Isaak scowled. “Why would we be civil to psychopathic cat who forces our sister to live in America? You make no sense.”
“He does not force me to do anything,” Valentina said through her teeth. “Living here is my choice.”
“Bah,” said Isaak. “He has brainwashed you to believe it is your choice. Psychopaths do that. They trick mind. Do you know nothing of world you live in?”
“What I know is I will stab this fork in your eye if you do not cease with this game.”
James laid a hand on his mate’s fist. “It’s all right, sweetheart, don’t let them get to you. It’s not worth it.”
“There,” said Isaak. “Did you not hear soft tone of voice he used, Valentina? It is like hypnosis. Ted Bundy smiled liked that too, you know.”
Valentina slashed her hand in the air. “And I am now done.”
She and her brothers then began to argue in rapid-fire Russian.
Alex turned to Bree with an exasperated sigh and rested his arm on the back of her chair. “Now, aren’t you glad you came?”
Bree only chuckled. Yeah, actually, she was.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Sprawled on Alex’s sofa the following evening, Bree drummed her thumbs on her cell phone, determined to master the level on this annoyingly addictive game. “Private Number” began flashing on the screen. Since she was irked at having her game interrupted, Bree’s greeting was undeniably on the curt side. Maybe Alex’s rude nature was rubbing off on her.
“Hello, little cat.”
For a single moment, she froze. Her cat froze. Hell, time itself seemed to freeze. Then Bree knifed up, her heart pounding in her chest like a drum. Her cat arched her back, hissing and spitting like a trapped feral animal.
“I don’t get a ‘hi’ from my own mate?” asked the caller. “That’s not nice.”
Twisting her body so she could lower her feet to the floor, Bree drew in a long breath through her nose. If Alex hadn’t gone downstairs to return a dish to his parents, she’d have hurried over to him; she’d have asked him to listen to the conversation so he could help her decide just which of the Cage twins was on the other end of the line.
If this was Calvin, it might serve her best to let him believe she thought that she was talking to Paxton, mightn’t it? “Why are you calling?” she asked, keeping her voice flat.
“Maybe I just wanted to talk to my little cat. Maybe I missed you. You know what? I think I really might have. Now isn’t that something?”
“I’d be lying if I said I returned the sentiment. I pulled out the pompoms when you left.”
He laughed and, oh God, it sounded so much like Paxton. His brother’s laugh wasn’t quite as gruff or restrained. “You know why I always enjoyed our conversations? Because you never saw a need for pretense. Even as a young child, you saw me for what I was. Pretending to be normal can be tiring. I don’t think I realized just how hollow I was until you forced emotion into me. I thought … ah, so that’s how life is for others—fascinating.”
Bree’s stomach flipped. She hadn’t told a single soul about the time that she’d pushed positive energy into Paxton. But he could have told someone about it, right? He could have told Calvin. Twins confided in each other. “But you don’t wish you were different, do you?”
“Of course not. Emotion makes a person weak. Why would I want to be weak?”
“A better question would be: why are you back?”
“Who says I was ever really gone? I always made a point of checking on you from time to time. My cat worries about you. Knowing you’re safe and well puts him at ease. Don’t worry, he doesn’t push me to claim you. I suspect he thinks you’re safer without me.”
“He’d be right.”
“Now that’s just insulting. I’d never hurt you.”
Bree’s brows snapped together. “You told me you’d be better off if you killed me.”
“I was having an off day.”
An off day? Unreal. “Where are Drina and Mateo?”
“How would I know? And why would you care? I heard Drina isn’t a fan of yours. And something bad obviously went down between you and Mateo or you wouldn’t have cut him out of your life.”
He hadn’t referred to them in the past tense, she noticed. “What about your family? Where are they?”
“Again, how would I know. And again, why would you care? It’s not like you’re close to them. I got the feeling that my dear brother would have liked to be much closer to you, but he never did make his move.”
“You know an awful lot about what goes on in the pride.”
“Like I said, I make a point of checking on you from time to time. People-watching can be quite entertaining, especially when they have no idea they’re being watched.”