"Really strange," Elena agreed. "I can't stop looking at you. I'm sorry if I'm staring."
"I feel the same way. I know you, and yet I don't."
"We were babies the last time we saw each other, three years old. It's no wonder it feels uncomfortable now."
"But it feels good, too," Julia said.
"Yes, it does. I've really missed having family," Elena confessed.
Julia wanted to say the same thing, but in all fairness she couldn't. She'd had a good family to grow up in. And another sister as well. She still didn't know how she would tell Liz about Elena. That wasn't a conversation she was looking forward to.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Elena asked, nodding toward the bedroom.
"What? You mean Alex?"
Elena smiled. "Of course I mean Alex. Who else would I mean?"
"Actually, I was engaged to someone else until a few days ago. My fiancé didn't want me to search for my real family. It turned out to be the last straw between us, and I'm glad now. I realized he wasn't the one for me."
"Because of Alex?"
"I didn't break up with him because of Alex," Julia prevaricated. "What about you? Any men in your life?"
"Not recently. I was engaged, too, a couple years ago, before my accident. He was a choreographer, a good one. He couldn't bear the thought that I'd never dance for him again. So he left. It hurt, but life goes on. I learned that lesson a long time ago."
Julia scooted forward on the couch, clasping her hands together. "I'm so sorry that your childhood wasn't happy. I wish we could have been together. It isn't fair that I grew up in a loving home and you didn't. I feel so guilty."
"It wasn't your fault. We should have been kept together, not hidden away from the world."
"For our protection, they say," Julia reminded her. Although she wasn't quite sure if that was the true reason or the convenient one. They'd become baggage, children no one wanted to be associated with. That's why they'd stuck Elena in a foster home. Julia was lucky, very lucky. Sarah had wanted her desperately enough to change her entire life and her past just to be able to take care of her. For the first time, she felt a lessening of her anger toward Sarah. At least she had been loved and taken care of. She needed to remember that and be thankful.
Alex returned to the room. "I reached my father. He'll have Brady trace the number. He thinks it's a bank account. He knew your parents made plans before the defection. Your mother had come to the U.S. a number of times with her ballet company. My father believes that she may have stashed away a great deal of money during those visits."
"So the treasure might be cash," Julia said.
"Might be," Alex agreed. "He'll call me back. I told him where we were. He said to stay put. Apparently your parents were planning to live here in DC, because your father was going to work with our intelligence agencies. That's how Elena ended up here. It was the initial drop point."
"You make me sound like a bottle of milk or a newspaper," Elena said with a touch of annoyance.
"Sorry. Those were his words, not mine."
"It would make sense that they'd come here so our father could work with the government," Julia interjected. "Does your dad think the account might be here in the city?"
"That's his guess. Or possibly New York," Alex replied. "Your mother made several trips there as well."
Julia's cell phone began to ring. She slipped it out of her purse and saw Liz's number. "It's my sister," she said, feeling awkward when she said it. "My other sister." She cleared her throat and answered the phone. "Hello."
"Hey, it's Liz. What's going on? I haven't heard from you in a while. Have you found out anything?"
"A couple of things," Julia said. "I don't want to get into it on the phone, though. I promise to tell you everything as soon as I get back."
"Get back? Where exactly are you, Julia?"
She hesitated, then said, "I'm in Washington DC."
"Why? What's there?"
"It's a long story."
"And you don't want to tell me. I get it. I just wanted to let you know that some guy was watching me on the docks this afternoon."
"What did he look like?" Julia asked, her pulse quickening.
"He was big and stocky, and he wore a baseball cap. He left as soon as he realized I'd seen him. Do you think he's the guy who burglarized our apartment?"
"I think he might be. Don't go back to our place, Liz, especially alone."
"I won't. Believe me, I'm not looking for trouble."
"I'll call you when I get home," Julia said. "In the meantime, be careful, Liz. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"I will. Is Alex still with you?"
"Yes."
Liz sighed. "You're crazy, Julia, but I guess everyone deserves to fall for a bad boy once in her life."
Julia wanted to say it wasn't like that, but how could she? She glanced at Alex, who was talking to Elena with a warm, interested look on his face. She wasn't falling in love with him. She was already there. After saying good-bye, she hung up the phone.
"Everything okay?" Alex asked.
"Liz said some guy was watching her. It sounded like the same man who was watching me at the radio station. I feel bad. I'm here. She's there. I don't want her to get hurt."
"Liz is your... sister?" Elena asked, tripping over the word sister.
"Yes. She's younger than me, just twenty-two. I've always taken care of her. She's really angry with me for getting involved in all this."
"Does she know about me?"
"I wanted to make sure I could find you first, so I haven't said anything yet."
Elena nodded, understanding in her eyes. "That will be difficult for you, won't it?"
"Probably."
Elena cleared her throat. "I need to go downstairs and check on Colin. You're welcome to stay here and wait for that call."
"Actually, I was thinking about food," Alex said. "And it will probably be hours before my father calls back."
"I'd love to see more of your shop," Julia put in. She exchanged a look with Alex and knew they were once again on the same page. She needed some time alone with her sister, and he was more than willing to give it to her.
