Perfect Picture [The ShadowDance Club 7] (Siren Publishing Classic) (14 page)

Deciding that not saying anything was by far the best choice, Kat stood and simply turned to walk out the door. Just as she reached for the knob, there was a soft knock at the door. When she opened the door, she came face to face with Mitch Grayson. Kat knew that Mitch was a gifted empath and that his presence was probably anything but coincidence. Tilting her chin up, she waved him in. “Hello Mitch. They’re all yours. I hope you have brought along rock-solid evidence to back up anything you have to say.” She hadn’t even tried to keep the sarcasm out of her tone because it wouldn’t have worked anyway. She just wanted to leave the room and put as much distance between her husbands and herself as she could at this moment.

Kat had been careful to avoid touching Mitch, but he reached out and grasped her elbow. “Kat, are you alright?” It was a purely rhetorical question because not only was the man a Dom but his ability to
connect
with others, sensing their emotions and often their thoughts, was well known. He just seemed to study her for long seconds, his gaze never leaving hers. Kat tried to blank her thoughts like Rissa had taught her but he only smiled and leaned close. “Too late, sweetheart. And I’ll be dealing with my lovely wife for attempting to teach you how to do that.” His smile told Kat that he wasn’t angry with either her or her friend Rissa. But he didn’t let go right away either. And then in a much softer tone he added, “I’m here to help, Kat. And for what it’s worth, I agree with you about Maxwell Bradford. But like you, I don’t have anything solid—yet.”

Unshed tears filled her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She wasn’t going to let Alex or Zach know how much they’d hurt her feelings by discounting everything she’d told them. The man that had visited their home several times over the past couple of weeks had gone to great lengths to ingratiate himself with her husbands, but Maxwell Bradford’s avoidance of certain groups of their friends had caught her attention. There was something about him that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up every time she was near him. And the men who had emphasized the importance of trusting your instincts were the very same ones who had just discounted her gut feelings.

Kat just gave Mitch a quick nod letting him know she’d heard him and then moved through the door. When she heard it close, she leaned against the wall and tried to regain her composure. She knew the men in the Crow’s Nest were likely sending her husbands alerts letting them know she was still in the hall, but she couldn’t seem to make her feet move just yet.

Taking several breaths to calm her nerves Kat mentally reviewed why she was so upset. Was it really because they hadn’t listened to her? Even she would admit her reaction was disproportionate to what had happened. She’d been unsettled for the past several days and she couldn’t really put her finger on exactly why. Deciding that she was in need of some silly toddler time she turned to make her way up the wide staircase at the front of their home. Passing the front door just as the bell rang she turned and opened the door and came face to face with Maxwell Bradford.

His gaze swept over her and she barely suppressed the shudder that threatened to surface. “Mrs. Lamont, how nice to see you again. I have an appointment with your husbands, but I’m a bit early.” He took a step closer and instinctively, Kat found herself stepping back away from him. When the corners of his mouth twitched she realized her mistake. She’d played into his hand and shown him just how unsettled he made her.

“Well Mr. Bradford I’m quite sure the security staff has already alerted Alex and Zach that you are here, so please have a seat in the living room and I’m sure they’ll be with you shortly.” Kat gestured to the room just to her right but the man’s gaze never left hers. The intensity of his look was intended to make her uncomfortable and for some reason that made it have the opposite effect.

She saw his eyes flick over her shoulder just as she felt Zach’s arms surround her and pull her back against his chest. Breathing out a sigh of relief, she leaned into him and relished the feeling of him molding himself around her. “Maxwell, welcome. Head on down the hall, Alex and Mitch are waiting for you. I’ll be along in a bit.” The other man nodded once and then turned and made his way down the wide hallway leading to the office and Kat felt herself release the breath she hadn’t even noticed she was holding.

* * * *

The minute Mitch had entered the office, Zach had known their friend’s sudden appearance was deliberate. Watching the exchange between their friend and Kat had been a lesson for both he and his brother. Mitch was a gifted empath there was no question about that, but Mitch also had a way of talking to people that left them with no doubt whatsoever that he was totally focused on them. Zach had often watched as Mitch won over people with that skill alone.

Before Mitch had met Rissa, he’d been one of those Doms that subs regularly sought out. He and Alex had asked Sally, one of The Club’s subs who also happened to be the head of their housekeeping department about Mitch’s popularity. Sally had smiled and explained that he gave his undivided attention to anyone he was talking to. She’d smiled and said, “Anyone who makes you feel important is attractive.” Zach had thought about those words often, but had obviously filed them too deeply in his subconscious recently because his sweet wife had just connected with Mitch after he and his brother had all but brushed her aside. As Mitch’s friend he was pleased, but as Katarina’s husband and Dom…not so much.

As a Dom, Zach knew one of the worst mistakes he could make was not providing the emotional support his submissive needed, but he and Alex had just done that very thing. Turning her around he spanned her waist with his large hands and lifted her effortlessly so that she was standing on the second step of their home’s ornate and curved staircase which put them nearly eye-to-eye. Kat’s personality was so large that he often forgot how truly tiny she was. He smiled at her before trailing his fingers down the side of her face along a line he knew was particularly sensitive. “Kitten, I’m sorry.” He didn’t say any more because he knew she would know exactly what he was apologizing for and he wasn’t about to dilute the sincerity of his words with excuses or reasoning.

When her expressive eyes filled with tears he pulled her into his chest and just held her close. Alex and Zach were both so in tune with their wife that they’d known she was pregnant before she had last time and he was fairly certain she didn’t know she was pregnant now either. She had been particularly emotional the past couple of weeks and the dark circles that marred the delicate, porcelain skin under her large blue eyes was a clear reminder that he and his brother had been neglecting their beautiful wife. They had both been working longer hours lately because they had several teams on missions and time differences often made it more prudent to communicate with them during the hours after midnight.

