Inca had already decided to go into the city when her cell phone rang. She’d gotten up late, rested but distracted, disturbed by vivid dreams. She stood under the shower, trying to unravel the parts she could remember. Olly. And her husband, the one she’d never told anyone about—Kevin. Then a choking, suffocating terror. Pain. Despite the heat of the shower, she shivered.

It’s just a dream.

But her stomach was cramped up with tension. After a few minutes, she gave up and ran a bath, hoping immersing her whole body into the water would help. She kneaded her stomach muscles with her fingers, feeling how knotted and sore they felt.

Ever since she’d told Olly about Kevin, she hadn’t been able to shake the fear that ran bone deep. It had been when she was abroad, in England, during her time at college. She’d met Kevin in the student bar of her college and the attraction had been immediate. Kevin hadn’t had the preppy good looks of his cohorts, but he had seemed genuinely besotted by Inca. Even then, though, she had been reticent about telling him everything about her. And when it came to sex, she had refused him.

“I’m not ready,” she had told him, “if you need to go elsewhere for that, I’m okay with it.’

She had never known if he had taken her up on that and slept around. For Inca, that had not been the foundation of their relationship; to her, she had found a good friend. To Kevin, however, it was more. He had appeared to fall in love with her and, when he had told her he wanted to relocate to the States, he had asked her to marry him so he could get his green card. Inca wasn’t keen on the idea, but Kevin had manipulated her into agreeing to it and they had had a five-minute ceremony at a London registrar’s office.

Then, when they had gotten back to the States and moved into a little apartment in New York, that was when he had turned nasty and Inca had realized that was why she had held back from fully committing to him. The menace that lurked underneath his outwardly friendly appearance was now all on the surface. He watched her every move, pressured her to have sex, and got nasty when she backed off.

The first time he had hit her, she had known she’d made the biggest mistake of her life. What had she been thinking? She had planned to leave less than a month after the wedding and get the marriage annulled. But Kevin had made sure she knew that he would never allow her to leave.

“I’ll kill you,” he had raged, and Inca had barely made it out of the apartment. She’d taken the bus across country and arrived back in Washington State, relieved she’d never told him where her hometown really was. Getting the marriage annulled would be difficult without Kevin finding her, so she’d stuck her head in the sand and pretended he didn’t exist.

Except, now, he might have found her. Inca had no doubt that Kevin was capable of killing and that his obsession with her would lead him to try and terrify her into submission. But, God, she really didn’t want to deal with that.

She leaned back in the water. She couldn’t shake the dream. It was sparks and discordant flashes of memory. Kevin. Was he kissing her? She remembered a feeling of resignation. It wasn’t a good feeling. She was resigned to the fact that he was going to hurt her, that she would die. Kevin was killing her—and Olly walked away.

I told you what he was, Inca. I told you.

She screamed for him, but he didn’t look back. Kevin was holding her and she couldn’t move, couldn’t escape. All of his limbs turned to blades, freakishly oversized knives, machetes. His grin was a terrifying rictus; it stretched and stretched until his whole mouth was impossibly large, a gaping maw. Then came the pain …

Inca shook herself. A freaking child’s nightmare. Ridiculous.

She pulled herself from the bath and wrapped a towel around herself. She wanted out of this town for a day, away from everybody. The realtor had arranged for people to come put up a Sold sign today and she didn’t think she could bear to be around them. With everything that was going on, the pain of knowing she was going to have to move out of her ‘safe’ space was eating at her.

She dressed quickly in a plain T-shirt and jeans, pulling her wet hair into a ponytail, sliding her feet into her favorite old sneakers. When the phone rang just as she was going downstairs, she glanced at the display and debated not answering. She hadn’t spoken to Tommaso since she’d confessed Kevin’s existence to Olly. Guilt won out.

“Hi, Tommaso.”

“How are you this morning?”

Inca opened the door of her car and got in. “I’m good. On my way out, is all. How are you?”

“Fine, thanks. Going anywhere interesting?”

“Just into the city.”

“Would you like some company? I was intending to go to the city myself at some point.”

Inca leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. No, I really, really don’t. But she tried to keep her voice neutral. “Of course. I’ll pick you up on the way. I’ll be five minutes.”

When she pulled up outside the Winter mansion, Tommaso was waiting. He smiled and opened her door, leaning to kiss her cheek.

“I thought I might drive us.”

Inca opened her mouth to protest, but Tommaso was already walking to his car. She sighed and followed him, sliding into the passenger seat of the sleek Mercedes. He smiled at her.

“Ready, my darling?”

Despite herself, the sight of his handsome face and his obvious delight at seeing her made her feel better. She leaned over to kiss him. “Ready.”

He stroked her face. “I’ve missed you, bella. We should see more of each other.”

Inca smiled. “We have all day today if you’d like, Tommaso.”

“I do like.” He grinned. “Come. Show me your city.”

Inca was just getting in when she heard the house phone ring. Grabbing the receiver with one finger, she was surprised when she heard Mindy’s voice. The realtor sounded breathless.

“Honey? Are you okay?” Mindy’s voice was almost frantic.

Inca frowned. “I’m fine … what’s going on, Mindy?”

Against the tumult of Mindy’s greeting, the sudden silence that followed was jarring. And when Mindy spoke, the ice in her voice was a shock.

“Well, I guess then I had no need to call. Do you even care that you’ve ruined someone’s day and lost them money? Wasted my time?”

Inca was speechless. “Mindy … what the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the guys who were coming to set up your house sale signs. Those guys that were going out of their way to do that for me. If you had a problem with the dates, you could’ve just called me and I would have rescheduled. Is this about the apartment? Are you punishing me for losing it?”

Inca interrupted her. “Mindy, I swear to God I have no idea what you’re talking about. The guys were coming today, weren’t they?” A building panic hammered at her chest. She couldn’t recall if she’d seen their sign outside the apartment.

Mindy’s short bark of laughter held no humor. “Well, I thought so until half an hour ago, when you called to cancel.”

“Wait, what?” Inca’s head began to pound uncomfortably and she knew another migraine would follow if she didn’t calm down. “I’ve never called them, Mindy, not ever. I wouldn’t even know their number. I certainly didn’t call to cancel this morning.”

Mindy’s voice was hard as she intoned, “I’m calling to cancel the appointment because I don’t want you or your asshole workers anywhere near my property. Fuck you and fuck your signs.”

A ribbon of ice trickled down Inca’s stomach. “Mindy … I swear to God, I never made any calls. I will get you my phone records if you want, but I did not make that call. I was in the city with my boyfriend a half hour ago, or at least in his car on the way back. I would never, ever, treat someone like that. Come on, now; you’ve known me for months. Do you really think I’m capable of behavior like that?”

Mindy suddenly sighed. When she spoke, she sounded tired and drained. “No, I don’t, I guess. I just … the guy was really upset, and the way he said you spoke … what’s going on, Inca?

The pain in Inca’s head was shrieking now. She sat down on the bottom stair and rubbed her free hands over her eyes. “I have no idea … someone must have called and pretended they were me.” She shook her head. “Who would do that, though? I’m really sorry for the sign guy, even if it wasn’t me. Jesus.”

Mindy sighed again. “Who would—”

She didn’t even get the rest of the sentence out when Inca realized. Her shoulders slumped and she gave a low, resigned groan. There was only one person petty enough and who hated her enough to do this.

“Mindy, it’s okay. It’s someone messing with me, and I think I know who it is.” She apologized again, said her goodbyes, and set the phone down. The doorbell rang and, as she went to answer it, she felt anger sweep over her as she contemplated just how she would pay back her tormentor.

She opened the door to see Olly smiling at her, but his smile faded when he saw her face.

“What’s up?”

Inca sighed. “Olly, would you happen to know if Belinda Clements is back in town?”

“The Queen of All Evil?” Olly grinned as she stood aside to let him in. “I really don’t know. Why?”

Inca told him and Olly rolled his eyes. “It does sound like something she’d do—but like ten years ago. What’s her beef now?”

“Who the hell knows? I really could do without it though, you know?”

Olly patted her arm. “Listen, we can deal with a spiteful little bitch like Belinda. I want to talk some more about this ex-husband of yours.”

Inca sighed. “I wish he was an ex-husband, believe me. You have one hour. Tommaso is picking me up in two hours for dinner.”

“Deal.”

Later, when she was showering and dressing for dinner, she thought about Belinda again. The two of them had been sworn enemies since childhood; Inca had refused to bow down to her Queen Bee schoolyard antics, and Belinda had instead made Inca the target of all her spite. It hadn’t changed when they grew older. Belinda’s jealousy of Inca’s beauty and popularity, especially with Olly, with whom Belinda was besotted, meant she had bitched and griped at Inca until, at last, Belinda found some rich idiot to marry her and they moved to California.

Inca really hoped it wasn’t Belinda who had bought her beloved apartment.

I’d be tempted to leave a candle burning, she thought darkly, then smiled. Belinda Clements was the least of her problems, and now all she wanted was to enjoy her evening with Tommaso. Despite her reluctance to see him that morning, his company had been just what she had needed.

Screw you, Belinda. You won’t spoil anything for me.

Sixth Grade, Willowbrook Junior High

Then

“Chink.”

Inca ignored her, far too busily immersed in Boo saving Scout and Jem. A drop of purple soda flicked onto the page in front of her.

“Hey. I called you, Chink.”

Inca pushed her glasses up her nose and glared at the ginger-haired girl in front of her. Belinda Clements was grinning nastily at her, her band of nervous-looking acolytes hanging back. They knew what was coming and clearly, Inca thought, it was going to be bad.

“As you well know, moron, I’m Indian, Japanese, and American. What do you want, you little jerk?” She stood up and faced the girl.

Belinda’s gang skittered back, jabbering quietly among themselves. Inca Sardee was small, but she could launch herself with all the power of a cannonball on someone who riled her.

Belinda grinned. “Guess what my poppa told me? He said Tyler fucks your mommy with a zucchini, right in her Volvo.”

Inca rolled her eyes. This was nothing new. “It’s vulva. And you’re an idiot.”

The girls behind Belinda giggled, then stepped back as Belinda rounded on them, eyes blazing. “Shut up!”

They shut up.

Inca grinned at her. “That all you got, lame ass?” She picked up her bag, shoved her book deep inside, and gave Belinda what she hoped was a withering look as she pushed past her. Belinda hooked a finger in the top of her T-shirt and jerked her back. Inca stumbled and the others laughed.

Belinda bent down to Inca’s ear and whispered, “Does Tyler fuck you with that zucchini, pigdog? Do you enjoy it?”

And Inca was on her, yelling, pounding her small fists into the girl’s face and body. The entire yard came running then, most of them shouting encouragement at Inca. After a minute or so, Inca felt herself being picked up and carried off by a teacher. She struggled, still incensed, trying to get back to Belinda, who was being helped to her feet amidst snickering from the other kids.

“Inca Sardee! Quit it! Quit it now!” The teacher, Mrs. Lindo, tried to contain the squirming child. Inca gave in but gave Belinda the finger as she was carted off to the principal’s office. She heard a bark of low laughter coming from behind her. She looked past the school gates to see a youth, no more than fifteen or so, grinning at her with cigarette in hand. The look on his face said he was impressed. She gave him the finger too, which only made him laugh harder.

The principal, Bill Porter, a squat African-American with a jolly face, said he was disappointed in her. He winced when Inca relayed in a dull voice exactly what Belinda had said to set her off. He sighed, but said that because of the provocation and her history—or ‘the unfortunate incident’—he was prepared to overlook the fight this time.

Inca was used to people referring to the ‘unfortunate incident. Nancy and Tyler would never tell her what it was, and Inca had stopped asking. All she knew was—it got her out of most trouble.

“Make no mistake though, Inca, I cannot keep making exceptions for you. Next time it happens, I’ll suspend you. Take a good look at your behavior, young lady.”

Inca thanked him politely and walked out into the secretary’s office.

The school secretary was shooing a blonde woman in her thirties into the outer office. A girl of about seven, dressed impeccably in a princess costume, came skipping in. Inca returned her friendly smile then stopped as the boy from earlier rolled around the door jamb and grinned at her. Inca flushed, remembering she’d flipped him the bird. As she passed him, he chuckled again and she shot him a glare. She tried not to smile as his merry eyes twinkled at her, but failed. Behind her, she heard Mr. Porter greet the woman. She introduced herself and then pulled both her children to her side with an exasperated sigh.

“For God’s sake, behave. Mr. Porter, this is my daughter; you’ll be seeing her in a few years.”

Inca turned to leave the office just as Mr. Porter asked the boy his name. The boy winked at her.

“Hello,” he said with a face-splitting grin. “I’m Olly.”

Nancy was waving the paper at her angrily as Inca entered the teahouse the next morning. She’d hoped to get there before anyone and had walked into town wanting the fresh air.

