“Of course not,” Julia agreed. “You were children.”
He nodded. “I think that’s why she and Daniel got close. His father was my mom’s brother. So, they were over here a lot and Daniel was an only kid. His mother died of cancer when he was young and his father—my uncle—never remarried. When I would run off with Dev and Gabe, tagging after them really . . .” He stopped, laughing under his breath. “Maddie was always left behind with Daniel since he’s about a year younger than us.”
Julia moved to one of the wicker chairs by the door and sat. The fading sunlight glanced over her cheekbones as she tilted her head back, watching him.
He drew in a deep breath. “Anyway, they were always getting into trouble. Breaking stuff. Roaming off without telling anyone. Those kinds of things. A couple of times they ran off together and had everyone panicked.” Idly rubbing his jaw, he easily recalled those times when he and his brothers would spend hours searching the two down. “Some of that continued when we were teens. Our father didn’t care about any of it, but our mother really began to have a problem with it.”
Her brows puckered. “But why? It sounds like it was just normal kids’ stuff.”
“It was, for the most part it was. I mean, believe it or not, it wasn’t me who handed Maddie her first beer or joint. Wasn’t even her friends. It was Daniel. So, of course, Mom would get pissed over that.” A faint smile tugged at his mouth. “But it was when, hell, about six months before Maddie disappeared and Mom . . . well, you know what happened to her, that Daniel was banned from the house. He and Maddie ran off again, and Maddie missed a shit ton of school. Somehow the two of them made it all the way to Florida.”
Lucian shook his head. “I can’t even remember why they did it, but things weren’t very . . . warm here. By that time, Dev and Gabe were at college and it was just Maddie and me.” Lowering his chin, he closed his eyes. “Dev and Gabe made distracting our father a freaking art form and with them gone, there really was nothing standing between him and us. Not even our mother.”
“You all didn’t go to a private school?” she asked.
“We did, but it was local. We were home every evening and on the weekends. We didn’t board there like the rest of the students did.”
Julia was quiet, and when he opened his eyes and looked at her, he found her watching him. Their gazes connected, and he found that he couldn’t look away. Really didn’t want to.
God, she was beautiful. Did she realize that? Sitting there wearing those plain blue scrubs and hair twisted up in a knot, she was more stunning than any number of the fancy-dressed women who prowled the Red Stallion.
Thick lashes lowered, breaking their gaze. She cleared her throat. “So, I guess Daniel was seen as a bad influence?”
“Yeah. When Maddie disappeared after our mother died, we all thought she couldn’t deal and ran off with him. He denied it of course, and I might’ve . . . been a little rough when I didn’t believe him.”
“Really?” she replied dryly.
Lips pursed, he dipped his chin as he rubbed at his jaw. “It’s just that . . . even when we were younger and Daniel was around, Maddie and I still were close, but once we hit the teens, there was this gap between us that just wasn’t there before. I don’t know. All of that is probably normal.” He dropped his hand. “Anyway, Daniel hasn’t been the greatest influence.”
“But if he can help Madeline get better, it may be best to let go of how they behaved when they were teens?” she suggested. “It might really help her.”
Maybe it would. What did he know at this point? The only thing he’d succeeded at was getting Maddie to sit up on her own.
Julia leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “There’s something else Daniel said to me. I don’t even know if I should tell you this, because I do think that he can help Maddie, but I feel like I need to, because, well, I just do.” She drew in a shallow breath. “Daniel—”
“Warned you about us? Said we were bad or dangerous?” he finished for her since it looked like she’d rather not continue.
Julia snapped her mouth shut. “Actually, yeah, something like that.”
He chuckled humorlessly. “Like I said, I really didn’t get along with Daniel. Neither did my brothers. He’s family and I know he cares about Maddie, but he’s about as useful as a convertible in a tornado. He’s not the brightest guy out there and over the last couple of years, he blew through his inheritance that his father left him.”
She straightened. “His father is gone too?”
“Died about seven years ago. Multiple organ failure,” he explained. “Our father has loaned him money over the years, because again, he’s family, but when that stopped about six months ago, let’s just say Daniel went on a smear campaign to end all campaigns.”
“Wow,” she murmured. “Your family is . . . complicated.”
“That’s putting it nicely.” He smiled when he saw the grin appear on her lips. “I’ll think about letting Daniel come over. Dev will hate it, but he’ll have to deal with it.”
“I think it would help.” She glanced into the room. Maddie was still painting. He had no idea what she was working on. It was just reds and browns to him with what appeared to be a random set of eyes. “I . . . know you’re not a fan of your father, but I’m sorry the memorial service was interrupted.”
He started to tell her it was actually a blessing, but when he opened his mouth, he was without words for once in his life. He could joke all he wanted, but fuck, none of that changed what had happened today or what would come tomorrow.
What Troy had told them at the service lingered in the back of his thoughts. The worry for his sister and what was to come was like battery acid eating through his veins.
Lucian had a feeling they weren’t going to be able to keep Maddie’s reappearance a secret much longer, and when it got out, people would start looking at time lines. They’d start thinking the same thing he knew Dev and their uncle thought.
