by Addison Fox
“Of course.” Isabella used the conversational reprieve to catalogue the things she didn’t already know about Kensington.
For instance, the woman knew how to open a bottle of wine in under twenty seconds. A feat that, if not unique, was certainly impressive.
Isabella also knew the woman had an aura of kindness about her. Kensington kept up a steady stream of chatter as she opened the wine, then filled two large bowl glasses with the rich red.
But what she realized most of all was the subtle understanding and veneer of sadness behind the woman’s bright blue eyes when she finally took the seat opposite on the couch.
“I’m sorry for the interrogation by the police. If we could have stepped in sooner we would have. I was practically kicking Liam under the table to move things along.”
“I’m not sure anyone could have moved them off their goals.”
“Likely not.” Kensington took a small sip of her wine, before gesturing to the room at large. “But since it was more than obvious to anyone who bothered to look that you were an innocent victim, the questioning got old. We’ve worked hard to be a solid resource to the government when they need it and I’m not happy they used my home as a place to detain you.”
“How long have you lived here?”
“None of us live here any longer. We just use it as the House of Steele headquarters.” Kensington smiled and settled her glass on the coffee table. “It was my mother’s family home and the home Liam, Campbell, Rowan and I grew up in.”
“That explains why it feels so comforting, even if the things taking place inside aren’t—” Isabella broke off, the words at odds with the kindness Kensington offered.
“Even if the things taking place are sordid and ugly.”
“Yes.”
A warm hand covered hers and Kensington’s gaze was direct when she spoke. “We’re going to take care of you. All of us.”
“I know.”
“Your work is important. Groundbreaking. It deserves the proper care and the right audience.”
The wine in her glass sloshed as Isabella’s hands began to tremble. “It’s dangerous work. I don’t know why I didn’t fully understand that.”
“It’s necessary work. And you’re hardly the first to work in the field.”
“No.”
“Understanding who we are and how we’re made. That’s a natural human longing. You simply have the tools to dig down deep and find out the reasons why.”
“The scientific reasons, yes.”
Kensington’s gaze grew sharp. “Are there others?”
“I never considered them before, but now? I’m not so sure. I think biology only tells us so much.”
She’d always believed in science. The mathematical surety and basis in facts one could measure. It was comforting somehow, that in the natural world all one needed to do was look for order and patterns and from there, you could understand the chaos.
“Sort of like this wine?” Kensington’s smile was gentle when she lifted her glass. “Grapes are grapes. Same molecular structure. Same DNA. Same familial roots. But the soil and the sunlight and even the weather that year have an impact on the wine they become.”
“I suppose.”
Kensington’s hand was warm when it covered hers. “I know you’re scared. And I know you’ve spent a long time searching for answers. Maybe you’ve been asking the wrong questions.”
* * *
Liam stared into his wine glass and wondered when an evening spent with the cops was a reason to have a family celebration. Kensington had been closeted away with Isabella for the past hour and in the meantime, the rest of his siblings had descended on the house en masse.
Not that four extra people was exactly a mass of humanity, but things had certainly gotten louder in the old dining room.
“Pass me the spicy mustard, Campbell. O’Callaghan’s never puts enough on their subs.” Rowan’s voice echoed from the opposite end of the room where she sat next to her husband, Finn.
Campbell tossed the mustard down the table along with one of his trademark taunts. “Stay away from her, Finn. After all that spicy mustard and a sub full of onions she’s going to be a tasty morsel.”
When Finn leaned over and gave Rowan a smacking kiss on the lips, Liam suspected his besotted brother-in-law was past caring.
Campbell’s wife, Abby, swatted her husband on the head as she reached for a stack of napkins. “Newlyweds are immune to mere human foibles like onion breath.”
Campbell pulled Abby in close, tickling her ribs as he dropped a kiss on her lips. “I sure as hell hope so.”
Liam couldn’t quite define the sensation of seeing his younger brother and sister in relationships so he opted for subtle amusement and left it at that. He hadn’t been a big part of his siblings’ interpersonal dynamics since his parents died and he hardly had a right to comment on things now.
Even if every time he was with them he couldn’t shake the feeling they expected him to play elder statesman. It wasn’t a mantle he was comfortable with—or the responsibility that lay heavy on his chest when he thought about it—but it was there all the same.
He was the big brother and he’d spent enough years as one, as well as researching the dynamics of other families, to know birth order had an effect on everyone. Nowhere had that been more prevalent than in his own family after their parents died.
And the subtle realization that they all needed him to step up and share his feelings.
To set the tone for how they’d move forward as a family.
How the hell did a person do that? Lose the glue that kept them together and then try to figure out a way to manufacture it? To start all over and make something new out of the pieces. He’d never thought of himself as that person and when Kensington had stepped up, fully engaged in the matriarch role among the four of them, he let her have it.
