Marguerite had popped her head in while she was soaking and set a tank top, shorts, and a belt on the sink counter, and then smiled at her before disappearing again. By the time Pet had managed to drag herself out of the cooling water, she’d been starved. She’d dressed in the clothes provided, relieved to find that while the shorts were large on her, the belt helped with that, and the tank top had at least fit. She wasn’t exactly a fashion plate, but didn’t look too bad.
Her stomach had been aching with hunger when she’d come below. It was only when she’d found Marguerite and J in the kitchen with several bags of blood in hand that she’d realized what her hunger was really for. Well, Marguerite had been holding the blood. Her big dog, J, had been lying by the table looking lazy.
As Marguerite taught her to feed on the bagged blood, she’d explained that the men were all next door plotting their raid on Purdy’s house. Then four bags in, Julius appeared in the kitchen with the announcement that the raid was starting now, and he was to stay with them in case Dressler gave the men the slip and headed this way.
Now Pet was waiting anxiously to hear what happened with the raid.
“You will need to take in a lot of blood for the next little while,” Marguerite announced as she deposited the empty bag in the garbage. “Your body is still changing. In fact, you came out of the worst of the turn rather quickly.” Marguerite said that as if Pet had done something clever, when she didn’t think she’d had anything to do with it at all.
“Perhaps it is because she is so petite,” Julius commented as he walked by the kitchen door, no doubt headed for the dining room and the window there. He’d been pacing back and forth, checking the front and then the back since returning to tell them that the raid was on.
“Perhaps,” Marguerite allowed. “But I do not recall Livy’s turn being especially quick.”
When Pet turned raised eyebrows to her, Marguerite explained, “Livy is Olivia. My niece, Jeanne Louise’s, stepdaughter. She was turned at four years old.”
“Five,” Julius corrected as he walked past again, headed for the front.
“Five,” Marguerite amended with a faint smile, and then added, “Much smaller than you.”
“Mirabeau and Tiny just came out of Purdy’s carrying someone,” Julius announced from the front of the house. “It looks like an old man. I think it might be Purdy.”
“Is he alive, dear?” Marguerite asked what Pet was wondering. Parker would be heartbroken if the old man died. He seemed very attached to the neighbor.
“I believe so,” Julius answered. “Tiny is being very gentle with him. They’re putting him in one of the rental cars they drove from the airport. Probably taking him to a hospital.”
“Probably,” Marguerite agreed as she tugged the now empty bag from Pet’s mouth. Smiling, she said, “That should be good for now. But you’ll need more before bed.”
Pet murmured a “thank you,” and then glanced toward the doorway as Julius called out, “Decker is coming out now. He is headed this way.”
“Then we shall soon find out what is happening,” Marguerite said with satisfaction. “That’s good.”
Pet couldn’t agree more.
“Haven’t you figured out the damned code for that phone yet, Zani?”
Pet glanced up at Lucian’s impatient question, and then glanced to Santo’s cousin as he growled, “Do you know how many permutations there are for six number codes? One million,” he answered his own question. “And these phones lock up if the wrong number is entered too many times. We have to be careful.”
Pet noted Lucian’s annoyed expression, and then turned back to the game of checkers she was playing with Marguerite. She’d suggested cards at first, but Marguerite had reminded her she could read her mind and would know what cards she held, so they’d settled for checkers instead. Pet just had to be sure she didn’t plan her moves ahead to keep it fair.
“Santo seems to be taking a long time picking up Parker,” Pet commented as she watched Marguerite take two of her game pieces. Santo had returned to the house after helping to clean up Mr. Purdy’s place, taken one look at her, and turned around to head back out the door, muttering, “I’ll go pick up Parker.”
On the surface, it had seemed a really sweet thing for him to do, and Pet had been grateful for it, especially since she’d forgotten all about the need to pick up her nephew from school. But Pet had a niggling worry that his performing the chore had been a handy excuse for him to avoid her. She told herself that she was being silly. Santo had told her only hours ago that she was his life mate and he wanted to spend his life with her. He’d also said that when he left, he wanted to take her with him. But for some reason, Pet had a feeling that everything had suddenly changed on that subject, and she didn’t know why.
“They shall return shortly, I am sure,” Marguerite said, her voice soothing, and then raising her head, she gave her a sympathetic smile and added, “Everything will work out fine, Pet. You must not worry.”
