Burning (PAVAD: FBI Romantic Suspense Book 11) Page 7

  “She’s doing well, but there was another fire alarm at her building. An apartment a few floors up was destroyed. She’s planning to stay with Payton Lucas this evening.”

  “She mentioned the alarms to Meredith. I’m starting to think her complex owner is negligent.”

  “She needs to move.” And she’d suggested it, hadn’t she? He wouldn’t fault her for doing exactly that. With a woman being assaulted in the building during the alarms, he couldn’t see her wanting to stick around the building too much longer.

  Before the conversation could deepen, the children rushed in. He shifted Maddie to his other hip awkwardly and hugged Tyler, even though the little boy didn’t initiate the embrace. Sin made a point of hugging him at least twice a day. And telling him that he was loved. It had been awkward at first, but he’d like to think it was a lot easier now.

  Lucy eyed him. “You’re not Maddie’s daddy. Or Uncle Seth.”

  “No, I’m not. I’m their brother. We’ve met before, remember? I’m here to take you to your mother.” That surprised him—she was very young to have noticed a difference.

  Green eyes glared at him; it wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.

  ***

  Cody drove to Luc’s practically on autopilot. What were she and Lucy going to do? The idea of staying in the apartment didn’t sit well, but the idea of disrupting Lucy’s sense of stability was just as unsettling. Payton buzzed her past the security guards—although she had an open security access at Luc’s. Margaret had called her granddaughter, and the young woman had rushed over to get her. It had worked out great, as the granddaughter had an extra room—and had told Cody she had been wanting Margaret to move in with her for a while. But Margaret was a bit stubborn at times.

  Her friend was waiting with the door open after she parked. Payton had had the day off and Cody hadn’t been able to explain why she’d wanted to stay with Payton over the phone.

  She’d asked quickly. Payton had responded quickly. It had been that simple.

  Payton hugged her. “You look like you needed reminded that you’re not alone. What’s going on?”

  “A fire. This time for real.” She explained what had happened. “It’s a local case, though. I looked over the file—we won’t have jurisdiction.”

  “And you don’t want to stick around. I understand. Where’s Lucy?”

  “Sin Lorcan is picking her up when he gets Tyler.”

  “Sin?” Payton knew most of their history, and her surprise was understandable. “That’s new.”

  “He offered. He was with me when the fire happened.”

  Payton stared at her for a moment. “Should I apologize? Or even ask?”

  “We’re working on a special item for the director. He stopped by to pick up the files. He was there when it happened; just like the last time.”

  “And how is that going for you?”

  “Better than I would have thought. I still say it sucks, though.” Although they hadn’t gotten too far into it. They kept getting interrupted. If she was the kind that believed in signs, the fire alarms would be a definite, wouldn’t it?

  Luc hugged her when she walked into what Payton had turned into a real, inviting living room. “Guess what? You’re moving. First thing tomorrow. I have eight houses you can consider. If they won’t work, I’ll buy you one of your choosing.”

  “Not right now, Luc. Let her get inside first.”

  Saved by Payton. Thank goodness.

  Cody still hadn’t decided what they were going to do yet.

  Chapter 23

  Sin stared at the little girl. She stared back. “I don’t believe you.”

  “I’m sorry that you don’t. Your mother already spoke with Mrs. Brockman.”

  Lucy stuck out her lower lip, and he saw her gearing herself up to fight him. Apparently like mother, like daughter. “Where are we going?”

  “The Lucas’s. You’ll be staying there for a while, I think.” He’d never explained himself to children before; not until Tyler, anyway. His son clung to his pants leg and watched Lucy with a clear question on his face. “Do you have your things together?”

  “I do, of course.” Meredith was smiling at the little girl. “She’s a bit resistant to change. And I don’t think anyone other than Alessandra has ever picked her up besides her mother. This is difficult for her. Lucy, I’ve spoken to your mother. She’s at Uncle Luc’s. You are to meet her there. It’ll be ok.”

