“Thanks,” she said as she slipped the white shirt over her head. “I was starting to get cold.”
He hurried her up the porch steps and into the kitchen, eager to find out what it was she wanted to tell him. However, when they walked inside, the house wasn’t as empty as they had left it.
“I was wondering where you two had gone,” Julianna said. She wasn’t by herself, though, there was another woman standing next to her.
“Mika!” Adrianna greeted. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Hello, Adrianna.” The woman’s gaze flickered to Darius. The green gaze held his, unflinching.
“What are you doing here?” Adrianna asked.
“So, you’re still sleeping with him?” Julianna accused.
Adrianna grabbed his hand. “What am I supposed to do? Give in to you because you threw a tantrum? Grow up, Julianna.”
“Me, grow up?”
“Yes! And I can’t believe you would drag our cousin into this.” She looked at Mika. “I’m so sorry you have to be here.”
“Ha!” Julianna sneered. “When Mama finds out—”
“Oh, she definitely will!” Adrianna’s voice rose. “I’m going to tell her how you’ve been acting like a brat. After I tell her about Darius and me.”
Her words stunned him. “Adrianna? What do you mean?”
“It’s all right, Darius.” She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “She needs to know. And you need to know something.”
“Stop right there,” Julianna bellowed. “Before you say anything else, you need to hear what we came here to say.”
“And what is that?” Adrianna asked.
Furious blue and green eyes narrowed at him. “I knew there was something wrong with him. My instinct was screaming that he and his scum uncle were up to something.”
“Julianna—”
“That’s why I brought Mika,” she interrupted. “You probably wouldn’t believe me—your own sister—but you’d believe what she had to say.”
Darius felt a tick in his jaw. Who was this woman?
“We’ve been investigating your attempted kidnapping,” Mika said. “It’s my job, as deputy chief of the Special Investigations unit of the Lycan Security Team.”
Adrianna shrugged. “I know. But why are you here? Did you get more information about the mages?”
Mika looked to Julianna, then back at Adrianna. “I did find out more. We tracked down the four men who tried to kidnap you. Although the security cameras had been blacked out, Julianna was able to find the footage of the men who disabled the cameras.”
“Using the D.C. police database, we were able positively identify all of them. Each had a rap sheet a mile long. And those four men worked for a construction company. Corvinus Construction.”
“See?” Julianna planted her hands on her hips. “I knew he and his slimy uncle were up to something. They were behind your kidnapping.”
“That doesn’t prove anything,” Adrianna said.
“We tracked them down,” Mika said. “Well, three of them anyway. The fourth man had been found dumped by the side of the road, a bullet in his chest.”
He felt trapped. Adrianna’s hand gripped his tighter, but he already knew where this was going. His entire life was falling apart in front of him, and he was helpless to stop it.
“The three guys were easy to round up,” Julianna scoffed. “And they sang like birds once we exerted enough pressure.” She took something off the table—a small tablet PC. She turned it toward them and tapped a button.
A face appeared on the screen as it flickered to life. Darius tensed, recognizing it as one of the men he had taken down as he tried to get to Adrianna. His face was bloody and his lip split.
“Who gave you the orders to kidnap the girl?” Came an unknown male voice offscreen.
“I … it was … Charlie.” He coughed. “It was easy money, he said.”
“Who paid you?”
“I don’t know, but I followed him when he was getting the first payment. Just in case he decided to double cross us and run,” the man said. “I saw them meeting at one of the construction sites we worked at. It was the boss. Corvinus.”
“Turn it off!” Adrianna cried. “Now.”
“Do you believe me now?” Julianna said.
Adrianna turned to him, an inscrutable look on her face. “Did you know?”
“Of course he did! He—”
“I’m not talking to you,” she hissed at her sister. “Did. You. Know.”
He couldn’t move. There was no way he was going to lie to her, but at the same time, admitting the truth would hurt her. “I swear, Adrianna—”
“Answer yes or no,” she said in a deadly, cold voice. “Did you know it was your uncle who ordered the kidnapping?”
“Not right away,” he said.
“When did you find out?” Adrianna’s gaze bore into him.
“After I came back from D.C.”
“After—” Her eyes widened, realizing what that meant. She had already judged him guilty. And it was his damn fault for not being honest. “You … you still …” She turned to Julianna and Mika. “Take him away.”
The two women lunged at him, but they didn’t realize he was ready. Knowing the possible outcomes of this scenario, his muscles had already tightened and prepared for their attack. First, he swatted Julianna aside, sending her crashing into the counter. Adrianna screamed as she ran to her sister.
He was distracted by Adrianna’s helpless cries that he didn’t see what was coming. He had seriously underestimated this other woman. Mika had grabbed his shoulders, twisted him around, then slammed him on the kitchen table.
“Stay down, motherfucker,” she said.
He turned his head around and saw something metallic glinting in her hands. Cuffs. He had to act fast. Hooking his leg around hers, he caught her by surprise as he swept her off her feet, and she landed on the floor with a thud. Immediately, he bolted and made a run for the kitchen door. He only had a few seconds, but that was all he needed.
He let his wolf take over their body, spurring it on to run as fast as it could. Their heart pumped with a furious beat, using every bit of energy they had
