Mellizo Wolves (10 page)

The missing Valerie lay in the center of the king-sized
bed, her eyes closed! Angela raced to her. She checked and found a pulse in her
little girl’s neck. She smelled of chloroform and canvas. Her left arm had been
posed palm up. Angela stiffened when she saw a drop of dried blood on the
inside bend of the arm. It looked like someone had taken a sample of her
child’s blood or had given her an injection.

Victoria, who had failed to stay put as told, climbed up on
the bed and before Angela could stop her, she bent and kissed her sister’s
forehead. “Wake up, Valerie!” A big tear rolled down Victoria’s cheek.

Valerie didn’t so much as flutter an eyelash.

“Momma, why won’t she wake up?”

Angela’s stomach knotted. Had that monster drugged her
baby? She’d smelled the chloroform. What else had he done to her? “Victoria, go
get your dad…now!”

Less than eight minutes later, with questions swirling in
their heads, Damon and Angela headed for the hospital. On the way, Valerie woke
up and started crying.

Victoria cried too and, in a wobbly yet brave little voice,
said, “Don’t cry, baby sister. You’re safe now.”

Angela’s eyes filled with hot tears. But was Valerie safe?
Would any of them ever be safe in that mansion again?

At the hospital, the doctor checked Valerie thoroughly,
determined that no real harm had come to her, and verified that someone with
sufficient medical skill had extracted blood.

Angela knew the lab research team had been testing the
blood of wolves and she ached to confront Damon on the spot about the
possibility that one of the team had kidnapped her daughter to test her blood.
She restrained impulse—she didn’t want to expose her girls to a discussion that
could turn ugly.

When they returned to the mansion, she realized the girls
would have to hear what she had to say because no way was she leaving them in
their room alone.

She gave her little girls some toys and let them play on
the floor of the master bedroom. When they were settled and occupied, she
turned to Damon and forced herself to keep her voice low to avoid upsetting
them. “I can’t let something like this happen ever again.”

Damon paced the floor, then paused and stared out the
window for a moment. “
We
can’t ever let this happen again,” he said,
correcting her. “From now on, a bodyguard will watch our girls twenty-four
seven.”

“That’s not good enough. I must take the girls away from
this place.”

“Don’t talk crazy. I can protect you all better here than
if you go away somewhere.”

“But you didn’t. And I can’t give the kidnapper another
chance at our girls.” With that, she pulled the suitcase out of the closet,
carried it to the girls’ room, and started throwing their clothes into it.

Damon stood in the doorway between the two rooms. “Where
would you go?”

“My parents’ house tonight, and tomorrow, the girls and I
will disappear.”

“Why are you doing this to us?”

“Despite Valerie’s safe return, our marriage and harmonious
life are collapsing around us. I blame myself for getting pregnant and bringing
our girls into our cursed family, and I blame you for bringing evil into our
home.”

After getting that off of her chest, Angela brushed past
Damon quickly, returned to the master bedroom, grabbed a few of her own
clothes, and packed them into the remaining space. Damon followed her, grabbed
the suitcase, and dumped everyone’s clothes out onto the center of the bed.
Angela watched, stunned, as he shoved the empty bag back into the closet.

“Damon,” she said in a low, venomous voice, “I’m trying to
stay calm for the girls’ sake, but you’re not helping with your controlling
behavior.”

He wrapped his powerful, warm arms around her. “I can’t let
you go. Life would be nothing without you and the girls. You and the girls are
first in my life.” His eyes darkened and grew more intense. “My need for you
only grows stronger. Marriage is seldom smooth and settled. It’s tempestuous,
demanding, turbulent and electric, and we have the added problem of the curses,
but I promise, I’ll keep you safe. You’ll be safer here than anywhere.”

“I want to believe you, but the fact is, I haven’t felt
safe here since the day I moved in. And when Valerie was kidnapped right out of
her own room, it proved just how dangerous this place is with its spy holes and
secret passages. The three of us are leaving now and—”

“I’ll hire three bodyguards if that’s what it takes,” Damon
said, trying to kiss her neck.

She fought the intoxication of his familiar male scent and
the tingles rippling along her nerve endings. “Stop it, Damon. Don’t make this
any harder than it is.”

“Please, Angela. If necessary, we can all camp out in the
same room. You can’t leave.”

“Nothing has changed. You still trust your staff. How do
you know one of those scientists isn’t some kind of ghoul? And how do I know
you didn’t authorize one of them to take Valerie’s blood for your nutty
project?”

Damon dropped his hands from around her. “Do you hear
yourself? Do you really think if I were going to allow such a dangerous thing
that I’d hire someone to kidnap my own daughter and put her in jeopardy? You
know I idolize my girls and would never put them in danger, even for an
instant.”

“But you already did—by bringing all those strangers onto
our property. You heard what the police said. It was an inside job.”

* * *
*

Damon began to pace. Like all of his family, he’d been in
crisis since the day he was born and it got worse every year. If Angela left
and took his girls away, it would be the darkest moment of his life. He
couldn’t allow it. Life wouldn’t be worth living without the three of them.

The intercom buzzed. “Sir,” Kyle Cooper said, “Police Officers
Haywood and Montoya wish a word with you.”

Damon felt like his head was caught in a closing vice.
“Don’t move, Angela. I have to see what the police want, then we’ll resume this
discussion and come to an agreement we can
both
live with.”

Officer Haywood and his partner, Officer Montoya, stood
waiting in the foyer with grim expressions on their faces. Officer Haywood
removed his sunglasses and narrowed his brown eyes as though he’d already
decided Damon was guilty of something. “Remember the late Dudley Knox, Angela’s
former Division Chief?”

