The Wells Brothers: Aaron

by Angela Verdenius

  Fascinating. He’d never met anyone apart from his own father and Ryan who could look at him steadily while letting the silence pass between them without any hint of uneasiness.

  Fraud or not, this almost exotically beautiful woman was standing before him with quiet confidence, her gaze level, a small smile playing around those plump red lips. And damned if that smile wasn’t amused. That piqued his interest even more, though he knew she was playing a part, a role, maintaining that mysterious air she cultivated so well.

  It was almost disappointing, really.

  No, definitely disappointing.

  “Aaron, sweetie!”

  He glanced sideways as Elspeth Arkwell came up beside him, her hand sliding through the crook of his elbow as she beamed up at him.

  The woman might look all fluff and feathers in her lace-layered gown and wispy up-do of hair, her eyes sparkling with life and fun, but deep inside that airy-fairy exterior beat the heart of a shrewd businesswoman and a no-nonsense female.

  Well, no-nonsense except when it came to all things that went bump in the night, then Elspeth Arkwell was headfirst in right up to her eye-wateringly high heels.

  “I see you’ve met our famous Stella Donahue.” Elspeth beamed up at the woman. “I do hope he’s being polite.”

  “Very.” Stella’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

  “He’s a dear, Stella, regardless of his exterior,” Elspeth confided. “But a bit of a non-believer.”

  “A bit?” One dark brow arched. “Mr Wells is a complete non-believer.”

  “See?” Elspeth slapped his arm lightly. “Stella knew instinctively. Isn’t that marvellous?”

  “Yeah,” a voice echoed from behind him before Aaron could answer. “Isn’t that marvellous?” His brother appeared beside them, a glass of beer in one hand and a big grin on his dial as he looked from Stella to Aaron.

  “Ah, Luke Wells.” She held out one hand.

  Luke shook it carefully. “How’d you know?”

  “Divine knowledge,” Elspeth echoed Aaron’s earlier words.

  Luke’s eyebrows shot upwards.

  “I’m afraid I can’t claim that.” Stella refolded her hands at her waist, her pose easy yet almost regal. “Your fiancée pointed you out to me earlier.”

  “Ah, Mikki.” Luke nodded. “She told me you’re a clairvoyant or mind reader or something.”

  Or something was right, Aaron thought.

  “Psychic, medium and clairvoyant,” she replied.

  Not what he would have said, but it wasn’t his job to say it, so he kept his mouth shut.

  “Wow. That’s a lot of…er...things.”

  “We all have many gifts, Mr Wells.”

  “Geez, call me Luke. Mr Wells reminds me of my Dad or the stuffed-shirt here.” Luke jerked a thumb at Aaron.

  Typical Luke. Not in the least bothered by his irrepressible younger brother, Aaron didn’t bat an eyelid. He was more interested in observing the beautiful scammer’s actions.

  “I can’t wait for later tonight.” Elspeth was practically bouncing on the toes of her high-heeled sandals.

  Stella smiled serenely. “I hope I can tell you what you wish to know.”

  If Aaron had been the eye-rolling type, his would have been whirling in their sockets.

  Luke was the eye-rolling type. Too polite to do it in front of her, he nevertheless couldn’t stop the grin that quirked his lips.

  Elspeth frowned at him before looking back at Stella. “Don’t mind Luke. The boy’s got a good heart, its just his brain that’s in question.”

  “Hey!” Luke said indignantly.

  “Tell him something that will make him change his mind.”

  “It’s not always an on-demand thing,” Stella responded. “Spirit talks to me when it will.”

  Aaron just bet Spirit did, and that would be when she had enough time to think of a way to con some person.

  “Of course.” Elspeth looked disappointed, but nodded.

  “Is this spirit thing a male or female?” Luke queried.

  “Spirit is neither and both.”

  “It’s a hermaphrodite?”

  Elspeth blinked. “What?”

  “You know, has male and female…you know.” Luke’s cheeks reddened. “Parts.”

  “I don’t think that’s something we should be asking, dear. It has no bearing on what it has to say.”

