Everyone has a Weak spot (18 page)

Renaud locked eyes with Lorelei. She took a deep breath and said, “I told you that was taken at the beach last month. It was a spontaneous trip. We had no idea where we were going until we got out of the car. It was taken in a private moment at a private place."

“That begs a few questions,
chéri,
” growled War. “Who's gonna tell me about it?"

“In for a penny,” Lorelei told Renaud.

“In for a pound,” Renaud replied with a sigh, “I know, Boo.
Tebe Amor jemu
?” Do you love him?

“
Ano,” Yes
, she said simply. War wrinkled his brow at them.

“Anybody gonna tell me what that was all about?” War demanded, growling again.

Lorelei pulled his big hand to her mouth and kissed it. Renaud decided to take the initiative.

“It's something our father used to say. He was Slavic, or Czech, or both, I guess."

War didn't have to feign surprise. He hadn't expected either of them to admit blood ties right away. Renaud gave him a wry grin.

When he spoke again, his voice cracked, “Papa used to say ‘In for a penny, in for a pound’ whenever we wanted to take a chance.” Lorelei reached out to him, and he scooted closer.

“Papa would say that to remind us to think first also, Ren,” she said. “We had the same father, he was a dancer. Our mothers lied about us to everyone. They had to."

War quirked a brow and looked at each in turn. He didn't mind getting the condensed version for now. But he needed them to come all the way clean.

“Papa was a genetics experiment. He was beautiful.” This came from Renaud.

“He
was
beautiful. And he was terrible.” Lorelei choked back tears. “He was so contained and directed. He was so good. Then, they gave him no choice."

“Our mothers were killed. Louis was killed. See, Oncle, it follows that if Papa was a lab experiment we were the field test. The guys at the lab want their rats back.” Renaud said bitterly. “They want to see if rats bred in the wild can breed in captivity. They want to see if the genes are improved."

War looked at both of them, blinking. “Lemme see if I got any of this, ‘kay?” Brother and sister nodded.

“You two have the same father, no?” More nods.

“Defector, no?” Again they nodded. “Have to be Ivan Rychtar, yeah?” Two misty-eyed nods.

War hoped he was the only one to hear the collective gasp from the anteroom.

“They tinkered with his natural genetics to make him more talented?” Nodding again.

“Okay, so then when you two were born, then, you have the enhanced genes coupled with your mothers’ abilities like an extra boost?” The two looked at each other.

Lorelei spoke up. “Mostly, that's right, Warrick. But everything Papa could do, we could do better. Everything we can do, our babies will do even better. They may even be able to almost fly. But that's not the worst part.” She breathed deep.

Renaud addressed his uncle. “The worst part, Oncle, is that we, Rory and me, we're gene farms. It was enough that we had Papa's valuable genes. We both have our mother's extra things, too. You know mine, and Rory, she's got a sense that's worse."

Renaud wrinkled his brow in thought. “She's careful, but we think they know. It makes our genes extra valuable. They want us bad. Rory couldn't hurt anyone but with her sense, she's worth millions to these people. I'm damn near indestructible and untouchable now. That's worth a lot, too. A helluva lot."

“They want us to breed. They think our baby would be the perfect weapon.” Lorelei said without inflection. “If they get one of us, they'll get both of us. We need each other to live. They know that. I'm the weakest target.” She turned to look at War. “That's why Renaud got mad when I was too close to the door at that party."

War wrapped both arms around her. He buried his face in her hair. He'd wanted honesty. He got it in spades.

“Tell me about this sense, baby,” War asked quietly.

“I can tell when big things will happen. I can say if any kind of big disaster is coming. I know if there will be earthquakes, storms, air crashes, stock crashes.” She sighed. “Anything that's going to affect a large number of people, I know ahead of time. Weeks, usually. I know if a war will happen or if a big business will succeed. AndIcantalktoRenaudinmyheadandhecanhearme."

She hung her head as if ashamed. She was shaking. War knew what that meant. She thought she was going to make him mad.

“
Chéri,
you think I'd hold that against you?” He leaned back and turned her face to his. “Do you?"

“Maybe,” she whispered.