Sleep had eluded her for the rest of the night and she’d given up trying after a while. She couldn’t get that call from Mindy out of her mind. Mindy had been so sure it had been Inca who had called the guys and abused them. Had she done it? No, of course not. But it bugged her why Belinda would want to start their feud up again after all this time. She needed something to distract her. Taking advantage of the apartment’s lack of neighbors, Inca cranked Pearl Jam up loud and cleaned the whole place until dawn broke over the town.

Now, though, confronted by an obviously annoyed Nancy, she wished she’d stayed home.

“Have you seen this crap?” Nancy shoved the paper at Inca, who glanced at it.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s The Bugler. What do you expect?” She dropped the paper on the counter without reading the article. Nancy wasn’t letting it go, though.

“The Geisha Murders. Geisha!”’ She followed Inca into the kitchen, huffing to herself.

Inca chuckled. “It’s a rag, Nance; they can’t function without giving something a tagline. And they’ve no more sense or decency than to use a racial stereotype.” She stopped and looked at her mom. “You’re going to stew on this, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

Inca sighed and went to open the front door. Tommaso was waiting there, smiling at her. He kissed her as he stepped in.

“Hey, you. How are you feeling?”

She tried to smile, then shrugged. “Okay. These things happen. Come on in and I’ll get you some coffee.”

He followed her to the counter. Nancy appeared at the door and squinted at him He smiled easily at her.

“Hey, Nancy. How are you?”

“Boy, did you pick the wrong time to ask that,” Inca muttered at Tommaso, who looked alarmed.

“Why—” he started, but then Nancy waved the paper at him.

“Look at this.”

Tommaso took the paper, looking confused. Nancy glared at him. “Don’t you think it’s outrageous?”

“Um …”

“Nancy, leave him alone.” Inca nudged her mother, who huffed.

“If he cares about you, then …”

“Nancy!” Inca was red-faced and Tommaso, poor Tommaso, just looked confused. Nancy stomped out of the room.

Tommaso looked at Inca. “What did I do?”

“Nothing. It’s not you.” Inca waved off his question. “She’s just in a mood. Apparently, the murders now have a nickname that she objects to.” She gave him the newspaper. “Plus, she’s always in a funk.” She raised her voice slightly, grinning at Tommaso. “She’s been in a bad mood for the last seventy years, I think.”

From the backroom, a voice came “I can hear you.” Nancy poked her head out of the door, ignoring Tommaso. Inca gave Nancy her best cheesy grin. Nancy scowled at her. “We’re out of oolong. I’m going to the market.”

Inca’s grin widened. “Okay … geisha …” she added, and ducked as Nancy fired a dishtowel at her. She disappeared again and Inca turned back to Tommaso. He was reading the paper intently. She left him to it while she poured his coffee and wiped down the tables.

“Hey, oldies. How you doing?” Scarlett scooted into the teahouse with Luna behind her, punching Inca’s arm. “Guess what, Inks?”

Inca rubbed her arm and scowled at her young friend. “What?”

“Luna met someone.”

Inca raised her eyebrows. “You did?” It was a little unlike Luna to announce a new boyfriend. The girl usually sneered at relationships or anything lasting longer than one night. “Tell me more.”

Luna chuckled. “Nope. Not yet, but maybe if I see more of him. He’s hot. English.”

Inca went cold, but shook herself. No way. “So, what’s he look like?”

“Swoony.”

“That isn’t a word.”

“Is too. But, yeah, he looks like a male model.”

Inca relaxed a little. Kevin had most definitely not been male model material. “The handsome ones are always trouble,” she said, running a hand through Tommaso’s dark curls.

“That’s so very, very true.” Knox appeared at the door then and grinned at them all. “We are such a rare breed.”

Scarlett made a gagging noise and Inca laughed at them both.

Tommaso looked up, not seeming to take in the newcomers and instead turned to Inca.

“Please tell me you don’t go into the city alone?” His eyes were locked on hers. She smiled and nodded.

“Sure, sometimes.” She looked away from his intense gaze, feeling the burn of embarrassment creep onto her face. She moved away, but he caught her hand.

“I’m serious. Not at night?”

She nodded again, taken aback by his fierceness. He seemed to realize this and took a deep breath in. His smile was rueful.

“Sorry, but …” He looked at Knox for the first time and Inca quickly introduced them. Tommaso nodded at the paper. “You know about this?”

Knox’s face was resigned. “Too much. It’s bad. Guy’s a maniac.”

Tommaso nodded and turned to Inca. “You have to take this seriously. Please.”

Inca saw Scarlett’s eyebrows rise. She couldn’t tell whether her friend was impressed by Tommaso’s concern or …

“Hey.”

They all started a little. Olly was standing behind them, watching. Inca smiled at him.

“Hey, you.” She felt relieved that he’d broken the tension but, she noticed, Olly studiously ignored Tommaso as he pulled up a seat at the counter.

Luna hugged her brother from behind.

“Hello and goodbye, bro. I have to scoot.”

“Hello and goodbye. Loser.”

“Dillhole.” Luna grinned at him and waved at Scarlett and Inca before she left the teahouse.

Olly sipped his coffee. Tommaso pushed the paper at him.

“You see this?”

Olly glanced at it. “Same as most people round here. Most local people anyways,” he added, a ribbon of petulance creeping into his tone. Inca shot him a warning glance. Tommaso smirked, shaking his head.

“All right, then.” He got up to go. “Inca, I’ll see you later?”

“Yes. I’ll see you later. Eight? My place?”

Tommaso nodded, smiling, then said his goodbyes. Olly watched him walk out, then turned back to Inca.

She glared at him. “What’s your problem with Tommaso?”

“Nothing. Just don’t like rich guys for whom nothing is a problem. Including laying claim to the people I love.”

Inca was annoyed now. “If I remember rightly, you didn’t want this person anymore. And I’m not a possession to be laid claim to.”

She stomped out into the kitchen, annoyed. Taking a deep breath, she opened the back door and went outside for some air.

He watched her from across the street, well-hidden back amongst the trees. God, she was so beautiful with that long dark hair caught up in a messy bun at the nape of her neck and her curves in that T-shirt and jeans. The swell of her breasts, the strip of golden skin between her T-shirt and her jeans …

He closed his eyes. He needed to kill again. The thought of finally killing Inca was becoming all he could think about. His cock got hard just thinking about his knife cutting into her flesh, hearing her shocked, terrified gasp of agony, seeing the ruby red blood spill out of her.

But once she was dead, that was it. The end. So he knew he had to keep his distance until the perfect moment. He knew how to sate his bloodlust on other women. But he liked the idea that Inca knew he was coming for her and that she was his ultimate goal, the suffering of his other victims nothing compared to what he would make her endure.

He disappeared into the trees and found his car, driving into the city. He would sit for hours waiting for the perfect girl, then he would follow her. He thought about the other girls he had killed. The singer had been a mistake, a risk. What was her name … what was her name? Ita. She was the only one who could lead the police to him.

He had been there watching when she sang at Carmel’s that day before she died. He had watched her slap that stupid, drunken fucker who tried to feel her breasts. Spirit. She had that.

Ita.

He remembered the look in her eyes when she realized it was really happening, her long dark hair sticking to her face with perspiration. Her fear. Oh, and she'd looked down on him, dismissed him, laughed at him. Told him to get out, disdainfully. Until she could not speak, her mouth moving aimlessly, loosely, open and shut, dying, losing control. No more laughing.

Or the girl with the spider’s web tattoo on her belly. Sexy. He'd come across her in a deli on Fifth. She had been arguing with the insolent-looking cashier. He'd helped her out. Followed her home. Arranged to bump into her later. She'd been grateful and invited him in for a drink, looking at him with interest. So easy. An hour later, she had been slumped in her chair, looking at him again, this time in confusion as he removed her shirt. He knew she thought he was going to rape her, and looked down at her in disgust.

Whore.

He had told her then exactly what he was going to do to her, that she wasn't worthy and he wouldn't sully himself on her. She tried to move or scream as he raised the knife. Then he had seen resignation as the blade plunged into the center of the spider’s web again and again. So much blood. He liked the idea of Inca having that tattoo; he imagined her with it as he stabbed her to death. It made him hard.

He perked up now when he spotted her. Indian. Gorgeous. She looked so much like Inca that his breath was almost taken away. Sweet face, warm smile. He followed her home almost laughing out loud when she drove back to Willowbrook—so close to Inca—and waited until after dark.

After midnight, with no moon, the storms clouds painting the landscape black, the house was hushed. Footfalls, a whisper of movement …

He stood over her, watching, the knife in his hand. He breathed deeply in through the nose, out through the mouth. She opened her eyes and gazed up at him, still mostly asleep, not really seeing him. He smiled, but said nothing. Her eyes closed for a moment and then opened again. She frowned, her face creasing with confusion.

“Are you going to kill me?”

The question thrilled him, shocked him, delighted him. He stroked her face and smiled. “Yes.”

And he drove the knife deep into her belly.

Tommaso stroked her cheek. “You look unbelievable,” he said gently. Inca flushed with pleasure. Her dress was a dark gold, reflecting on her skin, her hair pulled over one shoulder. Tommaso’s eyes lingered on her mouth. “Inca, mio caro, how would you feel about making our relationship more official?” His lips were on her throat and Inca closed her eyes, letting all the tension of the past few days drain from her.

They’d had a quiet dinner at a little place in the city, then Tommaso had driven her back to his mansion. “Raffaelo is away on business,” he told her, with a wicked grin. “We have the place to ourselves and I …,” he trailed his fingertips down her belly, “am going to fuck you in every room in this house, my darling Inca …”

A moan escaped her as he took her in his arms now and she nodded. “Yes, Tommaso. We can talk about us.”

“Good.” He pulled his tie from his neck and, grinning, wound it around her eyes. “Do you trust me, Inca?”

She hesitated a little. “Should I?”

Tommaso gave a throaty chuckle. “Absolutely not.”

Inca laughed and felt him take her hand and lead her somewhere else. She felt a draft of cold air but said nothing as Tommaso began to strip her. She felt his lips on her skin, felt him take each nipple in turn into his mouth. She stroked his dark curls as his kiss touched her belly. Then his face was in her sex, his tongue lashing around her clit, his hands pushing her legs apart. His fingers gripped her hips tightly as his mouth found her and she caught her breath when his tongue plunged deep inside her.

“You taste of honey,” he said, his deep voice rumbling through her. She felt him stand and kiss her mouth. “I want you to feel my cock inside you, Inca. Feel how much I want you.”

He guided her hands to his cock now, thick and huge and hot as she stroked him. “It wants to be in your sweet cunt, Inca, always.”

Jesus …

She could feel herself becoming unbelievably wet as he continued to describe what he wanted to do to her, and by the time he laid her back on what felt like a table, she was desperate for him to be inside her. He teased her, sliding two fingers in and out of her before he took her almost violently, thrusting his engorged cock deep inside of her, harder and deeper each time until she was crying with pleasure. His thumb rubbed her clit and she came explosively, her body jerking and trembling, but Tommaso would not let her rest. He pulled her to the carpet and tugged the blindfold off, only to bind her hands behind her.

“You like this, bella ragazza?”

Breathless and excited, she nodded, and he gave a soft laugh. “Good. Now …” He rolled her onto her back, her bound hands pressing into the small of her back. She gazed up at him; his green eyes were intense, almost demonic against his swarthy skin and dark hair—God, he was divine. His body—hard and defined—covered hers.

“You are mine, yes?”

She nodded. “Yes, Tommaso. I am yours … oh …”

He slid back inside her, gently this time, but as his thrusts became more forceful, the weight of his body pressing down on her, her shoulders burning from having her hands bound, Inca found she enjoyed the sweet pain of it.

Tommaso had a satisfied look in his eyes—almost victorious. “You like the pain?”

Astonishing herself, she nodded. “From you, yes,” she whispered, and he chuckled.

“Maybe another time we can explore that further …”

“Maybe.”

He drove her to another shattering orgasm and she clung to him as his lips found hers. He smoothed her damp hair away from her face and gazed down at her. “Ti amo, Inca Sardee. Ti amo.”

Inca’s eyes filled with tears at the depth of passion in his voice and in that moment her heart swelled and she kissed him fiercely. “I love you too, Tommaso.”

Much, much later, she fell asleep in his arms and didn’t wake when he slid from the bed. For a few minutes, he watched her sleep, her dark hair spread on his pillow, watching her deep, regular breathing, her skin glowing in the low light of the room.

Tommaso tugged his pants on and wandered down to the kitchen. Lately he had been plagued by insomnia and nothing, it seemed, not even exhausting himself fucking Inca, could help him.

Tommaso Winter knew darkness. It ate at him constantly and, despite his happiness with the beautiful woman in his bed, he found himself sinking back into the blue funk he knew so well. Only Raff knew how to drag him out of it; only Raff knew the depths of it. He called his brother now.

Raffaelo was in Rome, checking on his favorite and original club. Tommaso glanced at the clock—Rome was nine hours ahead of Seattle, which made it eleven a.m. He knew Raff would be parked in his favorite café right now.