  “No worries.” Stella suddenly angled her head as though hearing something, then, with a small laugh, she touched Luke’s arm. “Spirit said drinking your workman’s Iced Coffee when he wasn’t looking was amusing.”

  Luke’s mouth fell open. “Wha…?”

  “Spirit saw.”

  “How the - that’s impossible!”

  Delighted, Elspeth clapped her hands together. “Is it true? Did you?”

  “Well yeah, but….” Totally perplexed, Luke looked at Aaron.

  Aaron shook his head inwardly. The boy really was gullible. She’d probably seen Luke working on the park in the centre of the city, noted him do it. The park was easily seen by anyone. There was a reasonable explanation.

  “That’s amazing,” Luke finally said.

  “Stella is well-known for her accurate readings,” Elspeth confided. “It’s why I had her come tonight.”

  Yes, for the readings she was going to conduct after the party finished. A private little reading session for Elspeth’s close friends which also included her just-as-gullible niece, Mikki. And apparently, Luke.

  “Don’t forget to bring a spare chair,” Aaron murmured to him. “The room has only catered for those on the list.”

  “I’m not going.”

  Aaron just looked at him.

  “I wasn’t thinking that at all.”

  Like Aaron didn’t know his brother inside out. That slight flush in his cheeks was a dead giveaway.

  Luke looked at Stella. “I wasn’t.”

  Good grief. Expression neutral, Aaron mentally shook his head. It didn’t take a genius to figure that out. Anyone being told something they thought impossible to know would have a fleeting thought of sitting in on a reading even if they weren’t going to go through with it. It was a great hook.

  “That’s Mikki’s area,” his brother announced, squaring his shoulders. “She’s the believer, not me.”

  “You’re not a complete non-believer,” Stella said gently. “Deep inside you know you’ve seen something. When you were a child. Long ago.”

  Talk about planting a seed. Aaron could just about see the gear sticks churning in Luke’s head as he tried to recall something that had never happened.

  “It was night, you were asleep,” Stella continued softly, assurance in her tone. “But when you started to wake there was something…maybe near the wardrobe?”

  Luke scratched his head. “I dreamed a lot of things when I was a kid.”

  “Just think about it. Don’t stress. It’ll come to you.”

  Luke looked at Aaron. “I never did like that wardrobe.”

  That was true. Most kids went through a phase of ‘monster in the wardrobe’. Aaron had spent quite a few times going through little Luke’s wardrobe in the middle of the night ‘slaying’ the monsters.

  “Mostly because the door wouldn’t shut,” Luke added. “Annoyed the crap out of me.”

  “Maybe something was stopping it shutting,” Elspeth suggested.

  Aaron switched his gaze to Stella. She was watching Luke, studying him, and then, as if feeling Aaron’s regard, she turned her attention to him.

  “Now you,” she said. “You’re a true non-believer.”

  That had already been established.

  “Aaron isn’t impressed by anything,” Luke said. “Nothing fazes him, nothing scares him. In fact, he’s a bit freaky himself.” Realising how that sounded, he added hastily, “Not that I’m calling you that or anything.”

  Stella gazed into Aaron’s eyes for several long seconds, a silence falling between them as Elspeth and Luke stopped talki
ng to watch curiously.

  Calmly, Aaron watched her watching him, wondering what she was going to try and spring on him, what she was going to attempt to impress him with.

  When she took his hand it wasn’t completely unexpected. Actually, it was surprisingly nice, her palms, so much smaller than his, warm, smooth, with some faint calluses that spoke of hard work.

  Her gaze shifted slightly, unfocussed as though seeing something else, and when she spoke her tone dropped, going huskier, sliding along his senses like warm honey as she took several steps forward until the warmth of her body and the faint flowery scent permeated his senses. Mere inches separated them. Tilting her head back so her gaze stayed on his, her faraway expression remained. “I’m sorry you lost your cat.”

  “I don’t have one,” he replied calmly.

  “You did. When you were a teenager. You missed him when he died.”

  Now that was unexpected. How had she found that out?

