Detective Alain Babineau and his family were tucked away in an exclusive gated neighborhood funded by Terriot money. Their king wanted to insure his half-sister and nephew’s safety, and Babineau couldn’t in good conscience argue. They’d gone from an affordable little home with a carport and microscopic yard across from Oscar’s school, to a privacy-fenced two-story on a double lot. A basketball hoop completed the smooth-surfaced double drive leading to a triple bay garage. The perfect place to hide in plain sight. The middle garage door rose and quickly concealed car and occupants.
Drained and weak from the awful events of the day, Amber needed the assist from the backseat. Rico’s firm hand on her arm lifted her out onto wobbly legs and remained while she found her balance. Hard to do when he held himself purposefully away. She didn’t understand his distance. And she didn’t understand why he showed no outward signs of the terrible injuries he’d endured. Why wouldn’t he talk to her? Or even look at her?
“Rico,” she began in soft entreaty.
The door to the house opened.
“Mama!”
A blonde missile streaked down off the step and collided with a flailing of arms and legs, nearly bowling her over. Amber buried her face in the freshly washed hair and just breathed her in with a wild relief as Mia walked into Colin’s embrace on the other side of the car.
“Evie, baby, are you okay?”
“They killed Uncle Augie.”
“I know, baby.”
“And Rico almost died.”
Amber glanced up at his expressionless front, asking silently for an explanation. Almost died.
“She saved my life,” he stated solemnly.
“Me and Colin and Detective Babineau and . . . all of us.” Evie’s voice trailed off to nothing.
“Mostly you,” Rico corrected. “And I kept my promise.”
Bright blue eyes overflowed happily. “Yes, you did.”
“We gotta go.”
His terse announcement confused Amber. “Go?” She didn’t ask where, willing to follow him anywhere at this point.
“You’re not safe here. Mia’s going with you.”
Mia pulled out of Colin’s arms to regard them both suspiciously. “What do you mean?” Colin tried to soothe her with the stroke of his hand, but she pushed it away. “Colin?”
“We can’t do what we need to if we’re worrying about you.”
She stared at him, mouth dropping. “Us helpless little girls? Colin Terriot, if you think I’m going to—”
“Yes, I do and you are. Right now. Your ride’s waiting to take you to Tahoe. Kendra and Sylvia will get you settled in. We’ve already cleared it with Cale.”
“A nice safe, watched room where I can’t get into any trouble? Me being an enemy and all, that viper at your family’s bosom,” Mia sneered. “Thanks, but I’m not leaving. I don’t run from a fight.”
“You will this time.” His low growl set her back a step. “You’ll go and you’ll keep our child safe. And she’ll go,” he pointed at Amber, “and keep her child safe. And we won’t do something stupid, like die, because we’re distracted thinking about you here, in danger. No argument.”
Their stares held for a long, tense moment then Mia stepped back with a gruff, “I’ll get my things,” and strode into the house. Colin wheeled away, circling the car, dropping behind the wheel with a slam of the door.
A startled Amber glanced at Rico. He looked no less intractable when he began with a quiet forcefulness, “This is on me. I left you both when I’d sworn to keep you safe. I’m responsible for your brother’s death. This ends now. Don’t fight me over this.”
Amber’s shoulders rose and fell. “I don’t have any fight left. Baby, go get your stuff.”
Looking worriedly between them, Evie did as told, hurrying back inside the Babineaus’ house to leave them standing miles apart while only feet away from one another.
“It’s not your fault,” Amber began.
“No, it never is. Bad shit just tends to happen when I’m involved.” He turned aside. A pause, then his gaze canted up again, long slits that glittered dangerously. “Did he hurt you?”
“Only when he told me you were dead.”
“Amber.”
“I thought you were d-d-dead.”
The fragile tremor in her voice brought them together, each holding tight to the one good thing they’d ever known. Just as quickly, he pulled away as Mia then Evie returned to the garage.
“We’ll be back in a bit,” Rico told Babineau who stood in the doorway with his arm about their damp-eyed sister. Alain was looking at Amber James as if really seeing her for the first time in the glare of garage light. The detective’s mouth sagged open as Rico held down the seat so she then Evie could climb in back before he wedged in with them. Mia settled silently in front next to Colin, not looking at him. He put the car in gear and rumbled out onto the street then into a night darker than any had predicted.
