” Julia sounded offended.
“Yeah, I investigated your brother, because it was obvious that my sister is infatuated with him.”
“I’m not infatuated,” Lissa said. They turned to look at her with almost identical expressions of disbelief. “Okay, but only a little bit.”
“A lot.”
Lissa ignored the comment. It wasn’t worth arguing the case anyway. Instead, she turned Jason. “So what did you find?” She was betting he didn’t find anything that had any bearing on the truth, or he’d act way more smug. After all, brothers were always warning their sisters away from undesirable types. But what brother got to warn his sister about a werewolf?
“I was investigating the man he works for.”
“I thought he worked for a big multinational corporation.”
“He does. But the multinational corporation is owned by one man. His name is Ethan Stone. And he’s into some very dodgy things.”
Daniel had mentioned an Ethan—he had said “Ethan” knew where his parents lived, implying that put them in danger.
“And are you suggesting Daniel is also into some dodgy things?” Julia sounded indignant on behalf of her brother. And Lissa didn’t blame her; Daniel was the most honest person ever.
“You’re talking a load of crap,” Lissa said. “Even if this Ethan Stone isn’t totally legitimate, that doesn’t mean that Daniel has anything to do with it. He just works for the company.”
“He’s worked for Stone International for six years, and he’s risen in that time to become Director of Research. No one rises within an organization that fast unless they’re aware of what’s going on.”
“What sort of dodgy stuff is this Ethan Stone into?” Lissa asked.
“Just about every dodgy thing you can think of. Arms dealing, drug smuggling. You name it—he’s done it. And he’s been doing it for a long time.”
Lissa sat back and tried to fit this new information into the equation. Could this Ethan Stone be the leader, the man in charge, the head werewolf? Maybe he’d changed Daniel because they needed his expertise in some way. But what would a bunch of werewolves need a scientist for?
“I can almost see your brain working,” Jason said. “What exactly are you coming up with?”
“Nothing yet,” she replied. “Tell me some more about this Ethan Stone. Where he came from, what he looks like, whether he’s tied in any way to Sophia.”
“That would be perfect,” Julia said. “If we could prove that Sophia was up to no good.”
Jason shook his head. “I doubt you’ll do that without implicating your brother.”
“Do you think this Ethan Stone is dangerous?” Julia asked.
“Hell, yes.” Jason ran a hand through his black hair ruffling it. “That’s why I’m talking to you. I don’t want you involved in any way with Stone. And that means I don’t want you involved with Daniel.”
“Well that’s too bad,” Lissa said. “Because you’re too late by about fifteen years. And if Daniel is in some sort of trouble, we have to help him.”
Jason pursed his lips. “Why do I suspect, that you’re already aware of the sort of trouble Daniel is in?”
Lissa tried to look innocent, but she’d never been very good at that. The problem was going to be finding a balance—helping Daniel while keeping the rest of their friends and family safe. Maybe she should get Jason alone and away from Julia so she could talk a bit more honestly. Not the werewolf thing. But getting him away from Julia seemed like it would be a problem.
Jason pushed back his chair and got to his feet. “I have to go. I have a meeting but I’m expecting a more complete report on Stone to come through at any moment, and I’ll contact you when I have information. I’m sure you’re not in any immediate danger, but in the meantime”— he gave Lissa a narrow eyed stare— “don’t see Daniel alone. I’m not sure to what extent he’s involved, but believe me, he is involved, and that makes him dangerous.”
More than Jason could ever know. Anyway, she didn’t think Daniel was going to let her see him alone, or otherwise, in the near future. If he had his way, she would never see him again. And that wasn’t an option.
Jason delved into his pocket, drew out a business card, and handed it to her. “The address of my office is on there, maybe you could come in tomorrow morning when I should know more. Call me if you can’t make it.”
Julia got up and followed Jason out of the room. Lissa stayed where she was.
Who was this man Ethan Stone? Was he the one responsible for turning Daniel? She hated him already.
Julia seemed to take a long time to say good-bye. Maybe Lissa should make herself scarce to avoid more awkward questions. Or maybe she should just suck it up and get it over with.
When Julia came back, she had her self-satisfied smile on her face. “Your brother is cute,” she said, pouring herself another cup of coffee. “You want one?”
“No, I think I’m going to try and catch some sleep.”
“Oh no, you don’t. You’re not getting away that easily. Come on, spill the beans, and tell me what happened last night. I know you got that message and went to meet Daniel, but it was really from Sophia.”
“Yeah, you remember she made that threat?”
“The one where she was going to rip your hands from your body if you touched Daniel again?”
“That’s the one. She decided to make good on it.”
“You mean she pretended to be Daniel. That is a little weird.”
“You’re telling me. I thought I was a goner. Honestly, if Daniel hadn’t turned up when he did, I really think she might have done something drastic.”