  “You should do it, you know.” Her gaze cleared, sharpened, focussed on his once more.

  “Do it?”

  “Get the cat. The ginger one.”

  Well, hello. His gaze intensified in turn, slid over the beautiful features before narrowing in on her eyes once more. “Should I?”

  “In fact…” She smiled slightly. “A ginger cat will cross your path very soon.” As sudden as it appeared, her smile vanished. “No, not the ginger. The cat you should get is the grey tabby. Yes.” With a nod she stepped back and released his hand. “Get the grey tabby, Mr Wells. You won’t be sorry.”

  Grey tabby? Now how the hell had she done that?

  Outwardly calm, inwardly curious, Aaron studied her , trying to place if he’d seen her somewhere, anywhere. There was an explanation for what she’d said, what she’d revealed, how she’d known what he’d thought that day.

  What he didn’t like was the fact that she knew something he didn’t - how she’d done it. That was a secret he meant to ferret out, and soon.

  Luke stared at him. “Oh man! You did. You really did.”

  Aaron glanced at him.

  “You’ve been thinking of getting a cat!”

  “Don’t go too far out on that limb, Luke. You’ll fall off.”

  “You’re not denying it!”

  “Or I’ll just push you off,” Aaron added mildly.

  “Man oh man!” Delighted, Luke prodded him in the chest with a forefinger. “Stella read you! She is a mind reader!”

  “Clairvoyant,” she corrected without batting an eyelid. Turning to Elspeth, she murmured, “If you’ll excuse me?”

  “Of course.” Elspeth stepped aside.

  With a gentle smile, Stella moved past.

  As she drew level, Aaron was unable to miss her triumphant glance.

  Oh yes, there was no denying it. Stella Donahue - medium, psychic, clairvoyant, fake - had played a trump card. But she didn’t know him that well.

  He let her take several steps before swinging to move up behind her, catching her arm to pull her firmly but unobtrusively to a stop, stepping up close, so very close, his chest to her back, his thighs nudging behind hers, letting her feel his heat, his presence, the solidness of his body.

  She stilled, didn’t pull away. She wasn’t a woman who liked to draw attention to herself unless it was on her terms, and then it was calculated, quiet, and guarded.

  Placing his lips to her ear, he let his breath play around the soft tendrils of hair covering it before stating softly, “Touché, Miss Winters.”

  If he hadn’t been pressed against her body he’d never have noticed the stiffening of her spine. It was her only betrayal of alarm.

  Turning her head slightly, her cheek brushing his lips, she looked at him from the corner of her eye. “It’s Donahue.”

  Voice pitched for her ears alone, his lips caressed that oh, so soft cheek. “You can fool everyone else, Shea Winters, but you can’t fool me.”

  For several seconds they stood still, a couple amongst the swirl of colourful gowns, dark suits and babbling voices, a bubble of intensity surrounding them, cutting them off from everything but an awareness of each other.

  And the secret that lay bare between them.

  “You are mistaken,” she finally said and walked away.

  He allowed it, his hand falling from her arm as he straightened to watch her walk into the crowd, swallowed from view by the people who fell back to cover her trail between them.

  She might have been gone but he could still feel her - that curvy bottom against his groin, the warmth of her back against his chest, the silky hair that had clung to his chin, the smoothness of her skin against his lips.

  It was a shame she was a scammer. If she hadn’t been he might have been interested in pursuing her, taking her out on a date, getting to know her.

  Rolling her naked beneath him and sinking into all that lush, flowery-scented softness.

  But scammers didn’t rate highly on his radar.

  “Well shit.” Luke appeared by his side. “What was that about?”

  “Work,” Aaron replied briefly.

  “I thought you were trying it on with her then.”

  Without answering, he switched his attention to the job at hand, his gaze moving around the room to spot his security team as they circulated watchfully among the guests.

  “I never knew you to chase after a sheila.” Luke elbowed him in the side.

  “I chased after you.” When you were a tearaway kid.

  “What the hell? I’m not a female!”

