Page 53 of The Rebel Billionaire

"Do you want to start in the front hall or thelivingroom?"

I thought about it. It would be nice to have the front hall finished so when I walked in the door, I could see a clear sign of progress. On the other hand, we'd already started the mantle in the living room, so it felt like we should finishtherest.

"The living room," I said, making mychoice.

Lucas led the way and set his box down in front of the mantle. Taking out the equipment, he lay it on the floor in aneatrow.

"We're going to use this," he said, pointing to a rectangular metal box with a handle and a power cord, "to heat up the paint. Just hot enough so it bubbles up off the wood. Then we'll scrape it off and move on to the next section. It's still a pain in the ass, but it's much easier than using that paintstripper."

It didn't take long to work out a system, Lucas heating the paint and me coming behind him to scrape it off. The sight of raw wood emerging from beneath the paint scraper, inch after inch,thrilledme.

The house was shedding its past like an old skin, and I was making it happen. Well, I was part of making it happen. The first time I'd seen it, I'd known this place could bebeautiful.

It could be a home, filled with warmth and love, despite its state of disrepair and neglect. A few feet of baseboard weren’t much, but it was one more step to bringing the home back toitself.

Maybe, in the process, I was bringing me back to myself, too. I must have been more quiet than I realized as we worked because Lucas sensed somethingwasoff.

"Did you have a fight with your brother when you went home?" heasked.

"No," I saidslowly.

"Worried about what happened lastnight?"

I could take the easy way out and just say yes, but I wasn't really worried about the attack. If I hadn't had so much else on my mind, I probably would've been freaking out, but Lucas was right to sense mydistraction.

I hadn't known him very long, but I got the sense he wouldn't bother to ask what I was thinking if he didn't really want to know. And if he really wanted to know, he wasn't going to take a vagueanswer.

"Can I trust you?" Iasked.

Typically, Lucas's answer was honest, if not reassuring. "That depends. What do you want to trustmewith?"

"Asecret."

"About you? Or aboutsomeoneelse?"

"Both," I said. "I found something when I was at home. Aiden asked me not to tell anyone, but it's making me a little crazy. You're in the same line of work as Evers, right? You know how to keep yourmouthshut."

Lucas laughed. "Yeah, I know how to keep my mouth shut. And I'll keep your secret. What'sgoingon?"

I told him about the records I'd found, the adoption papers, the possibility that I had a cousin out there somewhere who didn't know he had afamily.

When I was done, Lucas said, "You know, whoever he is, this guy might not want to be found. Or, he could already know who he is. He could already know whoyouare."

"What are you saying?" I asked, afraid I knew exactly what he wasgettingat.

"The pictures? Someone jumping you in your front yard? I know you want to swoop in and find this guy and bring him into the fold. You're imagining a joyous reunion, and maybe that's what's going to happen, but just because the lot of you Winters are nice people doesn't mean this guy is. You don't know who raised him or what his life hasbeenlike."

"But that's why we have to find him," I said. "What if he needs a family and he doesn't knowwe'rehere?"

Lucas shook his head at me and put down the heater, flicking it off. He sat back on his heels and said gently, "Princess, you lost a big chunk of your family at a young age. It's natural to want to fill in the gaps. Maybe this guy is a good guy. I hope to hell he is when you find him. I'm just saying, becareful."

His words left me deflated. Lucas was right, and I was being naïve. I absolutely did not want to believe that my long-lost cousin had anything to do with the pictures being delivered or whoever jumped me in my yard. That would be too depressing forwords.

We fell silent again, working in harmony for another few feet of baseboard before I gave into my curiosity and said, "Will you tell me about theRaptorsnow?"

Lucas blew out a breath. "If you really want to know. It's not a prettystory."

"Tellme."