“Tommaso.”

“Hey.”

“Everything okay?”

“Inca’s here.”

There was a silence. “What’s going on, brother?”

“I told her I loved her.”

Another long pause. “Oh, damn.”

“Yeah.”

Raffaelo sighed. “Look, don’t freak out. Did she say it back?”

“Yes, but I don’t know …”

“You’re freaking.”

“I’m not. Yet. I need you to talk me down. Stop me from ruining this.”

Raffaelo knew his brother well. Through the damage their father had inflicted on both of them when they were young and the loss of their mother, Raffaelo had been the one to hold his brother up. And ever since then, every time Tommaso went through any heightened emotion, Raff was his rock. His anchor.

They both knew what Tomaso was capable of when he felt insecure. Tommaso closed his eyes now. “I don’t want to hurt her, Raff.”

“You won’t. Listen to me. So, you’ve said it. Did you mean it?”

Tommaso nodded to himself. “I did. I do. She is everything.”

He heard his brother give a hiss of frustration. “Tommaso, get yourself together. You barely know her. You’re projecting.”

“No. No. It’s really not like that.”

But he knew Raff didn’t believe him. He heard his brother curse softly. “I’m coming back.”

“No, no. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have called you. You know me.”

“Exactly. Let me come home and help you. There’s no reason, if you really love her, that this time can’t be different.”

Tommaso went back to the bedroom after ending the call and saw that Inca was now lying on her back, the sheet tangled around her hips. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her breasts, the soft curve of her belly as she slept. He lay down beside her and stroked her soft skin, tracing a line between her breasts down to her navel.

She murmured in her sleep and turned towards him, half opening her eyes. “I love you, Tommaso,” she whispered before her eyes closed again and Tommaso was glad she was asleep again quickly, so that she would not see his tears.

The news broke the next morning and the entire town was horrified. Jasmine Khan had been one of their own, a well-loved girl found murdered in her own apartment.

Inca felt sick. Jasmine had helped out at the Sakura more than once. Inca had been glad to help her out as she studied for her college degree. Jasmine had only been seventeen, sweet, intelligent … and now this.

Olly looked shattered when he came into the Sakura that morning. The whole town was buzzing with police.

Inca hugged her friend. “Oh, Olly.”

He relaxed into her embrace. “It’s bad, Inks. Really bad.”

Nancy’s face was creased with worry as she looked between the two. “Come sit down, Olly, before you fall down.”

Inca didn’t want to ask the question, but Olly must have seen it in her eyes. “Yeah, sweetheart. Your name was carved into this victim too.”

Inca’s hands clenched into fists and her temper broke through. “Then why doesn’t he come after me? Why kill an innocent woman? All those girls? Just kill me!’

Olly took her shoulders and his face looked fierce. “I never want to hear you say that again, Inca Sardee. You are not to blame for this. Don’t ever, ever say that to me again.”

He tried to smile to soften his words. Tyler came in then, accompanied by Tommaso, who was talking at him rather than to him. Tommaso’s face was serious, and he appeared to be pressing his point with some fervor. Tyler looked rather taken aback.

“Hey.” Inca smiled at them both, hoping to break the tension. Tyler smiled back rather wanly. Tommaso kissed her cheek.

“Bella,” he said warmly and sat down, nodding to Olly, patting his shoulder. “Chief. Guess you’ve had a rough morning.”

Olly nodded. “You have no idea.”

Inca offered Tommaso some coffee.

“No, thanks. Look—”Tommaso began, but Tyler shook his head.

“Tommaso, this can wait.”

Tommaso frowned. “Forgive me, Tyler, but I don’t think it can. Nancy?” he called out, and Nancy poked her head out of the kitchen. “Nancy, would you join us, please?”

Tyler sighed and sat down. Nancy looked confused but joined them, pulling out the chair next to her husband. He took her hand and squeezed it.

“Thank you.”

Tommaso was being oddly formal, Inca thought. She had no idea what was going on and waited for Tommaso to begin.

“Tyler and I are concerned.” He held up his hand as Tyler started to object. “No, Tyler. I know you think I’m being overly cautious. But the fact is, a young Indian woman was killed here last night. We all know what’s been going on in the city and I don’t think it’s hysterical to suggest that, for the meantime, we take precautions. Inca, please, don’t go anywhere alone, especially at night. Do you understand?”

Nancy looked annoyed at his tone. “Yeah, Olly beat you to the punch, albeit less patronizingly.”

Inca coughed, interrupting her. “I think what Nancy means is, thank you for your concern.” She tapped her mom’s arm as she was about to protest. “I’ll take care, I promise. I do think you can be over-cautious, but, hey, it’s not like we don’t have people around us all the time.”

Tommaso shook his head. “Until you are in that apartment isolated from everyone.”

Inca glanced at Tyler, but he nodded. “He’s right. I’d feel better if—”

“You’ll move into the mansion,” Tommaso announced suddenly. “It’s the best solution.”

Inca started to protest, but he held his hand up to stop her. “I won’t take any arguments. Do any of you feel that this isn’t the best arrangement? Do you realize how much security we have access to? No-one would get near Inca.”

No one had any answer to that, and so Inca found herself agreeing. She would move in with the Winter twins until the killer was found. Tommaso left soon after, to arrange things, Olly following him to re-join the investigation across the street.

Inca blinked at Tyler and Nancy, grinning slightly.

“Well, I guess I have roommates. That happened fast.”

Tyler reached out to pat her arm. “If you’re uncomfortable, you can always stay with us.”

Nancy nodded, gesturing towards the door. “Tommaso was eager, wasn’t he? A bit too eager, if you ask me.” She gave Inca a meaningful look, and Inca flushed.

“He’s just being a good friend, Nance, and he’s right; he’s got security out the wazoo. And you two really don’t want me hanging around like a moody teenager, do you?”

Tyler and Nancy laughed, and Nancy tugged gently on Inca’s ponytail. “Kiddo, you know you always have a home with us. Just watch that Tommaso doesn’t get the wrong idea.”

Raffaelo was tired when he arrived back at the mansion, but he listened to what Tommaso told him in silence, then nodded. “You’re right. She should stay here.”

Tommaso was vaguely surprised. “I thought you’d object.”

“That you want to protect the woman you love? Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t want anything to happen to Inca either.”

“Thank you.” Tommaso turned to leave his brother’s room, knowing he was exhausted, but Raffaelo called him back.

“Tommaso … I hope that, by Inca being here, you won’t …” He trailed off, but gave his brother a meaningful look. Tommaso cocked an eyebrow.

“Won’t what?”

Raffaelo sighed. “You know what I mean. Inca is an independent woman. She’s under our protection, yes, but we have no right to dictate what she does, or where she goes.”

Tommaso’s smile faded. “You think I would try to control her.”

“Wouldn’t you?”

Tommaso looked annoyed now. “Inca is different.”

“I know. I’m just saying … don’t get too entrenched with her that you can’t see anything else. She’ll feel suffocated.”

“You think I’m suffocating?”

“You can be. Even with your good heart, you know what has happened in the past. If Inca really means that much to you, give her space.”

Tommaso gave his brother a tight nod and left the room. Raffaelo pulled off his shoes and lay back on the bed. It would be strange having Inca living here. Neither of the twins had ever lived with one of their girlfriends before, but then again, they’d always had each other.

Raffaelo had known this was coming for a couple of years now, and he was glad. It was time. They were thirty-five— too old to be sharing with a sibling. They needed to move on, but he’d been reticent about how to broach the subject with Tommaso. Tommaso had always been the insecure one of the two— again, Raffaelo thought darkly, more fall-out from their father’s shitty parenting. But Raffaelo liked Inca and didn’t want her hurt because Tommaso hadn’t worked out all of his issues.

For himself … he had no intention of getting involved with anyone. The emptiness within him was something he clung to—it stopped him from feeling. It had been an age since he had been attracted to anyone enough to make a move. His looks meant he could have anyone, and yet he found he wanted no one.

Yes. He told himself that he wanted no one. There was no woman who could penetrate his walls.

No one.

Except that when he dreamed at night, he dreamed of café-au-lait skin and a warm, sweet smile.

Inca had packed everything she owned and Tyler had helped her load her boxes into his garage. She didn’t want to take all of her stuff to Tommaso’s mansion, despite his protests, but Inca felt she needed to have something rooted back in her old life. It was weird enough to be moving in with Tommaso; he’d cleared space in his closet—or rather, his maid had—and now her clothes were hanging next to his expensive, handmade suits. The fact that she would be sharing his bed, his room, hadn’t even been discussed, just assumed.

Tyler saw her face as they tidied the garage up. “You okay, Bubba? You can always change your mind, you know. Our offer will remain open.”

She smiled at him gratefully. “Thank you, Popsicle, but I think this is the right move. I love Tommaso. I really do.”

Tyler studied his adoptive daughter. “You do?”

Inca was surprised. “Yes, of course. Why do you ask that?”

Tyler shook his head. “It’s just … you don’t seem excited about him. When I fell in love with your mother, I was like a horse with ginger up its butt for the first few years.”

Inca giggled at the image. “Lovely, Pa. I guess it just feels more relaxed than that. More …”

“Sedate?”

Inca thought about it. “Yeah. Like it just is, you know?”

“Each to their own.”

“That’s what I think.”

Tyler nodded. “He’ll keep you safe.”

Inca stopped and then let the fear show in her face. “He will. Pa … I don’t understand what is happening. Why … if someone wants to kill me, why not just do it?”

Tyler paled, but nodded. Before he’d retired, before all of this, he had been the island’s police chief, privy to investigations and resources that he wished desperately to have access to now. The thought of Inca being a target was agony to him. “I can’t answer you, Bubba. But nothing is going to happen to you. I promise.”

Later, in the split-level duplex on Hewlett Avenue, Tyler poured himself a finger of scotch and slumped into the armchair. He heard Nancy moving around in the kitchen, the smell of roast chicken and thyme drifting through the house. She poked her head in the room.

“Hungry?”

Tyler tried to smile and nodded. “Smells great, Nance.”

She hesitated for a moment, then walked over and sat down on the arm of his chair. He patted her leg as she kissed the top of his head. The TV flickered quietly in the corner, the familiar scenery of the town invaded by reporters from the city. They watched it in silence. Eventually, Tyler sighed.

“I’m worried about Inca.”

He felt Nancy nod. “I know, honey.” The reassurance he expected from her didn’t come, and he felt the knot in his stomach tighten. Nancy’s eyes were concerned. She sat down in the chair opposite him and took his hands.

“But, honey, she’s an adult. She’s stronger than you think; she really is. She’s come so far and grown so independent. All we can do is support her decisions and hope, whoever this maniac is, that he doesn’t get to her.”

Tyler studied her face, her dark eyes just starting to crinkle at the edges, her brown hair just starting to show fine strands of grey. Nancy Hama had come into his life at a time when he’d come to terms with being alone. After his initial adoption of Inca had been turned down—I am sorry, Mr. Sardee; the child is damaged, and you are on your own—he’d slumped into despondency.

Nancy had been one of the nurses at the children’s unit in Seattle where they’d taken Inca after the horror of what had happened with her birth parents. Nancy and Tyler had talked long into the night over Inca’s sleeping form, her tiny body bandaged, the little crease between her brows starting to relax. Nancy was forthright, opinionated, and had the biggest heart of anyone he’d ever known. When Inca had left the hospital, Nancy had gone home with Tyler and never left—heir adoption of Inca successful this time.

He sighed. “Can you believe she was married and never told us?”

“No. And believe me, I let her know how dumb that was.” Nancy’s expression was fierce and Tyler smiled, before sighing.

“I don’t know if I trust Tommaso Winter.”

Nancy was silent for a moment. “We can’t interfere. It’s up to Inca now. I’m not about to tell her she can’t be with the man she loves. Are you? She knows the risks.”

He stroked her face and she leaned into his touch. “What would I do without you, pooks?” She smiled, then mock-grimaced.

“Yuck, schmaltzy. Come eat this chicken before I throw up.”

Tyler laughed and took the hand she offered.

Inca and Tommaso ate with Raffaelo that night and Inca was surprised that Raffaelo was making an effort to chat with them. She hadn’t thought he had it in him to make polite conversation. He even smiled at one point, and Inca was surprise how happy it made her to see him laugh. He had the same, devastating smile as his brother, but somehow, because it was a rare sight, it made Inca want to cry. She decided she would try and make friends with the man and, by coincidence, that night Tommaso apologized to her.

“I have to go to Paris for a meeting,” he told them both, and looked at Inca regretfully. “And normally I would see this as an opportunity to take you with me, but you’ve already told me that you have to work.”

Inca nodded. “I do, and believe me, I wouldn’t normally turn down a trip to Paris, but I promised Scarlett the time off.”

“Next time.”

She smiled at him. “You’re on.”

