"I saw it," Dree cried. "It was just a flash, but Stephanie is right. Sherry opened the dressing room door and Leo was there."
"I saw it too," Katricia said quietly.
"But how could that be? How did he get past you two unseen?" Elvi asked with dismay. "Victor, you said you were watching the entrance to the change room."
"I was," Victor assured her firmly. "That's why I didn't try to read Sherry's memory to see if anyone had caused her faint when we found her. No one had come or gone. She was alone."
"I did not see anyone enter or leave the dressing area either except for Elvi," Basil added, backing him up. "But if the girls are seeing the same memory . . ."
"I saw it too," Harper said solemnly.
"So did I," Victor admitted. "But I do not see how he could have got to her. It doesn't make sense."
They were silent for a moment and then Teddy shifted and said, "He could have followed you to the store, saw her choosing clothes, and slid into one of the empty dressing rooms, knowing she'd probably try them on." Mouth tightening, he pointed out, "Then all he had to do was wait for you to leave, approach her, and then slip back into whatever dressing room he was hiding in until you left. That way, he wouldn't have had to pass you two at all."
"Damn," Basil breathed, goose bumps rising on his skin at the thought of Leonius alone with Sherry. He could have done anything to her.
"And if that's the case, he probably followed you back here from London," Teddy pointed out now. Expression grim, he moved to peer out the kitchen window at the dark backyard.
Drina and Tricia moved to the front windows to peer out, and Harper turned to head out of the room. Sherry supposed he was going to look out the side windows of the house, but noted that he retrieved his cell phone from his pocket as he went.
"No!" Elvi protested, sounding almost desperate. "Leo couldn't have followed us back. We'd have noticed."
"Sweetheart," Victor said quietly, turning off the burner under the meat and moving to slip his arms around his wife. "He could have. We weren't watching for him. We thought he was in Toronto."
"Yes, but--" Her gaze shifted anxiously to Stephanie, and she said with frustration. "What was he doing in London? He's supposed to be in Toronto."
"Who knows?" Victor said wearily, pulling her against his chest.
"There are hunters crawling all over Toronto looking for him," Katricia said quietly, continuing to look out the window. "He probably got out of town to avoid them."
"But London? Why London of all places?" Elvi asked almost plaintively, and Sherry frowned, sure there was something going on here that she wasn't quite getting.
"Could he have followed you girls down from Toronto?" Teddy asked, and Sherry's eyes widened as she recalled spotting someone she'd thought might be Leonius in the service center parking lot.
"No," Drina assured him. "I was watching for--"
Sherry blinked her thoughts away and glanced to Drina curiously when she abruptly went silent. The woman was peering at her, dismay on her face. She wasn't the only one. Everyone in the room was staring at her with expressions that varied from surprise, to horror, to anger. Only Basil wasn't. He was glancing from expression to expression, his eyes narrowing.
"What is it?" he asked finally.
"You saw him?" Elvi asked Sherry, accusation in her voice. She pulled away from Victor and stalked toward her, growling, "And you didn't say anything?"
"I wasn't sure it was him," Sherry said at once. "And then a truck went by and he was gone and . . ." Her gaze slid to Basil as she recalled how she'd been distracted by his kisses. By the time the others had returned to the truck, Leo was the last thing on her mind. Shaking her head, she sighed. "I'm sorry. I--"
"You're sorry?" Elvi interrupted in a voice that shook with a rage and grief that left Sherry bewildered. "We are about to lose our daughter because of you and you're 'sorry'?"
Sherry stared at her wide-eyed. "I don't understand. Your daughter?"
"Stephanie," Victor said quietly. "She was sent here because it was a safe place Leo couldn't know about. But now--"
"But now he knows," Elvi said grimly. "Because you didn't say anything about seeing him in that service center parking lot. If you'd said something, Drina and Tricia could have kept driving, or turned back to Toronto, or something. Anything but lead him here to Port Henry. But you said nothing and now he knows about this place. She'll never be safe here again until he's caught. She'll have to leave. We'll lose her . . . because of you."
