JACKSON

 

AFTER I GATHERED as many of the staff that I could — the ones that were still alive, that is — we turned a spare room in the east wing of the mansion into a makeshift hospital.

The room had been thoroughly sterilized under Maria's supervision.  Maria, who is our head housekeeper and also our oldest and most trusted employee, had managed to stay alive during the raid by hiding in the kitchen pantry.

Maria said the men who attacked were solely focused on Lucien and Adeline.  Some of the staff was murdered because they intervened or were merely in the way of the siege.

With the staff's help, we cut Lucien out of his clothes, cleaned him up as best we could and rolled his naked body onto a clean bed.  It had been a while since I'd seen Lucien's scars on his back, and the sight of them actually had one of the maids gasping in fright and making the sign of a cross in front of her.

Yeah, my cousin's been through a lot of shit in his lifetime — a horrific childhood that left him scarred not only physically but mentally, ultimately giving him a unique set of phobias, the kind you only read about in medical journals or hear about on TV.

He demands control, perfection and cleanliness because he never received any of those things growing up.  I totally get that, even though it annoys the shit out of me sometimes.  I can't blame him for things beyond his control, however.  I'm really learning that now.

And given how much half of his life has sucked, I want to give him the happy ending he deserves.

That's why I'm not going to let him die.  I'm going to make him better.  And then together we will find Adeline, so that they can finally find their happily ever after.

As much as it pains me to say this, I'm going to push my feelings aside for her and focus on getting the two of them back together.  I'll internalize all my bullshit just for the sake of Lucien's happiness.

And fuck, if anyone deserves some goddamn happiness, it's him.

Lucien's wounds now have fresh bandages, and I have him hooked up to an IV with pain meds and antibiotics coursing through his veins.  I'm so glad I talked him into letting me keep some medical supplies here just in case something happened.  I just never thought I would need to use them…especially not on Lucien.

When I finish making sure my cousin is as comfortable as possible, I glance down at him.  He's sleeping as sound as a baby, completely oblivious that he almost died and that Adeline is missing.

I wish I could be oblivious to this fucking mess we're in right now too.

Sighing, I tell him, "Rest now, Luc, because when you wake up, we're gonna get shit done.  We're going to find Adeline and bring her back to us."

I wish I could shake him awake and make him help me now, but he needs time to heal.  And he's no good to me any worse off than he already is…or dead.  The only thing I can do right now is tend to his wounds and needs until he's better and conscious again.

I've already lost Adeline.  I can't lose him too right now.

My first thought is that the man behind the attack has to be Giovanni Morello, Adeline's ex-fiancé and the man who sold her to Lucien in the first place.  It could also be Adeline's father, Salvatore Valenti, an Italian mob boss.  Both are from New York City.  Both are equally dangerous.

Or the two of them could be working together…and that scares the hell out of me.

I just don't understand how they found us.  The mansion is secret, secure and in the middle of the Mediterranean on a private island, which cannot be found on any map.  It's perfectly masked in the sea surrounded by other tiny inlands and tons of water far away from the mainland.  This place is not just somewhere you happen upon.  You need directions, coordinates, fucking GPS.

Something is just not adding up.

Feeling frustrated, I leave Lucien's temporary hospital room and go to the kitchen to make my captive something to eat.  It will take my mind off all the other crap swirling around in my brain.  I have so much shit to do — make sure the island's secure, although Wraith has been working on that ever since he stepped foot back on the island, hire more staff and make sure Lucien makes it through the goddamn night.

Grabbing several items from the fridge, I close the door with my foot and spread everything out on the granite countertop of the large island in the middle of the kitchen.  I have no idea what Katerina likes, so I prepare a tray filled with numerous types of small sandwiches along with fruits, veggies and chips.

Wraith appears out of nowhere as I'm arranging everything on the tray, and I almost spill the whole goddamn lot on the floor.  "Fuck!" I curse at him.  He always manages to sneak up on me like a freaking ghost or something.  Hence, the reason why everyone calls him Wraith I suppose.  "I need to tie a bell around your neck like a cat, so I can hear you coming," I joke with him, flashing him a tight grin.  I'm only half-joking, though.

He doesn't chuckle or make any sign of amusement.  Instead, he stands stock-still, folding his big, burly arms across his chest and looking like he has the world on his shoulders with a stern look on his face.  "What did the girl do?" he asks.

Ah, he wants to talk about Katerina.  I remember the two of them communicating in Russian earlier, and I wonder what was said.  I wouldn't put it past her to lie.  Hell, she murdered her husband, for Chrissake.  Who knows what else she's capable of?

And you brought her crazy ass to the island because…? the voice in the back of my mind nags.

Giving Wraith a short rundown of how she came to be here, he listens intently.  Now and then his thick, blond brows rise to his hairline, but that's the most emotion I get out of the creepy fucker.

"So, yeah," I tell him, "I didn't really have a plan in mind; just to hold her captive until I could figure out what I was gonna do with her.  I was going to ask Lucien for his help…" My voice trails off, and I swallow hard.  Lucien would have known exactly what to do.  And now I can't even ask him for advice on this extremely fucked-up situation.  "But then everything happened, and we hightailed it back here."

"I see," Wraith says slowly.  "So you know almost nothing about this girl…and you brought her here?"

See, I told you, my inner voice says in response.

Frowning, I go to the next room and retrieve Katerina's purse.  I shove the contents into Wraith's giant arms and tell him, "This is all she had with her.  I was hoping Lucien could help me find out more, but he's obviously not going to be able to…for a while."

Wraith nods once.  "Let me talk to the girl, feel her out."

My teeth grind together at his words feel her out, but I know my sudden spurt of jealousy is crazy.  I don't even know this girl.  And what I know of her should have my balls shriveling up in fear…especially after she already attacked them.

"Fine.  But she needs to eat first," I say, picking up the tray and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge to add to the assortment.  "You can talk to her later after you figure things out," I tell him, gesturing to her belongings in his big hands.

"Yes.  Good," he agrees.