Tommaso looked at his brother. “So …”

Raffaelo smiled. “I will be around. Inca and I can bond over making fun of you.”

Tommaso and Inca laughed. “Enjoy, brother.”

Inca looked shyly at Raffaelo. “I have to go into the city on Friday to sign some paperwork for my mortgage application.”

“I’ll be happy to accompany you; perhaps you can show me around the city. Have dinner too?”

Tommaso grinned at his brother. “Raff, stop trying to steal my girlfriend.”

Inca winked at Raff. “It’s working, though. Raffaelo, keep it up.”

Raffaelo smiled, but looked a little uncomfortable, and Inca regretted the joke. She coughed to cover her embarrassment. “There’s a lot of touristy things we can do in the city—and some great places to eat.”

Raffaelo nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

***

Later, when they went to bed, Inca asked Tommaso if he minded her spending time with Raffaelo.

“Of course not … you are family.”

He was a little distracted, given that he was pulling the straps of her dress down her shoulders and deftly unclasping her bra. His mouth found her exposed breast, his teeth grazing her nipple and sending waves of desire through her. Inca closed her eyes and sighed happily. Tommaso’s hand was under her dress, sliding into her underwear.

“You are so wet,” he murmured, his lips against her belly. And in one swift motion, he had her on the bed, his cock thrusting into her. Inca gasped at the violence of his movements. She moaned as he fucked her hard, his smile triumphant, his hands pinning hers to the bed.

“You are mine, now, Inca; you know that?”

“Yes … God, yes …”

“Tell me.”

“I’m yours, Tommaso.”

He smiled down at her, obviously enjoying the command he had over her body. “Il mio prezioso, do you remember when we talked about what we could try when we were together?”

Inca, driven half-crazy by his cock drilling her to the bed, nodded, gasping and panting for air. Tommaso smiled, his eyes drinking in the way her body trembled and quivered under him, her breasts rising and falling with her breath, her belly undulating against his stomach. “God, you are beautiful … well, I took the liberty of purchasing a few items we might have some fun with … Are you willing to try them with me, Principessa?”

He began to thrust hard, with all his strength, wanting to sink into her entirely, and Inca cried out. His lips were on her throat when he heard her say yes, and he grinned as she came, moaning and crying his name. His own climax followed swiftly and, as he felt his cum shoot deep inside her, he knew he wanted to try anything with this woman.

When they had recovered, he lifted her from the bed and sat her in a chair before going to the closet and bring out a beautifully carved wooden box. He smiled at her as he set it down.

“Before we begin … we need to set some ground rules. You need to feel safe.”

Inca smiled a little nervously. ’Just what do you intend to do to me?”

He obviously heard the doubt in her voice and took her face in his hands, his green eyes fixed on hers. “Nothing you will not permit. Everything you will allow …”

He covered her mouth with his, kissing her tenderly until her head swam.

“Anything,” she whispered to him, “I’ll do anything…”

Tommaso chuckled, then drew out a long piece of supple brown leather. “You know what this is?”

She shook her head and he grinned. “Let me show you.”

Gently, he wound the leather around her body, crisscrossing her breasts and her belly with the buttery soft strip. He bound her hands behind her and stood back to admire his work. Inca felt wildly turned on. She was helpless in front of him, but the way he was looking at her made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

Tommaso stalked around her, not touching her until he stopped and knelt, pushing her legs apart as far as they would go. He gazed up at her as he pushed further and she moaned a little, her hips burning. Inca felt the pain and the pleasure as he smiled at her before dipping his head and burying his face in her belly, dipping his tongue into the deep hollow of her navel.

Tommaso teased her clit with his thumb as he began to slide two fingers into her cunt and Inca bucked against her restraints as he found her g-spot. His tongue stabbed at her navel as if fucking it. His teeth grazed the soft mound of her belly; his free hand gripped her thigh, fingers digging painfully into the soft flesh. He drove her into a frenzy, unable to move properly, utterly at his mercy until she came, nearly screaming her ecstasy.

Tommaso stood, his cock diamond hard, and Inca, panting, told him she wanted to taste him. She took him into her mouth, trailing the tip of her tongue up the long shaft before lashing around the wide, sensitive crest of him. She heard Tommaso groan as she worked on him and she wanted to touch him, but couldn’t. As he neared climax and he made to draw away, she shook her head and instead swallowed him down as he came.

Tommaso freed one of her hands. “Touch yourself, my darling. I want to watch you …”

Inca slid her hand into her sex and began to rub, never taking her eyes from him. Tommaso fisted the root of his cock as he watched her. “I want to come on your skin.”

When he came, he spilled his seed onto her belly and Inca threw her head back and let out a shuddering moan as she reached climax. Tommaso freed her from the binds and pulled her down on top of him. “That was only the beginning, Inca, mio caro.”

He reached into the wooden casket, and drew out a paddle. Inca’s breath quickened as she saw it and she nodded, yelping as he brought it down on her buttocks. “You like?”

“God, yes.” Inca didn’t know who she was at that moment, but all she knew was that she wanted this man to do anything to her he wanted. She wriggled impatiently and Tommaso laughed.

“Bad girl.”

The paddle slammed into her skin and Inca could feel herself getting wetter and wetter. Tommaso slid his hand into her damp pussy and stroked her as he flipped her onto her back. “Just a teaser tonight … when I get back from Paris, I’m going to punish you hard, mio caro, so hard you’ll beg me to stop.”

He drove his cock into her then, and they fucked with abandon for the rest of the night.

The first nightmare came that night.

She was walking through the mansion, the rooms dark, lit only by the moonlight through the vast windows. Inca padded slowly, dressed only in Tommaso’s expensive white shirt, searching for something. She opened the front door to see a world painted white by snow. She walked out into the deep powder covering the garden, into a maze of lethal-looking icicles.

He was waiting for her in the center of the maze. He being … who? She couldn’t see his face; it was shrouded by a black hood. All she knew was … she loved him. He took her hand and led her to a mausoleum made of ice, laying her down on a long bed of ice. He raised his weapon above his head.

Inca smiled as the long shard of glass in his hand was driven into her again and again …

Inca woke shivering, cold, wet, and terrified. She was outside. How the hell was she outside? She was naked, curled up in the snow of the Winter mansion garden, utterly frozen.

“Inca!”

Raffaelo’s voice was shocked, astonished, and scared. She looked up to see him running toward her. She covered her breasts and her sex, humiliated, but Raffaelo tugged his shirt off and wrapped it around her, lifting her out of the snow and carrying her into the house to the kitchen where a fire still burned in the grate.

Inca felt completely out of it as Raffaelo disappeared. She saw the table next to the chair, along with an open book and a glass of scotch, and realized he had been awake all night. She blinked, hearing voices, then Tommaso and Raffaelo were back, Tommaso looking half-asleep but concerned. Raffaelo, carrying a heavy wool blanket, wrapped it around her, then moved to heat a kettle.

Tommaso knelt down in front of her. “Mio caro … what were you doing outside?”

She shook her head, feeling that if she opened her mouth, nothing would come out.

“I only saw her when I went to have a smoke.” Raffaelo’s voice was soft. “And only then because I thought I saw someone in the woods. I went to look and found her in the snow, completely curled up.

Inca had started to shiver now as the warmth of the fire got to her. She looked between the brothers. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I was dreaming. God, no, a nightmare … I must have sleepwalked.”

“Maybe we should call a doctor.” Tommaso, his green eyes full of worry stroked her face. He picked her up then and sat, cradling her in his arms. Inca leaned against his strong frame.

“What were you dreaming of?” Raffaelo’s voice sounded even more accented tonight, sexy, she thought, then pushed that thought away. She felt as if her brain were spinning; she could remember pain and love and ice and …

“Have you ever sleepwalked before?” Tommaso, this time, and she shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

His arms tightened around her and his lips pressed against her temple. ’Are you warming up?”

She nodded, but then, to her surprise, she felt Raffaelo gently take her feet.

“They are blue, piccolo.” He smiled at her and, to her surprise, lifted them and put them under his arms. He winced a little at the cold. “Our mother taught us this is the best way—human body warmth.”

“He is right,” Tommaso said.

Inca leaned into him and felt a rush of love for both of the brothers.

“You never talk about your mother,” she said softly. “I would have liked to know her.”

Raffaelo smiled. “She would have liked you, I think. She was soft and sweet, like you.”

Inca felt Tommaso nod. “I agree. She passed a few months ago. I know we both miss her terribly.”

“Mama’s boys?”

They both laughed.

“Unashamedly,” Raffaelo said.

Her feet were getting warmer now, less painful, but he made no move to release them. They must have looked strange, the three of them, but Inca didn’t care—weirdly, this was the closest she had felt to them both.

Eventually though, Raffaelo let her go and Tommaso led her back to bed as she felt exhaustion take over. She fell into a dreamless sleep then, wrapped in the safety of Tommaso’s arms.

Raffaelo went to his own room, but this time it was he who was haunted by dreams—dreams of Inca’s body, her full breasts and soft belly, her dusky skin and warm smile. In the dream, he found her in the snow again, but this time she held out her arms to him and he went into them as she wrapped her long legs around his waist, and his cock plunged deep into her hot, sweet cunt …

In the morning, Raffaelo got up, showered, dressed, and left the house before Tommaso and Inca woke. He honestly did not know what he would do if he saw her.

“Merda,” he thought as he steered his car towards the city. He really did not want to fall for his brother’s girlfriend. Anything but that.

Anything …

Scarlett left Nancy in charge of the Sakura and walked down to the ferry terminal. She’d decided earlier that day just to go, get off the peninsula, go to the city, and have fun. Things at home were too heavy right now; she was worried about Inca and the murders.

As she walked, she noticed Raffaelo in his car, driving towards the city road. She waved, but he seemed to look straight through her as he drove past. She shrugged and continued on. She liked Tommaso. He was charming; he was fun; and he was obviously crazy about Inca. But his brother was a mystery.

A sexy, sexy, mystery, Scarlett smirked to herself, and wondered if he was as enchanted with Inca as his brother. She suspected he might be. Her best friend had no idea of the effect she had on men.

None, she thought, utterly clueless. Scarlett was still grinning when she got to the ticket booth. Harve, the ticket master, took her money.

“How you doing, young ’un? Still single?”

Scarlett winked at him “Saving myself for you, Harve.” Harve’s son, Sal, a slinky-hipped blond sitting with his father in the booth, his long legs stretched out, feet on Harve’s desk, called out,

“Hey, what about me?”

Scarlett cocked her head to look past Harve and raised her eyebrows at the young man. “When I grow a penis, I’ll let you know.”

Harve choked on his coffee and guffawed. Sal grinned and shook his head.

“Don’t know what you’re missing, girl!” he called as she said goodbye to Harve. She turned and saluted him.

“I’ve seen Unhung Hero, Sal; I do know,” she shot back, which made Harve laugh even harder and clap his crestfallen son on the back. Scarlett waved at them both and walked up the gangway to the ferry. She headed straight for the front deck and leaned over the side. As it pulled away, she felt her spirits lift. An afternoon in the city’s best fashion shops—Nordstrom’s, she thought with a happy sigh—and an evening of music.

“God, I try and escape you for one day.”

She turned to see Knox walking towards her and smiled in delighted surprise. “Hey, you.” He was dressed in a dark green T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers, casual, but she noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the slightly strained smile. Impulsively, she hugged him. He tensed for a moment, then returned the hug. Releasing him, she studied him.

“You look like you needed that. Rough few days, huh?”

He nodded and gestured towards the mainland. “That’s why I’m here. Going to camp out in bookshops, have some coffee, maybe catch a band later. You?”

She smiled. “The same. Hey, there’s a great covers band at the Paramount on Ninth and Pine.” Suddenly, she felt shy. “I mean, I’m going, and I don’t know if you’re sick of the sight of me, but…”

Knox laughed. “Would never happen, Scarlett Rose. I’d like to come. I’ve heard good things about that place. Maybe we can grab some dinner before?”

She grinned. “You bet.” The way he said her name made her stomach flip excitedly.

They sat on the deck and talked for the rest of the journey, about music, books, art, carefully avoiding any mention of the murders or what had been going on. It was late morning by the time they got to Seattle, and as they walked off the gangway onto Alaskan Way, Knox took her hand.

Inca told Nancy about the night she’d had—well, the sleepwalking part, not the good part that had come before. She grinned to herself. Her thighs ached and her vagina throbbed with the pounding it had taken. Tommaso’s teeth marks were still on her belly.

God, what a night.

On her break, she surreptitiously took her laptop into the backroom and looked up some BDSM websites. She had never indulged before, but last night had awoken something inside her. She wanted to know more, try more …

“What’s that?”

Inca started and slammed the laptop shut. Luna Rosenbaum grinned at her. “Too late,” she said, and flopped down onto the couch next to Inca.

Inca, bright red, grinned.

“You are a pain in the ass. And where the hell have you been? I’ve barely seen you since you got back.”

“I know. I’m sorry, honey.”

