"Have you looked at other places where we might all relocate together?" Airiana asked. "This works for us all. Can we find something similar somewhere else?"
"We'll find the right piece of property if we need to," Blythe said with conviction.
"Are you going to talk to Rikki and Levi about this?" Judith asked.
Blythe shook her head. "Not Rikki. I thought I'd talk to Levi tonight, but not until I see Lexi. I thought I'd break it to her after I leave here. I just wanted to make certain the two of you were on board."
Judith looked around her house. She'd designed it from top to bottom, just as they all had. They built the houses together, each doing quite a bit of the carpentry. She'd planted her gardens just the way she wanted. She had a Japanese garden with a waterfall cascading down rocks into a quiet pool of koi, surrounded by every shade of green available. Each night, from her bedroom window she looked down to her night garden of white flowers, lifting their faces to the overhead stars. She loved the peace created, a midnight sky with white above and below just spoke to her soul. And there were all the gardens where riots of color reigned, so many blossoms vying for space and attention, a wild melody of color. It had taken every day of the five years she'd lived there to get her gardens the exact way she wanted them.
It would be wrenching to leave--but family came first. Rikki's needs were priority. As awful as leaving would be, Judith wouldn't look back. She had learned the hard way that people mattered most, not where she lived or the job she did. "You know what Levi is going to say, Blythe," she said gently. "He'll say the hell with all of them."
"I know," Blythe agreed. "But in the end, like us, he'll do what's best for Rikki."
Airiana cleared her throat, fiddled with the handle on the teacup and then forced her eyes to meet Blythe's. "Couldn't you talk to Elle? You are her cousin."
Blythe shook her head. "I'm not on the best of terms with the Drakes, Airiana. You all know that. We get along, mostly because they're never impolite and neither am I. We were all raised to never be rude."
"Blythe," Judith said gently, "they all love you. No one blames you for your mother's death but yourself."
Blythe blinked back tears. "Maybe that's true, but I can't ask anything of them and I doubt it would matter if I did. They'd just say they aren't forcing us out, which technically would be the truth. They would politely freeze us out."
Airiana hugged her. "I'm sorry I brought it up. I know this is a difficult time for you and it was inconsiderate and selfish of me to even suggest it. I really am sorry, Blythe."
"No worries, Airiana. I think it's just that time of the year." Her eyes met Judith's. "For you too. How are you doing?"
Judith shrugged. There was nothing else to do but smile and say "fine." Whatever that meant. Her brother was dead and there was no bringing him back. Paul had been murdered, plain and simple, because of her. Because of her stupidity. Her carelessness. Her actions. Blythe blamed herself for her mother's death, but she wasn't the direct cause, no matter what she thought, whereas Judith knew she absolutely was.
"I guess I'd better call Inez back and set up the meeting with the potential buyer for the art gallery. I hope this one's for real. Inez can't afford to keep funding both businesses."
"There was a rumor going around for a while that Jackson bought part ownership in the grocery store," Airiana said. "Do you think that's true?"
"If it is, then Inez is in worse financial shape than I thought she was," Blythe replied. "She loves that store and it's always made money for her. If she had to do that, it means she poured way too much into keeping Frank's gallery alive."
Both women looked at Judith. As manager of the gallery, she knew better than anyone else just how much the place was making. She shrugged, unwilling to talk about Inez's business even to her sisters. She glanced out her window to the garden below, needing to see the riot of color, great splashes of it, to soothe her wounded spirit. The wind blew across the flowers, setting up waves of color in every shade.
Even as she watched, a shadow slid across the flowers, dampening the effect for just a moment. She glanced upward, toward the sky, expecting to see a seagull or vulture flying overhead, but there was only blue sky. She felt, rather than saw, Airiana stand behind her.
"What is it?" Blythe asked.
"I don't know," Airiana said. "But that shadow passed directly over this house, and that's worrisome."
The three women exchanged a long look. Sea Haven was a place of power, there was no doubt about that. The location had energy of its own and it attracted people with psychic energy as well.