“Lemme show you something,
chéri."

“Wait, Oncle!” Renaud cried out. It was too late. His uncle's body seemed to wobble and then it became a very large black wolf. Lorelei stared for a minute. Then her face crumpled. She stood up and began to move toward the door to her apartment.

War was devastated. He thought she'd accept him, and here she was running from him. He changed back into human form and made to leave the room.

Renaud called out, “Stop!” He changed into a slightly smaller black wolf and ran after Lorelei. He butted her with his head and blocked her from the door. He was speaking to her the whole time. It had to be surreal to the men in the anteroom to hear the young man's voice coming from the animal.

“Boo, no! Wait! Oncle War's not like me! He won't be that way! He knows stuff we don't know. Boo! C'mon. It'll be all right. I swear it!” the Renaud-wolf pleaded.

“Get
away
from me, you mangy mutt!” Lorelei yelled, shoving him. “Just leave me alone, Fido. Before I kick you!” She gave his tail a mighty yank and ran into the apartment sobbing.

Renaud changed back and pulled his clothes back on. His uncle was still mad and very hurt. Renaud knew he needed to explain quickly.

“Don't go, Oncle. This is my fault. It's not about you being lupine, not really."

War glowered at his nephew. “I can't imagine what you have to say that could make this better, boy!” he snarled.

Renaud dropped to the floor. Both men still had evidence of their beast. Both had elongated teeth showing, shaggy hair, and partial claws on their hands. The boy looked up at his uncle.

“Rory knew I was a werewolf my whole life. When I started changing, I didn't know what was going on. She and I figured it out together."

“It's a world of difference having one for a brother and having sex with one, now isn't it?” War continued to snarl.

“LISTEN TO ME!” Renaud bellowed. That got War's attention. “From the time she was twelve, she had to accept that, most likely, she'd be having sex with a werewolf and her brother at the same time. She was more afraid of the ‘normal’ studs we thought they were gonna force on her. It's not what you think."

“Well, why don't you tell me what it is then, boy? I'm getting damned tired of this whole thing,” War barked back.

On a deep sigh, Renaud began, “You know you were mean to your sister sometimes, right?"

“What the fuck's that got to do with anything?” War snapped nastily.

“Rory always wanted a kitten. Her whole life, she's always gone off following kittens. When I started changing, I learned I could scare away those damned cats without making a sound. Rory thinks you're gonna do it, too. I always said I couldn't help it. That's part of why she's so upset. It's part of her dream to have a kitten."

War was calming down a little. His men were riveted.

“S'pose you tell me the rest of why she looks like her world has just ended, hmmm?"

“This gets a little more complicated, Oncle. And it's kinda personal.” Of course, Renaud had known that they had an audience.

“Just spill it, son."

War was on the edge. He could understand how Lorelei would want a kitten, but she wasn't irrational. He knew he wasn't going to like Part Two.

“I had to be careful about changing. Papa always worried they'd try to dissect me, or something, if anyone found out. She was worried about if they did force us to—you know—have sex. We learned that lupines have shorter pregnancies and we didn't know what the babies look like when they're born. Maybe, they looked like puppies. One time they told us that...” Renaud stumbled over his words now. He was visibly upset.

“Go on, son. I need to know.” War was focused intently on his nephew.

“Those assholes, they always told her they'd kill her baby if it didn't seem normal. They said they'd kill it while she carried it. They told her if they caught her and she was pregnant, they'd abort it. We found out that lupines almost always impregnate their mates right away.” Renaud leaned his head back to take some deep breaths. “They said they'd kill the father in front of her if she was pregnant, so she'd know he was dead and she wouldn't pine for him. Then she'd get pregnant easier by a stranger."

Renaud rubbed his face. He looked his uncle in the eyes.

“Before, when you asked us to tell you what was going on, I asked Rory, ‘Tebe Amor jemu?’ It means, ‘do you love him?’ She said ‘Ano'. It means yes."

“Now, she's in there thinking that she's probably pregnant, and someone is either going to turn her baby into a science experiment or rip it out of her belly right after they cut my heart out in front of her. Is that an accurate assessment?” War inquired politely.