But Zach also knew that Kat didn’t sleep well unless at least one of them was holding her. She was often plagued by nightmares if she was alone.
Fuck, we promised ourselves our family would always come first and yet...here we find ourselves.
Suddenly he had even more respect for both their father, Daniel Lamont and their good friend, Trace Bartell. Neither man was a part of a ménage or polyamorous relationship, and Zach had no idea how they managed to keep their women happy and manage businesses that required very large time commitments.

When Kat didn’t seem to be settling as quickly as he would have liked he leaned over and scooped her up into his arms and started making his way up the stairs. Her tears had nearly been his undoing, but her words, spoken so softly against his chest almost brought him to his knees. “I’ll be alright. Please, I don’t want to keep you from your business.” It wasn’t as much the words she’d spoken, but the defeat and resignation in her voice that broke his heart.

Zach didn’t let her words slow his steps. He kissed her on top of her head, loving the feel of her wavy blonde curls against his lips. “I don’t think so, kitten. You and I are going to spend some quality time together and we’re going to do it right now.”

Noah had finally gotten Myla and Ilaina herded into one of his photo sets and was amazed at how quickly Ilaina had Myla posing like a pro. He’d chuckled at their antics but had gotten hundreds of amazing pictures in an amazingly short span of time. Watching as Ilaina’s nurturing brought out Myla’s inner strength he had to continually remind himself to keep snapping pictures because watching her was almost mesmerizing. Ilaina had spent a lot of time making sure Myla’s hair was perfect and that she was wearing something she was comfortable in. The young girl’s physical comfort and confidence came through in each and every picture he’d taken.

Noah had heard them talking upstairs and had nearly stepped in when he’d heard Myla hesitate to wear the dress she’d liked because she didn’t think it was what he would want her to wear because she was afraid it wasn’t good enough for pictures. But Ilaina had patiently explained that the clothing was inconsequential, but the way it made you feel that was important. She had assured the young girl that if
she
liked what she was wearing, that was what would show through and make the pictures perfect.

After their photo session they’d loaded up and were making their way up ShadowDance Mountain when he noticed both of his passengers had gone strangely silent. “Myla? Honey, tell me what you are expecting today.” His hope was that if she expressed what she was expecting he’d be able to find a way to help her cope with the anxiety that he could practically feel coming off of her in waves.

“Père, I am expecting to meet the people who are parents to my birth father. The sisters at my school told me they live in the United States in a big place called Tex…um, Tex…”

Ilaina turned in her seat and grasped Myla’s hand. “Texas. And the sisters were right, that is exactly where they live. And even though I haven’t met them either, I called Katarina to snoop and she tells me they are really nice people.” Noah smiled at Ilaina’s words. He hadn’t known she’d called Kat, but he wasn’t really surprised either.

“That’s right, I’ve spoken with them several times and I have even visited their home in Texas.” He left off that he had traveled the distance because it had been important that he see firsthand where Myla would be living. It was going to be hard to turn her over to strangers, but as Tori Bartell had explained he would likely lose a court battle since he didn’t have any blood ties to the young girl.

“Can you tell me, père, what are their names? What should I call them?” He could easily hear the anxiety in her small voice and he was grateful they were just passing the gate leading to the Lamonts’ home.

“I don’t know what they will prefer to be called sweetheart, but we’ll soon find out. Please know that Ilaina and I will be right beside you. And Cash is already waiting outside for you.” He glanced at her over his shoulder and saw her wide grin at his words. Nobody knew exactly why the tiny girl had bonded with Cash Red Cloud because he was the largest and most intimidating of the SEALS she’d been introduced to, but there had been an instant connection between them that neither time nor distance had seemed to dim.

As soon as Noah had stopped his truck, Cash had opened the rear door and unbuckled Myla to pull her into his arms. “Pumpkin, I’m so glad to see you. I have been pacing out here forever, I should have known that ornery sister of mine would try to keep you all to herself.” Myla giggled and Noah had to smile as they all made their way up to the house.

“Well, hello to you too, brother mine. It’s nice to see you. Me? Oh, I’m fine, thanks for asking.” Noah didn’t even try to suppress his laugh because Myla had giggled at her new friend’s comedy routine. “How was your honeymoon? And what did you bring me?” This time he joined Myla and they laughed out loud at the incredulous look on Cash’s face.

* * * *

Noah had watched Ilaina from across the large room and could tell that she was either completely exhausted or so lost in thought she was barely aware anyone else was in the room. He walked up and was standing in front of her and it wasn’t until he’d spoken that he’d seen her emerge from the fog that seemed to be clouding her mind. “
Cara
, are you alright? You didn’t even know I was near and that is a concern considering the security questions surrounding you right now. Your lack of awareness is a bit troublesome, my love.” He wasn’t being critical. Rather he was genuinely concerned about her safety. He pulled her close and ran his fingers over her cheek and smiled when she pressed her face against his palm like a kitten seeking his touch.

The latest communication from her stalker had been filled with promises of what life would be like once she was with him full-time. The man’s detailed descriptions of their future together had been enough for the profilers they’d consulted to construct age parameters and start putting together a few socioeconomic points as well. They’d also said that their real concern was that the man was planning to kidnap her and keep her secluded until she agreed to stay willingly. So having Ilaina less than fully cognizant of her surroundings wasn’t going to be safe for her at all.

“I know and I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me really. I’m just really tired. I don’t usually have trouble with jet-lag, but it seems to have caught up with me this time.” She tried to smile so he wouldn’t worry, but it was obvious it wasn’t working. Taking a deep breath she finally leaned into him. With her cheek against his chest her face was shielded from the others in the room and she could close her eyes and just find a moment’s rest in his embrace.