"You're the air element," Blythe said. "All of us know it, so don't look at me all wide-eyed. What does that shadow mean?"
"I have no idea," Airiana admitted, "but I don't like it. I think trouble may be coming our way."
"Ilya? Joley and Ilya are doing a huge benefit concert, but she is pregnant. Maybe she needs to come home and rest," Blythe guessed.
"I doubt if Ilya would throw his own brother out of Sea Haven, not even for Joley. Nor would she ask him to do something like that."
"I don't think Ilya really knew any of his brothers," Blythe pointed out. "He's closer to Jonas and the Drakes than he is to his family. He wasn't raised with them, nor did he have any contact with them."
"Great," Airiana said, "I don't know about either of you, but just this once I'd like to say damn it. Just damn it. This is our home and I hate the thought of leaving. I will, if we have to, but I really hate doing it."
Judith forced a smile. "We'll be all right. Right now we don't know how the Drakes are going to react to Levi's presence. We know we're all willing to relocate if we have to--well, all but Lexi." She glanced at her sister. "Blythe, you'll be talking to her today, right?"
Blythe nodded. "I don't feel we can just pretend leaving isn't a real possibility. Finding another place like this--with the ocean for Rikki, enough land for Lexi to farm, enough for us all to live together--that's going to take time. And we'd have to sell this place."
"Lexi will be upset," Airiana said.
"She's put her heart and soul into this land," Judith acknowledged. "It will be harder for her than for any of us."
"Maybe we can just not say anything until we know one way or the other," Airiana said. "All we're really doing is speculating."
"We promised each other we'd always tell the truth no matter how difficult. This is a joint decision we have to make together. When we're all on board, then we'll talk to Rikki," Blythe said. "Rikki has to see us all together and know we're more than willing to move with her and Levi."
There was a small silence. No one wanted to leave after they'd spent five years working to build their dream homes. Lexi had worked hard to get the farm producing enough to make money. It hadn't been easy, but they'd all pitched in with every job, making the dream they all shared come true.
Judith stood up, gathered the empty teacups and took them to the sink. "Shadows can be just shadows," she called over her shoulder. "We could just be paranoid."
"That's true," Blythe admitted, getting to her feet as well. She did a slow stretch. "I guess I'll go talk to Lexi and see you tonight at the gym."
Judith swung around with a small grimace. "Honestly, I detest self-defense class. I feel like the teacher's duncey student."
Airiana flung her arm around Judith's waist. "Honey, you are the teacher's dunce student. Fortunately we all love you, so it doesn't matter if you can kick butt or not."
"I totally can kick butt. I've got all the moves." Judith huffed her disapproval, glaring down at Airiana's smirking face. "I just prefer not to hit people. I'm more evolved and civilized than the rest of you."
"Well, you did flip Blythe onto her back last night," Airiana conceded. "But then you burst into tears and that sort of ruined the whole effect."
"Levi was so exasperated," Blythe said and burst out laughing at the memory. "Did you see his face? I thought he might run out of there."
Judith couldn't hel
p but laugh as well, although remembering the moment when she'd thrown her sister to the mat made her a little nauseous. The sound of Blythe's body hitting the mat, the air rushing from her lungs had been sickening. Judith couldn't explain to Levi--or her sisters--that she wanted to learn, she just didn't want to hurt anyone in the process. She believed she could defend her sisters fiercely if she had to, but to deliberately hit one of them or throw them down so hard it knocked the breath from them was abhorrent to her. And what if she lost her temper? What disaster would she bring down on everyone then?
"He definitely doesn't like any of us to cry," Airiana agreed. "And have you ever seen him when Rikki is upset? He's crazy about her."
Blythe sighed. "I have to admit that he is. I watch him all the time. I still drop by in the early morning hours for coffee and Rikki's always waiting outside for me. Levi brings the coffee out and seems happy enough to see me, but he rarely takes his eyes off of Rikki. I'm happy for her."
