Serena had wisely gone quiet, but it was a little late for that. I folded my arms. “Her friend overheard the brothers talking about something called Project Eagle and children in Pennsylvania. Whatever it is, it seems like it’s worth killing to keep a lid on it.”
Luc blinked slowly. “And does the DOD know about this?”
“Yes,” Serena answered, and cleared her throat. “I told them what my friend had said, but…”
“But you two are here and Hunter is without his opal, which means he’s without his nifty tracking device. How did that happen?” Luc asked. “Don’t be shy, Serena. I’m not the bad guy here.”
I snorted. “Yeah, and I’m fucking Santa Claus.”
“Okay.” Luc flashed a winning smile. “All things considered, I’m the least of your worries at this point, eh? There are three things in life that I just cannot stand and, in no particular order, they are: the DOD, the Arum, and the Luxen. Humans are pretty damn okay in my book.”
Serena glanced back in shock at a grinning Paris, and I rubbed my temple. I was starting to get a headache.
“The DOD decided that what Mel overheard isn’t important,” I said.
Luc cocked his head to the side. “And do you believe that?”
I barked out a short laugh. “Hell no. I’m sure they’ve been trying to dig up everything on this Project Eagle bullshit, but they don’t know about Pennsylvania.
Serena remembered that after she’d spoken to the officers.” The letter in the PO box was staying a secret. “The senator and the community of Luxen raised all kinds of shit about the exposure risk and pushed for Serena’s death. The DOD caved.”
“Exposure risk?” Paris headed to the desk and sat in the chair behind Luc. “Does the senator honestly believe that the DOD will release his sons if Serena is gone?”
“I don’t think so,” I admitted. “I think that whatever Mel overheard and may or may not have said to Serena is worth them killing to keep it quiet. Even if Serena doesn’t know anything, they don’t want to take that risk. The DOD came to take her out and, well, I didn’t agree with that.”
“I wish you guys would stop talking about people wanting to kill me,” Serena said, but she was staring at me in a way that said we’d be talking later. “It’s really starting to freak me out.”
“True,” Luc said, shaking his head. “So you stopped the DOD? Protected a human even knowing that they’d put price on your head that even I couldn’t afford?”
I shifted my weight from one foot to the next. “Yeah.”
“Interesting,” Luc murmured.
“He doesn’t know why he did it, so don’t even ask him.” Serena sent me a tight smile, and I couldn’t even find it in me to be measurably annoyed. She turned back to the kid. “Do you know anything about Project Eagle?”
Luc met her stare. “I know a lot of things, Serena. I also have a lot of suspicions.
Some people think I’m paranoid, but I like to say I’m realistically prepared for when the shit hits the fan.”
Serena frowned. “That really didn’t tell me anything.”
“I don’t know about Project Eagle,” he said, “but I’d be curious to learn more.”
“Okay, well now that we’ve done the whole caring and sharing routine,” I interrupted, “you owe me.”
“I do.” Luc hopped off the desk. “Come back tomorrow and I’ll have something for you.” He glanced at Serena and winked. “And make sure you’re in a more pleasant mood. You’re killing my happy vibe.”
“Tomorrow?” I moved my neck to the side, trying to ease out the tension. “I wasn’t planning on this trip to be an overnight one.”
“But I’m sure you’ll find a way to pass the time.” Luc wiggled his brows suggestively, and even I was a bit disturbed by that. He walked around his desk and opened a drawer. Pulling out a key, he tossed it to me. “You can stay at Paris’ place for the night. He won’t be there and it will be safe.”
Paris’ face screwed up. “What the hell, Luc?”
He smiled sheepishly. “What? He’s not staying at my place.”
I pocketed the key, pleased by the anger creeping across the Luxen’s face.
“Address.”
Luc scribbled it down on a pad of paper and handed it over. “Be back here tomorrow, a little before noon.”
I gathered up Serena and headed for the door, but Luc stopped us. “And Hunter?”
I turned, already not liking the odd look on the kid’s face. I prepared myself for whatever fuckery that was about to come out of his mouth. “Yes?”
Luc’s smile was mysterious. “Humans aren’t as frail as you think they are.”
Chapter 24 I’d expressed my concern about trusting Luc the moment we got in the Porsche, but Hunter didn’t seem to think we had anything to worry about. Apparently, the strange kid was the least of our problems.
We stopped and got fast food on the way to wherever Paris lived , and I ended up eating my food before we pulled into the secluded house in The Woods resort. Even at night, I could see the glitter in the driveway and corners of the two-story structure.
“Beta quartz,” Hunter explained, snickering. “Very smart. There are no natural deposits around here, so he brought it in. It blocks us from seeing them, disrupts their wavelengths.”
Stepping out of the car, I frowned at the tiny flecks glittering in the moonlight. How many times could I have seen something like this and disregarded it? I turned, eyeing the thick trees crowding the driveway, as Hunter pulled our luggage out of the trunk.
Once inside, I realized Paris’ flavor could easily be seen. Gold paint on the foyer walls. A golden chandelier hung from the ceiling, and all the doorknobs were painted a golden color; even the grand staircase had golden treads.
“Gah,” I said, shaking my head.
Hunter’s lip curled as he looked around. “Wow.”
I cracked a smile. Hunter relatively speechless, and all it took was really gaudy interior design. We did a little investigation of the downstairs and then we headed up.
It was obvious which room was the main bedroom.
Hunter headed right for it.
“I’m sure there are extra bedrooms.” I nodded down the hall. “Maybe we should take one of them.”
He glanced over his shoulder, grinning. “What fun is that?”
I laughed softly. “You’re terrible.”
But I followed him into the lavish master bedroom. It was huge and in the middle was a four-poster canopy bed. Hunter dropped our luggage on a settee as I checked out the bathroom.
“Holy garden tub,” I murmured. “This thing is huge.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s huge.” Hunter wrapped his arms around me from behind and tugged me back.
I flushed as I felt him against my lower back. Need swelled in me, warming my body. “That’s pretty low-grade.”
Hunter chuckled as he brushed his lips over my cheek. “It was.”
Then he backed off, and I leaned against the large sink—painted in gold, of course —and watched him. I was breathless already, and all I had felt was his erection.
Ridiculous.
His lips curved up like he knew what I was thinking. I ignored the warmth flooding through my veins and between my thighs.
“Are you tired?”
It was late and we hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, but I shook my head.
Hunter’s gaze turned knowing. “I know you want it.”
My belly tightened as desire swirled through me. “You do?”
He nodded, but then he did the unexpected. He stepped out of the bathroom. “You want to enjoy that tub. Go ahead. I’m going to check out the place, make sure it really is secure.”
I gaped at him as he shut the door. His deep chuckle from the other side of the door made me want to find a blunt object and throw it.