Chapter 24
The quiet intimacy of the art studio, the scent of oil paint and turpentine mingling with the lingering aroma of their orgasms, had begun to feel like a sanctuary. For two days, the world outside Sophia’s fortified estate had ceased to exist.
There was only the canvas and the man who was her entire world.
Kate was sketching, her charcoal stick moving quickly and precisely across the paper.
It captured the way light fell on Devon’s face as he read on the chaise lounge.
It was a moment of peace, a delicate bubble of normalcy she was afraid to burst.
The knock on the door was sharp and insistent. It was Luc, and the carefully neutral mask he wore did nothing to hide the urgency in his eyes.
“There is a situation at the main gate,” he said, his gaze flickering from Devon to Kate. “A man, he’s American. He’s asking for you, Kate. He says his name is Jamie Morgan.”
Kate’s charcoal stick snapped in her fingers.
Jamie. Her brother was here. In Paris. The surprise phone call had been a warning, but she never imagined he would actually come.
A wave of conflicting emotions washed through her.
Joy, sharp and fierce, followed instantly by a cold, gut-wrenching terror.
“He can’t be here,” Devon said, already on his feet, his book forgotten. He moved to Kate’s side, his presence a solid wall of protective energy. “Send him away, Luc. Tell him she’s not here.”
“No,” Kate said, her voice shaking but firm. She stood, dusting charcoal from her hands. “No, I have to see him. Devon, that phone call only made him more suspicious. Turning him away now will just prove him right.”
“That’s exactly why he can’t be here!” Devon’s voice was tight with controlled fury, not at her, but at the situation. “Aleksander is still out there. Bringing your brother into this… it’s putting a target on his back.”
Sophia appeared in the doorway behind Luc, her expression grim. She had heard everything.
“Devon is right. It’s a risk. But turning him away now, after he’s come this far, will only confirm his suspicions. He’ll start digging, asking questions. He’ll make noise, and noise attracts predators.”
She looked at Kate, her gaze analytical. “This will be your first real test. Your first interaction with a human who knows you intimately since the change. You will have to be flawless. Every gesture, every word, every breath.”
“I can do it,” Kate said, the words a prayer.
Sophia nodded. “Bring him to the west drawing-room. It’s the most ‘human’ part of the estate. Luc, you will be present, as a ‘colleague.’ Devon, you will greet him and then you will leave. Your presence will only agitate him. We want him calm and reassured.”
She fixed Kate with a hard stare. “Your objective is to convince him you are safe, happy, and that he needs to get on the next plane back to New York. Is that understood?”
“Understood,” Kate said, her heart a leaden weight in her chest.
Preparing for the meeting was like preparing for a role.
She put in the green contact lenses, the filmy plastic a frustrating barrier to her perfect vision.
She spent ten minutes applying bronzer and blush, trying to mimic the flush of life in her pale cheeks.
She practiced breathing, the in-and-out a conscious, deliberate act that felt utterly alien.
When she walked into the drawing-room, Jamie was standing by the window, his back to her. He was thinner than she remembered, his shoulders tense under his travel-rumpled jacket. He turned as she entered, and his face was a portrait of a week’s worth of sleepless nights and frantic worry.
“Jamie,” she breathed.
“Kate.” He crossed the room in three long strides, but stopped just short of embracing her, his eyes scanning her face, searching for… something.
“Are you okay? Really okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, forcing a bright, reassuring smile.
She initiated the hug, a careful, measured embrace, consciously restraining the strength that could have cracked his ribs.
He felt so fragile, so warm, so devastatingly human.
The scent of his living blood was a maddening, sweet perfume in her senses.
“You haven’t been answering your phone,” he said, pulling back. “Mom and Dad are going out of their minds. You promised you’d call more often.”
“I’m so sorry, Jamie. I… I haven’t been well. Just a bad flu. I didn’t want to worry anyone.”
It was a feeble lie, and they both knew it.
“I don’t believe you, Kate,” he said, his voice low and intense.
“That phone call from a few weeks ago didn’t sit right with me.
Devon’s story was too smooth, too rehearsed.
He sounded like someone giving a press release, not a guy in love.
He promised he would protect you, but all I heard was a man hiding something. So, I came to see for myself.”
This was the performance of her life. She laughed, a light, airy sound she’d rehearsed. “Devon is just being overprotective. We’ve been traveling, Jamie. After the whirlwind tour, Devon’s friend Sophia invited us to stay with her for a while. It’s been… nice to just be still for a bit.”