So why was it now, when their family dynamics had changed once more with the addition of Abby, Finn and Jack, did he suddenly feel the loss?
Rowan glanced up from where she doctored her sandwich. “So fill us in on what happened today. Kensington texted us to come over and bring food for a family meeting. That’s all we know.”
He and Jack took turns filling them in on the events at the airport and he did the heavy lifting on Isabella’s background, adding context to the case file Kensington had already distributed.
For all their easy banter and teasing, everyone was quiet through the telling and it was Finn who finally spoke first. “I’ve run into Agent McCray a few times. He’s not a bad bloke but very by-the-book. If he thinks there’s anything to this that threatens public security he’s not going to rest until he finds something.”
“This wasn’t an act against the public.” Liam stared down at his sandwich, the untouched food suddenly unappetizing, even though Campbell had brought his favorite—corned beef.
He’d let Isabella down. He was supposed to be protecting her, yet he’d allowed the enemy to get close enough to slip something in her bag.
Close enough to...
“Well isn’t this a motley crew.” Kensington’s voice broke into his thoughts from where she stood at the entrance to the dining room. Isabella stood next to her, her features pale, but stronger than when she’d run from the room.
Kensington made quick introductions before gesturing Isabella into the empty chair to his right. He fought the urge to touch her and reassure himself she was okay. “Everything go okay with Kenzi?”
“Fine. We just talked. It was...” Isabella broke off before a soft smile tilted the corners of her lips. “It was nice. I don’t usually have any girlfriends to talk to. It was good to get a woman’s perspective.”
Unsure of what else to say or how to reconcile yet another glaring signpost of just how alone Isabella had been
, he fell back on the role of polite host. “Would you like anything? Rowan brought enough to feed half the neighborhood.”
“I’d love a sandwich.” Her lopsided smile shot straight to his heart. Add on the twist of her fingers in the hem of her blouse and he could see she was overwhelmed by his familial horde, yet she’d smiled through all the greetings. “I didn’t realize how hungry I am.”
“Then let’s get you something to eat.” Abby interjected, grabbing a plate of sandwiches on the center of the table and a wad of napkins. Isabella offered up a quiet thank-you and settled her napkin in her lap as the din of conversation restarted around them.
Liam couldn’t stop looking at Isabella, his gaze drifting toward her at each shift of the conversation. A goofy joke from Campbell. An adventure story about a recent museum job that Rowan and Finn traded off telling. A fish-out-of-water moment Abby recounted from a recent business trip to Sweden.
Each moment pivoted into the next and all the while, Isabella sat there, studiously taking it in.
“We’re a bit much when you get us all going.” Liam leaned over and snatched a chip off the corner of her plate.
“Oh, I don’t know.” She lowered her voice so only he could hear. “They’re much nicer than you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your family. I’m not sure where you came from but they’re much nicer. And none of them scowl.”
A heavy laugh he couldn’t hold back welled in his throat. “Give them time. Campbell’s got a puss that could scare off a line of soldiers at twenty paces.”
“I heard my name.” Campbell looked up from where he was fixing his second sandwich. “What’s so funny?”
“I was just sharing an observation with Liam.” Isabella wiped her lips with her napkin. The move was dainty and, if Liam read her correctly, was a bit overlong for effect.
“And?” Kensington pressed.
“I’m not really sure why you all keep him around.”
Rowan let up a loud cheer and raised her glass. “Family. It’s a tough commitment but somebody’s got to do it.”
As Liam gazed around the room at all those smiling faces, glasses held high, he saw the other side of that commitment.
The side that didn’t weigh on him, heavy as lead.
As he looked at Rowan, Campbell and Kensington and the partners they’d chosen to share their lives with, Liam knew he had a band of allies to help keep Isabella safe.
* * *
The smell of chocolate chip cookies wafted from the kitchen and Isabella fought back a groan as Abby walked into the dining room, a platter held high. How did these women stay so thin?
She didn’t consider herself fat, per se, but her genetic material had always ensured she had a bit of meat on her bones.
A sedentary lifestyle with her research didn’t help, which was why she maintained a steady, three-day-a-week regimen at the university’s gym. Although not on par with an Olympic athlete, the treadmill and elliptical did keep the beast at bay.
Until she started downing warm, out-of-the-oven cookies at midnight.
Liam had departed with Kensington, Jack and Campbell to somewhere upstairs to review some video footage and Rowan and Finn had left to prep for a lingering assignment they were fielding in the morning.
Which left that whole tray of cookies for her and Abby.
“Snag a few while they’re hot. They’re Campbell’s weakness and I can promise you there won’t be any left after he gets into them.”
Unable to resist, Isabella snagged a cookie, supremely satisfied when a melted chocolate chip stuck to her index finger. “These look good.”
“I’ve gotten pretty good at them, which is a surprise since I could barely boil water a year ago.” Abby grabbed a cookie of her own and glanced at it. “Let me amend that. I could boil water and scramble eggs. That was about it.”
