I figured it was likely, with my warning the other night, the Sebring brothers were closing ranks.
I was a source of information.
I’d bought that by calling him. I knew I shouldn’t do it, but I did.
Now I had to disabuse them of that notion.
On a sigh that I emitted to hide the hard beating of my heart I felt certain could actually be heard, I threw back the covers. With a glance at the clock, I saw it was nearly five in the morning. I was in a nightgown and I had company.
With this in mind, calmly, like I had all the time in the world, with Sylvie’s eyes on me, I went to my bathroom and grabbed my robe. Shrugging the taupe silk up my shoulders, I cinched the belt as I walked back through my bedroom toward the hall where Sylvie was still standing.
She said nothing and didn’t twitch, not even her expression, as I walked into the hall.
I saw light coming from the family room where my television was.
I headed that way.
It was good I made the trek bracing, even as my heart was racing, my skin tingling, my palms itching, for when I got to that room, it was filled with men.
Raid Miller, I knew.
Why he was there, I didn’t know, though I did know he was tight with the Sebrings.
To my shock, even if he’d disappeared from the world where I lived and had been gone for years, the hunter known as Ghost was also there.
As was, of course, Knight Sebring.
And one other man.
For my peace of mind (what there was of it), I was delighted (at the same time, I had to admit, crestfallen) that that man was not Nick.
He was a big bear of a man with blue eyes, brown hair and a frightening scar marring his otherwise overall masculine beauty. A scar that led into his hair causing a streak of white through the brown.
I entered the room feeling Sylvie move in behind me.
Two lamps were on, set dimmed. The curtains were closed, blocking even the little light from the lamps from shining out.
And my television was blue screen.
I stopped in the middle of the room, three feet behind the back of my couch, all eyes on me.
My attention was on Knight Sebring.
Handsome, very.
But not like Nick.
There was hard behind Knight’s eyes. Life lived that scarred him in a way that would never leave. He might give it to his girls, where it was safe to allow it to show, but right then there was no light in his eyes. Not like the pure blue light Nick could shine on me.
Light that, if it hadn’t been a lie, would have been beautiful.
“Can you explain what’s happening?” I asked Knight.
“Delivering a message,” he repeated what he’d said earlier.
Before I could ask for more information, he lifted his hand toward the TV, a hand that had my remote in it.
“You get the message, what’s next is up to you,” he finished just as music filled the room.