Authors: Stephanie Julian
If they got free, she’d break. And she’d been broken enough. She’d promised herself she’d never be broken again.
“They kept us well. We were never hurt, never hit. Unless we asked.” And yes, she’d asked. “They barely ever threatened us. They didn’t have to. If we refused them anything, they starved us. And not by withholding food.”
She forced herself not to cringe as those memories bullied their way into her mind’s eye. Screaming until she lost her voice. Masturbating to gain a release that only helped for a few minutes. Becoming a rutting animal who thought only of sex.
She wondered what Teo would think of her had he seen her like that. She had to tell him, had to make him see what she’d been. So he would know. So someone would know.
“After the first few months, when the hunger got so bad we couldn’t breathe without wanting sex, we started not to care who we fucked, just so we did. Carmen, the woman who took care of us, seemed to have all the answers. She told us we were lucky, that if our parents had tried to let us lead normal lives, we would have become killers.”
Teo shook his head. “No, Lacey—”
She held up her hand, cutting him off. “She wasn’t wrong about everything, Teo. I think she actually cared for us, as much as she could. We found out, purely by accident, that the men who kept us held her young son captive. She was as much a victim as we were. She made sure we had whatever we wanted. Books, music, movies. Fresh-baked cookies at one in the morning. She made the best chocolate chip oatmeal cookies I’ve ever tasted. I miss those cookies sometimes.”
She smiled up at him, trying to get his expression to soften, just a little. He looked carved from stone. But those intense hazel eyes burned. He wanted to commit murder.
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And she couldn’t stand the thought that the men who had held her captive might turn their sights on Teo. She never wanted to be the cause of another man’s downfall because they’d had the misfortune to have sex with her.
“How did you get away?” he asked when she didn’t resume.
She shrugged. “They got sloppy.” And by then, they’d only had her to deal with.
“They thought, after so many years, that I wouldn’t try to get away.”
“They underestimated you.”
The confident tone of his voice made a rueful grimace twist her lips. “They got sloppy.”
He reached for her slowly, as if she would bolt. The hand he’d had resting on the back of the couch reached for her shoulder. She couldn’t help it. She stiffened but he didn’t stop. He placed his large, warm hand on her shoulders and let it rest there. He didn’t try to draw her closer, just stared into her eyes.
“No, Lacey. You outsmarted them. Don’t let them steal that knowledge from you.”
Looking into his warm eyes, she could almost believe it.
The part of Teo that was ruled by the
amentia
wanted to rip into something with his teeth and hands. He wanted to kill the men who’d stolen her, raped her and forced her to endure a life of hell for years. For making her believe, even just a little, that they’d saved her from a worse fate.
His entire body wanted to shake, his muscles drawn tight with restrained violence and it took his entire will not to give in to it. To hold himself still and keep his expression neutral. He didn’t want to lose his control, didn’t want her to think he couldn’t restrain himself. But it was so fucking hard when he could practically taste
Mal
blood.
As he focused on trying to breathe normally, he watched her tentative smile become a little more sure.
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“It took me a month to plan my escape, and when the time came, I only had a few minutes to make it work. The
Mal
owned the entire building so it was wired and warded from top to bottom. But every two months, never the same day, they had someone come in and redo the wards floor by floor.
“They were stupid enough to do them the same way every time. Top to bottom. I guess they figured it was safer that way.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I figured out that when Bobby, one of my guards, told Vic or Carl that he was going to check on the generator, he was going to help whoever came to strengthen the wards. I managed to work enough of a glamour to get me out of the apartment, away from Vic and Carl, and into the hall. Then I waited for them to get to our floor. I followed them through the stairwell as they went floor to floor. I managed to make it to the ground floor without them realizing I was there.”
When she paused, Teo asked, “How did you hide the fact that you could work a glamour?”
“Carmen taught me. My sister Cara couldn’t.”
Cara had always been weaker. Softer. Sweeter.
Gone.
