Claimed by Three (18 page)

“Something sporty like my last one.” She shrugged, reached over, and switched two of the tools.

“I’ll help you pick out something safe,” Berenger said as he reached for one of the tools.

She held back a chuckle at the word “safe.” He was so like her brother and father in that way. They’d both tried to steer her to sedate models before she’d bought her first Duce. She loved that he wanted to keep her safe, but she wasn’t getting some old-lady skimmer.

His hand moved across the cloth. He grabbed one of the tools that she’d switched. She heard a clink and a mutter before he put it back and took the other one. She grinned.

He was ultraorganized when it came to his work. She did understand that. At her bakery, everything had a place. She couldn’t stop from messing with him.

“That would be nice, but I still want something with power.” She ran her fingers over one of the tools.

“Not again.” Berenger clasped her wrist.

She leaned over so she could look at him. He scowled at her. She gave him a big smile to show she wasn’t intimidated.

“Have you always been able to fix things?” she asked as she straightened.

“Yes. My mom said I started taking things apart to see how they worked almost as soon as I could walk. Probably an exaggeration, but I do remember taking apart toys when I was young. I learned to fix them; otherwise my parents took the broken toy away.” A clank sounded just after he spoke, followed by a curse.

“Did you get that scar on your leg trying to fix something you took apart?” She ran her hand over his thigh. The scar was hidden by his pants, but she could visualize the straight path of it.

He laughed softly. “No, I got that one while I was out with my brothers. We were messing around a construction site. I was interested in the tools, but they were all put away.”

He had two brothers and a sister. “Three boys at a construction site. That sounds like a recipe for danger.”

“Well, it was dangerous. We were running around that construction site, playing tag. I ended up falling onto a piece of pipe sticking up. It ripped through the skin.” He reached down and laced his fingers with hers while he scooted out from under the equipment.

She winced at the thought of the pain he must have felt. “Why did it scar so badly?”

“We were scared to tell my mother what we’d been doing. It did bleed some, but by the time we got home, it stopped. We were more afraid of her reaction than what would happen with the wound.” Berenger’s mouth curved up in a wicked grin. “Needless to say, by the time I did tell her, it was infected.”

“If she’s anything like my mom, you were in more trouble for hiding it than for going to a construction site.” She tightened her hand around his.

“Very much true. Believe me, we got yelled at for going to the construction site.” Berenger grinned. “Come here. Let me hold you before I feel obligated to crawl back under there and finish the work.”

“You had a pretty normal childhood, didn’t you?” She glanced over at him. From his expression when he’d spoken of his mother, she could tell he loved her.

“I had a great childhood. Teasing my sister, roughhousing with my brothers, and my mother and father there to stop the chaos before it got out of hand.” He lifted her into his lap. “I want that for my children. Someone always there for them, but also to guide them. And a place they can come home to, even when they have a home of their own.”

“I’ve always wanted something similar. I was surrounded by a protective wall of aunts, uncles, overprotective brothers, and a strict father. I like the idea of passing on that feeling of security and frustration.” She leaned into him.

“I know what you mean. You can hardly get away with anything, but in some cases, looking back, it’s a great thing.” His palm settled on her stomach.

“Yeah, I can remember hating it a few times.” She let her hand roam over his chest, enjoying the opportunity to be close to him and share part of her life.

“We can build that for each other. I know Teague wants a home exactly as you described.” He dropped a kiss on top of her head.

“And what about Kassius?” She looked up at him. Did he want something completely different? Did he not want a family?

“Sephanie, in some areas of life, Kassius can be demanding. He’ll require things be just so, but that’s mostly to do with his business. In regard to our relationship, he’ll be thrilled if you’re in our lives and are happy. He wants you. Everything that comes after is a bonus,” Berenger said.

“Then I guess we need to focus on our relationship, because you have me dreaming of the future.”