“So the plan worked? I mean, there’s no way he’ll marry The Evil One now.”
“Maybe.” Lissa wondered whether it was worth mentioning that Sophia might not have survived the encounter. But that would have taken more explanation than she was willing to give.
“Perhaps I should give him a call. Out of sisterly love, and ask what’s going on and what his intentions are with regards to my best friend.”
“Don’t you dare,” Lissa snapped.
“Well, I might be persuaded to hold off if you tell me—or at least give me a little hint—what actually happened last night between you and Daniel.”
“I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you. You’ve always had such a good imagination.”
“And you’re not the sort to kiss and tell.”
“Exactly.”
Chapter Fifteen
Lissa rose to her feet to end the meeting with Julia. She’d told the truth and was dead tired. Sleep was a necessity, along with more time alone to go over what happened, to decide what
she wanted to do about Daniel and Sophia and Ethan Stone and Julia and everybody else.
It was strange, she’d always been so afraid of love, of loving and losing. It seemed like she’d spent a whole life running. Even when she’d come back, she hadn’t been ready to face her fears. She’d planned to put Daniel behind her, forget about love, and find a nice, safe relationship where her heart wouldn’t be at risk.
But now there was something to be really frightened about and she wasn’t scared. She was indignant. These people had taken Daniel’s life from him, had remade him into something he should never have been.
“So, you think Sophia will come after you again?” Julia interrupted her thoughts.
“You never know.”
“If she’s that crazy, shouldn’t you go to the police?”
The last thing she wanted was to go to the police. She couldn’t begin to imagine what they might uncover. If Sophia were dead, would there be a body? Sophia had said they were going to eat her. Maybe they had eaten Sophia, instead. Nice.
But not something she could discuss with Julia.
“She probably didn’t mean to really hurt me,” Lissa said. “I mean, no way could she rip off my hands. She was just trying to scare me.”
“She scared me.”
“And she is Daniel’s fiancée. I can hardly hand her over to the police.”
Julia patted her shoulder. “Daniel won’t marry her. Not when he’s seen what she’s like and after you and he… You know…”
“I really, really hope he doesn’t still plan to marry her. Even so, I don’t think he would want her locked up. Which is a pity, because she needs locking up.”
Actually, she was pretty sure Daniel would like Sophia locked up. She’d seen real hatred in his face when he spoke of the other woman last night, and who could blame him. She’d only known Sophia for a few days and she’d had quite enough. It was a wonder Daniel hadn’t gone completely insane after putting up with her for years.
“I’ve told you everything I’m willing to tell you at this time. Now I’m off to bed.” She didn’t wait for Julia to say anything else, just turned around and left the room.
In her bedroom, she stripped off her clothes and crawled under the sheets. Her head had just landed on the pillow when her cell phone went off on the bedside table. She scrambled for it and stared at the caller ID. Daniel. She almost dropped the phone. Instead, she pressed it to her ear as her heart started beating faster. Had something gone wrong?
Then she remembered the last time Daniel had contacted her on this phone, it hadn’t been him. Maybe Sophia was alive and ready to try to tear her hands off again.
Or perhaps Daniel was phoning to make sure she was leaving and had persuaded Julia to go, too. Though she hated to lie to him, she would. For his own good, of course.
She pressed the answer button.
“Lissa?”
“Yes, it’s me. What do you want, Daniel? I thought you said you weren’t going to talk to me again.”
Silence, though she could hear him breathing. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
How could she possibly be okay? “Of course I’m not okay. The man I love told me this morning—after I might add making mad, passionate love to me—that he never wants to see me again.”
“Jesus, Lissa. Do you have to make this so fucking difficult?”
“I’m not the one making it difficult.”
“Why the hell did you even come back? Why couldn’t you stay away?”
Lissa gritted her teeth. “Just why did you call me, Daniel?”
“Because I couldn’t leave it alone. I had to hear your voice.”
What could she say that would make anything better? “I wish you were here,” she said.
“I wish I was there. I wish I was inside you right now, feeling you wrapped around me, tasting you. Christ, what a mess.”
Too right. It was a mess and she could see no way out, but she wasn’t going to say that to Daniel. She had to give him hope. “We can sort it out, Daniel. There has to be a way. I can talk to my brother—”
“I told you, you can’t talk to anyone, especially not someone involved in security.” His tone was harsh and she could hear the desperation behind the words. “Promise me you won’t talk to anyone.”
Too late. But she wouldn’t add to his worries. Once she worked out a plan, which she would, she’d tell him everything.
“I won’t talk to anyone…” Else she added silently.
She heard his sigh of relief. “Good. Thank you. Have you spoken with Julia about going away?”