Judith nodded, knowing Blythe was right. Levi Hammond was so in love with Rikki, her autism didn't seem to be in any way a deterrent. "Does it make you think maybe there's someone out there for the rest of us? He's so different, and I can't imagine either one with anyone else. They were made for each other. Maybe there really is a Mr. Right."
Her voice lacked conviction and she knew it. There would never be a Mr. Right for her. She couldn't trust herself, or her talent, to not ever put those she loved in peril again. She was attracted to the wrong kind of man. In the past few years, she hadn't even dared look at a man with any degree of interest. She didn't dare go down that path ever again. Worse, she felt as if her own body had died. She hadn't been the least attracted, physically or emotionally, to any man she'd met in the past five years.
Blythe shook her head. "I'm past the age where some knight in shining armor is going to ride in on a white steed and sweep me off my feet."
Airiana did a few little dance steps across the thick, creamy carpet. "I think Levi is going to be starved for male company, poor man."
Judith forced another laugh, but that shadow passing over her house hadn't kept going, it had slipped inside her and a deep dread blossomed and grew.
3
SHE came toward him, walking with unhurried steps, un-aware of his presence. Stefan stood in the shadows, just inside the alcove by the gallery door, his back to the building, where he could see anything coming at him. Judith Henderson was far more breathtaking in person than in her photographs. She was still a good distance away, so he had plenty of time to absorb her. Tall, long legs, her suit as elegant as they came. A pencil skirt hugged the curve of her hips lovingly. Her short, flared matching jacket was severe black, but the bright red silk shirt beneath it clung like a second skin and looked as sexy as hell.
Women didn't affect his pulse, or his body, yet deep inside where no one could see, the earth shook so hard something cracked wide open, deep, a fissure he couldn't repair. Emotions long buried, thought dead, rose with the force of a volcano, shaking him. He felt stripped of his armor, vulnerable, broken open and entirely exposed. His hand slid inside his jacket to the familiar feeling of the butt of his Glock. The moment he touched the weapon, he knew he was in trouble.
Judith Henderson threatened him on an elemental level. The danger was almost tangible, yet he was at a loss as to why. She had that same faraway, lost look on her face that was in the photograph he carried with him, next to his skin in the inside pocket of his shirt where he kept the small tablet that would end his life should he fall into the wrong hands. This woman was the type who brought men to their knees. Even the strongest man bared his soul, handed his heart into keeping and was lost for all time just from a smile from those angel lips. He could hold his breath just waiting for her to smile--at him--for him. Just him.
He willed her to look up. To see him. He braced himself for the impact, knowing it was coming. Judith took two more unhurried steps in her high heels with that splash of tantalizing red streaking through the unrelenting black. His heart would have kicked into high gear if he'd allowed it, just at the anticipation of her gaze meeting his, but he was far too disciplined for that. He didn't take his eyes from her, absorbing her into his being. God, she was beautiful.
Her eyes flicked to the shadows and away again. Deliberately he shifted his weight. Her gaze jumped back to the alcove--to him. Her eyes widened, met his. His body reacted, blood rushing hotly through every vein, through his heart, spreading like a firestorm to settle in his groin. The shock of it, of that unrelenting, fierce ache, shook him. He was never out of control, his body completely disciplined, yet he was full and hard and throbbing with need, just with her eyes meeting his.
This time, there was no controlling his wayward heart. Thunder roared in his ears, filling his head with warning, with need. Her gaze was more of a punch, hitting him low and wicked hard. She drove the breath from his lungs and sanity from his mind.
If he opened his mouth, he doubted if sound would emerge. All of his training, all of his discipline was gone in one moment. Power surrounded the woman in her perfect suit on her perfect body. Innocence radiated from her. Brightness shone through all that soft skin. Yet there was unconscious seduction in every movement of her body, the way her lips were made for fantasy nights, those eyes, dark and mysterious like the woman herself.
He could read that power she wore like a cloak just as easily as he could read the aura surrounding her. She hid her powerful energy, hid every dark shadow inside her, presented a different face to the world than what was deep inside of her. But he saw her--all of her--and he wanted what he saw. What man wouldn't? This was a woman a man would never get out of his mind. He saw instantly why Jean-Claude La Roux was so obsessed. She crawled inside a man before he ever had a chance to run. Just with one smoldering look. That innocent seduction.