“Lucian?” she called quietly.
Dragging himself out of his thoughts, he smiled at her. “Hmm?”
Her gaze searched his. “You okay?”
A nearly overwhelming need to tell her what was on his mind slammed into him with the force of a speeding bullet. That was bizarre as hell. “Yeah. Just a long day.”
Julia studied him for a moment and then scooted to the edge of her seat. “Understandable. Well, I better get back in there.” She rose and took a step forward. “I’m sure—”
Lucian had no idea what happened.
One second she was standing and the next she was falling. He shot forward, easily catching her by the arms before she smacked her head on something else. “Whoa,” he said with a quiet laugh, looking down at the top of the neat little knot of hair. “You okay?”
“Oh my Lord,” she said, lifting her head. “I legit just tripped over my own feet.” Pink splashed across her cheeks. “That really just happened.”
A grin tugged at his lips as he straightened her. At least, that’s how it started. He was setting her on his feet, but the next thing he knew, he’d pulled her to him, against him. He held her close by the arms—close enough that her breasts were pressed against him and he could feel her sharp inhale.
Damn.
Lucian swallowed a groan as his body responded to all the softness pressed against him. He hardened in a second, almost painfully aroused with a near irrational need to have her, to claim her, and damn if he’d never felt that before. It was insane. He could have anyone. Walk out of this house or make a quick phone call, and any number of women would be ready for him. But he was obsessed with the one who resisted him. Selfish. He was irrevocably selfish, but he couldn’t help himself.
Julia stiffened against him, her eyes flaring wide, and he tracked that pink on her face, watching it deepen. He waited for her to pull away and shoot him the look that would shrivel the balls of most men. Or punch him. Because there had already been many times where she looked like she was seco
nds from socking him in the stomach or somewhere worse. If he remembered correctly, she’d even mentioned punching him in the throat at some point.
But she . . . Julia relaxed.
Hell.
Her body melted into his like warm butter on his tongue, and the damn world around him ceased to exist. Every cell in his body zeroed in on her. Damn it, he wanted her right now. Strip off those thin blue pants and get her against the wall. Or take her like he had in the apartment. Have her grip the railing as he lost himself in every wonderful inch of her body.
Lucian wouldn’t even care who could see them.
But first he wanted to taste her mouth. He didn’t know what her mouth felt like against his, how her—
Yanking free from his grip, Julia smoothed her hands down her thighs as she stumbled back a step. He reached for her, fearing she may topple right over, but she skirted his reach. “I have to go,” she said, and then all but darted back into Madeline’s room, closing the door behind her.
Instinct demanded that he go after her, but he fought it down as he closed his eyes, focusing on deep and even breaths. It was a long, long time before he could move from where he stood. Before he could trust himself not to go to her—not to show her just how not okay he really was.
Chapter 16
Julia had no idea what Madeline had painted on the second sheet of paper. It was a lot like the first one, a mixture of browns and crimsons mingled in with what reminded her of a flesh tone. There was another set of eyes. Just like with the first one.
Julia was no artist and she often didn’t get the artistic value of most artwork, but the floating eyeballs were a little creepy.
Smothering a yawn, she rose from the stool. “Be right back.”
Madeline didn’t respond as Julia picked up the pan and cleaning supplies she’d used earlier. Carrying the items into the bathroom, she set about washing the pan out. Once clean, she placed it down in the tub to dry out. The towels went into a small hamper by the door. Another yawn crept up her throat as she wiped down the bathroom counter.
She’d gotten maybe three hours of sleep last night. She hadn’t heard any mysterious footsteps, thank the Lord. Her brain just wouldn’t shut down after everything that had happened yesterday—hell, the last couple of days.
Her hand stilled, causing the damp cloth to bunch under her palm as she glanced out into the bedroom. What could’ve been the source of the footsteps the night before last? It had to be one of the other brothers or maybe her imagination, but it couldn’t be what Lucian suggested. Ghosts? That was just . . . insane. As ridiculous as Lucian himself.
Though, he did make a great cup of tea.
She’d probably needed that last night.
When she wasn’t thinking about the weird footsteps, she was turning over everything the cousin Daniel had said and how Madeline reacted to him. She really hoped that Lucian would consider allowing him to visit despite their issues.
It couldn’t hurt.
Daniel wasn’t the only thing she’d lain awake thinking about. That damn infuriating grin of Lucian’s was firmly implanted in her head until she finally fell asleep.
He was . . . sweet Jesus, he was a handful and a half. She could easily understand how many women would toss common sense right out the window, along with their panties, when it came to him.
She almost had last night on the porch, outside of Madeline’s room. Her body had practically gone haywire on her. She had been seconds away from closing her eyes and tilting her head back just far enough to allow him to kiss her.
Absolutely ridiculous.
She knew better than to even allow herself to be wooed into that position where she had been seriously considering being all kinds of reckless. He just had that . . . that way about him.
