Chapter Twenty-Five

Lucas lowered himself onto the sofa, pulling his phone out as it rang. He answered, not bothering to check the caller ID. Anybody who even had this number was close.
"Cartier."
"Lucas," came the response.
Luc nodded.
"Gérard. What do you have for me?"
Getting up, he walked towards the kitchen just in case Kara could hear him from the bedroom. After her chasing him with a knife, he wasn't really very eager to make her mad again. And finding out that he was digging around on her would certainly make her mad.
"I have the list of girls gone missing from Rein right here," said Gérard, running a hand through his short black hair.
Luc frowned. "List? Is it long then?"
"Not at all. Only three girls, but fuck, the info was hard to pick up. That's why it took me a few days."
Nodding, Luc absently looked out of the window, noting the peaceful green land. "The bastards were laying it low as always. Anyway..."
"Yeah, three girls, three owners. The first two girls each belonged to Jean David and Bernard L'etuer, which isn't surprising that they lost a girl each, because the bastards are careless and the most shameless of the lot. Those poor girls were probably killed by some drunk and are lying in a-"
"Gérard."
"Yes, uuhm... oh, yeah. Where was I?"
Luc heard papers shuffle in the background and understood that Gérard was in the office.
"You were about to tell me who the third owner is?" Luc said, unbothered by the first two men mentioned. They weren't even worth half his energy. But hold on...
"Wait a minute, how are we sure that she not one of theirs?"
Bitterness rose up in his throat at the thought of Kara being one of their "girls". Made to suffer the fate that befell any unfortunate girl who ended up on the workers lists of Rein.
"That's because the description you gave me does not match any of the two missing girls."
Luc sighed in relief. "Who's the third man who lost a girl?"
"That's the best part," said Gérard and Lucas resisted cringing at the excitement in his voice, contrasting the matter they discussed. Working in this business had numbed most of them to gruesome realities, making them view them only from an observatory position. No sadness or outrage at the injustice. Not anymore.
"The third man is none other than Markov Vilmont."
Luc's grip tightened on the phone until his knuckles turned white.
"What?"
"Exactly. Never before has Markov Vilmont ever lost a girl unless he killed her himself, but recently one slipped out from under his nose and escaped. He's looking for her. And Lucas?"
"Yes?"
"Her description perfectly matches that of your girl."
"Shit!" Luc put a hand into his hair and held it.
He'd had encounters with Vilmont before. The man was a downright pig. He was filthy in both his deeds and his fucked up head. Now... finally... Lucas had found a good reason to put a bullet in his head. And he would.
"Most people know she's disappeared and some of them figure that with Vilmont's reputation, he probably killed her. Some, however, are very, very sure that he didn't."
It was something in Gérard's tone of voice that had Luc dreading what he was going to say next.
"What makes them so damn sure he didn't kill her?"
Gérard exhaled and cursed then muttered something about bandit fathers in French.
Luc heard a door open behind him and slowly turned around.
"Because Luc, she's his only daughter."
Lucas didn't move. He held the phone to his ear, eyes fixated on Kara who watched him from her bedroom door.
Silently, he lowered the phone and hung up. She had her backpack over her shoulder. The same one she'd put his money in when she'd robbed him. He studied her face and wondered. Wondered how many things she'd been hiding from him. But again, who was he to her that he should tell her anything? He was no one to her, except a convenient source of money to steal.
She frowned as he continued to stare at her, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. She'd changed into a mid-thigh skirt with a tank top and denim jacket. Maybe he thought she looked strange. The thought didn't settle well with Kara. Since when did she give a damn what any 'he' thought about her?
"What?" Kara murmured as she inched toward her work station to pack her canvas and paints into their special bag.
Lucas didn't answer her. Only watched her coldly. He was no longer surprised that she'd been able to so easily steal from him.
Kara packed until she was done and sick of his staring.
"Take a picture!" she snapped, hating that her voice wasn't as strong as she wanted.
Lucas tilted his head and walked towards her in a way that made Kara feel hunted. Like she were in the sights of a blood thirsty tiger.
She held the straps of her black canvas bag to her chest and stepped back towards her glass sliding doors. When Lucas kept coming forward, Kara stuck out a hand parallel to his chest and hoped he'd stopped, but he just kept coming until her palm was placed firmly against his chest where the muscles twitched beneath her hand and the warmth heated her fingers.
Lucas pressed forward and stared down into his eyes and Kara felt a sliver of fear run through her. Not of Luc, but of whatever he was thinking. The look in his eyes was one she'd never seen before and she didn't know what it was, but she didn't like the way he was looking at her.
Suddenly, he stepped away and began to walk out of the house, turning off lights as he went. That was the only indication that Kara got to follow him, otherwise she would have stayed put, right there against the glass doors.
Luc stalked out across the yard and Kara hurriedly locked her door and followed him. His rapid steps seemed to be fueled by something that buzzed strongly. A negative vibe that she desperately wished he would diffuse, it was driving her mad with nerves.
She stopped when they reached the front of the main house and Lucas went straight to his sleek red car parked in the yard.
Kara hesitated then finally stepped forward. "Wait."
Luc stopped, but didn't turn around. "What?"
Kara bit her lip at his tone. Why was he being so bitchy all of a sudden?
"I... Celeste and François. I didn't say goodbye."
