Supper was lively, with the eight of them crowded around Addy and Mark’s dining room table. Candace had been told they often ate at home together, and it was usually at Addy and Mark’s apartment, because theirs was the biggest of the three apartments in the big Victorian house turned apartment building. Mel and Matt lived on the top floor, where Mel had lived since before she’d met them. The family had bought the entire house from the owner just before Addy and Mark had married. The two younger brothers and their uncle lived downstairs.
Talk around the table mostly had to do with Bart’s negotiating with Mel’s boss, the head of the Konstantine Talent Agency. Apparently, Kitty Konstantine had been less than thrilled with the idea of Addy recording with the Saint brothers but not performing live with them on stage. Bart had out-negotiated her, and Addy had a new contract for her music and her singing. The entire family was delighted.
Candace heard only half of what was said, because she was still somewhat groggy from her long afternoon nap. Addy had fed both Mel and Candace lunch, then when Mel went back to work, Addy had tucked Candace into the daybed in the second bedroom, which acted as both an office and a guest room. Candace had fallen asleep quickly, listening to the lovely sounds of Addy’s guitar as she worked on a new song out in the living room. She had slept soundly for a solid five hours, waking only when the rumble of deep male voices had penetrated her sleep. In spite of missing dinner the night before and breakfast this morning, she had eaten little at lunch and even less this evening. She was too nervous to eat, knowing how these kind people were likely to respond when they learned about where she had come from.
When at last everyone had finished their last bite of peach cobbler—Addy had been busy with more than music all afternoon—Bart sat back in his chair and looked directly at Candace.
“A fine supper, Addy. I thank you. Now, I think it’s time we figure out what to do about Candace’s little problem.”
“I think I should go,” she said, pushing her chair back from the table.
“Sit still, girl,” Bart said with a soft growl. “No one here’s gonna hurt you, but we need to figure out what’s goin’ on. Luke told us his part of the story this afternoon; now it’s your turn.”
Addy reached out to lay a gentle hand on Candace’s arm. “Let’s move this into the livin’ room,” she said. “We can clean the table up later.”
Candace wanted to bolt from the room, but Addy took her hand firmly in hers and led her to the couch.
“What have I missed?” Mel asked, as they all settled themselves around the room.
Mel flanked Candace on her other side on the couch, the three women making a united front against the formidable-looking Saint men. Bart, Matt, and Mark took chairs. John pulled up a kitchen stool, but Luke remained standing.
“Luke?” Bart said.
He took a deep breath, gave Candace an apologetic smile.
“Well, I was headed to Burton and Son Music this mornin’, knowin’ they open early, so I could get those new brushes I wanted. I was walking along Twelfth, and I heard a scream. It was still pretty dark, on account of it being so cloudy, but I figured where it was comin’ from. By the time I got to the head of the alley, I heard another scream, and I went in.”
Luke took another deep breath and made eye contact with Mel, who was the only one of them from the city.
“There were two men—big, mean ones—and they had a hold of a woman. One of ’em was holding her arms behind her—I found out later he’d put handcuffs on her—and the other was bringing back his fist to hit her again. I saw red, and…well, you can guess what happened next.”
“You Shifted,” Mel said softly.
“I had to!” Luke snapped. “Those bastards were gonna hurt her real bad, and I had to stop ’em!”
“Of course you did.” Mel smiled then stood and went to him. She hugged him tightly then reached up to pull his face to her so she could kiss him, once on each cheek. Then she turned to the others.
“You know he had to do it. Any one of you would have. You all did for me, once.”
Bart sighed deeply. “I’m not arguin’ with you, darlin’. Of course he had to. But now we gotta figure out what’s next.”
He looked at Candace, then, and she frantically looked from face to face, completely in the dark.
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“You don’t remember what happened?” Mel asked, sitting on the arm of her husband’s chair.
“I couldn’t see much,” Candace said. “It was all shadows, and those men had me. I’d fallen asleep when they found me.”
She stopped, thinking hard. “There was a roar of some kind. Then one of the men was pulled away from me. The other threw me down and turned to face whoever was there, then he, too, went down. I heard a shot…”