  “He’s Uncle Seb’s brother. But I don’t think I like him.”

  “He’s my daddy!” Tyler yelled it, surprising even Sin. His son rarely raised his voice—or made much noise at all. He rubbed his son’s hair. Dark and thick—just like his, just like his uncles’. Like his cousin Maddie’s.

  “It’s ok, Ty.” He went down to the little girl’s level, even though it felt unbelievably awkward. “Lucy, I know you don’t know me well, but I have known your mother since she was just a little older than you. She trusts me to get you to her safely. And I will. You have my strongest promise ever. Will that work?”

  She still stared at him out of world-weary eyes. Then she slowly nodded, and held out a small hand. “I want my mama.”

  “I know. And I think she’s waiting for you.” Her hand felt so small in his. Just like Tyler’s. Kids made him feel so confused and vulnerable at times. This one was apparently no exception.

  He stood up, then took the pink backpack from Meredith. He had Tyler’s green one slung over his shoulder. His son’s was stuffed full of spare toys and a change of clothes. Kid stuff. Normal stuff.

  Stuff that made him feel completely out of his depth.

  The two kids rarely spoke on the drive over. Which was odd, as he knew they spent a good deal of time playing together at the Brockmans’. Were they still feeling their ways around each other in this new situation?

  The home of Cody’s friend Dr. Lucas and her billionaire husband loomed in the distance. He was familiar with the guy’s rep. The place was built of recycled shipping containers and painted an odd grayish blue that he’d heard rumors matched the man’s wife’s eyes.

  Apparently the tabloids thought the story was so romantic.

  He’d noticed Lucas’s photos all over the newsstands after the guy had married Dr. Asher.

  How could he miss it, when Merrick had been painted as the other woman—the mystery other woman, at that?

  He wondered what the wife thought of that?

  Security stopped him at the gate and he flashed his Bureau ID. The guard nodded, then waved him through. “Agent Cody told us you would be coming. Miss Lucy, nice to see you again.”

  Lucy waved. “Hi Mr. Terrance. My mama and Uncle Luc are inside? And Aunt Payton?”

  “And I believe Simon may be inside somewhere, as well.”

  It was so normal. So ordinary. Yet the place shouted wealth and anything material imaginable.

  He parked near the front entry. He and Tyler wouldn’t be inside very long. Of that he was certain. He was just going to drop Merrick’s child off with her and then he was leaving.

  He didn’t want to see her with Lucas. Didn’t want to see her comfortable and at home in the lair of the richest guy in the state, even if he was married.

  He hadn’t been married when he and Merrick had appeared in the tabloids, had he?

  Tyler took off the moment his feet hit the sidewalk, steps behind Merrick’s daughter. The little girl had immediately began shouting for her mother the instant she’d been pulled from her child seat.

  Merrick opened the front door and the little girl jumped into her arms. Merrick settled her daughter on her hip, then brushed a hand over Tyler’s hair. His son wrapped his arms around her leg and just held on.

  Merrick looked up at him and smiled. It wasn’t a full smile, but she was trying. “Thank you.”

  She looked at him, two black-haired children clinging to her, and in that instant she looked absolutely perfect. He had to be an idiot, didn’t he? To even pause for a moment and
think how right Merrick looked surrounded by a couple of children?

  Someone came outside behind her. He was relieved to see the familiar blonde woman. Dr. Payton Asher Lucas was one of Merrick’s closest friends. One of Alessandra and Carrie’s, as well. He had met her often and he liked her quiet ways very much.

  He would have been attracted to her if she hadn’t already been married, and he knew it. He liked women who were confident enough in who they were to not need to shout their attributes to whomever was looking.

  Hugh Schild had felt the same way, and because of that had nearly killed too many people that Sin cared about. Just because of Schild’s feelings for Payton Asher.

  Merrick handed her daughter over to Payton and Lucy hugged her. Merrick swooped Tyler up without him asking.