Damon stiffened at the word
late.
Behind him, he
heard Angela gasp. He glanced over his shoulder. She was standing at the bottom
of the staircase balancing the twins on her hips. He wondered how long she’d
been listening.

“When a gang of masked thugs beat Knox up a while back,”
Haywood said, “he accused you of hiring them—stated that you wanted him dead.”

Damon frowned. “That’s ridiculous.”

“That remains to be seen,” Haywood said as though enjoying
toying with him.

Damon understood that a few of Deeto’s motorcycle gang
buddies had beaten Dudley up. He was also aware that Angela knew he was
innocent of that charge. He wished the police did.

Haywood shifted his weight and tucked his thumbs into his
belt. “A team of state scientists found Dudley shot through the heart in a cave
just beyond your north property line.” Haywood paused and gave him a hard look.
“Know anything about his murder?”

“Of course not.”
Didn’t
he have enough problems? A new investigation would mean more trouble. He
couldn’t protect his family in jail.

“Where were you last night?”

“You know where I was—out trying to find the person who
kidnapped my daughter.”

“If Dudley took your daughter, that would give you even
more motive. Right?”

“Are you telling me Dudley kidnapped my daughter?”

“It’s looking possible. We found a large amount of cash on
him.”

“So why are you here?”

“Angela reported that someone mysteriously returned your
daughter. How did your baby get safely home? Did you perhaps go after Dudley,
find him with your child, and kill him?”

“Are you accusing me? Do I need an attorney?”

“Not yet. But don’t plan any trips in the near future.”

* * *
*

Angela stared into the foyer at the wide, straight back of
her beloved husband, the loving father of her girls, the all-consuming man
who’d taken root in her heart and possession of her body. Damon needed her
support and faith more now than ever. She remembered her marriage vows—for
better or worse. There were strong reasons to go and compelling reasons to
stay.
Am I merely rationalizing the importance of staying, or is it
necessary for our survival?
She forced herself to focus on the real
issue—finding a way to protect their daughters from the evil stalking them. She
looked down at her innocent little girls who hadn’t asked for any of this. They
couldn’t fend for themselves—Damon could.

Or could he? What would happen to their family if the
police charged Damon and locked him away in jail? It might make things worse to
abandon her husband now that this new trouble has cropped up against him. It
was all so overwhelming. Fate seemed to hurl them from one disaster to another.
What if leaving was like jumping from the edge of a steaming pot into the
center of the boiling water? There was no place to escape the fact that the
girls had inherited their former curses. And when the curses struck, she’d need
Damon’s strength and experience to help their girls through it.

But if she stayed to give Damon her support, she’d have to
contend with not only the evil brewing in the ground, but also with Damon’s
blind trust of his employees and colleagues who roamed their property at will.
She didn’t know who was behind Valerie’s kidnapping, but she felt in her bones
it had something to do with the search for a cure for her daughters—and greed.

She closed her eyes a moment and prayed for help to make
the right decision. Then she remembered Madam Nola’s warning—only by combining
their strength could they fight the evil brewing against them.
I have to
give Damon a chance to protect us here.

After Damon escorted the police to the door, he came to her
and took the girls from her arms. “Let’s go in the den to finish our
discussion.”

“I’ve decided to stay, if you comply with three simple
requests.”

He grinned. “Great, just name them.”

“First, you must hire an architectural engineering company
to inspect our property thoroughly and block off any tunnels or hidden
entrances. Second, you must engage a detective to search the backgrounds of
everyone working on our property. Third, I want to hire a gun-toting nanny with
a police background to stay with our girls at all times.”

He laughed. “Simple, you say? But yes. It’s all doable. I
intended to suggest just such a plan to persuade you to stay anyway. And until
we have the gun-toting nanny on staff, we’ll keep the girls with us and not let
them out of our sights even for a second.” His eyes glistened and he kissed her
forehead. “It’ll get a little crowded in bed, but I can work around that.”

“I have no doubt. With your staunch determination and
creativity, I’m sure bedtime will remain interesting.”

* * *
*

A week later, Damon started interviewing construction
companies. Muscular men in starched work clothes and slicked back hair lumbered
in and out. One actually strutted, like he felt the job was in the bag. Another
one had a wide stride that screamed alpha male. Angela wished her friend Kat
could be there to enjoy the hunk parade. Finally, Damon told her he found a
dependable crew boss to do the job at a fair price.

When the work started, Angela noticed that the tall and
imposing construction boss with the animal elegance was always looking at her
as if he knew her. Or was he flirting? He didn’t look exactly like anyone she’d
ever known, and yet there was something familiar about him.

“Damon, did you thoroughly check out Hugh and his company?”

“There wasn’t much on him, but he’s never been arrested,
knows construction like the back of his hand, and best of all, he gave the
lowest bid. And most important, I like the guy.”

“You like everyone.”

“Sure, until they prove me wrong. Where’s the problem in
that?”

“Because by then, it’s too late. I don’t want anyone here
who might endanger our girls.”

Damon shook his head. “I don’t either. You know that. But I
want you to feel comfortable about him. So, I’ll send him in. You talk to him.
If he doesn’t pass your scrutiny, I’ll fire him. But then he’ll probably sue my
ass.”

The minute the dark-haired construction boss entered the
room, she felt something familiar pass between them. He smiled. “You need
something, Mrs. Lamont?” His engaging smile reached inside her and she fought
the feeling that they were already friends. His shirt was open and his chest
glistened with sweat.