“The English boyfriend?”

Luna grinned. Inca studied her. “So, you over whatever I did to piss you off?”

“What do you mean?”

Inca sighed. “When you came back, it seemed like you were angry at me.”

Luna looked guilty. “I wasn’t. I promise. Not really. It was just that, I thought I would have to keep my distance because of you and Olly splitting, and it broke my heart. I love you like a sister, Inks, and it killed me that you weren’t together anymore.”

“I didn’t do the dumping,” Inca reminded her gently, and Luna nodded.

“I know, and I am sorry. But seeing how you and Olly are still good friends—I came around. I hate that you’re not together, but as long as we can all get along, I’m good. He doesn’t like your boyfriend though.”

Inca was stung. “I knew he wasn’t sure about him, but I didn’t think he actively disliked Tommaso.”

Luna looked askance at her. “No? Because why would he hate his ex-girlfriend’s drop-dead-gorgeous billionaire boyfriend?”

Inca conceded that, laughing. “That does sound good when you say it. But, I couldn’t give two hoots about Tommaso’s money, you know.”

“I know that. The brother’s gorgeous too.” Luna grinned wickedly. “That’s a threesome I could get on board with.”

“Luna!” Inca gave a shout of shocked laughter.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it. And they’re Italian too—I bet you all the money in their bank accounts, they’ve shared a woman before.”

“Not me, they won’t.” Inca was feeling very uncomfortable now and was glad when Luna changed the subject.

It was later, when Inca was alone in the Sakura—Nancy having ducked out for a moment—that the thought came back to her, and she couldn’t shake it. Raffaelo … she closed her eyes and imagined him being the one fucking her, tying her up, his quiet, brooding nature at odds with the sensations he was engendering inside her …

“Hello, Inca.”

Ice flooded through her veins. She knew that voice. She opened her eyes and felt the blood drain from her face.

Kevin. He blocked the doorway of the teahouse.

Oh God … no …

Kevin smiled nastily and reached behind him to lock the door.

Tommaso stopped at a florist’s in Willowbrook to order some flowers for Inca. He hated that he was going to have to leave her to go to Paris, but at the same time, he knew Raff would make sure she was safe. There was something he liked in the thought of his brother and his girlfriend being alone together … a twisted part of him wondered if his brother would make a move on her. He had seen it in Raff’s eyes last night and knew that look of old. Desire. And who could blame him, confronted by Inca’s lush, naked body like that?

Of course, Raff would never take advantage— not like Tommaso. God, would he ever stop feeling guilty about Perdita? Maybe he would feel better if Raff did fuck Inca …

What the hell are you thinking? This is the woman you love …

He shook himself. Still, it would be a thought that would fester. He thanked the florist for the blooms—hibiscus, peonies, gerberas in the brilliant jewel tones that Inca loved—and got back in his car.

As he drove to the Sakura, he saw Nancy pounding at the door of the teahouse screaming and crying. People were running towards it as he brought the car to a halt with a screech and leaped out.

“Nancy! What’s wrong?”

Nancy was beside herself. “He’s in there with her; he’s hurting her, I know it … oh God. Oh God …”

Tommaso pounded on the door and could hear shouting from inside—an English man’s voice—Inca’s screams of pain—and he went cold. He threw himself against the door twice before it caved in, and he tumbled in.

Kevin had Inca by the throat, his free hand curled into a fist and driving into her stomach. Inca choked, unable to fight the huge man off. Blood poured from a cut above her eye. Tommaso, with a roar, threw himself at the man, dragging him away from Inca. Tommaso launched a fearsome attack on Kevin; the other man was completely blind-sided, still staring at Inca, who was on the floor, gasping as Nancy rushed to help her.

“Get off me …” Kevin tried to free himself from Tommaso’s grip. Olly and his deputy burst into the teahouse then, brought by the screams and shouts.

“Tommaso, drop him,” Olly ordered, and, although half-crazed with rage, Tommaso did, breathing heavily. Kevin’s face was a mess of blood, his nose broken. But Olly took one look at Inca’s stricken face and he merely put a hand on Tommaso’s back. “Step back now, Tommaso. We got this.”

His tone was gentle and broke through Tommaso’s rage. He blinked then and darted to Inca’s side. Nancy relinquished her daughter into his arms, a grateful look on her face. Tommaso could feel Inca’s entire body trembling. Nancy gave a squeak of distress as she moved around the counter and he looked at her.

Nancy looked over at Olly. “Olly, would you come here please?”

As Olly’s deputy wrestled Kevin out of the teahouse, Olly came over. He looked at what Nancy had seen and his face paled. Tommaso shook his head.

“What? What is it?”

He felt Inca shiver, and when the answer came, it was from her.

“He had a knife,” she said simply. “He had a knife.”

“I’m going to cancel Paris.”

Inca shook her head as the doctor made a face at her for moving. He was pressing butterfly stitches to the cut above her eye. She apologized to him, but looked back at Tommaso. “No, don’t. I am fine—even better now that Kevin’s in jail.”

“Olly says that at the very least they’ll charge him with attempted murder.”

“There you go, see? The best thing is not to let him dictate our lives anymore.”

Tommaso sighed. Since he had brought her to the medical center, Inca had rallied and seemed to be too okay for his liking. The doctor told her the shock would probably come later, but she shrugged. “It’s over; he’s caught.”

“Lay back for me, Inca. I want to check your other wounds.”

Tommaso closed his eyes briefly, not wanting to see the cuts and scratches on her lovely body. Kevin had tried to stab her, had come close, the tip of the knife making contact with her skin a few times, but she’d managed to disarm him before he could stab her. But then he’d started to choke her.

Tommaso opened his eyes and took in the damage. Blood oozed from the scratches on her belly, her stomach, her arms, and her hands where she’d fought him. There was an inch-long graze on her throat and a deeper slash on her left shoulder.

God.

The doctor was cleaning them, Inca wincing as the alcohol hit her skin.

“None of them are deep, thank God,” he said. “But perhaps a course of antibiotics wouldn’t go amiss, to fend off any bacteria from the knife.”

Tommaso waited until the doctor left them alone to get Inca’s prescription. “Maybe you should stay overnight.”

Inca shook her head. “No way. I’m fine, honey. I promise. I want to be with you.”

Tommaso kissed her. “I wish I had been there.”

“You can’t be there every minute, and it’s my own damn fault for not locking the door when Nancy went out.”

“He could have killed you.”

“Yes. But he didn’t.”

She gazed up at him and he saw something strange in her eyes. Freedom.

“I feel released,” she said, reading his mind. “Like a weight has been lifted. Now I can annul the marriage and get Kevin deported if he doesn’t go to jail.”

“Oh, he’ll go to jail all right.” Tommaso looked fierce.

“As long as I’m free of him. God, I feel so relieved.”

He stroked her face. “I’m glad. Look, Olly asked us to come by if you’re up to it, to answer some questions.”

“Of course. I’m fine. Let’s get it done.”

He pressed his lips to hers. “Warrior woman.”

She chuckled. “Hardly. You saved my life, Tommaso.”

“I love you, Inca Sardee. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “Then let’s go do this thing and then go home.”

“How you doing, kid?”

Olly looked up, startled. Tyler stood at the door to the office, smiling sympathetically at him. Olly grinned and offered him a coffee. When they were seated, Tyler pulled his cap off and scratched at his head as Olly indicated the paperwork on his desk.

“Paperwork out the wazoo, and yet no one’s telling me anything. It’s kinda frustrating.”

Tyler nodded. “Well, you made your bed.”

“Yup.”

They sat in silence for a while, then Tyler sighed. “Indulge an old man. Tell me what you got so far.”

Olly hesitated, then shrugged. “All we can charge Kevin Harnett with is attempted murder at the moment. I say all, though attempted murder will put him away for a good long time. But we’ve still got to try and tie him to the other murders.”

“You?”

“City homicide has it. They came and got him this morning. He admitted to coming here to kill Inca … Sorry,” he added when Tyler winced. “From what I understand, Kevin Hartnett has a record for beating his women. Inca told me that this isn’t the first time he’s tried to kill her.”

Tyler put his head in his hands. “She never told me any of that.”

Olly leaned forward, his expression intense. “She never told any of us, Tyler. Which concerns me. What if she finds herself in the same situation with …”

Tyler shook his head. “No. Winter saved her life.”

“You didn’t see him, Tyler. He was in a frenzy. He almost killed Harnett.”

“I would have done the same thing, Oliver.” Tyler’s voice was firm now. “Don’t let your dislike of Winter get in the way of the facts. He saved my daughter’s life, and I will be forever grateful to him.” He studied the younger man’s expression and Olly looked away from his penetrating gaze. “You still love her.” A statement.

Olly cleared his throat. “Let’s get back to Harnett. We found the knife he intended to use. Look familiar?”

He tossed over a photo and Tyler blanched when he saw it. “That looks like the one that was stolen from me last year.”

“Yep.”

Tyler shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“You think it could be your one?”

He sighed. “I don’t know. I hope it is just coincidence. Is it the murder weapon in the other killings?”

“Forgive me, but I’m not up on the forensics on all of them. When I talked to Homicide, they hadn’t identified it. All they know is that it’s not your everyday kitchen knife. The wounds are jagged, but don’t match a serrated or hunting knife.” He gave a frustrated hiss. “Man …”

Tyler was watching him carefully. “Oliver … take it easy. You did your job. Inca is safe now. We can all move on.”

Getting his subtext, Olly nodded. “Tyler, I am moving on. You’ve met Molly?”

Tyler smiled then. “She’s a good girl, that one. You’re a lucky man.”

Olly returned his grin. “I know.”

Tyler got up. “Well, kid, if you need someone to blow off steam to, you know where I am. Try to remember why you left Homicide, though.”

Olly looked bleak. “Hard to do when it seems to be following you around.”

He watched Tyler walk across to the Sakura to chat with Nancy and Scarlett. The thought crossed his mind that he would have enjoyed working with Tyler as Chief. Curiosity piqued, he grabbed the report of Tyler’s robbery from the file. He read down the inventory of stolen items: cash, passport, war memorabilia, jewelry. Petit larceny at best.

He shoved the folder back in the drawer, frustrated again. He wondered again if he should ask if he could question Harnett again. God, when he’d stepped into the Sakura that day and had seen Inca all bloody and in pain, then watched Tommaso beat the shit out of her attacker, all Olly could think was, That should have been me saving the woman I love, whaling on her would-be killer.

He’d realized then that he was still in love with Inca.

God, you fool, Rosenbaum. You utter fool.

You should never have let her go.

Inca finally persuaded Tommaso not to cancel his trip to Paris. “It’s four days, my love. If we can’t make it four days apart, then we have bigger problems.”

After a night of passionate and definitely kinky lovemaking, she drove him to SeaTac herself and kissed him goodbye. Tommaso stroked her hair back from her face. “Ti amo, Inca Sardee.”

She felt strange leaving him at the airport. She drove into the city and went to see Mindy, her realtor. Luckily, the tension between them had dissipated; Mindy believed her when Inca told her she hadn’t been the one who was rude to the signage guys.

“Did you ever confront the witch?” Mindy asked her now, passing Inca a mug of hot coffee.

“I haven’t even seen her, which is why it was so weird. Olly tells me he’s seen her in town, but not to talk to. If it wasn’t her, then I have no idea. Still.” Inca sipped the hot coffee. “That’s all in the past. So, I’m in the market for a new place.”

Mindy gave her a sly smile. “From what I hear, you already have the best place in town.”

Inca almost spit her drink out. “Holy hell. Does everyone know about me and Tommaso Winter?”

Mindy laughed. “What do you expect? I’m surprised the nationals haven’t got a hold of it. The Billionaire and the Girl Next Door. Headlines write themselves.”

Inca sighed. “Whatever. Look, I’m still in the market for an apartment somewhere in Willowbrook so …”

Mindy patted her hand. “Of course, sweetie. I’ve got a bunch of prospects for you.”

Raffaelo Winter felt edgy. Two phone meetings with his investors had not gone well, but that was mostly because he hadn’t been engaged in them. Snapping that he’d call them back, he had hung up, then changed into his running gear and gone out into the cold Washington morning.

The roads were clear of snow now, most of it piled at the roadside, and he found his rhythm as he ran towards the town. He wanted his head clear to think, to try and gain some clarity on what he was feeling. But, almost automatically, he found himself outside the Sakura, cursing himself for being so weak.

However, when he went inside, Inca was nowhere to be seen. “Hey.” Scarlett smiled at him as she appeared from the kitchen. “Haven’t seen you here much.”

Raffaelo, never one for socializing, thought about turning around, but he didn’t want to be rude to Inca’s friend. He half-smiled at her. “I have heard good things about your tea.”

Scarlett grinned; obviously, his ruse hadn’t worked. “She’s not here. She decided to go to the city after dropping Tommaso off at the airport.”

Raffaelo had a denial on his tongue, but then shrugged. “Okay.”

