Page 43 of Ruthless

She turned to Alexandre with a big grin. “If you promise not to pick me up like you did last time.”

Laughing, he pulled her gently into his arms and kissed her cheek. “Welcome home, petite soeur.”

She backed away from both of them and felt a rush of love. Even though they were both at least a decade older than her, she adored them. It hadn’t always been that way. Because they were so much older, especially Nicolas, she’d rarely seen them as a child. When they’d lost Samuel, they had somehow become closer.

“Come on in.” She hobbled toward the living room and gratefully settled into a chair.

Alexandre chose the sofa and promptly propped his feet on the table in front of him. Nicolas, always the more proper one, sat in a chair across from her.

She didn’t see her family nearly enough. Nicolas would occasionally text and let her know he was headed to one place or the other in case she was close enough to come visit. They’d met twice like that, and it was always a treat. On one of those occasions, she’d taken Gideon with her and then had regretted it after Nicolas had grilled him like he suspected Gideon was a serial killer. Gideon had gotten a kick out of it, but she’d learned her lesson. Her brothers, no matter how old she got, would always be overprotective of her. Just like her father was.

The fact they both looked like younger versions of their father was no surprise. Samuel had had the same looks. The brothers might have been staggered two years apart, but they could have passed as identical triplets. They’d inherited their father’s thick hair. And though Alex’s hair was still dark brown, Nicolas’s was now iron gray intermixed with brown, much the way their father’s hair had been when he was younger. The famous Wellingsley nose looked natural on their masculine faces, while on her, with her delicate features, it had looked out of proportion.

“Now tell us what you’ve been up to that you almost got yourself killed,” Alexandre said.

Her brothers had no idea what she did in her real life. She and her father had agreed to keep it between the two of them. Her job was hard enough for her father to fathom. Having her brothers involved would cause immeasurable problems. However, since lying to her family wasn’t something she was comfortable with, she stuck to the truth as much as possible.

“The dirt bike I was riding hit a rock. I went one way. The bike went the other.”

“You, Lina? On a dirt bike?” Nicolas shook his head. “That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

His words proved once again that, as much as they loved her, her brothers had no clue who she really was and what she was capable of doing.

She shrugged and smiled. “It was fun until it wasn’t.”

“Well, I certainly hope you learned your lesson. You are far too delicate to put yourself at risk like that.”

Nicolas hadn’t meant to be unkind, but his ideas about what women should and shouldn’t do were close to archaic. It was fortunate that he had married a woman who shared his same old-fashioned beliefs.

Since both Nicolas and Alexandre were looking at her with disapproval, a subject change was definitely in order. Asking about their families was always a safe bet.

“Where are Camille and my nephews? I hoped they would come by for a visit by now.”

Her brothers exchanged a look that sent her hackles up. There was something going on that they weren’t sure they should share.

“What is it? What’s happened?”

“We thought Papa might have already mentioned it to you, Lina,” Alexandre said gently. “Apparently, he was afraid it would upset you too much.”

“Mentioned what?”

“We believe an attack on the royal family is imminent,” Nicolas said. “I’ve sent Camille and the children away until it’s safe.”

“Why have I not heard anything of this?”

“Not to be too blunt, Lina, but you’re not exactly a member of this family anymore,” Nicolas said.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Now, now,” Alexandre said. “What Nicolas meant to say was that since you’re not here often, you’re not in danger like the rest of the family.”

More hurt than offended, Eve looked at her brother. “Nicolas, is that what you believe? That I’m not part of this family?”

“You left us, Lina. We barely see you anymore.”

“You know why.”

“Yes, and I’m sorry you suffered. But you—”