ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (207 page)

              Chris sat back and whistled low.  “I thought you looked familiar.  The sister…she’s your twin.”  He didn’t ask it, he stated the obvious. 

              “So you’ve seen her?” 

              Chris nodded sagely.  His demeanor was no longer jovial.  “She belongs to Savior.”

              “Belongs to?”  Cara asked.  “And what kind of name is that?” 

              Chris shrugged.  “He has a god complex.  What he needs is a dead complex.”

              “Why?”

              Chris’s eyes were hard.  “He’s a fifty year old vampire that thinks he invented blood sucking.  He’s also a ruthless son of a..." He looked up at Cara. "... well, his cruelty has no limits.” 

              “What does he want with my sister?” 

              Chris allowed pity to flicker over his face.  “Your sister was just another pretty conquest for him.  When he tires of her being the trophy on his arm, she’ll just blend in with the rest of the harem.”  He lit another cigarette.  “Good thing he’s never seen you!”

              Cara looked at Mark, but he kept his eyes on the man behind the desk.

              “He has already seen her.”  Mark gave Chris a very condensed version of their first visit into Crimson. 

              Chris was matter of fact, looking at each of them for emphasis.  “He’s gonna want her.” 

              “What?”  Cara looked at Mark in panic.  “Why?”

              “You’re a twin, and the two of you are drop dead, excuse the pun, gorgeous!” 

              “Bigger trophy to flaunt around.” 

              Chris stood.  “Alright.” 

              Mark stood as well, pulling Cara up with him.  “Alright, what?”

              Chris shrugged.  “I’ll help you.  You can keep your money…this will be my pleasure.  I hate that bastard.”

              X-X-X

“This plan is full of holes!”  Mark ranted.  The afternoon sun was already positioning for its final decent. 

              Cara ignored the twisting in her stomach.  The bags in the backseat were alien to her.  She hadn’t shopped anywhere other than thrift stores and Walmart since she entered college.  There was nearly a thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise just for this night sitting back there.

              Cara turned to face the road ahead again grateful Mark was driving.  She was just too nervous. 

              “I don’t understand why we needed to buy such expensive stuff!” 

              “Savior will recognize quality.  Chris said it will give us authenticity.”

              “Savior has already seen us!  He’s seen us in jeans and boots!” 

              “This time will be different.”  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.  “We have to make you completely irresistible to him.”  

              “I only want to be that to you.”  She said quietly, keeping her face straight ahead. 

              Mark grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips.  “You are.  Just the way you are.” 

                            When they pulled back in to Estelle’s, Cara couldn’t believe her eyes; her parents were loading their bags into the trunk of Estelle’s car.  The momentary euphoria was quickly replaced by anger.  They were abandoning Tara again. 

                            “What are you guys doing?”  Cara asked, slamming the car door. 

Janet turned and lifted her chin.  “We’re going home!”

“Why?  We have a plan…we’re going to try and get her!” 

Dan looked pained, and Estelle watched the scene gravelly from the kitchen doorway.  Her purse was dangling from her arm and car keys were in her hands.

“We are not going to run all over the seediest places of this city looking for your harlot sister!” 

Cara’s moved towards her mother before she could stop herself.  The sound of the slap was echoed by gasps from everyone there.  Janet grabbed her cheek, her eyes wide. 

“How dare you!” 

“No, Mother, how dare you!  Rape doesn’t make you a harlot!  You could have helped her!”  She shot her father a look.  “You both could have helped her, but instead you blamed it on the fact that she was walking home drunk that night!  It wasn’t her fault!” 

There was a stunned silence until Dan stepped forward shaking his head.

“No, baby, your right.  It wasn’t her fault, just like…”

Janet whirled on him, and grabbed his arm.  “Don’t you open your mouth!” 

“Hush, woman.  You’ve done enough damage.  These girls should have known this a long time ago.” 

Estelle moved to Janet and placed an arm around her shoulder.  “He’s right, Janet.” 

Janet looked at all of them in turn before lowering her head to her mother’s shoulder and began weeping softly. 

Dan reached a hand out to Cara, then lowered it.  He worked his mouth, making it obvious that his words were having trouble coming out.

“Cara you and your sister look so strikingly different from us because your mother was raped too.  We just never wanted you to know.” 

Cara heard Mark drop the bags he had pulled out of the backseat and had been holding through the entire confrontation.  The next sensation was his strong arms around her as the ground gave way.  The final thing she heard was her father saying: “I’m so sorry, baby.” 

X-X-X

“We tried for years to have children.  I finally went to the doctor, and he told me that it was me.”  Dan ran a hand over his face.  “It was hard for her.  She had always dreamed of a house full of kids. 

Mark watched Cara with a frown.  She was staring straight ahead, her face emotionless. 

Dan cleared his throat and continued.  “She hit a bad spell…I didn’t know if we would be able to make it.  She was drinking heavily.  One night she left and went to a bar.  The man sweet talked her all night, but when it was time for the bar to close, she refused to leave with him.”  Dan paused and looked to Janet.  She nodded her head once.  “Well, he attacked her in the parking lot.” 

Everyone waited for Cara to respond, or even to show a hint of acknowledgment.  When she didn’t Mark did.

“Was the man caught?”

“Yes, but he only served about a year.  Not sure why.”  He tried to touch Cara’s arm, but she yanked it away without looking at her father.  “When we found out that Janet was pregnant…well that was hard too, but I started to look at it like a blessing.  And we were blessed, Cara.”

She whipped her head around.  “Why didn’t you tell us?  Don’t you think we should have known?” 