The woman’s expression and words only managed to worry Pet more. They seemed to acknowledge that there was something wrong, even if the woman thought it would work. She hesitated briefly, her gaze sliding over the pieces on the board, but rather than make a move, she glanced up to Marguerite again, and asked, “Has something happened that I should know about?”
Marguerite paused, seeming to consider what she should say, and then sighed and opened her mouth to answer, only to be forestalled when Bricker suddenly stepped through the front door and said, “Hey, Pet? A taxi just pulled up next door, and a woman who looks just like you got out with a suitcase. I think your sister’s home.”
Panic hitting her like a freight train, Pet leapt up from the table, catching the checkerboard with her hand and sending it tumbling. She didn’t even notice what she’d done or hear the clatter of the pieces crashing all over the floor as she turned in an agitated circle, her mind suddenly spinning out in several directions. The house! Was it clean, or was there evidence that more than just she and Parker had been there the last several days? None of the Enforcers were over there right now, were they? She should go over there. Would Quinn be able to tell there was something different about her? Dear God, she couldn’t go over there! Quinn would expect her to be picking up Parker. Oh, damn, she couldn’t even go over once Parker and Santo came back. Her car was at her apartment, at least she assumed it was. How was she supposed to explain how she’d picked up Parker without a car? Dammit! What was Quinn doing home? It was only Friday. She wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow. The conference—
“Calm. Calm.”
Pet turned to Marguerite as she finally heard that soothing word repeated.
“There are no Enforcers at your sister’s house,” Bricker assured her, moving up to the table and eyeing her with concern.
“And we cleaned up before we left and locked up. It’s all good,” Zani assured her.
“Here.” The tall dark beauty named Eshe approached her suddenly and took off the reflective sunglasses that had hidden her eyes since Pet had first watched her enter the house with the other Enforcers after they’d cleaned up Mr. Purdy’s place. Turning them, the woman slid the glasses onto Pet’s face and stood back to nod her approval. “Now she will not be able to tell there is anything different about you.”
Pet gazed into the woman’s gorgeous gold and black eyes and whispered, “Thank you.”
“Now, just sit down and relax,” Marguerite suggested quietly. “You cannot go over there until Santo returns with Parker and then takes you both to collect your car anyway.”
“Right,” Pet breathed, and settled back in her seat. Noticing then that the others had bent to pick up the board and pieces she’d knocked over, she started to get back up to help, only to be waved back to her seat by Marguerite.
“We have it. Sit.”
“You and your sister are twins?”
Pet glanced around at that quiet question, and smiled crookedly at the woman who had spoken. Marguerite had introduced her as Jo Argeneau. The brunette was attractive, only a couple inches taller than her, and wore her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Pet knew she was married to the dark-haired Enforcer named Nicholas and thought they made a lovely couple. They’d both broken off the conversation they’d been having about what they’d found at the house in favor of offering her kind smiles as they’d entered, and been introduced.
“Yes,” Pet sighed finally, as she realized she was just staring at the woman.
“I have two older sisters, but used to wish I had a twin,” Jo told her with a grin. “Is it as awesome as they make it seem in TV shows and movies? Did the two of you switch places and stuff?”
“Never,” Pet admitted wryly, knowing the woman was just trying to distract her, but appreciating it. “Quinn and I might look a lot alike, but personality-wise we’re polar opposites. Besides, she’s always worn her hair shorter while I prefer longer.”
The sound of a car made them all turn toward the front window and Bricker moved over to look out before announcing, “Santo’s back with Parker. He’s driving your Toyota instead of the SUV he left in, though,” he added with surprise, before continuing, “He parked it beside the RV, and your car is lower than the hedge. I don’t think your sister will see it if she happens to look out.”
“Right,” Marguerite said, sliding her arm around Pet and urging her toward the door. “So, you just take the keys from Santo, drive Parker next door, and act like everything is normal. Then come back here after.”
“But don’t tell Parker his mother is home,” Eshe suggested, following them. “That way at least one of you will look surprised to see her.”
Pet was nodding at that advice when the screen door opened and Santo ushered Parker in. Her gaze moved hungrily over the man before dropping to Parker as he suddenly rushed forward, shrieking, “Aunt Pet! You’re okay. Santo said you were, but I was so worried. You were screaming all night and I thought for sure you were dying.”