“Um, yeah, except for—even if you do slay all the dragons and kill all the bad guys, she'll never get to have a kitty all her own. Don't forget that.” Renaud had absolute faith in his uncle's love for him right then.

If not for the love he had for his nephew, War would have braided his intestines.

Chapter 26

“All right, boys! Come on out!” War called. Ten large, muscular, mean-looking men filed into the room.

“Ziggy! Front n’ center!"

“Yessir, Major."

“We're not in the Army any more, Zig. You don't have to call me that. Here's your mission. Take this good for nuthin’ and find a sweet little kitty. Any time a cat hisses at him or runs away, you slap him upside the head. That's an order, Zig."

“Yessir, Major!"

“Dismissed!"

“C'mon, Fido.” Ziggy and Renaud left together.

War doled out orders to the rest of his men sending two, two-man teams out to try to find the people who were a threat to his family. Four men went back to his house for rest and the remaining man went down to guard the door.

With everybody dispatched, War had his own mission to accomplish. He needed to go in and look after Lorelei. He was more than a little disgusted with himself. He kept asking her to trust him and once again he'd immediately thought the worst of her.

Truthfully, War thought, she had a right to be mad at him. He'd known he was a werewolf. He knew all about what happened when you mated with one. Lorelei only had her worst fears and some sketchy information from the Internet. Well, she had her brother, too. That probably made things worse instead of better.

War found the door to the apartment locked. He could have pounded on it until Lorelei answered, but he felt he'd put her through enough. As a cop, he could pretty much break into anything. He wondered if that was a trait their child would inherit. That is, if they ever had a child.

Damn, I'd better get in there.

He quietly made his way into the apartment. Lorelei wasn't in the bathroom, the kitchen, or the window seat. He didn't see her on the couch or in the bed.

That pretty much covers the entire place.

He carefully and quietly made his way into the room keeping to the outside edges. Looking around, he tried to locate her visually and by scent. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he'd know when he found it.

Yep! There she was behind the dresser.

How did she manage that?

Secure in her hiding place, War didn't think she'd notice him. He was making a concentrated effort to be extra quiet.

When he got to the dresser, he dropped to the floor and slowly reached for her. He stopped a few feet from her and got on his hands and knees.

“Lorelei?” he called softly. She didn't move in any way.

Shit, this is worse than I thought.

“Sugar?” he continued moving her way. She tried to squeeze further behind the dresser. “
Chéri
, please. Come talk to me, hmmm?” If anything, she seemed to make herself smaller.

“Lorelei, I can make it better, truly."

She looked at him with desolate eyes that made his soul ache. He picked up the dresser and moved it. Then he got on the floor with her and tugged her balled up little body into his arms.

“
Chéri
, listen to me.” He gave her a little shake. “Are you listening?” She turned her head so he knew she was.

“First,
chéri,
you aren't pregnant. You have to be in heat when we make love. It's the same as when you ovulate. Okay?” She gave a jerky nod.

“Second, lupine babies look the same when they're born as any other people babies, ok?"

Another little nod. She wasn't quite as tense.

“Most important,
chéri
, I won't let anyone take you from me. You trusted me enough to make love with me. You trusted me enough to tell me your secrets. Trust me to keep you safe.” He turned her to look at him.

“
Chéri
, can you try to believe I'll keep you safe? Just try a little, hmmm?"

War held his breath waiting for some kind of sign. Would she be able to put her faith in him after he'd lied by omission?

Lorelei looked at him with troubled eyes. He could see that she wanted to believe him.

* * * *

She wanted to let him worry so she could stop worrying for a while.

Is that the right thing to do? What if something happens to him? Can I live with myself if he got hurt?

It was so hard to let go. It was so hard to let someone else take charge for a change.

Maybe if she let him take the worry and take charge just for a little while, she and Renaud could rest and figure out what to do. She'd be honest with him about that. She really didn't know any other way.

“Warrick?” she looked at him through troubled green eyes.

“Yes,
chéri
?” he smiled at her.

“I don't know how long ... Can I just trust you a few hours or a day at a time? I don't know what we have to do yet.” She felt she'd said that badly, but she hoped he understood.