"I'll get some takeout and bring it back," he said. "Any suggestions?"
Elena thought for a moment. "If you're adventurous, there's a great Thai restaurant around the corner."
"Oh, my God. You are my sister, " Julia said with a huge smile. "I love exotic food."
Elena grinned back at her. "So do I."
For the first time since they'd arrived, Julia felt optimistic and back on balance. "This is going to be good," she said, and she wasn't talking about the food.
* * *
It was almost midnight when Julia and Elena finally talked themselves out. While Elena went into the bedroom to undress, Julia helped Alex make up a bed on the couch. "Will you be all right out here?" she asked.
"I'd be better if you were with me." He gave her an intimate smile that reminded her how long it had been since she'd kissed him or touched him. "Come here," he said softly.
She cast a quick look over her shoulder. "Elena might see us."
"One kiss."
"It's never enough," she said with a sigh as she moved into his arms. His hands spanned her waist as he kissed her gently, tenderly, with only a hint of the passion they'd shared the night before. "That was awfully restrained," she complained.
"Believe me, if it wasn't, you'd be on your back right now and we'd give your sister the second shock of her life."
"Promises, promises," she said with a smile. She pressed another kiss on his lips. "Thanks for being so great today."
"I didn't do anything."
"Yes, you did. You supported me, and you didn't try to take over. You did good. I owe you."
"And I will collect," he promised. "I just hope my father calls tomorrow. I'd like to get that number resolved."
"I think he will. He wants to help you."
"To absolve his guilt, maybe.
Whatever the reason, I'll take it. The sooner we figure out the ending to this mystery, the better."
A twinge of pain ran through her at his words. As soon as the mystery was over, they would be over. To be fair, he probably hadn't meant it like that, but it was still true.
"Hey, what's that frown for?" He tipped up her chin with his finger.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about all the secrets, the lies, the constant surprises. I never know what will happen next."
"But that doesn't stop you from fighting on," Alex said, a note of admiration in his voice. "A lot of people would have quit or backed away by now, not wanting to risk losing everything they believed in. You're something else, Julia." He ran his fingers through her hair. "Beautiful, smart, and gutsy. Hell of a combination."
"Are you scared?" she asked, half-teasing, half-serious.
"Terrified," he said lightly. He kissed her again, then released her. "Go to bed, Julia, before I can't let you go."
"I'd stay, but—"
"But you two women need to bond. I get it. And believe me, I've had enough girl talk to last me awhile. I'm going to watch something macho on television and not think about anything else until tomorrow morning.
"Good night." Julia stole one last quick kiss before leaving. When she entered the bedroom, Elena was wearing a long T-shirt and sitting on the side of her queen-size bed. She was brushing out her hair, and Julia was struck once again by the resemblance between them.
"If you want to sleep with Alex, it's fine with me," Elena said, setting down her brush. She gave Julia a curious look. "I still don't understand exactly what your relationship is."
"I'm not sure, either," Julia admitted. "I'm afraid to analyze it too much, especially in the middle of everything else."
"But you like him."
"Oh, yeah, more than a little. But that seems crazy, too, because a few weeks ago I thought I was in love with someone else."
"What happened to the other guy? I know you said he was upset that you were searching for your family, but was that all of it?"
Julia sat down on the bed. "No. I told you that my mother, Sarah, died six months ago. Well, Michael was so great through her illness. For two years he was supportive, kind, caring—everything a woman could want. After my mom died, he wanted to get married, and we'd been engaged for so long, I knew I had to say yes. I owed him. Deep in my heart, I knew that Michael wasn't the one for me. He was just taking up where my mom left off. Sarah raised me in a controlled little bubble. She protected me and hid me away from the world. I guess she was always looking over her shoulder, afraid she would be found out. Michael wanted a wife who would stay in his world, who wouldn't make waves, wouldn't want to travel or have a big job or do anything different. That's fine for him, but I would have suffocated."
"Alex certainly doesn't seem the type to put you in a bubble," Elena observed.
"I'm not sure he wants to put me anywhere. He's an admitted loner. He likes to travel light, and he told me that he's never met a woman who made him want more than a casual affair."
"I hope he didn't say that after you slept together."
"No, before. I'm a fool, huh?"
Elena smiled. "He's a good-looking man, Julia. He's smart, successful, exciting—the last thing I would call you is a fool. Just don't let him break your heart."
"I'm trying to keep that in mind."
Elena tossed her a T-shirt. "You can sleep in this."
"Thanks."
Julia took off her jeans and top and slipped on the T-shirt. She climbed into the bed next to Elena, feeling both awkward and strangely comfortable. A moment later Elena switched off the light.
"Was it hard losing your boyfriend when you had your accident?" Julia asked.
For a long minute, there was silence; then Elena said, "His leaving didn't hurt as much as the fact that I couldn't dance anymore, but it was very painful. I really loved him. I made a huge mistake. He only wanted the successful dancer who could bring his choreography to life. He didn't really want me, all of me. He was an ass."
"And there hasn't been anyone since?"