Janet sniffed and wiped at her nose again.  Her face was puffy and blotchy.  “I was ashamed.” 

Cara shook her head.  “What you should be ashamed of is the fact that your own daughter suffered the same fate, and you…did…nothing.”  Cara stood and started walking down the hall.  “Mark, we need to get ready to go.  It’s going to be dark soon.” 

Mark looked at the people sitting around the table.  What was there to say?  He picked up the bags and followed Cara to her bedroom. 

Cara was sitting on the bed staring out of the window.  Mark sat beside her and rubbed the middle of her back. 

“It’s going to be alright, Cara.” 

“No, Mark, not really, but right now I can’t worry about that.  I have to try and get my sister back.”  She reached into one of the bags and pulled the bright red dress from inside and looked doubtfully and the low neckline.  She stood and peeled off her jeans and shirt, and began wiggling into the sequined fabric of the dress. 

Mark watched her with his mouth slightly open.  Her curves were absolutely perfect.  Heat started in his loins, and suddenly his jeans were too tight in the crotch. 

Cara glanced over her shoulder.  “Can you zip me?”  She noticed the change to his face and glanced at his enlarged problem.  She quickly turned her head as heat of her own swept up her face. 

              Mark stood slowly and ran his hands lightly up the backs of her bare arms.  He lowered his head and kissed her shoulder before, regretfully, zipping up her dress. 

              She turned and lifted her eyes slowly.  “You need to get ready.”

              Mark nodded.  “I know…you are just so beautiful.”  He whispered.  He kissed her lightly, the kind of kiss that was a small deposit for something more later. 

              Cara’s lips still burned as she sat down in front of the mirror and began to apply a deep burgundy lipstick.

              “Now remember,” Chris said, handing them their “get into Crimson free” cards, “just mingle around and wait for him to summon you.”  He looked Cara up and down again.  “And boy, he will summon you!  You just can’t go running all crazy right up to his private table and expect to be seen!” 

              Cara was now practically towering over Chris in her red spike heels.  She was almost eyelevel with Mark and it made her feel powerful.  The entire thing made her feel powerful.  Maybe it was the reaction she received from the men.  Even Thomas and Michael.  Thomas with his boyish good looks could only grin at her, but Michael watched her with a stony glare.  She thought he didn’t agree with Chris helping her, but the stony glare was masking something more.  His eyes never left her.  When she had placed her hands on her hips and snarled, “What?” he had simply shrugged and said Mark was a lucky wolf. 

X-X-X

              Crimson was packed.  The music was something between techno and metal, and the dance floor was crammed with gyrating bodies.  Cara and Mark moved to the left, her hand lightly laid in the crook of his arm, as Chris and his boys began the strategic placement of themselves throughout the club.  Chris had promised four other werewolves would already be there to help if necessary. 

              Cara forced her head to stay relaxed and for her eyes to not wander too much.  Mark led her to one of the bars and ordered two drinks for them.  He casually turned and placed his elbows behind him on the bar, and scanned the club beyond.  It didn’t take long for his eyes to wander onto the raised platform where Savior and Tara were sitting.  He didn’t allow his eyes to linger.  If Savior had noticed him and Cara, he wasn’t letting on yet. 

              Cara sipped her drink.  “Did you see her?”

              “Uh-huh.”

              “How does she look tonight?”

              “About the same.”

              They left their half-finished drinks on the bar and began walking around the club again.  Chris passed them and play punched Mark in the arm.  He was pretending to already be intoxicated, but Cara and Mark could see that his eyes were clear.  Chris leaned in as if to give Mark a bro-hug. 

              “He’s definitely noticed you.  Summons will come soon.  We’ll be close, although I don’t see any of the wolves that I asked to be here.”

              Mark nodded and smiled broadly, as if Chris had just told him something funny. 

              Cara watched coolly as Chris play stumbled away. 

              “You’re doing great, babe.” 

              Cara didn’t feel great.  She felt like the shoe was going to fall at any moment.  What happened instead was a tall thin man approaching them and telling them that it would be Mr. Castelle’s pleasure if they would join him.  His skin was so white it was nearly translucent, and Cara shuddered as he gave her a toothy grin with pointed canines. 

              The trio made their way around the horseshoe level and entered the dance floor at a corner near to the platform they would soon be on. 

              Mark saw Chris and Thomas move in what appeared to be a nonchalant way towards the base of the platform.  They were dancing with a pink faced woman, who glanced at Cara before laughing and twirling around the two men.  Cara wondered if she was one of them. 

              Savior grinned and stood as Cara and Mark walked up the stairs towards his table.  Tara wasn’t looking at the table top this time, rather her eyes were pinned on Cara. 

              “I’m so glad you both decided to visit again!”  Savior’s smile, as usual, didn’t reach his eyes.  “I hope we will have a more congenial visit this time!” 

He motioned for them to sit, his eyes greedily moving over Cara’s body.  “Something to drink?” 

              “No, thanks.”  Mark said and tried to keep his face neutral. 

              Savior nodded his head and placed his arm around Tara.  Cara could see her visibly flinch. 

              “So, what are you doing here?” 

              Mark shrugged.  “We just wanted to see the place again.  You know it’s hard for my kind to find a safe place to relax.”

              Savior was nodding again.  “What about her?  Surely she could take you to a nice quiet Country Western bar, eh?”  He laughed.  “This place is…well…chaotic.”  His dark eyes shone with amusement and something else, something like hunger.  Savior relaxed his posture further and turned his head to Tara.  He ran a long finger down her cheek.  “Perhaps you came back to try and see my little princess again?”