“Not yet, but it won’t be easy; she’s busy at work right now.”
“Well, try. It will make things much easier if I know you’re both safe.”
“What about Marcy and Debs?”
“They’re still in Spain. They should be fine there.”
“What is going to happen that’s so dangerous?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s going to be bad. Look, I have to go; I couldn’t leave it like we did. I wanted you to know… I love you. I always loved you.”
And he ended the call.
…
He couldn’t stay away. He was like a…werewolf with his mate.
Pathetic.
He’d told himself he wouldn’t see her, but if he were closer to her, it might be easier. And in fact, Wolf had ceased his pacing now that he sensed Lissa was nearby.
Daniel sat in the truck outside her house—had he mentioned pathetic? Both girls were home, which he knew because the private security agency he’d employed to guard them had just reported in.
The place was in darkness at nearly midnight. The surveillance was around the clock, and he’d be informed if she went out or if anyone went in. Her brother had been there earlier. What had he wanted? Maybe Daniel should get the place bugged.
He shook his head in disgust—definitely pathetic.
What he should do was leave. Go get some sleep, clear his mind, so he could think out his next move. He’d booked into a hotel, not wanting to go home in case Ethan came hunting him. But he couldn’t make himself start the truck.
He still didn’t know if Sophia had survived, and he’d had no luck getting hold of Pete or Joe, which worried him as well. But their clothes had been gone this morning, which suggested they were both alive and probably laying low like him.
So…going back to his hotel.
He couldn’t do it. Instead, he called up the security service and told them they weren’t needed for the rest of the night. Minutes later, a dark car pulled away from the side of the road opposite, and Daniel settled down to watch her house.
An hour later, his cell phone rang. It was Joe.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, we’re both fine. Pete needed a little medical assistance, but he’s good—that’s where we’ve been all day and keeping quiet. Is your girl okay?”
“She will be if I can convince her to go away for a while. A long while. What happened to Sophia? Is she coming after me?”
“She’s not coming after anyone. Ever.”
“She’s dead?” He waited to be overcome by guilt but felt nothing. He reckoned he’d done the world a favor.
“You didn’t kill her,” Joe said as if reading his thoughts. “Pete did. You know how much he hated her.”
Daniel couldn’t decide whether he was relieved or upset that he hadn’t been the one to kill Sophia. Yet another sign that he was beyond redemption. “What about the body?”
“There is no body.”
Daniel decided he didn’t want to know any more details. His imagination was doing too good a job on its own.
“Pete might have finished her off, but he could never have done it alone. You took her out. She wasn’t anywhere near a match for you. You’ve been hiding your strength.”
“So?”
“So, we’ve been thinking.”
“About what?”
“Nothing we want to talk on the phone about, but we’d like to
meet with you.”
Daniel glanced at the house. “I can’t tonight.”
“Tomorrow will be fine. I’ll phone with a time and a place.”
Sophia was dead and out of the picture. One less thing to worry about. While Ethan might be ruthless, he didn’t do things without a reason. Come to think of it, Sophia always had a reason, too—causing pain.
Perhaps he should tell Lissa to put her mind at rest. He picked up his phone, his finger poised to hit speed dial. Then he put it down again.
It wasn’t the sort of information to give over the phone.
A little voice niggled that this was a bad idea, but Wolf howled through his mind, drowning out the thought.
He climbed out of the car and studied the house. While he wanted to see Lissa, he couldn’t cope with Julia right now, so the front door was out. Daniel headed down a narrow alley at the side of the building, and jumped the fence into the backyard with ease. A low one-story building extended from the rear of the house and he climbed onto this. There were two windows on the first floor, one with opaque glass, presumably the bathroom. The other must be Lissa’s room. Julia’s was at the front.
He gently felt the window. It was locked as he’d expected, but he extended a little inhuman pressure and the lock gave and the window slid up.
He climbed over the ledge and jumped down into the room. Something crashed into his head and he went down to his knees.
Okay, maybe he should have phoned first.
…
Oh my God, I’ve killed Daniel.
Lissa stared at the man on the floor. He was a werewolf. Shouldn’t he be harder to kill than that?
She’d almost dismissed the noise outside as the next-door neighbor’s cat—it seemed too quiet to be a human. But her mind had filled with visions of Sophia coming after her.
Anyway, she wasn’t going to risk waiting for The Evil One to return from the dead and make good on her threats. So she’d crept out of bed, found the heaviest item in the room—an earthenware jug Julia had brought back from one of her visits to Africa—hidden behind the curtain, and swung the jug as hard as she could. It had made a wonderfully satisfying thunk as it connected. She hoped Julia wasn’t too fond of the jug, because the handle was still clutched tight in Lissa’s clenched fingers while the rest was scattered in terra-cotta shards around Daniel’s head.
