hoped to do most of that away from the watchful eyes of Rafe Sullivan.
She rounded the curve in the stairs and stopped short when she heard Shane’s voice in the kitchen. Great. Just great. As much as she loved her brother, some small part of her had hoped she’d missed him this trip. He must have heard her footsteps—or read her mind—because he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen just then, dark hair mussed, darker eyes locked on hers.
“There she is.” He took the box from her fingers, dropped it on the floor and caught her in a tight embrace.
Her eyes slid closed. He smelled like wintergreen Tic Tacs® and stale coffee. “God, I missed you,” he said into her ear.
She missed him, too. More than she wanted to admit. He was the only man who could very nearly bring her to tears.
When he dropped her on her feet, she got her first good look at him. His eyes were tired, worn. Blue smudges under his lashes proved he wasn’t sleeping much. And he’d lost weight since she’d seen him six months ago in San Francisco.
“You look like hell, little brother.”
Little brother was her favorite joke. At six-one, he was anything but little. Broad shoulders, a trim waist, abs of steel. He was every woman’s fantasy, even ten pounds lighter than his normal one-ninety. But that didn’t ease her worry.
He flicked her one of his lopsided grins and tapped his fist against her jaw. “Nice of you to notice.”
Footsteps echoed behind her. Shane’s gaze lifted. When his expression hardened, she knew he’d just caught sight of her thief.
Wonderful.
“What the hell?”
She placed a hand on Shane’s chest and watched as he shifted into protective-big-brother mode. “Don’t get all bent out of shape. This is Rafe—”
“Sullivan,” Shane finished on a harsh breath. “Oh yeah, I definitely remember.” His gaze narrowed, flicked to Lisa and back to Rafe again. “Mind telling me what the hell he’s doing here?”
“The cop brother,” Rafe mumbled behind her. “Yep. This night’s just getting better and better. Lisa, I’m gonna leave you to argue about me while I put all this stuff in the car.” He moved past them with two boxes in his hands.
Shane took a step toward him. Lisa moved between the two men and waited until Rafe disappeared out the front door before looking back at Shane.
“Okay, don’t get pissed.”
“Don’t get pissed?” he asked with wide eyes. “The guy’s a criminal. One you asked me to check out. You’d better start talking. And fast.”
She bit her lip.
“Lis?” His hands moved to his hips.
Lisa tugged him into the guestroom and closed the door. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”
“Do it anyway.”
The tone of his voice said he wasn’t putting up with her excuses. She knew that tone far too well. On a long breath, she told him about the Furies, about meeting Rafe and their eventual partnership.
“Holy shit.” Shane dropped onto the end of the bed. “Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?”
“Apparently. But thanks for pointing that out.”
“You can’t trust this guy.”
“Do I look stupid?”
“At the moment, yeah,” he said on a pathetic laugh.
“Okay, look. He’s my best shot at getting Alecto back. And if I want to find Tisiphone, he’s my best shot right now at that, too. And I think he might know where Magaera is. So, yeah, I’m going along with it. Whether you like it or not.”
“How do you know you’re even safe with the guy?”
It was that cop instinct of his kicking in, questioning everything. Distrusting everyone. He’d seen too much in his life working the streets and at some point had stopped believing people were innately good deep down inside. She had her own belief issues, but Shane’s ran much deeper.
And knowing that softened her. “It’s a gut feeling.”
“Aw, shit.” He rolled his eyes.
There went her sympathy. “Just shut up and listen. Yes, he’s a thief, but he’s not violent. He’s had plenty of
She rounded the curve in the stairs and stopped short when she heard Shane’s voice in the kitchen. Great. Just great. As much as she loved her brother, some small part of her had hoped she’d missed him this trip. He must have heard her footsteps—or read her mind—because he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen just then, dark hair mussed, darker eyes locked on hers.
“There she is.” He took the box from her fingers, dropped it on the floor and caught her in a tight embrace.
Her eyes slid closed. He smelled like wintergreen Tic Tacs® and stale coffee. “God, I missed you,” he said into her ear.
She missed him, too. More than she wanted to admit. He was the only man who could very nearly bring her to tears.
When he dropped her on her feet, she got her first good look at him. His eyes were tired, worn. Blue smudges under his lashes proved he wasn’t sleeping much. And he’d lost weight since she’d seen him six months ago in San Francisco.
“You look like hell, little brother.”
Little brother was her favorite joke. At six-one, he was anything but little. Broad shoulders, a trim waist, abs of steel. He was every woman’s fantasy, even ten pounds lighter than his normal one-ninety. But that didn’t ease her worry.
He flicked her one of his lopsided grins and tapped his fist against her jaw. “Nice of you to notice.”
Footsteps echoed behind her. Shane’s gaze lifted. When his expression hardened, she knew he’d just caught sight of her thief.
Wonderful.
“What the hell?”
She placed a hand on Shane’s chest and watched as he shifted into protective-big-brother mode. “Don’t get all bent out of shape. This is Rafe—”
“Sullivan,” Shane finished on a harsh breath. “Oh yeah, I definitely remember.” His gaze narrowed, flicked to Lisa and back to Rafe again. “Mind telling me what the hell he’s doing here?”
“The cop brother,” Rafe mumbled behind her. “Yep. This night’s just getting better and better. Lisa, I’m gonna leave you to argue about me while I put all this stuff in the car.” He moved past them with two boxes in his hands.
Shane took a step toward him. Lisa moved between the two men and waited until Rafe disappeared out the front door before looking back at Shane.
“Okay, don’t get pissed.”
“Don’t get pissed?” he asked with wide eyes. “The guy’s a criminal. One you asked me to check out. You’d better start talking. And fast.”
She bit her lip.
“Lis?” His hands moved to his hips.
Lisa tugged him into the guestroom and closed the door. “It’s kind of hard to explain.”
“Do it anyway.”
The tone of his voice said he wasn’t putting up with her excuses. She knew that tone far too well. On a long breath, she told him about the Furies, about meeting Rafe and their eventual partnership.
“Holy shit.” Shane dropped onto the end of the bed. “Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?”
“Apparently. But thanks for pointing that out.”
“You can’t trust this guy.”
“Do I look stupid?”
“At the moment, yeah,” he said on a pathetic laugh.
“Okay, look. He’s my best shot at getting Alecto back. And if I want to find Tisiphone, he’s my best shot right now at that, too. And I think he might know where Magaera is. So, yeah, I’m going along with it. Whether you like it or not.”
“How do you know you’re even safe with the guy?”
It was that cop instinct of his kicking in, questioning everything. Distrusting everyone. He’d seen too much in his life working the streets and at some point had stopped believing people were innately good deep down inside. She had her own belief issues, but Shane’s ran much deeper.
And knowing that softened her. “It’s a gut feeling.”
“Aw, shit.” He rolled his eyes.
There went her sympathy. “Just shut up and listen. Yes, he’s a thief, but he’s not violent. He’s had plenty of
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