  The ease she had with his son was something he envied and didn’t understand. How had she managed it in the few times they’d interacted? Or was it just the fact that Merrick seemed to draw in every Lorcan male that had ever existed?

  That was the most likely explanation, wasn’t it?

  “Luc is thrilled Lucy’s here. And Simon, and Tyler, too.”

  “Why is that?” Sin asked.

  “Easy, when kids are present the cook always makes Luc’s favorite. Chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. He’s like a little boy at times.” Payton looked at Sin. “There is always plenty, and you and your son are more than welcome to stay. Mick and Paige are on their way over in the next five minutes. But there’s one condition: no one is to even think of Bureau talk.”

  “Luc will break that condition,” Merrick warned.

  “Yes, but he’s the only one that doesn’t work for the Bureau.” Payton shook her head. “He’s wanting Mick’s opinion on something he’s tinkering with.”

  She looked at Sin. “Luc has taken a personal interest in developing greener and safer security technology for law enforcement. He was instrumental in designing the security glass that is used in the forensics department. Cody’s entire department walls are made of his material. He’s very proud of that.”

  Merrick looked at him. “He started designing it after the Schild case. It was installed after Al and Seth met.”

  After he had already returned to Washington.

  Life had continued on for those in St. Louis. And when he and Ty left for his next position, it would continue even more. His family, building their lives without him and Tyler. Without Sarah. Perhaps he should speak with Dennis, tell him that he wanted the permanent position in St. Louis. He and Tyler could keep building what they’d started a few months ago.

  Maybe he and his son would never be as close as Merrick and her daughter, but they had an actual family here. Tyler had cousins, aunts and uncles. People that cared about him. That had to mean something.

  The women and children started back inside the huge building. He wasn’t certain whether it would be called a mansion, though it was larger than the entire PAVAD building in overall square footage.

  Why did Dr. Lucas even work in the first place? Sin understood the idea of needing a professional identity, but the idea that she spent her time working for peanuts studying handwriting documents when her husband had all of this, it was strange, to say the least. But one quick look at her face told him the most important thing—Payton Lucas was extremely happy with her husband.

  And there was no ill will or anything between her and Merrick. Much like between Merrick and his sister-in-law Carrie?

  Paige and Mick Brockman arrived, with her—and the damned billionaire’s—teenaged brother. They were enough of a distraction at first that Sin didn’t quite catch what Merrick and Lucas were discussing.

  Apparently she was moving. And Lucas was providing the house. Why the hell would he?

  And why was Merrick letting him?

  Sin waited until after the meal before asking her about it. He gave some pretense of needing to discuss something file related and it worked. It was easy to see that she didn’t want to accompany him and Tyler outside, but she did it.

  He fastened his son in his child seat then closed the rear door. “He’s giving you a house?”

  He knew when her eyes narrowed that he’d probably used the wrong tone. Why did it piss him off so much, her relationship with Lucas? The guy loved his wife and it was obvious that he and Merrick were just friends. “I didn’t mean it like that sounded.”

  “He’s giving his goddaughter a house. And that’s the only thing I’m saying about it. Good night, Sin. We’ll discuss the evidence tampering first thing in the morning. I’m going in and going to bed. I’m exhausted and have a busy day tomorrow. Good bye.”

  As he watched her walk back inside he had to admit that it had gone better than some of their previous exchanges.

  But still, would there always be that tension between them?

  He was starting to hope that there wouldn’t.

  Chapter 24

  The house was larger than she needed. Cody knew that with one look. Oh, Luc. He was one of a kind, wasn’t he? She’d finally agreed to him renting her a house, and she’d thought they’d settled on a smaller two-bedroom in a quiet neighborhood. Apparently not.

  She smiled, as she thought about what Payton had told her. The day after Payton had caught Luc’s notice, he’d given her a car. One that had thirteen miles on the odometer and every security bell and whistle Luc’s company could design. And that was before Luc had decided he was never letting go of Payton. Now the man gave Payton everything she could even half think about. And he was almost as generous with his close friends. No matter how much those friends told him not to. Over and over again.

