that wasn't surprising.
One thing a lot of the houses in Lusty had in common was better-than-average soundproofing.
Once downstairs, he made himself a cup of coffee. You can take the boy out of Manhattan, but I guess some of that New York glam sticks. He never thought he'd prefer a fancy, single-cup coffee brewer over his trusty old percolator, but damned if this fancy machine didn't make the best coffee he'd ever tasted.
"Good thing caffeine doesn't keep us awake at night."
Brian came into the kitchen and popped a pod into the coffee machine. Less than a minute later he had his steaming cup in hand.
Chase grunted, then sat at the table and took a sip of the brew. "I imagine it might begin to, someday, when we're older."
"Huh. Guess we'll have to decide, when the time comes, if sleep is really worth the sacrifice of late-night coffee."
Chase grinned. Then he set took a seat at the table. "I'm going to head into town in the morning, after Carrie goes to work, and have a chat with Adam and Matt."
"You're thinking about that bastard who attacked our woman when she was barely more than a kid, aren't you?"
"Damn straight. I didn't want to say anything to her. She clearly isn't worried about him at this point. Hell, as far as our Carrie is concerned, that bastard is in the past. But I did the math. Asshole might already be out of jail."
"Fuck, you're right. I wasn't thinking."
Chase saw reflected on his brother's face the same disgust he felt.
"Yeah," Brian said, "best if Adam gets a line on him, pronto."
"We have the bastard's name - George Lockwood - and the city - Abilene. With Adam's connections, it shouldn't be hard for him to put a trace on the man. Find out if he's still in the system."
"If necessary, we'll get a PI on him. There's that outfit that Adam and Jake had watching out for Maggie, when she was still in New Jersey."
Chase nodded. He and his brother were definitely on the same page. "I want to know where that bastard is, and I want to know what he's doing. He raped another woman after Carrie got away from him? What does that sound like to you, Bri?"
"It sounds like someone who had a temper tantrum because his toy was taken away from him."
"Exactly. Not too difficult to understand the prick had some kind of obsession going." Chase narrowed his eyes. "Carrie said he thought she was his gift from God. I don't care how fucking long that sicko was in jail, or how many gold stars he got for good behavior while he was there. I'm not trusting that he's rehabilitated."
"You think he'll come after her." The look on Brian's face told him his brother hadn't thought of this possibility, until just now.
Chase shrugged. He'd always been a bit more cynical than Brian had been. I guess that cynicism is a natural byproduct for a man when he gets jumped in a New York alley and nearly knifed to death. He reached up and stroked the tiny scar by his eye. "I think it's our job to take care and protect our woman against the possibility," Chase said.
Brian opened his mouth, but Chase held up his hand, and turned his head to the side, listening. He'd heard a small sound, the creak of the floorboard just above the stairs. As tired as she was, he didn't think their woman would have awakened. But she might have sensed she was alone in the bed and done just that.
Moments later a rumpled, sleepy-looking Carrie stood at the door to the kitchen. She sniffed, and then made her way over, and when he opened his arms to her, she crawled into Chase's lap.
She'd obviously rooted around and pulled on a fresh T-shirt from one of the drawers, which meant she was awake enough to remember the three of them weren't alone in the house.
Carrie reached out, snagged Brian's coffee cup, and took a sip. Handing it back to his brother, she reached for his and tasted it. Carrie wrinkled her nose. "I like Brian's better. Yours is too strong."
Brian chuckled and Chase grinned. "Oh, really?" Chase put as much pout as he could muster into that.
"I was talking about coffee. Sheesh. The world doesn't revolve around your cocks, you know."
Brian raised his cup to his lips and grinned. "That's not what you were saying an hour ago, darlin'."
Carrie stuck her tongue out at him. The