Tears filled her eyes and she glanced away. She knew better than to show any weakness. Someone would find a way to turn it against her.
But she should have known Teo wouldn’t let her hide. The couch cushions shifted as he moved closer, his hand wrapping around her neck to rub at the tense muscles there.
She tensed, waiting, trying not to succumb to the warmth of his body or the mesmerizing motion of his hand on her neck.
“What happened to Cara, sweetheart?”
Blessed Goddess, his low, husky voice wrapped around her senses in a haze of heat.
But it didn’t touch the bleak ice in her heart.
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She took a deep breath. “She killed herself two years ago by breaking one of the windows and jumping from the fiftieth floor.”
His hand paused in its gentle motion on her neck for one brief second then resumed its steady pressure. If she hadn’t been so attuned to him, she might not have noticed.
How had she gotten so close in so short a time?
Dangerous. It was dangerous for her to feel so much for him in so short a time.
They’d only met last night. And here she was, spilling her guts. She hadn’t said her sister’s name aloud since her death. Had refused to speak of her to their captors.
Wouldn’t even discuss it with Carmen, who Lacey had heard sobbing after her death.
Wasn’t sure she could continue if he asked her to.
He didn’t ask. Instead, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, slid the other under her legs and lifted her onto his lap. She didn’t even pretend to herself that it wasn’t where she wanted to be. She just settled against his broad chest and let her eyes close.
And let herself believe Teo would be there when she woke up.
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Teo felt Lacey slide into sleep minutes after he pulled her onto his lap.
Her entire body went limp in complete surrender, her breath warm against his chest. His complete concentration on that rhythmic sensation was the only thing holding the
amentia
in line.
And the knowledge that he knew exactly how to bring down the
Mal
bastards who’d made Lacey’s life hell.
He sat there for half an hour, making sure she was completely out. When he rose to take her back to her bed, she didn’t even murmur in her sleep. He thought about climbing in bed with her but knew he was too restless and too wide awake.
So he went back to the living room, pulled his phone from his pants pocket and called the only person he trusted with this secret.
Cam picked up before the second ring. “Teo, what’s wrong?”
Teo’s lips curved at the intensity in his brother’s voice. “I need you. Can you come?”
His brother’s voice whipped through the line. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just…need to talk to you.”
“Give me the address. I’ll come to you in two minutes.”
After he recited the bar’s address and closed the phone, Teo glanced back at the door to Lacey’s bedroom. He’d closed it so he wouldn’t disturb— Hell, at least he could be honest with himself. He’d closed the door so she wouldn’t hear him as he betrayed her confidence.
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He felt only a small twinge of guilt because he knew if those men had done this to her, they’d do it to another woman. And he couldn’t live with that. Cam wouldn’t stop until he found them. And when he did, Teo would make them burn.
A minute and a half later, a slight pop announced Cam’s arrival. Teo knew his oldest brother could transport himself from place to place magically without making a sound. The noise was for Teo’s benefit. He’d always hated being snuck up on.
As the oldest, Cam had had decades of practice taking care of his siblings. For more than fifty years, before Rio had arrived, Teo had been the youngest. And when he’d been infected with the
amentia
, Cam had practically driven himself crazy trying to find a cure.
Cam’s dark eyes met his directly before skimming over him. Checking to make sure Teo was okay. Teo didn’t let it bother him the way it used to. It was an ingrained habit for Cam. He did the same to their parents and brothers. It’s what made him so damn good at his job as a security specialist, his ability to size up the situation in seconds.
When Cam was done looking him over, he let his gaze roam the apartment, his frown deepening by the second. His gaze lit on the closed bedroom door before he turned back to Teo. When their eyes met again, Cam lifted one dark brow. Teo’s cue to spill.
“She was seventeen when the
Mal
killed her parents and kidnapped her and her twin sister to use as sex slaves. She’s
querciola
.”
He’d said the magic word and Cam’s eyebrows shot toward the sky.
