She raised a brow at the one standing nearest her, asking without asking.
“I’m Josh.”
He seemed quieter, more sedate. But damn if she could tell the difference between him and his twin from just looking at them.
“Right. Josh. I need to contact my boss before he worries.”
“First you eat. Then you get the phone.”
She studied him. “Why do I get the feeling Xavier’s the troublemaker, but that you’re a lot harder to deal with?”
“You must be psychic,” Xavier said wryly from behind her.
“About that…” She looked from one brother to the other, trying to detect the subtle nuances setting them apart. They looked exactly alike, down to the parts in their hair, their height, and the expressions of humor, annoyance, and interest they wore. “You two are telepaths, right?”
“We’re twins who happen to share a unique closeness, yes,” Josh explained.
“So you’re telepaths,” she said again.
Xavier skirted answering. “Maybe. You’re awfully accepting of psychic labels for a civilian.” Xavier considered her. “But you aren’t just any civilian, are you, Chloe? You’re PWP.”
The Psychic Warfare Program was top secret. No way these guys should have known about it unless they’d been involved in the program at some point. “What’s that?”
“You want to pretend? Fine.” Josh shrugged. “The Psychic Warfare Program came into being more than five years ago. The government recruited a bunch of psychics, drugged them with something that mutated their genetics and strengthened their psychic abilities. Then they closed up shop a year ago. And here you are.”
“Here you are,” Xavier repeated, his gaze decidedly carnal. “Short, sexy, and looking good enough to eat.”
“Xavier.” Josh’s warning growl surprised Chloe.
“I just meant she looks hungry.” Xavier grinned and looked over his shoulder at the kitchen. “Josh made stew. Want some?”
“Sure. I’m in no rush to leave.”
The men looked at each other, and she could almost feel the communication between them. Josh glanced at her. “Tell me about this stalker of yours.” He stood and crossed to her while Xavier dished their food into bowls, which he placed on an oak kitchen table. Josh placed his hand against the small of her back to guide her toward the food, and the contact felt overly warm.
As if she connected with him on another level. His touch unnerved her, and she hurried to sit. “I’ll tell you about my problems if you’ll tell me how you know so much about this supposed PWP.”
Xavier snorted as he sat down. “Supposed, nothing. We know it’s true.”
“Yeah? How?”
“Can’t tell you. It’s classified.” Xavier looked smug and took a bite of stew.
“Damn, this is good.”
She ate some and had to agree. The hot meal warmed her stomach and eased her hunger. “This is. Thanks.”
Josh nodded. “Mom’s recipe. She insisted we learn how to cook before she kicked us out of the house.”
“Nice.”
“She was, actually. To this day, Xavier and I can fend for ourselves. We can cook, clean up, and defend ourselves from intruders bearing arms.” The look Josh gave her promised a need to know more.
“Hey, I was as surprised as you. Although you couldn’t have been that shocked.
You did meet me outside with a gun.”
“You tripped one of our sensors,” Xavier explained. “After last month, we upgraded the defenses around the place. So if you have any thoughts about checking out early, we’ll find you. And we’ll be a lot less pleasant the next go-round.”
Annoyed at the warning, Chloe forced a smile. “Gee, you’ve been awful nice so far. You stripped my clothes off, pinned me to the bed, and kissed me until you got your rocks off.” As if that hadn’t been the sexiest thing ever. But damn if she’d admit it.
A slight flush lit Josh’s cheeks. “Xavier went a little crazy.”
“Me? I’m not the one who…” Xavier turned back to her. “Look, Chloe, the fact is, we don’t have to answer jack shit. We helped you last week with that nutjob in the warehouse. And we’re now sharing our cabin, our bed, and our food with you.
How about a little common courtesy and answering some questions?” She blinked. “That was you two in the warehouse?” Josh looked annoyed, but Xavier kept his attention on Chloe. “What happened?” Josh answered. “We got word about something off at the warehouse. We scouted it and found you and a guy with a big knife playing hide-and-seek.
Unfortunately, he managed to get away from me in the dark.” His eyes narrowed.
“He a friend of yours?”
“Did you get a good look at him?” She leaned forward, eager for a lead.
Josh and Xavier shook their heads. Josh apologized. “It was too dark. What little we saw when the lights flickered was an average face. He hid a lot beneath his clothing. But that knife I’d recognize.”
“I guess that’s something.” Chloe sat back, disappointed. “I got a call about a missing watch. Belongs to a friend of mine. So I went to check things out.”
“At night, in an abandoned warehouse? Must be some friend.” Xavier just looked at her.
She frowned. “A great friend. The point is, I was there for information about the watch. Instead of info, I was attacked. The creep bruised a few of my ribs and was planning to do worse. You two arrived just in time.” She still didn’t understand how they’d gotten there. “So why did you? How did you know to go to the warehouse?”
They shared a moment of silent conversation. What interested Chloe was that she could feel them speaking, like a low-pressured hum that vibrated through her brain.
“We had a tip that someone might be in trouble,” was all Josh would say. “So tell me. You worked for the PWP, then it closed down. And you’re out here?”
“Working for a gym?” Xavier added. He studied her. “You’re obviously in shape. And you’re sexy as hell, but a gym? Please. We know it’s a front for whatever Keiser is running. Who’s his client, anyway?”
She didn’t like how much they knew. Jack wouldn’t either. “This sure is good stew.” She concentrated on eating.
“You don’t want to answer, hmm? I can respect that.” Josh nodded at Xavier.
“How about if I tell you about Werlin? Think that might help you decide to share with us, your new best friends?”
“Maybe.” She turned back to her stew and nodded her thanks when Xavier dished her more.
“My family and I work together, a kind of fix-it agency. We’re independent contractors, and we take on cases most people can’t bring to the authorities. We provide quiet resolutions to conflict.”
“He’s pretty when he talks fancy, ain’t he?” Xavier mocked.
She couldn’t help laughing.
“Shut it, moron,” Josh said to his brother. He gave her a quelling look, which stifled her amusement. “Anyway, we had a job in Idaho a few weeks ago. A family of bullies with shotguns terrorizing a town. Small-time thugs getting bigger. So Xavier and I stepped in. We shut them down and landed a few of them in jail after taking down the local sheriff—a Werlin cousin.”
Xavier continued. “The old man didn’t much like us. And he’s not a man to have as an enemy. The bastard was ex-military. A demolitions expert. Caught us unaware, somehow. And we were out of it for a little while.” Both of them looked at her, and the silence made her anxious. “What?”
“You sure you don’t know Otis Werlin? His brothers Arlo and Ken? Any of those names ring a bell?”
“I told you. I work here.”
“Right.” Josh didn’t seem to believe her. “We know where you work, where you live, what you supposedly do for a living. But that’s on the surface.”
“Where I live?” She hadn’t brought a driver’s license with her. She’d left it in the car. Just how much “checking up” had these guys done?