Alea’s eyes fluttered, and her shoulders dropped. “And you believe this is someone I know, someone I spend time with?”
There was no hint of emotion in Lawson’s eyes. “Yes. No idea who yet, but we’ll find out.”
Tal cursed and glared at Law. “Did you have to be quite so blunt?” Without waiting for an answer, he turned to Alea. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, looking drawn and still.
Straightening his tuxedo jacket, the sheikh cleared his throat, hiding a whole lot of pissed off. “Then I’m retiring back to the ballroom. I probably only have a few more hours of peace left. Once Piper finds out about this meeting, there will very likely be hell to pay. The good news is, she’s adorable when she’s mad. We’ll leave the cleanup to you three. After all, you wanted to be responsible for her. Be careful what you wish for.”
After Tal had gone, Alea swayed on her feet. Cooper moved across the room in a flash as her eyes closed and her body crumpled. He caught her just before she hit the floor and lifted her weight into his arms as if she was a precious burden. Dane and Lan stood right beside him, wearing matching expressions of concern.
This wasn’t how he’d pictured holding her for the first time. But no matter. He held her close now, even as her eyes fluttered open.
“Lea, you’re going to be okay.” Damn, was that his voice shaking?
“I think I’d like to go to my room, Cooper. Could you please take me?” She wasn’t fighting him. He’d expected her to struggle and tell him she could walk, but she let her arm drift up around his shoulders and she laid her head on his chest. She could probably hear his heart pounding.
“Absolutely.” He glanced back at his friends. “Someone get my med kit.”
Without waiting for Dane and Lan to answer, he started out the door. If someone was still after Alea, it was time to start putting her first.
Chapter Three
Alea dragged in a long breath as Cooper strode toward her private apartments. “I changed my mind. You can let me down now. I need to talk to those investigators and look at that report.”
She enjoyed being in his arms far too much. He made her feel delicate and feminine, loved and almost innocent. And it was all a lie.
“Not until I’ve examined you, Princess. You passed out.”
“I got woozy. I never lost consciousness.”
No, but that would have been nice. She’d been brutally aware of all of tonight’s events. Her cousins, whom she trusted more than anyone in the world, had hired investigators and not bothered to mention it to her. Coop and Dane had gone along with the plan to keep her in the dark. When had they planned to tell her that someone was out there waiting for another chance to send her back to hell?
Cooper used his foot to kick the door open. “You were about to hit the floor.”
Alea frowned. “Well, the dress is tight.”
She could barely breathe. Her evening gown hadn’t been designed for comfort. And now she was a little worried that if she tried to take a deep breath, her br**sts might peek or plop out.
“Then maybe you should get out of it, but I’m not leaving here until I know you’re all right.” His dark eyes were full of glittering determination.
He swept her through the living area and back toward her bedroom. He didn’t need to be pointed in the right direction. He, Dane, and Lan knew every square inch of this place because they were always watching over her. They did a sweep of her room every single night before she went to bed. One of them was always somewhere in the shadows, waiting to defend her.
And now it looked like she needed them more than she’d imagined. Some psycho had gone to a lot of trouble and expense to make her life hell and was probably waiting to do it again. God, that someone must truly hate her. The fact that it could be someone she knew boggled her mind. She tried to think of any obvious enemies she might have, but came up terribly blank.
“Alea? You went pale again.” He carried her to her bed and settled her on top of the silky, pale-gray comforter. His hand went straight to her forehead. “You’re hot.”
She wished he’d said that in a way that meant he found her attractive—and that she could believe. Unfortunately, Cooper Evans was an outrageous flirt. She couldn’t take anything he said seriously. And he’d only meant the words medically.
“It was stuffy in the ballroom.”
Cooper looked behind him. “Where the hell are they? I need my kit.”
“I’m not sick,” Alea insisted. “You don’t need to examine me.”
She struggled to sit up. She really did need to talk to those investigators since she’d only gotten a brief glimpse at the reports, and so much of what they’d said had been strained through the filter of her incredulity. Just thinking about what had happened in the past—what might happen again—her heart ratcheted up to a jackhammer’s pace.
Oh, god no.