“But stay anyway. I’ll make you some tea –our house blend. “

“Okay.” Say something more than okay, idiot. “Thank you.”

The tea was light and refreshing. Scarlett was studying him. “You are very different to your brother.”

Raffaelo shrugged. He heard that a lot. “Tommaso is better at talking to people than I. I find myself … how do you say it? Tongue twisted?”

Scarlett hid a grin. “Tongue-tied.”

“Yes. Tongue-tied. I feel I haven’t anything to say that other people will want to hear.”

Scarlett nodded slowly. “I’m sure they will. Inca likes you a lot, you know.”

“She does?”

“Of course.” Scarlett lowered her voice. “She told me about the night she sleepwalked, you know. Thank you for finding her in time.”

Raffaelo felt a little awkward. “Just a coincidence.” He didn’t know what else to say to the young woman. She went to serve a customer and he finished his tea, calling his thanks to Scarlett before leaving. He wondered when Inca would be back from the city. Maybe he should ask Diane to cook something for their dinner that night.

Or maybe he should eat alone and stay away from temptation. He ran back home and showered, and, as he was dressing, he heard a light knock on his door.

Inca was outside, and she smiled at him. “Just wanted to tell you I’m back.”

She was adorably flushed from the cold outside. Raffaelo tucked his T-shirt in for the need of something to do with his hands. “Good.”

“Listen. I have to go into the city again tomorrow to go to my lawyers. They called today and asked me to go in. So I wondered if you were free to go have our day out?”

God, she was lovely, that hair tumbling over her shoulders, the flush of pink on her honey-colored skin …

Stop it. She’s not yours …

“Of course. I look forward to it.”

She smiled, and Raffaelo wanted to take her in his arms so badly that it hurt. “Listen,” he said. “I already ate today, so you’ll be alone for supper. I hope that’s okay?”

“No problem. I ate in the city. I’ll see you in the morning?”

“Good night, Inca.”

“Night, Raff.”

He closed his bedroom door. It was the first time she had called him Raff, and he loved the sound of his name in her mouth.

You’re obsessing.

No. Stop it. She belongs to Tommaso. She wants Tommaso. It can never be.

Tomorrow they would have a good day as friends.

Yes. Friends.

But the next day there seemed to be a tension between them all morning that neither could understand and, when they arrived at her lawyer’s office, things came to a head.

Inca stared at the secretary.

“So you’re telling me the paperwork isn’t ready?”

The secretary looked between Inca and Raffaelo, a bemused look belying the polite smile. “Ms. Sardee, it’s not that we haven’t got it ready. It’s that, as I explained, you called here yourself and canceled the paperwork some weeks ago.”

The implication was clear: Hey, nutso, don’t bring your crazy around here.

Inca flushed and turned away from the woman’s gaze. Raffaelo put a hand on her back and smiled kindly at the receptionist.

“Ms. Sardee hasn’t been well … Do you think you could reschedule the paperwork?”

Inca opened her mouth to speak, but Raffaelo shook his head at her. “It’s okay, Inca. I’ll sort this out.”

Irritation spiked in her chest and she turned away and walked out of the office. On the street, a freezing air blew up from Elliott Bay, a faint spattering of drizzle hanging on it. Inca squinted out to Alki Point, the outline of it muzzy and undefined. The adrenaline was starting to fade now and she felt foolish. So what if Raffaelo had taken charge? He was trying to be a friend, trying to protect her.

Deny all you want, the small voice in her head said. You know it’s more than that. Inca shook the thought away, but her irritation remained.

She felt a hand on her back and turned to look at Raffaelo. He was frowning.

“Why did you leave? We were just dealing with—”

“Raffaelo … I’m a grown woman, and I can speak for myself. Why did you think it was appropriate for you to say that to that woman? You made me look like a total idiot.” Her tone was snippier than she’d intended, but she couldn’t shake the annoyance she felt.

Raffaelo went very still and when he spoke, his own voice was hard.

“That wasn’t my intention, I can assure you. I was merely trying to help. Hey …”

She’d turned away from him and started walking away. He grabbed her wrist, twisting it around as he stopped her. His fingers bit into her skin and she winced.

“Raffaelo, you’re hurting me.”

His grip didn’t lessen. “Then don’t turn your back on me when I’m talking to you.”

She turned back to him and nearly recoiled at the anger in his eyes, eyes that had darkened from his usual green to a dark hazel. Anger that turned to desire. They bored into hers and she felt her stomach flip, her breath catching in her throat. She froze. He dropped her wrist and took a deep breath. When he spoke again, his voice was softer.

“I apologize. I was just trying to help.” He touched her face. “What is going on today? Why is there this tension between us?”

She flushed, not wanting this conversation now, here, out on the street. He dropped his hand.

“Inca, we need to talk about what is happening between us.”

She said nothing, but looked away, down the busy street. She felt an overwhelming need to be alone, to shake off everything and everyone in her life. An idea occurred to her and she turned towards the city, not looking at Raffaelo.

“I’m going to see my realtor.” She didn’t elaborate, and Raffaelo said nothing, just walked beside her. He slid a hand up her back and rested his hand on the back of her neck. It felt good, a comfort, and so she didn’t pull away. A couple of blocks later, she pushed open the door to Mindy’s realty office and smiled thinly at her friend. Mindy greeted her warmly. Inca rather stiffly introduced Raffaelo to her. They shook hands and the small blonde woman frowned slightly.

“Have we met?”

Raffaelo smiled back at her. “I’m afraid not, but I am pleased to meet you now.”

Mindy was still frowning when she offered them a seat. “What can I do for you, Inca?”

Not looking at Raffaelo, Inca got straight to the point. “I would like to see some more apartments. In the city, rather than Willowbrook.” She felt Raffaelo look at her in surprise, an expression that was mirrored in Mindy’s face.

“Really? Well, that’s … why the change of heart?”

Inca’s irritation suddenly went, and she felt her whole body slump. She shook her head, trying to not cry. “I need a new start, a new life. And I can’t do it in that town.”

Mindy nodded. “Okay then, sweetheart.” She peered closely at Inca, who felt her eyes fill with tears. She looked away from the realtor’s inquiring gaze. Mindy leaned over the desk and squeezed her hand. “I’ll email you some details and we’ll arrange some viewings next week.”

Inca nodded, managing to get a muttered ‘thanks’ out before she stood and almost ran back out onto the street in tears, filled with a crushing grief. What the hell was the matter with her? She dragged deep breaths into her lungs, trying to fend off the panic attack. She felt Raffaelo standing next to her, but he didn’t touch her.

Eventually the tension in her chest eased and she sighed, giving Raffaelo a sheepish smile.

“I’m sorry. I just had to get out.” She sighed. Raffaelo gathered her into a hug, his arms tight around her. After a second, she returned his hold. He kissed her temple.

“I think this is the shock from the attack hitting you,” he said gently. “Tommaso said the doctor said this might happen.”

Inca realized he was right and her body slumped against him. His arms around her felt good. “I think that’s why I feel on edge.”

“Shall we go find somewhere quiet and private to eat? We can talk—or not, entirely your choice. But let me take care of you, please, Inca. For Tommaso. For me. For you.”

She closed her eyes and nodded, feeling his arms tighten around her. She breathed in his scent—clean linen and fresh air— and felt the heat from his body warm her. Why was she feeling like this? She looked up at him then and their gazes locked. She felt a jolt run through her.

I want you. Oh God, no. She pulled away, looking down. “Yes, let’s go find somewhere.”

She couldn’t shake the feeling though; desire curled in her stomach as he took her hand and they made their way to the nearest restaurant.

Raffaelo watched her as they sat at their table, drinks in hand. “Inca,” he said softly. “I think I know what you are feeling. I feel it too.”

Inca shook her head. “Raffaelo … I love Tommaso. I do.”

“I know. As do I—I don’t want to feel like this.”

His strong hands pushed her thighs apart; his huge cock glided into her …

“Raff, maybe we shouldn’t spend time with each other. Not until Tommaso comes back.”

“Perhaps.”

They finished their meal in silence. Afterwards they walked along the waterfront. At Pier 59, Inca stopped.

“This is my favorite place in the city. Especially at night.” The globe lamps were just coming on, lighting the lilac dusk. She leaned over the rail and looked down at the navy water, breathing in the salty smell of the Bay.

Raffaelo moved closer to her, sliding an arm around her waist. She looked up and smiled at him. He frowned slightly.

“Come on. The ferry’s awaiting.”

As the ferry pulled away from the pier, Inca shivered as the breeze picked up. Raffaelo put his jacket around her. She smiled her thanks and looked back towards the city.

“I’m biased, I know, but that’s the best skyline in the world.”

“What about Manhattan, Hong Kong, Sydney?” He was amused.

She grinned and pointed over to the horizon. Out of the violet night, Mount Rainier rose above the city.

“Volcano. Big ass volcano,” Inca said. “Big ass volcano trumps everything.”

“Fair point.”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

He smiled but said nothing, kissing the top of her head. There was a new possibility opening to him that he hadn’t figured into his plans. Raffaelo tightened his grip on her and stared out at the ocean, contemplating a future of something completely alien to him.

Love.

When Tommaso returned, after the initial joy at seeing her, he noticed the tension between his lover and his sibling. Inca saw him weighing up the two of them and their relationship.

“So, did you have a good time in the city?”

“Yes, thank you.” Raffaelo gave him a rundown of their day, but Tommaso still seemed on edge. And when he and Inca were alone, he asked her about it. “What’s going on with you and Raff?”

“What do you mean?”

Tommaso looked annoyed. “I’m not blind, Inca. There’s tension. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was between lovers.”

Inca sighed. “I would never cheat on you, Tommaso.”

“But you’re attracted to Raffaelo.”

Inca hesitated. “Yes. A little. I don’t know why. A schoolgirl crush. But I love you.”

Tommaso sat in silence for a while, studying her. Inca went to him. “I meant it. I love you, Tommaso. There is no one else. It’s just a little blip.”

“Thank you for being honest, mio caro.”

“I’m sorry, Tommaso.”

He pulled her onto his lap and began to kiss her neck. “Perhaps we should invite him to share our bed.”

Horrified, Inca pushed away from him. “Tommaso!’

He shrugged, something dark in his eyes. “Why not? It wouldn’t be the first time we have shared a woman.”

Inca almost slapped him. She felt sick. “God, Tommaso—is this how you repay my honesty?”

“You Americans are so uptight. It’s not a big deal. Come on. Tell me you haven’t thought about being fucked by my brother?”

Jesus. Inca gathered her purse and her things. “I’m leaving, Tommaso.”

His hand snaked out and gripped her arm. “Don’t be silly. I was just joking.”

Inca ripped her arm away. “Not funny.”

She stormed out of the mansion, down to her car and got in. Still fuming, she drove into town and went to the Sakura. Tish was just closing up and Olly was talking to her. He greeted Inca with a smile, which faded when he saw her strained face. Tish made her excuses and left.

“Spill it,” Olly said but Inca shook her head.

“It’s just a row. All relationships have them.”

“Don’t I know it,” he said wryly. “Molly and I split.”

Inca sighed. “Oh, Olly, I am sorry. She was lovely.”

Olly cleared his throat and met her gaze. “Not lovely enough.”

Inca looked away from his gaze and dropped her head in her hands. “Please, Olly, don’t start that now. I can’t do this.”

“I’m sorry, Inca, but I have to say it.”

“No.” Inca was fierce then. “You made your choice months ago.”

His eyes were sad. “I know. I will do anything, anything, to prove to you how much I love you, how much I’ve always loved you.” He wrapped his arms around her.

She looked deep into his eyes then pulled away and stood, her face in her hands, and when she dropped them, there were tears. He went to her immediately.

“The thing I don’t get,” she stepped away from his arms, “is why? There was no sign. No warning. One day we were fine, the next you were done. Finished.”

Olly’s shoulders slumped. “You don’t trust me.” He sat back onto the couch and leaned forward, his head in his hands. She waited, not speaking. Eventually he looked up and sighed.

“I guess I don’t blame you for that. Tyler said I’d have to prove myself. I messed up. I started to believe what my dad had always said about me—I wasn’t good enough. Not enough for you.”

She shook her head, bewildered. “But none of that came from me … did it? Did I make you feel like that?”

Olly looked startled. “No. No, of course not. Damn, Inca. I don’t know what I was thinking. The second the words came out of my mouth I wanted to take them back. But I knew that if I caved, if I let myself feel that loss, I couldn’t do it. I needed to let you go.”

There was a long silence. Inca wiped the tears from her face. “You have to understand, Olly, my heart won’t take it again. Not from you. Not again. I’d rather it ended now, today, than relive that pain ever again.”

He was staring at her now, the horror of understanding in his eyes. “I broke you.”

Inca took a deep breath in and returned his gaze steadily. “Yes, Olly. You did.”

Olly flinched, then nodded slowly, his face etched with pain. “Tell me. Tell me how to make it better.”