"Elvi," Victor said wearily, pulling her into his arms again. "This is not Sherry's fault. Leo is the villain here."
Elvi pushed at his chest, trying to break out of his hold. "But if she'd just said something."
"She was not sure it was him, and did not even remember it once Basil got done kissing her," Victor pointed out quietly, rubbing her back. "Not until now. You remember what it is like when you first meet your life mate."
"Yes, but--"
Sherry didn't stay to hear more. Turning on her heel, she hurried out of the kitchen and upstairs to her room. But when she tried to push the door closed behind her, it bounced off of something. Swinging around, she stared wide-eyed at Basil as he followed her inside.
"I--" she began, but it was as far as Sherry got before Basil pulled her into his arms and kissed her. As usual, her body responded at once, flooding with passion and overwhelming need, but he broke the kiss quickly and rested his forehead on hers. They were both silent for a minute, trying to catch their breath, and then Basil raised his head and peered her in the eye.
"None of this is your fault," he said solemnly.
"But--"
"None of it," he repeated firmly, and then said, "Sherry, the day before yesterday you were just a store owner with a normal life, friends, and family. Then Stephanie charged into your store, Leo and his men followed, and everything changed. This is all down to Leo."
"But if I'd told them that I thought I might have seen him at the service center--"
"You did not remember it, Sherry. You could not tell them something you did not remember," he reasoned.
"Yes, but I should have remembered," she said grimly. "That's the point. I should have remembered. It's not like forgetting where you put your keys or where you parked your car. Leo is a monster. I should have remembered seeing him. In fact, I can't believe I didn't."
"Victor said you were not sure it was Leo in your mind. Is he right?"
Sherry sighed. "I suppose. Still--"
"How close was he?" Basil interrupted.
"What?" she asked with confusion.
"How close was the person you saw that you thought might be Leo?"
Sherry hesitated and shook her head. "I'm not sure. He was on the other side of the parking lot, by the service center."
"And we were in the van, about two hundred feet away," he said dryly. "Sherry, you are mortal, with mortal eyesight. There is no way you could have been able to tell more than that someone with blond hair was there. From that distance it would have been hard to tell if they were even male or female unless they were very curvy or wearing gender appropriate clothes. What were they wearing?"
"Jeans and a T-shirt," she said unhappily.
He arched one eyebrow at that. "In today's society everyone seems to wear jeans and T-shirts. For all you know it could have been a woman you saw at the service center," he pointed out, and then asked, "Was he alone?"
"Yes. No. I don't know," she said with frustration. "I didn't see anyone with him."
"So you saw someone with long blond hair?" he asked. "And immediately thought of Leo?"
Sherry nodded.
"That is not surprising. He would have been firmly on your mind after what happened the day before in your store. But it might not have been him," he pointed out.
"But he's here," she countered. "At least, he was in London. It has to have been him."
"Actually, no, it doesn't," Victor said from the door, and Sherry glanced to the man sharply.
/>
"Victor," she breathed unhappily. "I'm sorry. I--"
"There is nothing to apologize for," he assured her, moving into the room and easing the door closed. "That is why I came up, to apologize for what Elvi said. She does not mean it. She is just upset."
"Of course she is," Sherry said wearily. "You two basically adopted Stephanie, from what I can tell, and now she'll have to leave and it's all my fault."
"No," he said solemnly. "It isn't, and Elvi will realize that and feel bad for what she said the moment she calms down." He hesitated and then added, "And Basil is right, it may not have been Leo you saw at the service center. We know his sons are always with him. According to Basha, he never travels without at least a couple of his sons at his side. In fact, the only time he has been without them was when we captured a handful of his boys and he was trying to free them. So, if you did not see any of the other Leos at the service center, then it probably was not him that you saw, just someone who looked like him or reminded you of him."
Sherry bit her lip, but then pointed out, "Maybe, but then if I'd just remembered seeing him at the mall today, you would have known not to come back here, and Stephanie wouldn't have to leave."