Lucas sighed. He just wanted to get the hell out of there, with Kara in tow! There was no way he could leave her there after learning who she was being chased by. Who her father was. He would never leave his brother and sister-in-law in the path of such danger. Vilmont was a sick bastard. And he was Kara's father. Fuck.
"Hurry up," he said and then got into the car. Kara stared at him for a moment, feeling her chin tremble.
What the hell was the matter with her? Was she seriously being affected because Luc was being a big fat meanie? That was stupid of her. Also, she vaguely realized as she walked away that she was probably the only one her age who used the word "meanie", but also, she vaguely didn't care.
Putting thoughts of Luc's bizarre behavior out of her mind, she turned to the main house and ran to the kitchen door which she knew was always open and welcoming.
Kara went into the house and followed the sound of François and Celeste's voices. Maybe she could get out of this if she could convince them that she was very safe and Lucas could go and fuck himself. The image that the thought brought to her head had Kara blushing furiously and stopping for a moment to compose herself.
When she saw them seated on a large, comfy sofa, Celeste with her legs thrown over François's lap, Kara felt a rush of inexplicable love for them.
Celeste looked up and saw her.
"Karen, ma cherie. Tout vas bien?" she asked as both she and François got up and surrounded her, their love comforting.
Kara quickly nodded, feeling her heart swell as a side effect of all the affection she still wasn't quite used to. How could she think of staying when the longer she remained there, the more she endangered they lives?
"Everything is okay, Celeste," Kara said and managed a small smile. How bad could it get? She'd be safe, even if she'd have to endure Luc's massive ego and annoying tricks, she'd survive.
"So you're going with Lucas?" François asked and Kara slowly nodded.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, I wasn't..."
François waved it away. He'd always known Kara kept a lot from them and when his wife had told him that people kept calling her Kara, he was convinced it was her real name.
"Don't worry, just make sure you're safe. Lucas will protect you, I know it," said François. He hesitated then, but finally asked. "Your name is Kara, isn't it?"
First her eyes widened and then filled with shame. She lowered her gaze and slowly nodded. "I'm so sorry for lying abut my name-"
"Don't worry over it, ma belle," Celeste said, tapping a playful finger on Kara's chin. Kara nodded and hugged them both, but still felt bad, knowing that what they knew now wasn't even half of what she'd kept from them. Sighing she pulled away and held their hands.
"Thank you for everything," Kara whispered and Celeste clucked her tongue.
"Darling, you are not going away forever, don't say goodbye, ça me brise le cœur."
Kara nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'll be back soon, if I survive Luc's insufferable personality."
Celeste chuckled and Kara quickly picked up her bag and put it over her shoulder. She gave them one final look and felt her heart thump in fear.
"Promise me something?"
François nodded. "What it is?"
"If anybody... anybody at all comes here looking for Kara Kingsley... you don't know who she is."
The two of them glanced at each other and then back at Kara.
"Please." she insisted.
Finally François nodded firmly and Kara knew they wouldn't do otherwise.
With a final glance, she turned around and hurried out, making her way back to the front of the yard, where the path led down along the fence to where the stables were.
With a sigh, she gazed out at the green and then walked to Luc's car.
When she got in, he said nothing to her, only drove off, his stony silence disturbed by the purr of the engine as they rolled out of the huge ranch.
Kara threw a few glances at him, but he ignored her, so she attempted to do the same. Only this was so much more difficult for her than for him. The whole car was filled with his scent. The tantalizing mixture of money, man and pure seduction.
She swallowed and tried to borrow into her seat then remembered that the seat alone was probably worth more than her whole wardrobe. That sent her sitting upright, afraid to touch even the floor of the car with her sneakers. Luc lay easily back in his seat, one hand on the wheel as her sped over the tar.
She glanced at him again,once more slapped by his strong profile. His jaw taut as he clenched his teeth. She shook her head in disbelief that she'd agreed to stay with him. How the hell would she ever survive this? Kara knew that she didn't want to be like the girls from Rein who slept with anything that moved, that's why she was still a virgin, but Lucas... he tempted her beyond all reason.
And her desire for him felt anything but cheap. She'd never felt anything like it. She shifted in her seat, trying to ease the tension. The memory of his strong, experienced fingers rubbing and stroking on her pussy those nights ago sent a sudden jolt through Kara and her thighs instinctively clenched in her seat.
Fuck, she was going to die from this! With mortification, Kara realized that her breathing had become shallow and she forced herself to level out before Lucas noticed. God, she hoped he hadn't noticed!
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He was glaring out at the road ahead and she sagged in relief. The only thing more embarrassing than getting wet in his presence was him knowing that she was wet. And knowing that it was because of him.
Kara swallowed to moisten her dry throat and forced herself to stare out of the window at the darkening sky. She'd get through this and hopefully without embarrassing herself.
Lucas drove silently, but repeatedly cursed in his head. What the hell was this? He'd had countless women sit in the exact same seat as Kara and none of them had ever made the air between them practically crackle with electricity. He could feel her, was so aware of her physical presence in a way that he'd never done before.
Little witch. What was she doing to him? Lucas clenched his jaw tighter. When Kara glanced at him and squirmed in her seat, he saw her lip get caught between her teeth. The air felt thick and heavy in the car and Luc was glad he was sitting. He wanted her and it was painfully obvious if you looked.
Then she squirmed in her seat again, looking out of the window and Luc got a mouthwatering scent that made his cock throb in his pants. He could smell her arousal.
His jaw clenched and pressed on the accelerator.
He needed to get her home. Now.