“Holy fuck, Teo.” Cam kept his voice low but Teo still heard complete and utter shock in his tone. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
He shook his head. “Her sister killed herself. Lacey escaped about a year and a half ago and has been on the run ever since. She settled here six months ago.”
Teo could see Cam’s mind working. In temperament, he and Cam were the closest among the brothers. They didn’t have to rely on words to communicate. Cam knew what Teo wanted.
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“She doesn’t know what you’re doing, does she?”
Teo shook his head. “She swore me to secrecy.”
Cam snorted. “That’s gonna come back to bite you.”
Not if she never finds out.
“I want names, an address. And I’ll take care of it.”
Cam’s brows did that little movement again as his arms crossed over his broad chest. Because of the difference in their ages, Cam had seemed more like a third parent than an older brother at times. But in all the ways that counted, they were brothers first.
“She specifically told you not to do anything, didn’t she?”
Damn, sometimes he swore Cam could read his mind. “She’ll never know.”
Cam snorted, his lips quirking into a fierce grin. “Yeah. Let me know how that works for you.” Then his gaze narrowed again. “You sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew here?”
Yeah, he probably was, but he’d already broken her confidence by telling Cam her story. And he refused to let those bastards get away with what they’d done to her and her sister.
But that wasn’t all Cam was talking about. Cam was implying Lacey was too much for him to handle.
And Teo started to get pissed.
Vaffanculo
, he wasn’t a kid anymore. Teo knew how to handle himself. He’d managed to make a life for himself despite being infected with the
amentia
. He hadn’t crawled into a hole or killed himself like some had. He’d never been in any danger of hurting himself. He’d been too damn sure he’d be able to find a cure.
He’d always been smart, sometimes too smart for his own good. He’d never had to study to get straight As. He’d gotten two college degrees in architecture and engineering in the time it’d taken most people to get one. Then he’d designed houses.
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Seduced by Chaos
When he’d gotten bored with that after twenty years or so, he’d gone back to college for a couple of master’s degrees and a doctorate in history. He’d been teaching college when he’d been infected. He’d left his position to find a cure.
His parents had guilted him into moving back home with them, afraid for his mental state. They’d given him everything he’d needed or wanted. But after a few months, he’d needed his own place again. He’d found an apartment in Reading, close to his parents and Cam.
He’d rebuilt his life from the bottom up. He’d gone back to designing buildings because he could do it from home. The firm he worked with gave him
carte blanche
to do the jobs he wanted because he was that good.
Now he wanted Lacey. He wanted her for more than a one-night stand and if his big brother didn’t approve…well then, fuck him. He’d do it without his help.
He opened his mouth to say just that and realized he didn’t have to. Because Cam’s grin had returned.
“Welcome to the club, little brother,” Cam said. “And you know I’ll do whatever I can to help you and Lacey. Just tell me what you need.”
* * * * *
Half an hour later, Cam nodded, gave him a hard hug and dematerialized back to his home a few miles away. He’d left with the promise that he and Stella would be at the bar tonight to meet Lacey.
And hopefully have some preliminary information.
Now alone, Teo sat on the couch, staring out the window. All he saw was green leaves and a dawn-blue sky. Across the street, City Park spread out over several blocks, making him wonder if she’d chosen this building because it was so close to the park and the trees.
As elemental creatures, the Etruscan
Fata
needed that connection to nature. While it might seem odd that an entire population so tied to nature had immigrated to a city, it 59
Stephanie Julian
made more sense when you realized that this city had been built over a ley line, a powerful vein of earth magic that infused the area with power.
The Etruscans had moved here shortly after the Purge of 1758, when the
Malandante
and the
Benandante
, a group of Etruscans dedicated to keeping the
Mal
in check, went head to head in the ancient Etruscan forests. The
Benandante
lost that battle and the
Fata
and
Enu
had paid a high price. Those who had stayed had retreated farther into the forest, disappearing, but the majority had left for the new world.