He reached out with both hands and stroked her arms until she calmed down. She gazed up at him and her blue eyes welled with tears. He lowered his head and the scent of strawberries caught in his throat. He spoke softly but firmly as he vowed not to bring up every type of criminal out there and what they might do. "If you intend to keep that condo, then you stay with me. We don't know who is after us yet."
She licked her lips but shook her head. "This is insane."
He texted the service his family used to ensure that the house was livable. With Morgan security it would be the safest place for them.
Victoria poked her head into the room he was in with Alice. John saw Peter and Jennifer in the background. Peter had his hands in his pockets, wearing a confused expression as he looked at Alice. Vicki smiled at them and opened her arms. "John, Alice, come join us. I've missed you both so much."
John had no words. Perhaps his family hadn't heard the shot or they were pretending again. The attack had used a silencer. His sister wasn't a ghost, but he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing either. He took Alice's hand. A spark of fire grew in his belly. No harm could come to Alice because of his stupidity today. He'd find a way to keep her safe until this was over.
His gaze returned to Peter. For Victoria, they'd work together.
Chapter Nine
Alice's entire body shivered. Her mind replayed the bullet that blasted through the door and shattered the glass above her head. John had protected her with his massive, muscular chest by shoving her against the wall. She could have died.
Everything else right now was a complete blur.
John's strong arm was still on her back, and his presence helped steady her fast-paced heartbeat. She rubbed her arms with both hands. This whole day was like a dream come true. Vicki was alive. Her childhood crush now held her.
A bullet to the head wasn't part of that fantasy. She sighed. The others were talking about what had happened. Perhaps John was wrong about the threat against those he loved. Who knew what happened to Victoria and how she'd escaped to come home?
The beat of her heart overshadowed her hearing. She moved closer.
Peter Morgan was on the phone with someone and Jennifer stroked Vicki's hair. Alice stayed near John and asked, "Vicki, did your dad kidnap you and keep you from all of us?"
"No." Victoria averted her gaze and looked toward both her brothers. "I faked my death."
Alice turned to John as his mouth formed the shape of an O and his eyes grew wider. His hand stayed on Alice's back.
John asked, "Why would you do that?"
Victoria's face grew white. "I had to get away from Dad and everything he'd done."
Peter stepped in and blocked her view as he took his sister's hand. "What happened between you two?"
John snorted. "You don't know?"
Peter shook his head and then turned toward them. "When it came to our sister, Dad never said anything."
"You weren't surprised to see Vicki today." John's accusation caused silence all around.
"I saw him an hour before the funeral. He was surprised then," Vicki explained. "He couldn't track you down for a private meeting. I'm sorry."
John's fingers pressed into her arm and Alice turned to take his hand. "You don't have to pretend our family is normal, Vicki."
Vicki rocked on her feet and hugged her waist.
Alice stepped away, but John's fingers circled the small of her back. If he needed her right now, she'd stay. She needed his strength, too, as her mind was a whirlwind, and she couldn't quite feel or think.
John said, "Peter, in many ways you are just like him. You should have told me when we were walking in."
Peter stood still. "Vicki wanted to surprise you."
John's palm heated. "Dad would have said that too."
"He trained me since birth to be who I am." Peter returned his attention to Victoria. "I never thought to escape as you did."
Vicki's face paled until she almost matched her all-white dress, but then she licked her lips which had the only trace of pink color. "I see my brothers both decided to keep my friends as girlfriends."
Alice's face flushed. "John and I are just friends."
Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Sure, and I'm applying to be a nun next week. Alice, we're adults now. You don't have to pretend to be an angel."
Alice clenched her hands. Jennifer was too much. "Not everyone is like you, Jenny."
Jennifer's nose curled at her old nickname. Alice bit her lip and then realized she had nothing to be guilty for. One kiss didn't make a relationship. This whole thing was crazy. She had avoided Jennifer for years and would again, once they all left this room.
Victoria smiled and nodded at how John and Alice held hands. "I approve of you two, if that means anything to either of you."
Alice broke into a laugh. This was a ridiculous conversation. Someone was out to kill someone—her—and they spoke about dating. They were no longer teenagers.
John released her hand, and Alice's body chilled. He went to the door to speak to security as she glanced at the bulge on his spine that must be his gun. Her heart almost stilled as he returned to her, placed his hand on her spine, and addressed his brother. "Our family reunion needs to be better planned. Peter, ensure that Vicki is kept safe tonight at Castle Morgan. I'll plan our escape from here and see the rest of you tomorrow."
Alice opened her mouth and almost asked, "What about me?" but clamped her lips together. Her mind returned to the fact that she was at a funeral where two former US Presidents showed up and the current one had sent his apologies. The shot had to be related to that, and not some threat to John. No one was going to kill her. Or her family.
John took Alice's hand and dragged her out the door.
Her feet stumbled to keep up, but he held her close as he went to a Secret Service agent. He spoke to the man so fast that Alice turned toward the funeral and tuned out their conversation. Guests sat in the pews of the church, talking animatedly. "She's alive?" "It's better than a soap opera." "Do you think the old man is dead or will he wake up later today?"
Once again Mitch Morgan set off a firestorm in his family, at his own funeral. Her mother would say he was stirring trouble from the grave.
Alice's face heated. Victoria's funeral had been with a closed casket while Mitch Morgan's waxy face beamed from his silken coffin. He had been the richest man in the world who craved power over the rest of mankind.
John told the agents, "My father loaned the government money to pay the national debt. This threat is either against the Presidents, me, or my family. I'm heading to a safe house with this woman. Cover us until we make it out of the parking lot."
"Woman?" Alice said as he turned her on her heel and they headed back where someone had almost killed her.
He opened the door and didn't bat an eye. Her heart raced. "The Secret Service cleared the parking lot to get the Presidents out. I'll have your car brought somewhere safe, later, but we're heading to my car."
John kept her hand in a tight lock, and she shivered as she ran to stay beside him. "Don't call me woman. My name is Alice."