Haven groaned and rolled over in the bed. She blinked at the bright sunlight seeping in from the curtains. What time was it? She narrowed her eyes and glanced around the room until she found an alarm clock.

The red illuminated lights said it was nearly eleven. She shot up and cursed. It was late enough Essex might have left to do something, and she’d have to wait for her answers. Crap!

She flung the covers back and hurried to her bag. Stephen had packed a bag of clothes and toiletries for her, and it had been ready and waiting in his vehicle at the train station. How he had known to expect her was still a mystery. Why she’d let him get away once again without spilling the beans was an even bigger one. Why did she keep doing that? It was annoying.

She’d done it with Essex last night, too. One minute she’d been determined to stand her ground and find out everything even if it took all night; the next, she’d been complacent and off to bed. It was weird how it always happened when she wanted to know about her past.

That was how Stephen was, though; he was able to ease her mind just like he always seemed to know things. It was like he had a sixth sense. For all she knew, he did. After what she’d witnessed the other night, anything was possible. The idea of supernatural creatures running rampant should frighten her, yet it didn’t, at least not in the way she thought it would.

While part of her was scared of the unknown, the other part wanted to learn more.

Haven picked out an outfit and quickly changed into it. The emerald green tee flowed loosely to her thighs, and the black leggings fit snugly, just how she liked them. It irritated her how well Stephen knew her, yet she knew next to nothing about him or their family.

Today she was going to find out everything. Hopefully, Essex would know things. He was a stranger, yet there was something about him. The moment he’d walked into the room last night her belly had done a somersault, and her libido had skyrocketed through the roof. He was hot—like, really hot.

No man had ever had that effect on her; the ‘let me strip so you can take me now’ effect. It unnerved her a little.

She took in a deep breath and let it out while opening the bedroom door. The smell of bacon, eggs, and sausage filled the air. Her mouth watered and her belly grumbled. It smelled amazing.

Her feet moved across the carpet without her even realizing it. Before she knew it, she was in the kitchen.

Essex stood at the stove. His shirtless back was to her. She sucked in a breath at the muscles that lined his back. He was built and toned wonderfully. She could already imagine running her hands down his back while he was buried deep inside her.

He turned around and grinned at her. Heat scorched her face when he smiled at her like he knew exactly what she’d been imaging.

“Morning,” he said, turning back to the stove. “Did you sleep well?”

Haven cleared her throat. “Yes. Thank you.” She smoothed a hand over her shirt and glanced around the room in an effort to collect herself and to keep her mind from turning to dirty thoughts once again. One wall caught her eye, and she had no idea how she’d missed it the night before.

Pictures of wolves and people lined one wall from top to bottom. A few wolf knick-knacks sat out on the shelves, and a painting of a lone gray wolf hung from another wall. It was beautiful—so realistic. Something about the painting called to her. She took a few steps closer until she was right in front of it.

Reaching out, her fingers skimmed over the canvas, tracing the magnificent creature.

“You like that?” Essex’s voice broke her trance.

“It’s nice.” She took a step back and glanced around the room again. “I see you have a thing for wolves.”

Essex chuckled. It was a deep, hearty laugh. One that made her insides tingle. “You could say that. I find them fascinating.”

“I can see why. They are beautiful animals.” Wolves had always fascinated her, too. She didn’t have pictures of them littering her walls at home, but she often stopped to stare at them when she came across them.

“Have you ever studied the wolf pack dynamic? There is something to be said about the way they stick together and help each other.”

His footfalls thudded on the floor as he came to stand behind her.

She peered over her shoulder, getting a good view of his well-defined chest. She snapped her attention back to the wall. “There is something to be said for sticking together.” Which reminded her... “You were going to talk to me about my family,” she said. She licked her lips and steeled herself to face him.

When she spun around, her gaze locked with his mesmerizing ice-blue eyes. They were breathtaking, especially the way they complemented his sandy-blond hair.

“What is it you’d like to know about your family?” he asked. He cocked his head to the side and stared at her.

She swallowed hard. Was he really going to answer her questions? Or was he playing along and would he find a way to evade all her questions like Stephen did? There was only one way to find out.

“Um, everything,” she said with a shrug.

Essex laughed out loud. “That could take a while.”

She huffed. “How about the basics. Who were they? Why were they murdered?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

Essex sobered and nodded. “Very well. My family visited your family often. We’ve actually met—sort of. I came for a visit right after your birth. That was the only time you and I met, but your parents did visit my house several other times before that.”

“Really?” Haven asked. She had no memories of her family at all, even though she had been six when they were murdered. She should remember something, but she didn’t. It was just one more thing that was weird.

“Your parents, Rosa and Edmond Goode, were well respected and loved in the community, and quite wealthy,” Essex continued.

“My last name is Goode?” she asked. Jeesh. Her last name wasn’t even Carson. Was her first name even Haven? Did she really want to know?

“Yes. Your name was changed for your protection,” Essex said with a sigh.

“Because of my parents’ murders,” she said.

“Yes.”

“If they were so well respected and loved, why would someone want to murder them?” Haven asked quietly.

“For power,” Essex said.

He made it all sound so simple. Was taking another life that easy for some? Probably. It made her sick to the stomach.

“Come. Let’s get you something to eat. We can talk more over brunch.” Essex placed his hand on her elbow, gently guiding her to the kitchen table. Warmth seeped beneath her skin where he touched. She moved closer to him, wanting to feel more of him.