"You are determined to take responsibility for this, aren't you?" Victor said with a faint smile, and then shook his head. "You did not remember seeing him when you regained consciousness, Sherry. You still do not recall it. How could you tell us something that you do not remember?" He shook his head. "No, Sherry. You hold no fault here. Leo is the only one at fault. Now," he added, his smile fading. "You two need to pack."
"Pack?" Basil asked.
Victor nodded. "Harper sent for his helicopter. He and Drina are taking Sherry and Stephanie back to Toronto to the Enforcer house. I assume you will want to accompany Sherry?"
"Yes, of course," Basil said at once.
"Then pack and come downstairs. If you are quick, you might even have enough time to eat before the helicopter gets here." Smiling wryly, he turned to the door as he added, "Otherwise the rest of us are going to be eating tacos for a week."
Ten
"All right?"
Sherry glanced back at Basil as he followed her into Harper's apartment. She forced a smile and nod but couldn't resist adding, "I really don't think I like helicopters, though."
Stephanie patted her arm sympathetically as she moved past her into the large entry. Shrugging out of her jacket, she said, "Yeah. I didn't care for it myself at first. But you get used to it. Sort of." She grimaced and then admitted, "Well, not really. I still get nauseous myself, just less nauseous."
"That sounds encouraging," Sherry muttered, taking both her overnight bag and Basil's from him and then moving past him and out of the way as he removed his overcoat. She didn't have a jacket to remove. Bricker hadn't packed her one and it wasn't something she'd thought to buy on their trip, so she'd done without. It hadn't been that big a deal. While it had been nice out that day, it was fall, and the temperature had dropped at night. Fortunately, she didn't have to walk far, merely crossing the street from Casey Cottage to the schoolyard where the helicopter collected them, and then crossing the roof to enter the building here, when they landed.
"Sherry," Drina called, following them into the apartment with Harper on her heels.
Pausing, she glanced back questioningly.
"Don't jump out of your skin in surprise if Lucian is in the living room," Drina warned.
"Lucian?" she asked with confusion.
Drina nodded. "Harper called and left a message that we were coming back. Last time he did that, we found Lucian waiting here when we arrived." She shrugged. "I just didn't want him giving you a scare if he's done that again."
Nodding, Sherry turned and continued forward, taking the four steps that led down into a large open living room. This time she looked around curiously as she went, expecting to find the grim-faced Lucian Argeneau somewhere, his hard eyes full of accusation and inspecting her as if she were a bug under a microscope. Instead, she found a glorious room empty of people, but filled with beautiful furnishings. Most of the large space was set up as a seating area by a large fireplace, but the far end held a dining room table and chairs.
"Wow," she breathed, setting the bags down beside one of the couches and moving to the windows. The apartment was apparently the whole top floor of the building, but this large room took up at least one corner of the floor. Windows made up the wall in front of her and the wall to her right, presenting a view of the city that was absolutely stunning.
"Nice," Basil commented behind her, and Sherry turned to peer at him with disbelief.
"Nice?" She turned back to look out over the city skyline and asked, "You think this is just 'nice'?"
"It's hard to beat the New York skyline at night for making an impression."
Sherry glanced to her right at that dry comment, to see Lucian coming out of what was obviously the kitchen. The man had a drink in one hand and a wax-paper-wrapped submarine sandwich on a plate in the other. He carried both to the sunken sofa in front of the fireplace and set them on the coffee table as he sat down.
"Sit," he ordered, and then glanced back the way he'd come and barked, "Bricker! Do not forget the--" He ended on a grunt of satisfaction as a bag of potato chips flew through the kitchen doorway and sailed across the room toward him. Lucian caught the bag and dropped it on the table next to his plate, then glanced to Sherry as Basil urged her to sit on the sofa opposite.
Lucian's gaze was sharp and direct. It was also penetrating. The man didn't mess about. He went straight into her thoughts. Sherry could feel him ruffling about in there, sorting through memories and thoughts and raking up what he was looking for. When he found it, he grunted with seeming displeasure and immediately turned his attention to opening the chips.
