Nikolai had to agree. This place was unraveling his resolve to remain calm. Jittery and unbalanced, he found himself increasingly on edge as they left the bridge and Lucas led them along a busy thoroughfare. The Morph kept shooting him doubtful looks.
Did he sense Nikolai was coming apart at the seams? There was something going on between them ever since Nikolai had removed the collar. A mystifying connection that kept giving him brief glimpses through Lucas’s eyes.
Or maybe, it was just a sign of his deteriorating mental condition, which was more likely.
Humans surrounded them; each one seemed focused on their trip into work until Aria wandered into awareness. Men lost all ability to navigate, and women glared. Aria ignored them all, keeping her distinctive eyes cast groundward, gliding through them with her unique combination of warrior stalk and seductive slink
Her life essence provided him solace from the surrounding craziness. Nikolai clung to it with a growing sense of desperation. Finally, Lucas led them off the busy thoroughfare and down a residential street. Some older houses here had been converted to small businesses, but there were residences as well. The energy was less frenetic along these tree-lined streets, but Nikolai kept his focus on Aria.
Lucas opened a wrought-iron gate. Beside it was a sign. “Betsy’s Bed & Breakfast.”
Aria stopped dead as she stared at the small house. “This is a hotel?”
Lucas didn’t answer, and Nikolai had to admit the place didn’t look like much. The paint peeled along the eaves, and the front porch sagged.
Aria scanned the house while her brows did a skeptical dance. “I hope Betsy doesn’t charge much for the rooms.”
Lucas’s chin had jutted ever so slightly. “Not a lot.”
Aria shot the Morph a look, but subsided when he frowned at her. Nikolai decided to keep his opinions to himself.
The blonde woman who answered Lucas’s knock didn’t have the life essence of a human, although she looked like one. Nikolai stared, momentarily captivated. Her blouse shimmered like water in sunshine, her hair was piled on top of her head with a few stray-yet-perfectly-placed curls trailing down around her face. Were anyone’s lashes really that long? He had no experience with such things.
She smiled at Lucas, but the gesture didn’t reach her eyes. “Lucas! What a lovely surprise.” Her gaze drifted to Aria, and narrowed, becoming shrewd and assessing. Then they rose to meet Nikolai’s, when they widened.
What did she see when she looked at him? Then he sensed her reach out, to probe with her mind, as though she wanted to interpret his thoughts. He had no problem fending her off.
“My friends need a place to stay,” Lucas explained. “Can you take us?”
She ripped her gaze away from Nikolai. “I can. But I have bills, Lucas. Can’t do it for free.”
“We can pay,” Aria interjected.
The look Betsy shot Aria wasn’t entirely friendly. But she tossed her blonde hair off her shoulders. “Well, then. Please come in.”
* * *
Betsy’s place was a crucial component to Lucas’s stepmother avoidance strategies. He therefore knew that Betsy’s breakfast lacked substance, but the beds were comfortable.
He also had determined, long ago, that Betsy put her hard-earned money into one thing only—herself. The house limped along as best it may. She had clothes that he’d only seen gracing the backs of the city’s wealthiest, and despite landing on her doorstep at all hours, he’d never seen her without makeup and her hair artfully tousled. She socially cruised in circles far above her actual pay grade. He’d always thought she was hoping for a wealthy husband, but so far, none had materialized.
The fact that there were only two beds was a problem to be resolved later. Although he noted that Aria’s brows were doing an odd little dance as she surveyed them. A glance from the bed to Nikolai’s towering height introduced the concept that the Liberi might be better off on the floor, anyway.
“I have something I need to do,” Lucas told them.
Aria plunked her shapely butt down on a bed and rubbed a tired hand over her face. “I could really use some down time. And I’m starving.” Then she frowned up at him. “Where are you going?”
“I have some stuff to collect from my place. It’s not far from here.” Lucas looked away from Nikolai, who stared at him. “I’ll see what Betsy has to eat. It’s past her usual breakfast time, but she usually keeps a stash of donuts.”
Aria blinked. “What’s a donut?”
Lucas groped for a description. “A pastry with different kinds of toppings.”
Aria wrinkled her nose. “Not much for sweet things. Would she have any meat?”
Lucas considered. “She might have some eggs. I’ll check.”
Nikolai prowled the room like a giant cat, but the food discussion hadn’t distracted him. “You are going home? Are you sure that’s a good idea?” the big man asked.
