Savage glanced at his watch as they went up the stairs onto the porch. He hadn’t paid attention to the lateness of the hour. He probably should have.
“You okay, baby?”
“I don’t know why we’re here, Savage,” Seychelle whispered, looking up at him. She looked vulnerable.
He leaned down and gently kissed her because he couldn’t bear that look on her face. His thumb slid over her lips as if he could erase it. “Baby, we’re going to fix this. I know you’re upset, but we’ll make it right. Trust me on this.” He had no idea if Lissa was really that much of a miracle worker, but he wanted her to be. This one was too important.
He knocked on the door, shifting his body slightly to put Seychelle away from the opening, where he could protect her even better. Casimir opened the door immediately. The porch light had been blazing, as had the lights along the path leading up the walkway through the artwork in the front yard.
“Savage. Good to see you, brother,” Casimir greeted. “You both all right?” His piercing eyes, so like his brothers’, swept over both of them with concern.
Savage noted he was armed. He’d stated it was an emergency in his text, but he would have expected a fellow Torpedo Ink member to be armed at home anyway.
“Yes, we’re fine. You’ve met Seychelle. We’ve had an incident, and I was hoping Lissa could help us. It’s important, or I wouldn’t ask.” He hadn’t needed to add that. It was a given. This was probably shocking both Casimir and Lissa that he had come to them.
He didn’t see Lissa, but she was nothing like Seychelle other than she was small. She might look fragile, but she wasn’t. She was backing up her man, somewhere in the shadows. She had been trained as an assassin, just as they had been, and she was lethal as hell. She suddenly appeared in the foyer, smiling a welcome as Casimir closed the door behind them. To her left was an imposing, muscular black dog, looking both powerful and intelligent. Savage was well aware the dog was a Black Russian Terrier. Czar and Blythe had one as well. Those very intelligent eyes had targeted him the moment Casimir had allowed them into the house, and hadn’t taken his gaze off him since. Clearly, he knew who the true threat would be.
Both Casimir and Lissa gave the dog a hand signal, and it relaxed and trotted to a dog bed that was placed between two very comfortable chairs.
“I have to apologize, Lissa,” Savage said immediately. “I didn’t think about the time, and I should have. We made a run over to the cottage in Sea Haven, intending to stay there for the night, and when we got there, we found the house vandalized. And by that, I mean whoever had done it had completely wrecked it. Everything. All of her belongings. Cut up her clothing, drilled her kitchen pots and pans, smashed even the walls, shower, bathtub and toilet.”
Savage pulled Seychelle even closer to him, her side to his front, wishing he could turn back the clock and be there in her house when Shari had come.
“How terrible, Seychelle.” Lissa indicated the cozy chairs in the living room. “I saw the damage in the photographs you sent, Savage. “I’m so sorry, Seychelle. It must have been a terrible shock to you. Please come in and sit down.”
Savage was a little uneasy. He didn’t visit people, and he didn’t go sit in their snug little rooms, where they had the advantage in a firefight. He noted the exits and every item he could use as a weapon in the room. He was armed, and his body was a weapon. Still, his woman was with him. He took the love seat and pulled Seychelle down beside him, one arm around her, the other still holding the large but fragile package.
“I’ve made some tea, unless you think it’s too late for that.” Lissa indicated a red-and-black inlaid tray. On it sat a black teapot decorated with a fiery red dragon and two matching mugs. It was clear she knew Savage because the other two mugs held coffee.
“Tea is perfect, thank you, Lissa,” Seychelle managed. “The tea set is lovely and very unique. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
“I actually made it myself,” Lissa confessed. “I went through an experimental phase, making pottery. I’ve been considering giving lessons to Lucia and Lexi. Lexi suggested it. Lucia is Airiana’s oldest girl. Maxim and Airiana rescued Lucia and her brother, Benito, and sisters from one of those horrible ships where they kill the victims after using them. We’ve all been trying to find ways to make Lucia feel at home here, but also to give her things she loves to do. She’s an incredible chef already. She has an affinity for the dogs and helps Gavriil train them. She keeps up with her schoolwork and is always there for the children and Airiana, but we wanted to give her something else, something that’s just hers. She told Lexi once that she always had wanted to take a pottery class, but when she looked them up at the arts studio in Sea Haven, they were just too expensive.”