“We definitely will. Kassius, Teague, and I aren’t the kind of men to let what we want slip away.” Berenger cupped her cheek. “We’ll show you we belong together.”

Chapter Sixteen

Sephanie let Berenger walk into the bakery ahead of her. His dark gray shirt stretched over his shoulders, but it was the way the tight black pants cupped his ass that held her gaze. He carried a small pad computer so he could get some work done and stay in touch with Kassius, Teague, and his shop. He walked around the bakery, glancing at the few customers. After he inspected the kitchen and looked over the people working there, he returned to her.

He’d been the one delegated to accompany her that morning. It hadn’t been easy to get them to agree to her going to work in the first place. She’d persisted. She couldn’t take off indefinitely. Her employees needed days off, and she had ordering and managerial duties if nothing else.

But the men hadn’t been content to bring her to work. They’d insisted one of them had to stay with her while she worked. Well, one of them or someone else. Berenger had come with her today because he was free. Teague had a meeting with his superiors at the Planetary Defense Headquarters, and Kassius had two of his best buyers coming. If it weren’t for that, all three men would be sitting in her bakery.

With a smile on her lips, she thought back to the discussion. She’d agreed to work in the front of the store today unless there was some sort of emergency in back. It was a compromise she was willing to make. She’d intended to open the bakery, but Berenger had nixed that idea the moment he’d heard how early she normally woke to do that. He insisted adamantly he had better things to do with her in the middle of the night than get up and go bake cakes and bread.

“Why don’t you sit, Berenger? I’ll bring you something to drink.” She pointed to one of the tables at the end of the display case. It was situated near the opening to get behind the counter.

He walked with her and sat at the gleaming dark-blue table. She went around the white display case and through the waist-high swinging door. She left the latch off for the moment since she would be taking him something warm to drink. He watched her while she worked. She fixed him a cup of one of her favorite teas and took it to him.

“Tell me if you want anything to eat or more to drink.” She trailed her hand over his shoulder.

“I will, baby.” Berenger put the small pad on the table and picked up the tea.

She wiped the counters and tables, cleaned the display cases, checked the baked goods, and refilled the hot-drink makers. The nutty scent of hot
jalic
made her mouth water. She liked the thick, spiced drink. When she noticed a spot of dust on her blue shirt, she brushed at it. She gave a quick look around to make sure she’d done everything.

By the time the next customers arrived, she’d finished her prep work. After lunch, a string of men and women wandered into the bakery. The stream of patrons eventually dwindled until she had a few moments to breathe. She set about the routine again of cleaning and making sure there were enough goods available as well as hot drinks for whoever stopped by.

“What’s that?” Berenger stood and headed for the front of the bakery.

She followed his movements, looking for whatever he saw. At first she didn’t see anything that would cause alarm, but then she saw a dark box sitting right against the outside of the door. When had that been placed there? She frowned.

The automatic door slid open when Berenger approached it. The box turned as the door brushed against it. Then the package exploded with a loud boom that rattled the doors and the cups on the tables. Something burst from the top and flew into the air. She gasped but noticed that after it shot up, the material didn’t fly outward. It almost seemed to hang in the air. The colorful mass separated and fluttered downward.

Sephanie put a hand to her chest. Her heart raced from the scare. Berenger had stumbled back at the loud noise but didn’t fall. She took stock of the situation. The door still hung on the frame. It rested at an odd angle, but the glass remained in place. Nothing else seemed to have been damaged.

Other than her shop’s reputation as a quiet refuge. Sephanie grimaced when she noticed the scared customers. Damn. The men were right. She should have stayed away from here.

She checked on Berenger first. He stared at the mess beyond the door. She tried to move in front of him to see any injuries, but he pulled her back. She hesitated. He probably thought there might be more danger, and she had to admit she was nervous herself. She knelt at his side and did the best she could. There wasn’t a mark on him. Relieved, she exhaled. At least no one was hurt. She couldn’t help wondering what the goal of this surprise was.