No one spoke at first during the fast trip to the tarmac. Rico tried to focus on the grim deeds they’d attend to this night, but the soft scent of the pair beside him undercut that necessary attention.
He could feel Amber’s hurt and perplexed study but denied himself a look her way. Just that quick embrace in the garage had his system revved to the point of piston-blowing overload. Instinct rumbled, a pacing, prowling, feral beast. To have her, claim her, make her his forever. Something she didn’t need or want that scared her half to death. He got that. Staring long and hard at that damaged door, he inwardly cringed as the memory of her panicked cries stabbed the message home. She wasn’t ready for the commitment he’d come to need as desperately as his next breath, and maybe never would be considering what that bastard Brady had done to her. He had to get her far away, someplace safe from her past and from the future he was desperate to force upon her.
The only thing holding those ferocious demands at bay was the feel of Evangeline tucked against his side, her head resting on his chest as she slept, an effective barrier between his basic wants and the object of them. Evie trusted him. She’d believed him when he’d said he’d protect them, and so he would, even from the danger he now presented. Maybe the dark plans they’d made for this night would satisfy that craving to act without thought to consequences. Perhaps violence would purge the wildness from his heart so he could finish courting Amber gently when he returned home. Because letting these two precious individuals go was now impossible.
The light brush of her fingertips tracing the fresh scar on his brow ignited the slow-burning pilot light that, once ignited, would become an uncontrollable fever in his brain. Knowing he should pull away, he leaned instead into the tenderness of her touch that stroked through his hair, behind his ear until her palm fit to his clenched jaw. He pushed into the inviting warmth of her hand, eyes closing, drawing in her unique fragrance. Tasting it as her thumb rubbed across his lips, with his kiss, with a lick, with the unintentionally sharp nip that drew blood on the fleshy pad.
Amber gasped, but instead of jerking away, she pushed past his teeth to the wet loll of his tongue, and a teasing suction that had her respiration as ragged as his own. Leaning across her daughter, she drew his head close enough for her lips to find his other cheek, sketching a kiss across it to whisper in his ear, “It wasn’t you. I wasn’t afraid of you. I’m sorry I hurt you with what I said.”
He went still, not even breathing when she added, “I love you, Rico Terriot. I trust my life and everything I love to you.”
All the lonely anguish of a lifetime shuddered from him with those words.
Amber cupped his whiskered chin, turning him toward her to kiss him with druggingly deep conviction interrupted by a wry remark from the front seat.
“Is it hot in here, or is it just me?”
Rico slanted a look at the rearview to catch his brother’s provoking smirk then grinned as Mia gave her mate a not so light swat and a crisp, “Eyes on the road, hot stuff.”
* * * * *
A sleek helicopter sat like a crouching bird of prey on the tarmac. Evie’s excitement distracted from tension thickening as the moment of separation approached. The three ladies waited for their males to retrieve scant belongings from the trunk then followed them to the craft that would wrest them from where they wanted to remain.
Colin slid open the door to stow their gear then reeled back with an, “Oh, shit! Sorry!”
Seconds later, a disheveled Turow Terriot and an equally mussed redhead climbed out. Colin looked between his dark glower and Sylvia Terriot’s contented smile and grinned at his brother.
“Excuse the hell outta me for the interruption, but I admire your strength under pressure to get the job done.”
“Me, too,” Sylvia purred. “Otherwise, I’d have had him kill you. Hello, gorgeous.” She stepped up boldly to pull Colin’s head down for a scorching kiss that went on long enough for Mia’s stare to become slightly murderous. Finally, the redhead stepped back, rubbing her quickly applied lip gloss from his smile before addressing his mate. “Keeping him on a short leash?”
“I don’t need to.”
Sylvia laughed and turned to the other Terriot. “Hello, Rico.”
“Hey, Syl.” He scooped her up for a firm squeeze, smiling fondly when she rubbed his chin.
“I like this. Very . . .” She made a growly noise then looked to mother and child. “And you’re Amber and Evie.” She patted Rico’s chest. “Good choice. I’ll make sure they’re taken care of for you. And you two,” she charged both brothers, “keep him in one piece for me.”