She touched his face. “You can’t. I can’t be any more than a friend to you now,” she said simply. “I’m sorry, Olly.”

He nodded. “It’s okay. Really. I made my bed.”

Inca sighed and looked away, thinking of Tommaso—and Raffaelo. “And I made mine.”

Tommaso watched them from outside the Sakura and his eyes hardened. That damn cop … he had known Olly still had feelings for Inca, and now it looked like he was declaring himself to her. Would she think it was easier to go back to her old life?

Tommaso knew he would rather die than let her go—but he couldn’t help feeling that his ill-timed joke earlier had exacerbated this latest bump in the road.

Except … it wasn’t a joke, was it? The thought of your woman and your brother turns you on …

Tommaso pushed the thought away. For right now, he couldn’t take his eyes off the cop with Inca— he obviously still had feelings for her.

Tommaso smiled grimly and turned away from the view. He suddenly saw Nancy across the street watching him and he saluted sarcastically before getting back into his car. He regretted the rude gesture almost immediately, but his mind was filled with a plan. Olly Rosenbaum had missed his chance with Inca. Now it was time he realized it.

Raffaelo was alone when Inca came home that evening. “Where’s Tommaso?” Inca asked him as she took off her coat.

“No idea.”

There was an awkward silence before Raffaelo sighed. “Look … Inca, I’ve decided to go back to Italy.”

Pain ripped through Inca then, and she sat down heavily. “Why?”

Raffaelo sat with her and took her hands. “You know why. We cannot go on like this. I think we both need some distance from each other; it’s not fair on Tommaso that I … we … feel the way we do.”

Inca’s eyes filled with tears and he cradled her face in his palm. “You need space to figure out how you feel.”

Inca nodded but closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. The thought of not seeing Raffaelo every day made her feel sick. “I’ll miss you,” she whispered, and then felt his lips against hers just briefly, sweet and soft. She opened her eyes and gazed at him. His light green eyes, so like Tommaso’s, were soft, full of love and, not thinking, she went into his arms, her mouth seeking his hungrily.

It was inevitable then. As they tumbled to the floor, Raffaelo’s hand was under her dress, pulling down her panties; Inca’s hands was at his fly, freeing his thickening cock from his underwear; and then he was inside her. They made love slowly, as if drinking each other in, knowing they would soon be parted, clinging to each other, eyes locked. Raffaelo’s thick, long cock drove deeper and deeper into her with each thrust and when he came, she reveled in the feeling of his hot, thick cum filling her, shooting hard into her belly.

“I love you,” she whispered, knowing the absolute truth of her words, and he nodded, his eyes filled with love and pain.

“Anche io ti amo, la mia bella Inca.” I love you too, my beautiful Inca.

Inca’s tears fell then, and she wrapped her legs and arms around him, never wanting to let him go. “Oh God, Raff. What are we going to do?”

Raffaelo buried his face in her neck and she felt his tears too. “I don’t know, mio caro. I don’t know.”

Outside of the room, Tommaso watched them making love and kissing and felt … he couldn’t distinguish his rage from his desire, nor his betrayal from a sense of inevitability. He knew, without doubt, that Inca loved him, Tommaso, but now it was clear that she had the same feelings for Raffaelo. He wanted both to kill them and to join them in their lovemaking. He debated going into the room, telling them he’d seen them, but no. He had a plan now and this could wait. If Raff was going away, it would give him and Inca time to renew their relationship. He could forgive her this misstep—couldn’t he?

He walked silently away from the room where his lover and his brother were, and out of the house. He needed to get away, just for the evening. Needed to sate his rage somewhere else.

And he knew just where.

Olly Rosenbaum felt bad. He should never have said what he had to Inca—he no longer had the right. So when, the next morning, he found himself in the Sakura again, he made the point of apologizing.

“It’s okay,” Inca said, her lovely face tired. “We all do stupid things we shouldn’t have.”

He studied her –the dark circles under her eyes, the wan skin.” Hey, are you okay?”

She shook her head. “No. No, I’m not, but there’s nothing you can do about it. So please, let’s not talk about it.”

He was silent for a while. “Inks...”

“I made a mistake.” The words came out of her in a rush. But as soon as they were out, Tommaso Winter appeared at the door.

“Hello.”

Inca stared at him as if she’d seen a ghost. Olly nodded stiffly. There was a long silence, and then Olly coughed. “Well, I better get to work. Later, Inks. Winter.”

Inca mumbled a goodbye and Olly left, not looking again at Tommaso. Why did the guy get to him so much? He was Inca’s boyfriend now; he should really try and get along with him.

Except ... he stole a look back over his shoulder. Inca looked wary, maybe even scared ... Was Winter abusing her?

I made a mistake ...

What the hell had she meant by that? Olly didn’t know, but he was sure as shit going to find out.

But a couple of hours later, Olly Rosenbaum was to discover that Tommaso Winter was not a man to be crossed. Not a man to be crossed at all.

Later, when Tommaso had excused himself for a few minutes, and Inca had had time to collect herself, she looked up to see Scarlett coming into the teahouse.

“Hey, numbnuts. How goes it?”

Scarlett stuck her tongue out at her friend. She indicated behind her and Inca saw Knox and Tommaso standing outside talking—rather, Tommaso was talking at Knox, Inca observed with narrowed eyes. She sighed to herself. A second later the two men walked in and Tommaso immediately walked behind the counter to kiss Inca. She moved her head to avoid his mouth on hers, his lips brushing her cheek. She smiled at him to lessen the slight, but Tommaso’s eyes were cold as he pulled an envelope from his pocket. He pulled a sheet of paper from it and handed it to her.

“What’s this?” Inca took the paperwork Tommaso offered her and read it through. She looked up, startled. “A restraining order?”

Scarlett gasped. “Against whom?”

Tommaso smiled at them, a cool, calm smile. “Rosenbaum, of course. He’s been harassing us. Harassing Inca.”

Scarlett glanced at Inca, who looked as shocked as she felt. A couple of customers had left when the men walked in, and now the teahouse was quiet and empty except for the four of them.

Inca got up and handed the paperwork back to Tommaso. “Tommaso … this isn’t appropriate. Olly is a friend.”

Tommaso put a finger on her mouth. “Inca, it’s been more than that, and you know it.” He turned to the others. “I’m scared that his obsession with Inca is dangerous. Now that Kevin Harnett is behind bars, I think we have been too complacent about Inca’s safety. I truly believe Oliver Rosenbaum is the greatest threat to her.”

Scarlett put a hand on Inca’s back. “Tommaso, you’re overreacting.”

“Yes.” Inca was starting to get annoyed. What was he playing at?

Tommaso smiled at her, but his eyes were cold. “I don’t think so. After all,” he said, his gaze locking with Inca’s, “Inca is a very beautiful woman. I think a lot of men are interested in her.”

Inca felt a hot flood of shame. He knows. Oh God. I’m sorry, Tommaso.

“Still, I don’t think this is really necessary in Olly’s case. He’s just being a friend.”

Tommaso was silent for a moment, then reached into his pocket. “Okay. I understand why you’re reluctant to think badly of your friend. If it was just in isolation … but take a look at these. I took these over the past four nights.”

The photographs were dark and grainy. It was clearly Olly in his car parked outside the Winter mansion, hidden in the woods, standing at the windows. At night. Alone.

Inca was speechless. Scarlett’s eyes filled with tears. Tommaso looked at Inca sympathetically.

“He clearly has a preoccupation with you—I could tell that from the first day. What concerns me is how deep it goes. I’m worried for you.” Tommaso took Inca’s hand. “I just want you safe.”

“Hell.” Scarlett started to cry openly now, and Tommaso squeezed her shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, to all of you. Please understand this comes from a place of love, not control. I think he may be having some sort of breakdown. He’s not thinking straight. Knox.” And he turned to the police deputy, “You must have noticed at work? Anything?”

Knox hesitated. “Look, I still think a restraining order is unnecessary. Olly’s obviously got a lot going on, dealing with these murders. Anyone would be … unstable.”

Tommaso nodded. “Anyway, the restraining order remains. It’s to stay away from me too; you’ve all witnessed his antagonism towards me.” He bent and kissed Inca’s cheek, “I need to meet some contractors, darling. I’ll pick up some take-out for us later. Scarlett, Knox.” He nuzzled Inca’s ear again. “Anche io ti amo, la mia bella Inca.” Exactly what Raffaelo had said to her.

Oh God. She closed her eyes.

When Tommaso was gone, the three of them remaining sat in an uncomfortable silence. Eventually, Knox stood. “Look, I need to get to work. Inca, you want me to do anything?”

She smiled a strange half smile. “No, thanks. Seems Tommaso’s got it all covered.”

Scarlett and Inca looked at each other when they were alone. “What’s this all about, Inks? What the hell is going on?”

Inca shook her head. “I don’t know, Scarlett. But somehow I don’t think it has to do with Olly. Look, I need to talk to Tommaso … could you look after the teahouse for the rest of the afternoon?”

Scarlett hugged her friend. “Of course. Go talk to your man.”

Olly stared at Knox. “You’re kidding me.”

Knox shook his head. “Nope. From now you are not permitted to go within five hundred yards of Inca Sardee or Tommaso Winter.”

“But—” Olly stood, obviously riled up. “I’m the damn police chief!’

Knox sighed. “I know. I know, buddy; it’s utterly ridiculous. But you can’t break it, or it could cost you your job. Let things simmer down.”

Olly stood and thought for a long moment. “She must have told him.”

“Told him what?”

Olly hesitated and shook his head. “No, nothing. Look, I’ll honor the restraining order, but in the meantime …” He flicked his computer on and began to type.

Kyle had a growing sense of unease “What are you doing?”

Olly looked at him, his eyes angry but determined. “Proving once and for all that I’m not the one Inca should be afraid of.”

Inca was sitting on the stairs, phone in hand, when Tommaso got back to the house. She waved at him. He held up the bag with the take-out. She gave him a thumbs up.

“Sorry, Nancy. Go on.”

Nancy sighed down the phone. “Try and listen. I’m inviting you and Tommaso to dinner tonight. It’s not difficult, is it? I’m not speaking German, am I?”

Inca snickered. “Calm down, Grandma.”

There was a silence on the end of the phone. “You are the spawn of the devil. Do you want to come to dinner or not?”

Inca was still giggling when she joined Tommaso in the kitchen. He was arranging the Chinese food on plates and smiled at her.

“Hungry?”

She hesitated. “Um …”

“Um?”

“Thing is, Nancy invited us for dinner tonight. Can we put this—and by the way, thanks for picking it up—but can we save this for tomorrow?” Her apologetic smile faded as she took in the expression on his face. Irritation.

“Tommaso, I …”

He picked up the take-out boxes and started dumping them in the trash. She darted forward to stop him, placing a hand on his arm.

“Hey, hey … we can put it in the refrigerator.”

He pulled his arm away without looking at her. “It won’t be fresh. I don’t like to eat food that’s gone bad.” His tone was clipped and remonstrative.

Inca was taken aback at the petulance in his tone. She watched helplessly as he emptied the still-steaming food into the trash can. His movements were jerky and annoyed, his shoulders stiff with anger. “Tommaso?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Inca. Not yet. Not now. We have a dinner party to go to.”

“Look at me.”

Tommaso hesitated, then met her gaze. Inca felt desolate at the pain in his eyes. “Oh, Tommaso. I’m so sorry.”

He held up his hands. “Please, Inca … not now.”

Inca moved silently out of the kitchen and went upstairs to dress. She could still hear him banging around downstairs. She sat on the edge of the bed, realizing that she was shaking with shock at Tommaso’s overreaction to the dinner and sadness at his obvious pain. Finally, the banging around stopped and she heard him on the stairs.

She got up and pulled the closet door open, pretending to look for something. She felt him watching her as he leaned against the doorframe.

“You should wear the pink dress. The one you wore on our first date.”

His voice was softer now, seductive. He was so changeable from one moment to the next. Inca stayed silent for a while, irritated herself now. She pulled out some fresh blue jeans and a T-shirt. She glanced at him then, her expression cool.

“I have to change.”

A small smile. “Of course.”

She closed the door behind her and stripped off, pulling on the fresh jeans, then pulling her long hair through the top of the T-shirt. There was a soft knock on the door. She sighed.

“I’m coming, Tommaso.”

She glanced over at him as he drove them across the peninsula. His expression was normal and friendly. It was as if his little temper tantrum hadn’t happened. He reached for her hand and she let him take it, feeling his large fingers squeeze hers gently.

Tyler opened the door to them with a warm smile.

“Welcome, welcome.” He hugged Inca and shook Tommaso’s hand. “I hope our invitation wasn’t too last minute.”

“Not at all. It was our pleasure. In fact, I insisted, didn’t I, Inca?” Tommaso clapped the older man on the back.

Inca gaped at him as the two men moved through to the living room, chatting. Nancy poked her head out of the kitchen.