She wished she could stay near him and run her hands over him to be certain he hadn’t been injured. In spite of that, she went to the holo-comm and contacted the police, her brother, Kassius, and left a message for Teague. Her gaze swept over the strips littering the floor.
Is this some over-the-top prank?

Determined to focus on the present and the necessary tasks, she moved the customers away from the front of the shop. She wouldn’t take the chance of anyone getting hurt if that box exploded again. Although she wanted to get everyone out of here, she knew they needed to stay as witnesses.

“Are you all right, Berenger?” She walked back over to him. A few of the colorful strips that had burst out of the box were scattered across the floor near the tables.

“I’m all right. The noise startled me.” He smiled at her and moved toward the door.

Sephanie nodded. It had scared her too. She looked at the rectangles on the floor. She thought she could make out letters or words on the pieces. She stepped forward and bent, intending to pick up one of them. Berenger pulled her up and back.

“Let the police see those first before you touch them.” Berenger put his arms around her. “I’d like to see what’s on them, but not until we know if there’s any type of information they can get from them.”

“All right, but they better catch whoever did this. They did this where someone else could get hurt. If this is about me, then they need to come at me, not people around me.” She eased out of his hold and walked away from him.

The police didn’t take long to get to the bakery. They came in through the service entrance. She smiled as she recognized Officer McCord. Relief flowed through her the moment she saw his familiar face. She didn’t want to explain everything to someone who didn’t know about all the other incidents.

“This is getting to be a habit.” Officer McCord strode over to her.

Berenger joined them. He put an arm around her shoulders. “One I’d like to stop. I don’t appreciate someone coming after her.”

“We’ll see what we can learn from this, but from first look, this is different from what was done to her Duce.” McCord walked to the door and bent to look at the bright scraps.

One officer began interviewing witnesses to see if he could find any answers from them. When he finished with each person, he ushered them out the back of the bakery. She folded her arms under her breasts, suddenly feeling cold. Berenger slipped behind her, and his arms wrapped around her.

Sephanie watched the officers near the door. They gathered evidence, including the box and pieces of debris that had been flung from it. Officer McCord brought one of the rectangular pieces over to where she and Berenger stood.

“This was definitely aimed at you. It’s some of the same wording we found on your home and walkway.” Officer McCord held up a purple rectangle.

Sephanie read the single word on the paper.
Whore.
She didn’t doubt other pieces had more of the derogatory words that had covered the front of her home and walk. Her teeth clenched together as she held back a scream.

Berenger’s arms tightened, holding her closer. She leaned into the touch and took the comfort he offered her. A few deep breaths and she managed to control the urge to yell, but anger churned in her stomach and her muscles tensed.

“Was that thing intended to hurt anyone?” She looked at the box being taken away by one of the men.

“No, someone wanted to litter the area with the obscenities. They went overboard when they built the device; otherwise it would have simply jetted the pieces into the air,” Officer McCord said.

“This doesn’t make sense.” She ran her fingers through her hair. If only this exploding present and the paint on her walk had occurred, she wouldn’t feel so confused. Together with the sabotage on her skimmer, the disparate methods didn’t fit.

“What doesn’t make sense?” Officer McCord cocked his head to the side, and his eyebrow rose.

“The three incidents. The first one and this one, I can see they’re connected. The second one is on a completely different level from this.” She hoped he understood. How were they supposed to be connected? The second sabotage had escalated events, but for some reason, the vandals had followed that with this—a return to pranks so juvenile anyone could pull them off.

“I understand what you mean. They are different, and this one following the sabotage to your Duce is strange. It’s something we’ll work through as we investigate.” Officer McCord nodded. “Your brother has arrived.”

She looked back and saw her brother walk in with Paine at his side. She smiled at him. Berenger eased away and released her. She almost turned and went back into his arms, but her brother was there and he’d demand answers. Cooper strode over and hugged her.

“Are you all right?” He held her away from him and looked down at her.