Everyone nodded in agreement.
As we neared, Julian opened the front door and walked onto the veranda. “Sounds like you had quite an adventure today,” he called. “Sorry to have missed it. I had business that couldn’t wait. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“We had a good day,” I answered. “And of course we forgive you. We were happy to find our friend Danny, so it was a productive day.” I knew no one had divulged any details to Julian about what had transpired with Danny’s rescue.
“It seems he took a little dip in the Arno River,” Julian replied. “I can’t wait to hear the details.” Even from this distance, I could see the hard look in Julian’s eyes. He didn’t appreciate being left out when things were happening on his turf.
We’re going to have to give him some details, I said to Rourke. He’s an Alpha, he can scent a lie. He won’t be content with half a story.
Let me take the lead, Rourke replied. He doesn’t respect you, or your power. Hostile energy radiates from him. If I give him the story and tell him that’s that, it will be done.
Fine with me, I answered. But with Julian, I don’t think it will ever be done.
15
We were all seated around the big kitchen table once again. We’d just finished a late afternoon meal of pasta and fresh vegetables prepared by Lucas. It’d been utterly delicious. My father’s plane was about to land in less than an hour, and we were heading out to the landing strip soon.
Ray was prowling the grounds somewhere, and Eudoxia was gone. Otherwise, we were all accounted for. During the meal, we’d stayed away from any big topics, keeping the conversation light. Julian hadn’t pressed us yet for Danny’s rescue story, which was fine by me.
Marcy’s chair scraped over the tile floor as she stood. “If you’ll all excuse me, I’m going to head upstairs and change before we go.” She inclined her head at me. “Julian was kind enough to get us all some toiletries and some new clothes when he noticed we hadn’t brought much luggage.”
Some days, I wished I had an internal connection with Marcy. Other days, I was as happy as a clam that we didn’t. Having her in my head would’ve driven me slowly insane, but it would’ve been completely useful right about now.
Her voice had come out even, but there was something she wanted me to see. I nodded along with her. “Changing might be a good idea,” I agreed as I stood. “I’ve been in these clothes for days.” I addressed Julian, who sat at the head of the table. “It was incredibly nice of you to think of us. Buying supplies hadn’t even entered my mind today.” My gaze settled on Kayla, who was the only other woman in the room. “Would you like to join us?”
“Sure,” she said, pushing her chair back.
“If you’ll excuse us, we’ll go freshen up,” I told the assembled group. “We’ll meet you guys on the terrace in a few minutes, then we can head over to meet my father’s plane.”
Julian rose, walking around the table. “Take your time,” he said. “The plane won’t land for another forty minutes. The wolves and I”—he glanced over his shoulder at my team—“will have a cigar on the veranda while we wait. I am still eager to hear how you ran into your friend today.” His voice held an unmistakable order.
He was done waiting.
“No problem,” I said. “We’ll only be a few minutes. The guys can fill you in on some of it while you wait.” As I turned and walked away, I said to Rourke, I’ll let you know what happens. Marcy’s either found something, or she has something to tell me. We won’t be long.
I knew Rourke would handle it, but alerting Julian to exactly what was going on would open a lot of questions. Ones we weren’t able to answer. It would piss him off to be kept in the dark, but there was nothing that could be done.
Kayla and I followed Marcy up the right side of the massive curved stairway. It was crafted of white marble, totally ornate and gorgeous, with a wrought-iron banister. Marcy made a beeline toward a room near the end of the right wing. Eudoxia’s room had been on the left.
I was about to say something, but she turned, bringing a single finger up to her lips. She shook her head as she slowly opened the door, motioning for us to follow her into the room. I wasn’t moving fast enough, so she hooked her hand under my elbow and, with surprising strength, yanked me the rest of the way in, shutting the door firmly behind us. I gave an unladylike, “Ooof,” as I stumbled. “You don’t have to be so—”
She glared at me, effectively silencing me.
Then she smiled sweetly at Kayla, who hadn’t said a word. She began to walk around the room, arms animated, making small talk. “Isn’t it gorgeous here? This is my room with James. You and Rourke are next door on the end, and Kayla and Tyler are across the hall.” My eyes darted to Kayla, who blushed and bowed her head, but didn’t deny she was sharing a room with my brother. Marcy picked up a pair of jeans and a white blouse that had been neatly folded on a massive king-size bed and began to disrobe. “There are so many new smells here in Italy.” She arched an eyebrow at me. “The scents are only a little like home.” She donned the pants quickly. “Don’t you think?”
My wolf was already processing the air as I began to pace. It wasn’t until I reached the closet that I picked up on something. My head shot to Marcy.
She grinned and nodded, tapping her finger to her temple.
Angie had been here.
I opened the closet door, announcing in a singsong voice, “Oh, good, they have robes here.” It was an asinine thing to say, but I had to fill the void. Small talk had never been my specialty.
It seemed Angie had spelled the room to get rid of her scent, but had forgotten the closet and that smells tended to permeate spaces. Her signature lingered in the corners as I moved the hangers around to inspect it further.
This meant only one thing.
Ceres and Julian were together in some aspect, and Ceres had likely sent her sister here to keep tabs on us, like James had thought originally, with Julian’s permission.