Seventh Key by Evelyn Vaughn

Author:Evelyn Vaughn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2007-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

“Good morning, Mrs. Stu—”

“There’s someone at the door,” I interrupted, before Simon Adriano’s ritual greeting could go farther. The pounding noise was hard to ignore. “Just a moment, please.”

“I will not be put on hold, Mrs. Stuart.” But I didn’t have to put Simon on hold. He was on the prepaid cell he’d given me. I took it with me to the door, looked through the peephole—

And gasped.

“Mrs. Stuart? What is it?” But now, phone caught between my shoulder and my ear, I was too busy unlocking the door…there’s some kind of law about French doors having a minimum of three locks. A new note tightened Simon’s voice as he said, “Magdalene?”

And then I had the door open, and Lex was there. He looked tired and rumpled and gorgeous. A paper bag and two cardboard cups sat on the suitcase beside him, but he was holding flowers. “Maggi, I’m—”

“Sorry, Simon,” I said quickly, just in case Lex was about to say I’m done instead of I’m sorry. “I mean…Duke Simon. Lex locked himself out when he went for breakfast.”

I heard my voice begin to smile with the wonderful normalcy of that last statement. Problems or not, Lex was here.

“It’s Adriano, is it?” asked Lex coolly, as if he hadn’t known from yesterday exactly when our daughter’s abductor would be calling. “Let me talk to him.”

“I don’t think that’s—”

“By all means,” insisted Simon. “Put him on.”

Behave, I mouthed at Lex as I traded the phone for the flowers. Part of me was still mad about his high-handedness in setting me up with Jamie and Alain. Part of me was terrified that he would antagonize Simon, who…

Had Simon just called me Magdalene?

But most of me was so damned happy to have Lex there—his voice and his presence, his wet scent and his warmth—that I wanted to hug him. But he was kind of busy…and, suddenly, not at his most huggable.

“Lex Stuart,” he said, upon getting the phone, and listened a moment, his jaw tight while I left the flowers on the bureau. “My wife said that much. But if any harm comes to that baby, it won’t matter.”

Another pause—I took the coffee and pastry bag inside—and Lex’s eyes narrowed in quiet fury. His voice was even calmer. “No, that would be Maggi. Me, I don’t give a rat’s ass who gets hurt as long as my girls are safe. Don’t confuse me with one of the good guys, Adriano, or you’ll make mistakes neither of us want.”

A grab at the suitcase, and I was able to close the door for privacy. I didn’t like this. The contrast between Lex’s expression and his voice was getting eerie. I said, “Let me have the phone back.”

“That’s probably as close to an understanding as we’ll get, then,” Lex said to Simon. Then, so toneless he sounded dangerous, “Looking forward to it.”

And he hit the red disconnect button. “Adriano says he’ll see you in two days. Damn it!”

“Give me the phone, Lex.”

“We have to get her away from that bastard.

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