But there was something else she saw in him yesterday. In the short period of time that she’d known Lucian, he gave off this laid-back persona, a rich playboy without a care in the world except for his sister. He was charming and downright devious in his teasing. He was a silver-tongued devil when it came to words, but she saw the crack in the façade. She’d seen the shadows lingering behind the smooth words and easy grin.
He was stressed out, and who could blame him for that? No matter how comfy this man’s life had been, he was dealing with a lot of stuff, and that caretaker part of her, the almost idiotic need to offer comfort, had wanted to seek him out last night and do just that.
And that’s why she basically face-planted the pillow all night.
Sighing, she draped the small towel out over the faucet and then walked back into the room. She sat in the chair beside the bed, chewing on her lip as she scanned Madeline. The woman was intently focused on her painting. This morning, Julia did a check. No fever. Her pulse was a little slow and her blood pressure was low, but that could be normal for her or a byproduct of lack of movement, but other than that? There were no signs of severe underlying health issues. Atrophy hadn’t begun to set into her muscles. Her skin wasn’t sallow or ruddy, just pale.
Julia leaned forward, plopping her elbow on her knee and resting her chin on her palm. “What happened to you?”
There was no answer.
The woman’s gaze was fixed on her painting. What did she know about Madeline? She was rebellious as a child and teen. Was super close to her twin until they became teens, becoming closer to her cousin Daniel. Madeline obviously wasn’t close to her other brothers, not before her disappearance or when she returned. She’d disappeared the same night her mother had died. That was nearly ten years ago. Had the death affected her so severely that it made her vulnerable to some predator? Or had the death triggered a hidden mental illness? From what Lucian had said the night he told her about his family, it sounded like there was a thread of mental illness in the family, and in a lot of the cases, certain diseases could be hereditary. It could be a mix of both things.
But someone had to have taken care of her while she’d been missing. That didn’t mean they weren’t also taking advantage of her. So who had her? How did she escape? Or had she?
So many questions.
Her phone rang, jarring her out of her thoughts. Thinking it was Anna since her friend had texted last night saying she’d call today, she rose and walked over to where her phone was. She picked it up, and her stomach sank.
Pressure clamped down on her chest when she saw the area code and exchange. It was familiar, too familiar, and definitely not Anna’s, whose number was saved. Turning to the porch doors, she hit the button to send the call to voice mail. She stood there for several moments, hoping her suspicions weren’t correct. Because there was no way they could be. She’d finally changed her number after the last time he’d called. Her parents wouldn’t have given it to him.
Only a handful of moments later, a text came through and it was just four words. Four words she didn’t want to see.
It’s Adam. Call me.
“Damn it,” she muttered. Closing her eyes, she squeezed the phone tight until her knuckles ached. Damn. Damn. Damn.
Someone had given him the number or somehow he’d figured it out, which wasn’t surprising considering what he did for a living. He likely now knew she was no longer in Pennsylvania.
There was no way she was responding.
But did not responding help matters? Avoiding him in the past never really seemed to work. Not long-term. But why did she even have to deal with this? Not a single part of her wanted to.
Opening her eyes, she quickly deleted the text and started to put the phone down when it rang again, from the same number as before.
Adam.
“Jesus,” she muttered, silencing the call again. This was not happening—
“Is everything okay?”
Yelping at the close sound of Lucian’s voice, she spun around and gasped. He was only a few feet behind her. Holy crap, how could he not make a sound when he was that big?
Her gaze roamed over him.
And how could he look so good when he’d obvious
ly just showered? His hair was damp and a darker shade than when it was dry. The light gray cotton shirt he wore clung to his chest and lower abs, hinting at the taut muscles below. It appeared as if he had taken a shower, grown bored with drying off and pulled on clothes, then came straight up here.
“Oh my God,” she said. “Are you part ghost?”
“Maybe.” He was staring at the phone she held, brows furrowed together. “Is everything okay?” he repeated.
“Yes.” She brought the phone to her chest, screen down. Her heart thudded unevenly. “Of course.”
“You sure of that?”
Julia forced a light laugh. “Why would I—”
The phone rang again, the sound muffled only a little by her breasts. It was official. God hated her.
He raised a brow. “You going to answer that?”
Pressing her lips together, she shook her head as she slid her finger along the side and silenced the call. While she was at it, she turned the ringer off.
“And why not?”
“I’m working, which means I shouldn’t be on the phone.”
Lucian tilted his head to the side. “You’re allowed to answer the phone and talk on it.”
Of course she was, but that really wasn’t the point.
His gaze flicked up and moved over her face. “Is there a reason why you don’t want to answer the phone?”
She didn’t know what exactly caused her to snap back. Maybe it was the fact that Adam somehow had gotten her phone number. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. She had no idea. “I really don’t think that’s any of your business.”
One side of his lips kicked up. “Hmm . . . Now that response makes me think there really is a reason why you don’t want to answer the phone.”
“Whether there’s a reason or not, it doesn’t matter.” Keeping the phone in her hand, she folded her arms. Her chin lifted.
“I like the outfit by the way.”
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