brother cursed softly. “Everything okay?” Raphael sounded worried.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” Gabriel thumbed off the phone.
His grin died as he glanced again at the rearview mirror. Gabriel maneuvered the SUV into a grocery store parking lot. He pulled into a space, left the engine running. With its darkened windows, no one could see inside the Expedition.
He powered up the small laptop sitting on the dash. Gabriel typed commands and called up the necessary information on his new adult charge.
Megan Moraine. Single, age 26. Reported missing from the island five days ago, with twin sisters Jennifer and Jillian Sullivan, her cousins. Grandmother deceased one week from natural causes. Suspect last reported seen in Naples, Florida, and is Halfling, but extremely clever and dangerous. Twins are full-blooded Shadow and considered lethal. Use of extreme force in apprehension is approved.
Lost in thought, he switched off the computer and glanced backward at the sleeping Megan. His chest felt hollow as he studied the twins. They were too thin, pale and looked totally defenseless.
“You’re safe,” he murmured. “Sleep now, mes petites.”
His gaze slid to Megan. If Megan Moraine discovered his secret, he was screwed. He’d just have to make certain she never did.
To her, he was the enemy. For their own safety, she and those precious little ones must keep believing that lie.
If anyone found out otherwise, they’d all be on the run. For their very lives.
Chapter 2
A monster stalked her dreams, a snarling beast on two legs with red eyes and fur dark as midnight. “Trust me, Megan,” it grated out as blood dripped from its sharp fangs. “I won’t hurt you.” But she was terrified because she knew it would drag her back to the island prison and laugh as it raked its claws across her cold skin so she would die slowly in agony.
Megan awoke with a small cry. Just a dream. It’s just the same dream you’ve had for years. Snap out of it.
Someone wanted her dead. The threat lingered in the air like wood smoke. A dark-haired, handsome stranger with eyes that flashed amber; a walking, talking epicenter of lethal grace.
Gabriel Robichaux.
Cringing, she took a deep breath, expecting to be tied to a cold steel table, a metal tray of sharp instruments nearby.
But the surface beneath her was soft. Megan lifted her legs. No restraints. She was lying on a bed facing a bank of windows overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Fingers of crisp white clouds streaked the sharp blue sky.
No purple tunic and matching pants, either.
Delicious smells of frying bacon came from downstairs. It enticed and cajoled. Food, she needed food, her head ached from hunger, the hollow pit in her stomach demanded energy.
She looked around. The cheerful powder-blue-and-lilac bedroom had a white bamboo dresser, glass-topped table and two chairs with floral prints. Megan touched her head, trying to get her thoughts squared.
“You never ate your breakfast, so I fried eggs. I advise you not to skip another meal or you’ll fade into nothing, and not just because you’re a Shadow Wolf,” came a deep, laconic voice from the doorway.
Tensing, she sat up, fists ready to strike. Now she remembered. Gabriel had hypnotized her into sleeping. Panic squeezed her insides.
“Where are they?” she demanded.
He leaned against the doorjamb, thumbs hooked through the belt loops of faded jeans. Rolled up at the sleeves, a blue chambray work shirt displayed his strong, tanned forearms. His feet were bare. A black cowboy hat tilted over his brow. “On the table, getting cold.” In his deep Louisiana drawl, “table” was pronounced “tay-bull.”
She threw back the thick duvet, swung her legs over the bed’s side. Her feet touched soft carpeting. For a moment, she wriggled her toes, basking in the luxury. Megan struggled to fight the dizziness. “My cousins. What did you do with them, you bastard?”
“They’re fine.”
“If you hurt them, I’ll …” The threat was empty, and they both knew it.
“Is this part of your torture technique? Keep us separated, make me think the worst? Why not just kill us and get it over with?”
A frown dented his forehead. “I don’t torture Shadows,” he said mildly.
“Cousin Megan!” Two miniature tornadoes flew into the room and bounded on the bed. They crashed against her.
Hiding a wince at her sore arms, she held them tight. “Are you okay?” She smoothed back their hair, studied their expressions.
“Gabriel made us bacon and eggs and sausage,” Jenny said, glancing shyly at him.
“And toast with orange marmalade.” Jilly burped. “‘Cuse me.”
Gabriel made a sound suspiciously like a chuckle, but looked indifferent. Masking her anxiety, Megan smiled at the girls. They wore identical pairs of bright pink shorts and pink scoop-necked shirts. On their feet were new cuffed socks and sneakers.
Megan touched a corner of Jenny’s shirt. “Where did you get these?”
“Gabriel had his housekeeper buy these for us. No more purple uniforms,” Jenny told her.
“Gabriel took us here to his island to keep us safe,” Jilly told her.
Megan tightened her grip on her niece. How could she tell her that Gabriel had abducted them? In some ways, her young nieces were still innocent, despite the island’s harsh living conditions. She didn’t want to scare them.
Instead, she gave a reassuring smile and changed the subject. “Did you get outside and see the Gulf of Mexico?”
If the girls had explored the island, she could figure out how to access the mainland and formulate an escape plan.
“Gabriel took us to the beach and we found some seashells by the water, but he didn’t want us to go far,” Jenny piped up.
She hid her disappointment.
“I wanted to check on Megan. We can go out later, Jenny,” Gabriel said.
Jenny beamed. Megan studied her enemy, shocked he had discerned the difference between the girls. Few could tell them apart.
She had to regain her strength. Somehow, there was a way off this island, and she would find it. Megan braced her hands on the bed. Going to do this, must do this. She managed to stand, but her knees gave way. With an involuntary cry, she fell back onto the bed. Oh this was bad, so very bad.
Eyes wide with fright, the twins stared. “Cousin Megan?” Jilly’s voice trembled.
Gabriel detached himself from the doorway. He flashed a winsome smile at the girls. “Jenny, Jillian, why don’t you go into the playroom while I have a little chat with