"I've been busy. I had to restart my life, get a new career going. Victoria—Mrs. Kay—she helped me get the shop. She actually owns this building, and I pay nominal rent. There's no way I could afford this area if I didn't have connections."
"The shop is great. I'm so impressed by how many beautiful pieces you have."
"I love knowing that each piece in my shop has a history. I don't love it as much as dance, I'll admit, but I like seeing things find their rightful home. Probably something subliminal about that, huh?"
Because they'd never been able to go home. "Probably," Julia agreed.
"Well, good night," Elena said.
Julia smiled as a long-ago memory flashed through her head. "Good night," she said. "Sweet dreams."
"You, too."
"Don't let the bedbugs bite."
"Julia."
"Elena," she echoed. "You know I hate to go to sleep first."
Elena's soft laugh floated through the shadowy darkness. "I remember that now. You never wanted me to go to sleep before you. Every time I said good night, you said something else, so you'd always have the last word."
"And so I'd keep you awake." Julia stared at the ceiling, watching the moonbeams play across the room. They had once been best friends, as close as two sisters could be. Twenty-five years had separated them, but the connection between them was already back. "I missed you," Julia whispered into the darkness.
"I missed you, too," Elena said softly.
Julia closed her eyes, content now to let Elena have the last word.
Chapter Twenty-One
Julia crept out of bed just after eight o'clock. Elena was still sleeping, and the apartment was quiet. She walked into the living room and saw Alex sprawled across the narrow couch. He'd kicked off his blanket and wore only a pair of navy blue boxers. Her breath caught at the sight of him. He really was an attractive man, and she felt a stirring of desire at his tousled hair and whisker-laden cheeks, the sweep of his dark lashes against his olive-skinned face. She wanted to touch him, wanted to run her hands down his strong arms and across his sculpted abs. She wanted to wrap herself around him until they were touching in every possible way.
Kneeling next to the couch, she leaned over and traced his lips with her tongue. He responded immediately, his hand catching the back of her head and pulling her in for a deeper, longer, more passionate kiss.
"You were awake," she accused breathlessly when she opened her eyes and saw him watching her. "Why didn't you say something?"
"I wanted to see what you would do," he said with a grin.
He had no idea what she'd wanted to do... or maybe he did.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked.
"Not bad. I had a good dream. Want to know what it was about? You were the star."
"What was I wearing?"
His grin widened. "Nothing."
She couldn't help smiling back. "You are bad."
"In my dream you were bad." He pulled her to him, his hands brushing the sides of her breasts.
She would have liked to strip off her T-shirt and join him on the couch, but she could hear her sister moving around in the bedroom. "Elena will be out here any second," she said, gently pushing him away.
"Kill-joy." He sat up on the couch, running a hand through his hair. "How are you two getting along?"
"Good." She sat next to him. "I keep thinking it should be more uncomfortable, that twenty-five years should have made us strangers, but there's still a connection between us. We know each other on a very basic level." She felt a little self-conscious at her words. "Maybe there is some sort of twin thing going on."
A cell phone rang from the vicinity of Alex's pants. Julia tossed him his jeans, and he pulled out the phone. "Hello." He glanced over at Julia and mouthed, Brady. "A bank account number, huh? Where's the bank?" He listened for a few more minutes, then said, "Yes, we found Julia's twin sis
ter, the one you neglected to mention. I know, isn't that amazing? Those two should never have been separated or lost in the system. If you guys hadn't screwed up, they wouldn't have spent the past twenty-five years apart." Alex paused for another moment. "Yes, we do have a key, and I have a feeling it will fit. All right. We'll meet you in an hour, as soon as the bank opens." He grabbed a pen off the coffee table and jotted down an address on the back of a magazine. "Got it. What about protection? Julia and I have been followed more than once." He listened, then said, "Fine, see you then."
"What did he say?" Julia asked as soon as Alex had ended the call.
"The numbers scratched in the dolls are for a bank account here in DC. Brady wants all three of us to meet him at the bank when it opens. He also said there's a safe-deposit box, and I have a feeling the key we found in the doll fits right into that box."
Julia felt a rush of excitement. "Good news for a change. But when did Mr. Brady come to DC?"
"Probably as soon as my father called him and told him where we were. Brady said there's a good deal of money in the account. And who knows what's in that safe-deposit box?"
"I can't believe it's right here in DC. We're finally at the end of the trail," Julia said.
"And at your parents' intended destination. This is where they were coming. It would make sense that whatever they'd stashed away was here. And I believe your mother also performed here."
"At the Kennedy Center, probably." Julia smiled. "And Elena danced there twenty-something years later. That's nice, isn't it?"
"It is nice. Your mother wanted you both to have the life she couldn't have."
"Hopefully, somewhere in the universe she's smiling down on us because we're finally back together."
"Apparently the bank account is in both your names, with your Russian surname. Brady says he can get past the red tape. He has paperwork to prove that you and Elena are the heirs to Natalia and Sergei Markov. That will allow the bank to release the money as well as the contents of the safe-deposit box to you."
"I wonder what's in the box," she mused. "It must be valuable enough to still be of interest to the Russian government. Why else would they have people following us?"
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