Through it all, there was something else. Something much deeper that he reacted to. Elemental. Elusive. She was far more than that bright innocent seductress every other man would see and want. She was filled with sorrow. Lost. He wasn't a hero. He wasn't the man who stepped forward and saved the innocent. He was lost himself. Shadows had invaded a long time ago and stolen his life. But he would give anything he had left to be the man who found a way to save Judith Henderson. He wanted to be that man and it made no sense. She was a complete stranger, but that tiny piece of humanity left in him reached for this woman.
"Mr. Vincent?"
Her voice was as seductive as the rest of her. Velvet soft. Stroking over his skin like the touch of fingers. She was already inside of him. He could feel her there where he could never get her out.
"Miss Henderson?" His accent was perfect. He was already firmly anchored in his role as Thomas Vincent, an American businessman recognized in the art world with enough credentials to impress anyone. Like any good cover, he'd worked on it for some time, in case he ever needed an American businessman. The art was easy enough, he had studied hard and with his ability to retain what he read, it was simple enough to pull out his extensive education and add it to the role he immersed himself in.
Judith took another step toward him, her gaze moving over his body. Even in his elegant, perfectly fitting suit, he knew he wasn't much to look at. He had the physique of a bodybuilder, impossible to hide. His tapered waist and narrow hips only exaggerated the bulk of his chest, arms and shoulders. His eyes were penetrating and deep blue-green, almost an aqua, his natural color. He normally wore tinted contacts, but it had been necessary to give a little of himself to this woman. What there was left of him--and it wasn't much.
"Yes, I'm Judith Henderson. I hope I haven't kept you waiting long. I was held up at the studio and didn't have a number to reach you. I'm so sorry."
A man would forgive this woman anything, especially when she looked at him with such obvious sincerity. Her eyes were enough to drown a man. He slowed his breathing and took control of his rapidly beating heart. He sent her a smile--a real one. Her head jerked up and she blinked rapidly, a sign tha
t his crooked smile had an effect on her.
He found he didn't want to play her, not the way he did other marks, but every move was smooth and practiced, traits drilled into him since childhood. He hadn't been the most handsome man in their school; he'd been too rough and edgy to be called that, but he had undeniable charm and a hard, muscular body a woman couldn't help noticing. Sometimes, the scars on his face and body were a deterrent, but more often, women found them intriguing.
"No problem. Sea Haven is beautiful. I spent the time wandering around. You'd said you might be a few minutes late and it gave me the opportunity to look at the gallery location. Sea Haven certainly appears to be everything the advertisement said."
"If you're looking for a place to raise a family," Judith said, "this is the perfect place."
He flashed another smile. "No family. I just decided I wanted out of the rat race. At my age, peace begins to look good."
"You're from New York?" She moved up to the gallery door, taking out a set of keys.
There was no wasted effort. Every movement was graceful. He stepped close enough to inhale her fragrance. Exotic. Citrus. All woman. Stefan had been in the company of beautiful women more times than he could count over the years, but she was the first one to capture his interest--not the interest of the undercover agent, but of the man. It was a complication unwelcome but not entirely a shock. He knew from his reaction to her photograph that this assignment was going to give him trouble. He just hadn't realized until this moment how much.
"Yes. I was a silent partner in a gallery there, but decided I had enough of taxis and parties. I read about this town some years ago and filed it away. The town sounded so charming and unique, an artist's paradise."
"An article?" she prompted with a small smile over her shoulder as she pushed the door to the gallery open and stepped aside to gesture him inside.
Gallantly, and because he was always uncomfortable with anyone directly behind him, Stefan stepped back to hold the door for her. "Yes, on a supermodel who grew up here. The writer had obviously fallen a little bit in love with the town as well. There were beautiful pictures of the countryside, and the ocean with the sun shining on the surface."
Spirit Bound Page 5