“And now?”
“I learned how to make cookies because I have someone to make them for.”
The thought was so simple—and so powerful—Isabella set her half-eaten cookie down on a napkin. “That’s lovely.”
Abby’s cheeks turned a healthy pink. “And besotted and probably a whole lot of dopey. Not to mention, my husband is going to gain fifty pounds if I don’t stop. But, well,” the woman shrugged, her bright smile only adding to her appeal. “I’ll love him anyway so I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Had she ever seen anything like this up close? She knew from stories that her grandparents had experienced a warm, loving marriage, but her grandmother had died before she was born, as had both her mother’s parents. And her parents...well, that was certainly not a love story in any way you attempted to define those words, Isabella knew full well.
“Everyone’s found each other in that time? Rowan and Kensington, too?”
“Yep. And don’t think Alexander hasn’t been rubbing his hands in glee. He’s over the moon his grandchildren are settling down.”
“And no one minds the dangerous jobs?”
“Jack and Finn understand it the best. I’ve had to come around a bit.” Abby hesitated. “My half brother had it out for me and that’s when I called the House of Steele for help. Campbell was assigned to protect me. And he helped me through it. I decided that I can be scared of what he does or I can be his partner and believe in him and stand by him. It’s not easy some days, but I wouldn’t change it. And I wouldn’t change him.”
Isabella moved the crumbs neatly to the center of her napkin, processing Abby’s comment. Liam had been assigned to her personal detail and she’d sensed the undercurrents at their London dinner with his grandparents that Alexander was pleased by that fact.
Did he think he’d somehow strike matchmaking gold again?
Her life was a far cry from Abby’s. She’d gotten the basic details during their long flight home from Liam and as a woman who ran a major telecommunications company, Abby’s life was light years away from her own.
She’d also gotten the very sad information that Campbell had been the one to kill Abby’s half-brother after the man held her hostage.
“Your work is groundbreaking.”
Isabella glanced up from the small pile of crumbs. “Yes. It’s cutting-edge in my field.”
“My work is often similar. Telecommunications is a competitive business and what we provide has global implications, not all of them good.”
Abby reached for a cookie, then pushed the plate closer before continuing. “I know what it’s like to have a technology that others have the power to abuse. And I know why you press on, anyway. What you’ve discovered? It can help people with illnesses. With cellular abnormalities. You can make their lives better. That might not be the full reason you began and it might not be what others want, but your work is valuable. And good. Don’t forget that.”
Unable to resist, Isabella took another cookie. “My work has the power to hurt a lot of people.”
“Lots of things have the power to hurt people. It’s how we take responsibility for them that makes all the difference.”
* * *
Abby’s comments and the small olive branch of friendship carried Isabella upstairs and into the private domain of the Steele family. Although Kensington had told her they now used the old family home as headquarters, she passed a few made-up bedrooms on her way to a large office space that housed several computers and a wall of screens.
“This looks like something out of a movie.” The words spilled off her lips before she could pull them back and it was Campbell who spoke first, a large grin suffusing his face as he grabbed a handful of cookies from his wife.
“Welcome to my lair. And this may look like the USS Enterprise, but I can promise you, I’ve got mad skills way more advanced than Captain Kirk’s crew ever dreamed of.”
“With manners on par with
Pigpen,” Abby scolded him as she handed him a napkin. “Quit dropping chocolate chips on the desk.”
The same observations she’d had earlier came back to life. Abby and Campbell were lovely, but it was something more. They were partners. They had each other’s backs and wanted what was best for one another.
“While my brother finishes stuffing his face, come see what we found.” Liam’s voice was cool and cultured, at odds with his brother’s playful banter. Funny how that cold exterior drew her in and made her feel unbelievably warm.
Even as it left her with more questions.
Why was he so cool and aloof? He obviously depended on his siblings and despite their teasing exchanges, they all cared for each other.
Yet there was something missing with Liam. Something he held back while the others let loose with their emotions.
She moved toward a bank of monitors Liam gestured toward. “What am I looking at?”
“This is the parking garage I chased our attacker into today.” He played with a toggle button on the desk. “This is what was recorded on the video feed.”
She watched as an image of Liam came into clear view, leaping over a half wall of plastic roadblock into the parking garage. Saw him stop and look around, his attention focused as he took in his surroundings. Then she saw him run again.
“You see that.” He pointed toward the corner of the screen. “That’s where I saw him move.”
He tapped a few keys, then toggled again. “This is the camera that captured what I was looking at.”
She leaned closer to the screen, trying to understand what Liam was pointing to. Other than several rows of parked cars, she saw nothing. “And?”
“And no one’s there.”
Chapter 9
“How can no one be there? You chased the man into the parking garage.” Isabella leaned over the desk and mimicked his movements on the computer, toggling through the various screens. “You chased him. You saw him. How can you be there and he’s not?”