  “Sure.” Aaron started to move off.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Luke demanded. “Did he mean something by that? He meant something by that! What did he mean by that?”

  “He’s just teasing you, sweetie,” Elspeth said soothingly.

  God love him, Luke was so easy.

  All thoughts of Shea Winters pushed to the back of his mind, Aaron continued with the job, doing it the way he did everything - with single-minded determination.

  Shea Winters could wait for now. He’d get to her.

  ~*~

  He knows who I am.

  Heart beating faster, Shea walked to a window on the far side of the room and slid behind the heavy, sheltering drapes that hid her from view. Only then did she lean back against the wood-panelled wall to whisper shakily, “Damn. Damn damn damn.”

  “Stay cool,” Cole’s voice advised through the tiny communicator in her ear.

  “Okay.” Wary of smearing the make-up, Shea resisted the temptation to run a hand down her face. “Okay, he might recognise my name but he can’t know for sure.”

  “He knows,” Cole stated. “He’s well-known for being thorough.”

  “Damn it. Then he knows everything.”

  “Don’t stress. He’s hired to ensure the safety of people, not to expose you, otherwise he’d have done it long before now and you wouldn’t have made it into the mansion.”

  “Okay.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Right.”

  “Shea,” her brother said, “get it together.”

  “I’ve got it together,” she snapped back.

  Silence greeted this.

  Crap on a stick. She didn’t have it together. Hells bells, she could still feel him behind her, a solid presence that was a silent threat.

  But he hadn’t given her away, right? He’d known who she was, hadn’t called her out in public. All she had to do was play the game, keep cool, continue onwards with the plan.

  Yeah. Keep playing the game or everything she and Cole had gone through would be for nothing. They had a life now, some money, a future of sorts, and that scary Wells man was not going to yank the rug out from under her feet.

  Not now.

  “You’re right,” she agreed softly. “It’s cool, it’s all cool. No worries.”

  “Got it together?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Good. Game face, sis. You need to get through this evening. It’s a cinch, you’ve done it before.”


  Taking another deep breath, she nodded even though he couldn’t see her.

  “Now act cool. Act like a medium.”

  “Huh?” What was her brother on about?

  “Whatever you do, keep your composure. Now look as though you’re listening to your spirit guides.”

  Alarmed, she resisted the urge to spin around, instead linking her hands together before her in an automatic pose, lowering her head to hide her face, her lips moving slightly as she whispered, “Come forward, Spirit…”

  “Wells Security,” Cole said. “Top security. He’ll have a camera in every room, and every camera will be monitored. Someone will see you talking.”

  “How? I’m behind a curtain against a wall.”

  “Doesn’t matter, we can’t risk it. Play the game.”

  He was right, she couldn’t risk betraying their ploy.

  Lifting her head, she unfocussed her eyes, angling her head slightly to the side as though listening to something before nodding in understanding and, with a sweep of her hand, she pushed the curtain aside and stepped back out - right into the path of a woman in a long, dark blue gown, a bright smile and the alert eyes of a security guard who was much more than a simple guard.

  There was no denying it, she wasn’t surprised when Shea appeared from behind the curtain. The woman had known she was there the whole time. One of Aaron Wells’s security guards, no doubt. Oh, she might look like a pretty socialite but Shea wasn’t fooled. She’d trained long and hard to recognise people - their stances, their airs, the way they held themselves and reacted - that she wasn’t fooled by the woman’s little jerk of startlement. But nice try, lady.

  “Sorry.” Shea smiled. “When the Spirit calls…” Trailing the sentence off, she walked away.

  Sometimes sounding like a half distracted idiot was the only way to go.

  The rest of the evening she floated amongst the crowd, talking, laughing softly, ensuring she passed close to those she suspected were on the list for tonight’s reading. Elspeth might have kept the list secret as Shea had instructed but it wasn’t hard to pick out those on it. A snatch of word here, a word there, a look of suppressed excitement. The whisper between two older women, the covert glances thrown at the clock. The way one man leaned toward her as she passed, his comment of ‘later’ to his partner.