"Dinner?" Basil asked with amusement.
"Leigh had just put dinner on the table when I got Harper's message," Lucian said. "So I had Bricker stop for sandwiches on the way here." He blinked and wrinkled his nose as the chip bag opened, and Sherry could only assume the smell that wafted out surprised him. He tilted the bag to read the label. A curse slipped from his lips then and he glanced toward the kitchen door and barked, "I said barbecued chips, Bricker."
"They didn't have barbecued chips," Bricker announced, coming out of the kitchen with a drink, a sandwich on a plate, and a bag of chips of his own. "So I got you Salt and Vinegar. Trust me, Salt and Vinegar rock with subs. You'll like them."
Lucian growled something under his breath and set the chips down to pick up his sandwich.
"You didn't have to pick up anything," Harper said, ushering Drina and Stephanie into the room now. "There is food here, Lucian. And I told you to make yourself comfortable. That included eating whatever you want."
Lucian shrugged and merely unwrapped his sandwich. "I did not feel like cooking."
"No need," Harper assured him. "I told Ms. Parker to get in some frozen meals and to cook up a couple of meals a week in case you dropped in."
Basil raised his eyebrows. "Why would Lucian need to eat here? I understood Leigh was an amazing cook."
"She was," Lucian said, sounding glum. "But she saw some damned thing on the Internet about cruelty to farm animals and she's gone vegetarian."
"Oh dear," Basil said with a wince. "So she only cooks vegetarian now?"
When Lucian merely grunted and shook his head, it was Harper who said, "Leigh still cooks main dishes of meat for Lucian."
Basil raised his eyebrows. "Then what is the problem?"
Lucian swallowed and repeated in dry tones, "She's vegetarian now."
He said it as if that should clarify the matter. It didn't. Basil simply stared at him blankly, not comprehending.
"Leigh no longer tastes what she's cooking if it has meat in it," Bricker explained with amusement. "So it's a coin flip as to whether it will be good or not. Sometimes it's underspiced, sometimes it's overspiced, and sometimes it tastes like tonight's dinner." He glanced to Luci
an and asked lightly, "Cow patties in cream sauce, wasn't that what you said it was?"
"Country chicken," Lucian corrected grimly. "But it tasted like cow patties in cream sauce."
"Oh dear," Basil said, sounding suspiciously like he wanted to laugh.
"Hmmm," Lucian muttered, and glanced to Harper. "I was glad to get your message."
"Gave you an excuse to avoid eating Leigh's cooking, hmm?" Harper asked with amusement.
He nodded, and picked up his sandwich again. "Which is why I am not as angry as I should be."
"Leo makes all of us angry," Basil said quietly as Lucian took another bite of his sandwich.
Lucian didn't even look at him. His gaze was locked on Drina as he chewed. Once he swallowed, he asked, "Why did you bring the girls back?"
"I explained everything in my message," Harper said with a frown.
When Lucian didn't even glance his way, but continued to stare at Drina, she said, "Leo found the girls."
"No. He didn't," Lucian said, and took another bite of his sandwich.
"Yes, he did," Drina assured him. "At least he found Sherry. He approached her at a mall in London. We were concerned that Leo might have followed them back to Port Henry."
Lucian nodded as he swallowed and then said, again, "He didn't."
"He didn't follow them back?" Drina asked with a frown. "How can you know that?"
"Because he didn't approach her at the mall," Lucian said grimly.
"What?" Drina asked with confusion.
"It's Susan all over again," Lucian announced.
"Susan?" Sherry murmured, glancing to Basil questioningly. However, he merely shrugged, apparently not knowing what the man was talking about either.
"I don't understand," Drina said slowly.
"Port Henry," he reminded her. "The attacks there. You all assumed it was Leonius."
"But it wasn't," Drina pointed out. "That time it was Susan."
"Yeah," he agreed. "And this is the same thing all over again."
Drina shook her head. "This is nothing like the last time, Uncle. There haven't been any attacks. And this time it is Leo. He approached her at the mall. We saw him in Sherry's memory."