  There was no way she and Lucy needed a seven-bedroom two-story place. They’d get lost inside there.

  Someone pulled into the drive right behind her. She turned, not surprised to see Luc’s limo.

  Her friend stepped out of the back before his driver could open the door for him. That was Luc, richest man in Missouri—and one of the most impatient.

  She studied him for a moment. Tall, dark, handsome. He was probably the most beautiful man she had ever seen—and he looked just like his sister.

  She stepped closer. “Luc, this is just too big. I will never be able to afford this.”

  “Don’t be stupid, Cody. You know part of the deal was that I provide housing for Lucy.”

  Yes, he’d insisted on it. And she suspected why—it wasn’t just for Lucy. He’d offered before to let her live in apartments his company owned, and she’d always turned him down.

  After her marriage to Sebastian had ended and she’d done some serious soul-searching, she’d made a vow to herself. She wouldn’t be dependent on anyone else for support again. She’d needed the reassurance that she could do it on her own.

  And she wasn’t about to become a semi-kept woman, especially by Luc. The tabloids already painted her as either the other woman in Luc’s life—still—or they implied she and Payton and Luc all had a thing going.

  She always got a laugh out of that, but she knew it bothered Payton sometimes. Her friend got embarrassed so easily.

  “And the utilities? What about those?”

  “Lalalalalala. I can’t hear you…” He grinned, then started whistling.

  She knew how he was—he wouldn’t stop until she gave up. “All right! I’ll at least look at it!”

  He turned serious. “I’ve owned it for five years. As a test house for some of the alternative energy sources I’m developing. It’s completely solar, with radiant heating throughout. You’ll have less utilities than you pay now. And I have a grounds crew that’ll come by every week so you won’t have to worry about maintaining the yards.”

  “Luc, I don’t have enough furniture.” He wasn’t going to stop, was he? And this house was less than half a mile from where he and Payton lived. She could see what Payton referred to as his fortress in the distance.

  “It’s furnished. Come on…inside. You can’t say no…”

  Yes, she could. And she would. This
house was far too big, too much. Too everything. She had to admit it was nice, and in a great neighborhood. But this wasn’t exactly keeping Lucy off the radar, was it? “Luc…”

  “It’s a good house, one I already own, it’s move-in ready, and it’s safe. You can be responsible for all the utilities and we’ll call it even.” He wrapped a hand around her arm and guided her up the steps. She humored him. He was just being Luc.

  But sometimes he treated people like living chess pieces when he wanted something for them. “Luc…How would you feel if someone bought you a house?”

  “I’d be happy and appreciative, especially if that person was wanting to keep you and his goddaughter safe and happy.” He grinned at her again. Irrepressible and obnoxious. “I have six other properties with different modifications we can look at today. Of course, this one was the smallest. And the closest to her school and to my place—and Paige’s and the Brockmans’. Just saying. Something you may want to keep in mind. The next smallest is a mile that way—and has twelve bedrooms and eight baths.”

  She shut up and followed him in.

  He was determined to pay for Lucy’s care, and she’d known from the very beginning that that mattered to him. He’d wanted to protect the little girl—the way he hadn’t been able to protect Paige. Something about Lucy had reminded him of his younger sister, and in his mind he’d failed Paige. He wasn’t about to fail Lucy.

  If she wanted to be a part of Lucy’s life, she had to accept Luc’s role in her life, as well. That had been clear from the very beginning.

  Even if it chafed her sense of independence. “All right, I’ll look. I’m not saying this place will work, but I’ll look.”

  She knew what would happen. As soon as she stepped in the house Luc would be Luc, and before she knew it, she and Lucy would be settling in by nightfall.

  He’d probably even send some of his people over to her apartment to pack for her.

  She looked at him—she loved him, and probably always would. Not only for the fact that he was her friend’s brother and another friend’s husband, but for who he was himself. Luc would cut off an arm if it helped someone he loved. And she knew it. At times she thought he derived his identity by helping those he loved.