Page 45 of Deadly Misfortunes

“He even tore up the drawers in the kitchen. It looked like a cyclone had hit her place inside.”

He hated to tell Sascha what had happened. “I need to make a call.” He grabbed his phone and headed into the den. He hated calling his parents. He knew Rose would tell them about Sascha. He would be put on the spot about the gypsy fortune teller. He hadn’t dated in over a year, and there was sure to be some conjecture on their part about Sascha.

Before he could even speak, his mother said, “Gregory.”

The wonders of caller ID.

“Rose is over here, and she has been telling us some pretty⁠—”

“She needs to return home to stay with you for now.”

“Son, she said⁠—”

“Mother, the police are over here now. There has been⁠—”

“Oh, my lord. Has he made another attempt on your life? Should I send your father over?”

“No, Mother. What I’m trying to say is he made an attempt on Sascha’s life, and now he has broken into her place twice and torn it up something awful this morning.”

There was silence. He knew the questions percolated in his mother’s mind.

“I received an email from the creep. He believes Sascha is my girlfriend. I had her stay with me last night, or she could have been harmed. I want Rose to stay with you before she gets hurt.”

“Oh, I see. That’s fine with us. Rose doesn’t know, though, does she?”

“Not about me wanting her to stay at your place for now.”

“What about Sascha?”

“What about her?”

“Well, is she your girlfriend?”

“Yeah. She is.”

“Then you must bring her here to meet your family. Unless you’re ashamed of us.”

He smiled. He wasn’t ashamed of them, and she knew he never was. He was proud of them. He just worried they would make Sascha feel uncomfortable. But then he thought of how Mrs. Worthington had hugged her at the Worthingtons’ party. Everyone seemed to like Sascha, except for Stephanie. Maybe everything would be all right. Then again, if he took her over there, wouldn’t that confirm what the maniac already thought about his relationship with Sascha?

His mother broke into his thoughts. “This afternoon. We’ll have a nice lunch.”

Before he could object, the phone clicked dead in his ear. Yeah. Lunch.

He walked back into the kitchen and spoke to Maria. “Rose will be staying with our parents for a while. Don’t worry about making me lunch. I’m on strict orders to have it at my parents’ home.”

Maria raised her brows. “And the young lady?”

“Yes, especially Sascha.”

Maria smiled, and he knew what she thought. He hadn’t dated in forever, and nobody he’d dated before had ever interested him much. His mother was dying to have grandchildren. Rose was twenty-four, so she had some time to really find someone she cared about. He suspected she had told them about Marvin too.

But Gregory was twenty-nine, and his mother was certain he would never find someone he liked well enough to marry. Would she find Sascha as acceptable as he did?

His family would probably flip when they got a look at Sascha and her colorful clothes. But he thought they suited her just fine. Only he had to convince her to wear shorter skirts.

10

Sascha woke and was totally disoriented. She reclined in a large king-size bed, dressed in black and gold. What happened to her purple comforter? This room stretched forever. It was nearly as big as her whole apartment. A fireplace took up one whole wall, and French patio doors opened onto a veranda. A raised sitting area in one corner provided another spot for nighttime reading.