“Hey, small fry. Come give an old lady a hand, huh?”

Inca could feel Nancy watching her. She avoided the older woman’s eye, but knew what she was thinking. She could feel the question hanging in the air.

Tommaso’s hand was on her thigh. Openly. Possessively. It was an overtly sexual move that was completely inappropriate in front of her parents. She tried to shift her leg away from him, but as they sat around the dining table, any movement would have been an obvious slight.

Tyler and Tommaso were talking about … what were they talking about? Inca realized she had tuned them out a while back. Her irritation at Tommaso hadn’t subsided. What was he up to? He’d been all charm, none of his early mood on display, talking to Tyler about his police career and about the property market. She, meanwhile, had been distracted, answering Nancy’s questions in monosyllables.

“That’s a beautiful ruby.” Nancy was talking to her now. Inca touched the jewel at her throat and tried to smile. It had been a gift from Tommaso a few weeks ago—back when she hadn’t slept with his twin brother.

God.

Inca felt sick.

“A gift. From my mother, indirectly.” Tommaso interrupted as Inca was about to answer her. He stroked Inca’s cheek with the back of his hand. “Made for her, isn’t it?”

Nancy nodded, but her eyebrows knitted together slightly. “You okay?”

Inca looked at her blankly for a second, then nodded. “Sorry, yes. I—”

“She’s had a pretty rough few days.” Tommaso stopped her with a hand on the back of her neck. She looked at him sharply but he ignored her, telling them about the situation with Olly.

“He’s unstable,” Tommaso continued. “And I’m concerned for her.” Tyler shook his head, but it was Inca who spoke finally, weariness in her voice.

“I can speak for myself. Olly would never hurt me.”

Tommaso gave a sharp bark of laughter. “Because he’s displayed such appropriate behavior so far.” He leaned over and nuzzled at her neck, but she pulled away from him and stood, gathering up the empty plates, not looking at him. As she walked into the kitchen, she heard him speak in a low tone.

“It’s okay; she’s just stressed.”

Inca banged the plates down on the counter. Who’s acting like a child now? She sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes. She felt someone come in behind her and turned. With relief, she saw Nancy, balancing serving plates and narrowing her eyes at her.

“What’s up with you?” Nancy put the plates down.

Inca sighed and hesitated for a long moment.

“Nothing. It’s complicated. It’s between me and Tommaso.”

Nancy searched her face. “You need some time alone.”

Inca nodded. “Maybe I do.”

They went back into the living room. Tyler and Tommaso were seated at the table, photo albums spread across the table. Inca could see they were pictures of her childhood, aged six in the children’s home, at the beach with Tyler and Nancy at nine, hanging by the knees from the branch of the tree in the back yard, laughing wildly at Olly swinging beside her. Inca’s heart thudded with sadness. Tommaso smiled up at her.

“You were such a beautiful child.” He got up and hugged her, whispering in her ear, “And our children will be just as beautiful.”

“You misheard.” Tommaso’s tone was light. He smiled at her before turning his eyes back to the road. Inca gritted her teeth.

“So now I’m deaf too? I know what you said, Tommaso.”

He was silent for a moment. “Is it such a terrible idea?” His voice was apologetic, and she heard something else in his words. Hurt.

She looked away and out of the window, not answering him. The cold front had brought heavier freezing rain and it pounded against the car now, the headlights barely cutting through the maelstrom. For a few minutes, Inca was disoriented, not recognizing which road they were on, then realized they were on the east coast road. For some reason, she had automatically expected they would go back through Main Street. This road was poorly lit, and she saw only sporadic flashes of light as they passed the few houses that were visible in the trees that lined the road. Soon she saw the lights from the high school, as the road curved around the top of the peninsula.

She drew in a long breath, trying to ease the ball of tension in her chest. She risked a look over to Tommaso. He sensed her glance and turn to smile at her. She could read no malice and no anger in his face. He patted her knee but immediately drew his hand away.

“Tommaso … we need to talk. About us, about … Raffaelo.”

Tommaso steered the car to the side of the road and stopped it. For a moment, he just stared out of the window then he turned to her. “I know.”

“I’m so sorry, Tommaso, I have no excuse. It just happened.”

“Yes.” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “But perhaps it was inevitable.”

“Why do you say that?”

He touched her face. “Quid pro quo, mio caro. I once did the same to Raffaelo.”

That stung. No, she thought, it wasn’t revenge. That’s not why Raffaelo … but she felt sick. How could she have been so stupid? Tommaso was watching her.

“You are not to blame, bella. Neither is Raff. I got what I deserved.”

Inca felt the guilt weighing her down. “Tommaso, I want you to know … I love you. I’m so … confused about both of you.”

Tommaso gave her a strange smile. “Do you think it is impossible to love two people at once?”

Inca stared at him. “I guess not.”

“No. It is entirely possible. Which is why we must wait for Raffaelo to come home before we decide what to do. And that is your choice entirely, my darling. Me … Raff … or both of us. It is for you to decide.”

He leaned over and kissed her. “Now, shall we go home?”

Later, after they had made love and Inca was asleep, Tommaso slid out of bed and went downstairs to call Raffaelo. When his brother picked up, all Tommaso said was, “I know.”

Raffaelo sighed. “Tommaso …”

“Don’t apologize. It’s okay. I could see it coming. The only thing now is that we have to decide what happens next. I want you to think about that before you come home.”

He hung up, feeling wretched. Whatever he had said to Inca, the hurt from her betrayal was beginning to hit him now and he felt like he was losing her. He could not bear that, and even if it meant sharing her love with his brother, that would be okay with him.

But if Inca chose Raffaelo over him? Tommaso didn’t yet know what his reaction would be, but he knew—none of them would come out of it unscathed.

Olly ignored the terms of the restraining order without hesitation. He marched over to the Sakura as soon as they opened and got Inca on her own.

She looked tired and stressed out and all the fight went out of him. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head and started to cry. Olly went to her and pulled her into a bear hug.

Nancy watched them from outside the Sakura, her face set and hard. Jesus, would they ever learn?

Last night, after seeing Winter acting so bizarrely at dinner, she’d confessed her fears to a concerned Tyler. They had both tried calling Inca, only to get her voicemail, and were about to go get in the car when she called them. She told them she had discussed things with Tommaso but wouldn’t say anymore. Her voice had been tired, almost flat, and she had turned down their offer to come over. But they both had stayed up until the early hours, wracked with concern.

“We can’t interfere,” she’d told Tyler. “Last thing she needs is babying. We need to give her space.”

But Tyler had lain awake all night next to her; Nancy knew because she had too. Now, watching Inca hug Olly, she felt an irrational anger towards her defacto daughter. She stalked into the coffee house, slamming her bag onto the counter. Inca and Olly leaped apart, both flushing guiltily.

“Well, isn’t this nice?” Nancy’s voice was like ice. Olly coughed.

“I better …” he turned to leave, but Nancy stopped him.

“No, you both need to hear what I have to say. What the hell are you doing? You,” she nodded at Olly, “are still under a restraining order. And you—” she broke off, her anger too much for her. She shook her head at Inca, who quailed under her gaze. “Are you trying to drive yourself crazy again?”

“Olly, just go,” Inca said softly. “I need to talk to Nancy.”

When they were alone, Inca held up her hands. “Look, we’re just trying to find our way back to friendship, is all. I was feeling down and he hugged me. Like a friend.”

Nancy scoffed. “You are hell-bent on self-destruction.”

Inca smiled, and Nancy was taken aback by the steel in her voice when she spoke next. “Quite the opposite,” she said. “I’m finally realizing something. I’m not looking for Olly or Tommaso or anyone else to rescue me. I realized I have to be my own white knight. And that means taking control of my life without—and I say this with love—without anyone telling me what I’m supposed to do or who I’m supposed see. That goes for you, Tyler, Tommaso and anyone else.”

Nancy watched Inca with narrowed eyes as she moved around the teahouse wiping down tables, turning on the lamps. Outside it had started to rain, the headache gray sky packed with dark clouds—an ice storm was coming. Inca’s face was drawn and she looked older, changed, broken. When Inca had finished cleaning the tables, Nancy stopped her with hand on her back, making her look at her. Inca’s eyes were haunted and Nancy felt a twist of terror in her stomach. She smoothed a hand down her daughter’s hair.

“Inca … what did he do to you?”

“He didn’t do anything to me, Mom,” she said, her voice breaking. “I did something to him, and it’s unforgivable.”

Nancy tried, but Inca would not tell her more. She went home to Tyler and told him what she’d said. “I think she’s reaching a breaking point. I really do.”

Knox was waiting for Olly when he came back from patrol. Evening had settled over the island and the ice had started to stick to everyone and everything. Olly walked into the office, casting a glance over to his friend, seated, waiting patiently for him to hang his coat up. Olly sat at his desk, knowing something bad was coming. Knox cleared his throat.

“Olly, I need to talk to you about something. Earlier I got a call from the powers that be. You were seen going into the Sakura this morning and talking to Inca, in violation of the restraining order.”

Olly nodded, resigned. “Yeah. So?” His mind was still on Nancy’s words from that morning.

Knox drew in a deep breath. “Olly, they have temporarily promoted me to Chief. An investigation will be pending.”

Olly blinked, his mind shocked back into the present. “What?”

Knox felt his shoulders tense. “I’m saying, Olly … I’m suspending you. Go home; get your shit together. I’ll need your badge and gun.”

Tommaso called Inca as she worked the late shift. “Darling, I might be a few minutes late picking you up.”

Inca tried to smile at the love in his voice. “I can drive myself, Tommaso. My car is right here.”

He hesitated. “You will come home, though?” It made her chest hurt.

“Of course, my love. Of course, I’m coming home to you.”

She thought about the call, frowning. Why had he seemed so strange? She shrugged and went to serve a customer.

Olly slumped back into his sister’s couch and raised a beer bottle to her. “Here’s to some time off.”

Luna sighed, shaking her head. “This is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.”

Olly shrugged. “Honestly, sis, I’m past caring now. Tommaso Winter is an asshole who thinks Inca is his property.”

Luna made a noise. “Seriously, what is it with you people? She’s just a normal woman. Why do you all go gaga over her?”

Olly looked surprised at the venom in his sister’s voice. “Calm down … it’s not Inca’s fault.”

“Isn’t it? Don’t you think she loves that attention, Olly?”

“You know she’s not like that.”

Luna looked away from him, her face red with anger. “She didn’t used to be.”

Olly patted his sister’s shoulder. “Sis …”

“Don’t you think everyone’s life would be easier if she wasn’t around? Take her out of the equation and problem solved.”

“Don’t talk like that,” he reprimanded his sister. “Kevin Harnett nearly killed her. Do you think she deserved that?”

But Luna did not answer him.

At ten o’clock, Inca went to lock the front door of the Sakura. Before she could, Scarlett came racing in, startling Inca.

Inca pulled her in out of the rain. “What are you doing here this late?”

“I was with Knox and he got called out.”

“That explains the lack of coat. Look, why don’t I give you a ride home? I’ll just be a minute.”

Scarlett shook her wet hair. “Can I help?”

“I just have to finish in here and take the trash out.”

Scarlett headed to the kitchen. “I’ll do the trash; I’m already wet.”

Inca called after her. “Put my red mac on; it’s behind the door.”

Scarlett tugged the raincoat on—Inca was a lot smaller than she was and it didn’t reach around Scarlett’s large chest. She shrugged, grinning. “Better than nothing.”

Outside, ice and rain were falling in a torrent and the road was slick with a thick coat of ice. It was bitterly cold as Scarlett dashed outside to the garbage bins and threw in the sack of trash from the kitchen. The rain soaked through her light shirt and she tugged Inca’s coat further around her. The damp material stuck to her body as she went back to the door—only to find it had closed behind her and locked.

Goddammit! Scarlett wiggled the handle, but it was stuck tight. “Inca! Let me in!” She banged on the door. She heard a step behind her and spun around. She squinted through the rain—was there someone there?

There was a muffled bang and the first bullet smashed through the center of her belly. She gasped, shock and adrenaline flooding her system. All the air seemed pushed out of her lungs and she saw her blood spreading across the damp cotton of her shirt.

Oh God, no …

Her attacker shot her again, the bullet slamming into her chest, and Scarlett dropped to the ground, gasping for air and for life as her killer stood over and aimed the gun at her head. The pain was overwhelming, the hot lead burning a path through her soft flesh. She put out a hand, desperate now.

“Please, please … no … don’t … please …”

Then there was only darkness.

Inca, hearing Scarlett bang on the door, put down her broom and went to let her friend in. As she entered the kitchen, she stopped, her heart beating hard. Under the outside door, the rain water was flooding in at the bottom. With the water blood. Inca darted to the back door and pulled it open to see her friend prone on the floor.

Inca Sardee took in the murdered form of her best friend and all of her systems shut down. She saw her friend, saw she was dead, but she did not understand. She fell to her knees and began to scream …