She walked him to the sofa, sat beside him, and made him tea. She talked about her art, the beauty of Paris, and her travels across Europe. She was a flawless actress; every gesture precise, every word was a carefully crafted lie.
But Jamie wasn’t convinced. “So you’re just staying here? In some rich lady’s mansion? After weeks of no contact? You expect me to believe that?”
“Sophia is a very old, very dear friend,” Devon said, stepping back into the room. His voice was calm, but with an undercurrent of steel. “She was kind enough to offer us her hospitality.”
Jamie’s gaze snapped to Devon, his expression hardening.
“Your story was so perfect, I knew it was a lie. So I hired a private investigator. He tracked the last signal from Kate’s phone to a five-mile radius around this estate.
Her credit cards haven’t been used once.
The only reason he found the actual address was because you used one of your corporate accounts to have a car deliver art supplies here for her to use.
It left a paper trail, Devon. You’re isolating her. ”
“I’m protecting her,” Devon countered, his voice dangerously calm.
“From what?” Jamie shot back, standing up. “From her family? From her friends? Or just from anyone who isn’t part of your ‘exclusive circle’? I want to meet this Sophia.”
“That’s not possible,” Devon said flatly.
“Then I’m not leaving,” Jamie stated, crossing his arms. “You’ve got her locked away in this mansion, Devon. No phone, no credit cards. I’m not leaving her like this.”
The tension in the room was thick enough to choke on. Kate saw the flicker of the predator in Devon’s eyes, the part of him that could end this argument with a single, brutal movement. She had to intervene.
“Jamie, stop,” she said, standing and placing a hand on her brother’s arm. He was vibrating with anger. “He’s not holding me prisoner. I turned off my phone because I was overwhelmed. The trip was amazing, but it was a lot. I just needed some quiet. I was selfish, and I’m sorry.”
“So you can’t even talk to your own mother? She calls me most days, asking if I’ve heard from you.”
The words devastated Kate. She felt a pang of guilt so sharp it was like a knife wound. This was the cost of her new life, the collateral damage of her transformation.
“That’s my fault,” she said, her voice thick with genuine remorse. “I should have called. But I’m safe. I promise.”
Jamie searched her face, his anger warring with a lifetime of brotherly love. “Are you? Look at me and tell me you’re happy. Tell me this is what you want.”
This was the moment. The performance of her life. She met his gaze, forcing a brilliant, dazzling smile. She let the genuine love she felt for Devon shine through.
“I’ve never been happier,” she said, and it was almost the truth. “He’s the love of my life, Jamie. This is everything I’ve ever wanted.”
It was the conviction in her voice that finally broke him. He saw his sister, radiant and in love, and he couldn’t bring himself to shatter her happiness, even if he didn’t understand it. His shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Okay,” he whispered, his anger deflating into weary resignation. “Okay, Kate. If you’re happy, I’ll… I’ll try to accept it.”
Later, after another tense and emotionally draining half-hour, Kate finally walked him to the door.
The goodbye was agony, heavy with unspoken fears.
He wasn’t leaving because he was convinced; he was leaving because she had asked him to, because he loved her enough to trust her even when his gut was screaming that something was wrong.
She wanted to tell him everything, to warn him, but all she could do was hug him and say, “I love you. Please, go home and be safe.”
As the door closed behind him, Kate sagged against the wall, the performance over. Devon was instantly at her side, his arms a comforting weight.
“He will know,” Sophia said, her voice devoid of all warmth. It wasn’t a question. “Aleksander will know your brother was here.”
Kate looked up, horrified. “How? We were careful.”
“We know he has eyes in Paris,” Devon said, his voice grim. “He may not have been able to get past our wards, but he could have seen Jamie arrive. A human asking for Kate Morgan at the gates of Sophia’s compound… it’s a flashing beacon.”
Sophia’s expression was cold stone. “We’ve been focused on protecting you here. We assumed he would make a direct assault. It was arrogant. We underestimated his cruelty. It wouldn’t be beneath him to use your family and friends as collateral in this war.”
The true horror of the situation dawned on Kate, a cold dread that was far worse than any fear for her own safety.
Sophia was already moving, pulling out her phone, her fingers flying across the screen.
“Luc, get a team on Jamie. I want a full surveillance detail, from the moment he leaves this gate until his plane touches down in New York. I want to know everyone he speaks to, everywhere he goes. We also need eyes on her parents. And the friend, Zoe. Immediately.”
The bubble of peace had popped. The sanctuary was gone. The game had changed, and now, Kate’s entire family was on the board.