They came to a stop at the table. He pulled out a chair and released her arm. She instantly missed the contact. Part of her wanted to reach out for him to draw him close again, but she didn’t. Instead, she plopped down in the chair.

Plates rattled and silverware clanked as Essex prepared two plates for them.

“I hope you are hungry. I made breakfast and lunch stuff, since it’s kind of late.”

“I’m starved,” she said. She and Stephen had eaten at the airport, but she hadn’t eaten since. It had been well over twelve hours since her last meal. Her belly rumbled in agreement.

“I’m putting a little bit of everything on your plate.”

“Thank you. I didn’t picture you being someone who cooked,” she said, watching him work. The food smelled delicious, but it didn’t seem right that someone like Essex could cook stuff that smelled this good. Then again, it was never good to stereotype anyone.

He carried over two very full plates of food, piled high with way more than she could eat in an entire day.

“Learning to cook was a big thing for me growing up. I like to eat a lot. Let’s just say whatever you don’t eat, I’ll finish off for you.”

She blinked as he sat the full plate in front of her. There was no way she could eat even half of it, even with as hungry as she was. How in the world could he eat his plate and some of hers? Where did he put it?

“My entire family knows their way around a kitchen, even if my mom does most of the cooking. Food is very important to us,” Essex continued. He laughed like he’d told a joke.

Her eyes swept over his six-pack. “I don’t know where you put it.”

Essex grinned and smoothed a hand over his torso. “I have a crazy fast metabolism.”

“That must be nice.” She didn’t mind her curvy figure most of the time. It showed that she indulged every once in a while, which was fine in her book. There was nothing wrong with having a little curviness to her figure.

She picked up her fork but waited to dive in until Essex was seated across from her. He grinned as he bit into a piece of bacon.

Haven watched the way his mouth worked and once again her mind wandered to what else his mouth could do. She shook her head and shifted in her seat. It was time to focus on something else, like getting more answers.

“The people who killed my family, who are they?” she asked before taking a bite of eggs.

“A small group of people who call themselves The Hags.”

Haven made a face. What?

“They target families like yours... and mine.”

“They killed your family, too?” Haven asked. She paused to look up at him. Her hand trembled as she met his eyes, causing the eggs to jiggle on her fork.

“They attacked and murdered my family, my entire bloodline, several months before they killed yours. I am the only survivor, just like you are the only one from your family.”

“They murdered your entire family?” His words registered in her mind. “My whole family wasn’t killed. Stephen is my uncle by marriage, but I consider him my adoptive father...” she trailed off when Essex shook his head.

“No. He’s not related to you at all. He took you in and protected you from the Hags.”

She dropped her fork on the plate. It clanged against the ceramic before bouncing off and sliding across the table. He’d lied about that, too? They weren’t even related. He was just some random man that had raised her. They had no blood connection at all. What else had he lied about? Was her whole life a lie?

Tears pricked her eyes, and she swallowed hard.

“You didn’t know that he wasn’t related to you. I’m sorry,” Essex said. He reached across the table and put his hand on top of her shaking one.

Calmness washed over her, and she closed her eyes, letting it in. How someone she barely knew could comfort her with such a simple touch was beyond her, but she didn’t have it in her to question it, not when she still wanted answers to so many other questions.

“It’s okay.” She cleared her throat, hating the way emotion had seeped into her voice. “You said they killed our entire blood line for power, but why? What do they gain from it? Wouldn’t the police catch up with them?” With forensic science and technology where it was today, how could they get away with it?

Essex took another bite of food. He chewed it slowly, as if considering how to answer her. “They are a secret organization that knows how to cover their tracks well. They gain all the assets from our family—our power.”

She frowned. That still didn’t make sense. How did the police not catch up to them? Unless... a thought occurred to her. What if they were supernatural?

Haven bit her lip, unsure if she should bring it up or not.

“But why wipe out the entire bloodline?” she asked.

Essex picked at his food and frowned. “If the bloodline is gone, there is no one to claim anything.”

“So my whole family is gone?” her voice grew thick again. She covered her mouth before taking a sip of water to help shove the lump forming in her throat down.

“I’m afraid so. I’m sorry.”

She shook her head and glanced up at the ceiling. Tears blurred her vision. Tears for people she’d never met and couldn’t remember.

“I was eleven when my family died. It was dumb luck that I wasn’t home. One of my school friends had a sleepover birthday party. The... the... police showed up in the middle of the night and whisked me away. I was brought here to Emerick. Regina and Tomas took me in and raised me like I was a part of their family. I love and miss my mom and dad, but I was blessed to have another set of parents to love me.” Essex smiled fondly, like he was thinking about them right now.

She hadn’t met Regina or Tomas, but was pretty sure she’d met their son Lucas yesterday. He must be Essex’s adopted brother. He’d seemed nice enough.

For a moment, she craved what Essex had, a family that loved her. Stephen had been kind to her in his own way, but his wife, on the other hand—what a bitch. That woman was one of the reasons she didn’t believe in love. Anyone that could trample over their spouse’s heart like that was evil. It didn’t help that Haven had had one bad relationship after another the past few years. Either no good guys were out there, or she was looking in all the wrong places.

Her gaze drifted to Essex again. There was something about him that kept drawing her in. She would need to keep her distance. He might appear nice and sweet now, but it was all a ploy. Give it a few weeks, and his true colors would come out. It’d be better to keep her heart intact and herself far away from him.

She ate a few more bites of egg and bacon, then stood up and excused herself to spend time in her room.

He’d answered enough of her questions for the morning. Right now, she needed to get away from him and his startling, ice-blue eyes.