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We pull into the long driveway that leads to his garage. The house is alight. His team’s awake.
I want to sleep. I was exhaustedbeforeall this, and now I’m at the point of no return. I’m so tired I could cry.
I open the door and shiver with a gust of night wind. I wrap my arms around myself and follow them both into the house.
It’s different tonight than it was earlier today. Tonight, even though it’s way past midnight, the place is teeming with people. Even Alma, his housekeeper, is in the kitchen in her robe, putting a kettle on the stove.
“Good evening,” she says to me pleasantly. “Tea? Coffee?”
“Tea would be great, thank you.”
In the kitchen, right up next to the counter, are large, padded, spindle chairs. They’re so fun, they make me want to play music on a jukebox and wear a poodle skirt. But right now, every one of them is occupied by one of Cain’s employees.
A bowl of popcorn, nothing left but kernels, sits on one side of the counter, and on the other, there’s a large platter of cheese and a fruit tray pretty well picked over beside empty pizza boxes and energy drink empties. Laptops and notebooks are scattered about, and in one corner of the room, a series of monitors are set up.
Cain grabs a mug. Strange he doesn’t let his house help get it.
Something’s changed between us. Something… shifted… from the very first moment his lips touched my skin back in my apartment.
Hell, it was before that.
From the very first time I stared into his eyes after he’d ended a man’s life.
“How do you take your tea?”
“Dash of milk, please.”
He places it in front of me while the milk still swirls, and I sip. It’s so hot it scalds the roof of my mouth, but somehowit’s exactly what I need right now. I wrap my hands around the ceramic mug, the heat of it warming me through. One small comfort on a day fraught with violence.
Cain clears his throat. The room stills.
“For those who haven’t met her yet, this is Violet Price, a new contractor who will be working for Master Enterprises in the short-term. Violet’s skilled in kickboxing and knife throwing, speaks multiple languages, and will be a valuable asset to our team.”
I look around the small group. The man who hit my car last night isn’t here.
A few of them murmur greetings and some nod to me.
“Violet and I are in pursuit of someone we believe kidnapped my sister. We have reason to believe the man’s a serial rapist who intends on abusing, possibly even fatally hurting, Skylar and that the same person has hinted at coming after her next. Tonight, she had an intruder in her apartment. She’ll be here indefinitely, while we search for Skylar.”
I take another sip of tea, not quite as hot now as it was before.
“Violet, are you in a position where you are ready to talk?” Cain gives me a curious look. I don’t know what he means. Why wouldn’t I be in a position to talk?
I look at him in surprise, as I finish my mug of tea and place it on the counter. His housekeeper scoops it up with a smile and stashes it in the dishwasher before I’ve put my hand back in my lap.
Okay, I could totally see why having a housekeeper is a good thing.
“What do you mean?”
He crosses the room to me, all fluid grace and muscle despite his bulk, and leans across the counter on his arm, speaking in a low rumble. “You okay? Or do you need some time to yourself?”
“I’m fine,” I lie, my voice distant while my heart beats a thunderous beat in my chest. I can handle his arrogance and anger, but concern… now that’s another story.
He nods. “Then why don’t you fill us in.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Violet