“We will, Sylvie,” Colin promised. His hand eased across Mia’s squared shoulders before he added, “And don’t let this one tangle with our family, because they’d lose. Precious cargo on board.”
Green eyes went wide. Sylvia smacked her mate’s hard belly. “Need to know!”
“Sorry,” Turow mumbled. “I’m not a gossipy kinda guy. We’d best say our good-byes. We’ve been here too long already.”
Sylvia grinned up at him. “I didn’t hear you complaining.”
An uncharacteristic grin dazzled. “And you never will.”
Their passionate embrace had his brothers looking to their own partners, Colin crushing Mia close, kissing her until there wasn’t an ounce of fight in her when he murmured, “I’ll miss knowing you have my back. You’re the reason I breathe. Don’t forget that. Not ever.”
Unable to frame a reply, dark eyes sparkling with emotion, Mia touched his cheek, grabbed her bag, and climbed aboard the chopper. Leaving Rico to the last good-bye.
An arm about each of them, Rico hugged tight, kissing one brow then the other. “I’ll see you soon.”
He couldn’t manage more than that, so he picked up Evie’s bag, stowed it on the helicopter and helped them climb in, securing the door behind them.
The three brothers stood shoulder to shoulder watching the dreams they’d die to protect glide away from them with a sudden hard push of air. Then Colin smacked their shoulders with a fierce, “Let’s get this party started.”
* * * * *
The first minutes of the ride were silent as each female dealt with her own parting sorrow. Then Sylvia regarded Mia, an amused smile flirting across her lips.
“Son or daughter?”
“Son.” Mia’s attitude couldn’t help softening. “Abel Daniel Terriot.”
The significance of the name didn’t escape Sylvia. She murmured, “Good for you, Colin.” Then her attention sharpened. “A boy. A Guedry carrying the Terriot heir? Cale must be apoplectic!”
“I don’t particularly care what Cale is or isn’t.”
A warm chuckle. “And that’s why Colin loves you.” Her attention shifted to mother and child. “But it doesn’t explain you and Rico. Welcome to the family. I see you come with one ready-made.”
“We’re not part of the family. I-I just lost my brother. He was the last of mine.”
Sylvia instantly softened. “I’m sorry. I know how awful that feels.” She glanced at Mia. “We both do. But that doesn’t mean we three can’t be sisters. Let me be your House tour guide for this evening. Things in Tahoe are . . . complicated. ‘Family’ is a rather loose term applied to a prison camp that’s just had its doors opened for the first time under Cale’s regime. A good thing and, still, a dangerous thing you’ll need to understand if you’re going to survive on our mountain.”
* * * * *
A sleek limo met their helicopter on the Terriot’s private landing pad. An exhausted Evie dragged her eyes open to a popping diameter as they stepped into the luxurious interior.
“Better than the shuttle bus at the airport,” Sylvia confided as she settled into the long leather seat with a sigh for the short ride to the family compound.
“Mama, is that a bar?” Evie whispered in awe.
“All that’s missing is the stripper pole.” Mia sized up the huge space, imagining the randy Terriot princes enjoying themselves. Her own, in particular.
Sylvia chuckled. “Lap dances are safer.”
Behind a hidden gate, well-lit streets revealed a resort-like community of chalet-style homes nestled into lush pines. Sylvia pointed to one in passing. “That’s where Row and I live when we’re not in Vegas or Pahrump.” Evie snickered. Sylvia joined in. “I know. Right? That’s why I got the helicopter. I’m learning to fly it in the spring.”
“It’s yours?” Evie gasped.
A wink. “Being a princess has its perks. The best one being the prince. But remember, not all of them are created equally exceptional to our three.”
They pulled up in front of a dormitory-style building where the vehicle doors were opened for them.
“Sorry. Short notice,” Sylvia apologized. “We didn’t have time to ready appropriate places for you, so you’ll be staying in their rooms. This is the unmated male dorm, so once you’re tucked inside, stay there until I come get you in the morning.”
“You sound like you know your way around.”
She grinned at Mia’s muttered jab. “Indeed, I do. But remember, my name has always been Terriot and yours is not, no matter whose mark you wear. So be careful of the others.”
With that, she led the way up the walk with a swish of her hips.
The simple climb up the stairs in the silent building took the last of Amber’s reserves, especially with Evie hanging on her, barely able to keep her eyes open.
Sylvia opened the first door to an austere room, stating, “I’ll stay in here tonight, so knock if you need anything.”
Hardly a place they’d expect the flashy princess to prefer, but her wistful smile betrayed a sentimental value for that single bed.
She herded them down the hall to another room, this one a huge, obvious bachelor’s quarters with its mammoth bed, cavernous closets and remaining bits of sound equipment that screamed of Colin Terriot. The edgy contentiousness dropped from Mia as she toured the space, touching his things with the stroke of her fingertips. To their guide, she said a soft-spoken thank you and with a nod to Amber and Evie, closed the door.
What kind of room defined Frederick Terriot, Amber wondered as she followed Sylvia to the next door. His modest space held sleek furnishings and a big bed for the other pastime he and his brothers excelled in, but no personal touches. Evie dropped right into the covers, barely remembering to take off her shoes.
“He’s a really sweet guy,” Sylvia noted, standing at the open door. “All he’s ever needed was someone to belong to. You’re the family he’s always wanted.”
Amber gave a start when the neckline of her shirt was pulled aside to examine scar-free shoulders.
Sylvia’s surprise echoed in her amazed, “You don’t wear his mark. You’re not mated, yet he sent you here to our mountain? An outsider? He knows better than that.”
“I didn’t ask him.” Amber readjusted her top, embarrassed by the topic and the other’s scrutiny. “I didn’t want to come here. I knew we wouldn’t be . . . welcome.”
Sylvia continued to stare at her, now amused and puzzled. “He asked and you said no. You said no to a prince?” A marveling laugh. Then her tone softened. “Why?”
“We’re too different. Our lives are too far apart.”
“Have you met my mate? We might as well have come from different planets! But I can’t imagine my life without him. You and Rico seem so . . . so right for each other. And sex with him can’t possibly be the problem.” Sylvia chuckled at Amber’s uncomfortable flush. “Sorry. We’re casual about such things here. Sex is no big deal until you’re bonded.”
“And then?”
“Then no one else even exists except the other.” A curious look. “You don’t love him?”
“No one else exists but him,” she admitted with a sigh. She nodded shyly toward the scar peeping out from beneath Sylvia’s scooped neckline. “Is it awful?”
“What? Mating? It’s scary and exciting and pure hell . . . for about a second. And then . . .”
“Then what?”
Sylvia’s gaze grew starry. “Then everything changes. There’s no you without him anymore. There’s a connection I can’t even begin to describe. Not just physical, but let me tell you, girl, the sex . . . mind blowing! But even better than sex . . . and I can’t believe I just said that . . . you’re not alone. He’s here,” she placed her hand above her heart, “always. Filling in all those imperfect, broken parts. And you know, really know, there will never be anyone else for him but you.” She grinned. “And did I mention the sex?”
“It wasn’t him,” Amber admitted. “It was something before.”
“Ah. Baggage. It won’t matter to him.”
Amber could hear his earnest pledge.
“I'm right here. I'll always be right here for you and Evie. Nothing, nothing will change that. I'm your guy. I will fight for you. I'll protect you. You know I will.”
“He’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Amber admitted at last. “From the first time I saw him. And he wants me, and all my baggage. It’s just too much to accept. Too good to be true.”
“Oh, it’s not a fairytale ending. He’s still a Terriot, and that comes with an obnoxious amount of luggage you can’t lose no matter how you try. Family.” Sylvia snorted. “The dysfunctional shapeshifter Brady Bunch rated R for violence, language and thankfully, nudity. But it’s family, and bonding makes you part of it, whether you or they like it.” She laughed. “And Mia’s here. A Guedry! Now that’s the power of love.”
The last thing Amber expected was an accepting hug.
“Be good to him. Love him. You won’t regret it.”
After her new Terriot friend was gone, Amber found one of Rico’s tee shirts to sleep in. In the bathroom, she discovered a drawer full of new toothbrushes. She drew out two, smiling rather sadly at the revolving-door life he must have led. A lonely life now crowded with two needy females.
She curled up beside Evie, expecting to drop off to sleep. But her eyes remained open in the darkness and her mind churned with thoughts of Rico and his brothers up to their royal necks in the trouble she’d left behind.