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Possessive. Overprotective. The word controlling came to mind next and Zander didn’t like the idea of that. He’d have to see Zoey and this Rafe guy together before he could make any judgements but he’d been around the block enough times to know that kind of intense connection could easily be masking some seriously unhealthy behavior.
“Maya, you’re making him worry.” Nova’s voice cut into his thoughts and he watched her shoot her older sister something that looked a lot like a warning before she turned back to him. Her voice soft and soothing when she spoke again. “Really, I wouldn’t lie to you. I know you don’t know me but, you can trust me. There’s nothing to worry about in Rafe and Zoey’s relationship. They’re a perfect match. You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”
Zander didn’t trust anyone that easily but for some reason, the teenage girl’s words did make him feel a little bit better.
“You said they were on their way.” Zander raised an eyebrow. “Do they live close-by?”
“They built a house out by…” Nova started but Maya made a sound that cut her off and the sisters exchanged another long look.
This time Maya was the one who huffed, “Don’t you think Zoey should verify he is who he says he is before you start handing out her personal information?”
Nova scoffed, “We both knowexactlywho he is.”
“Nova…” Maya’s tone was sharp, warning, and Zander felt tension zing around the room and make the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
“You do?” he asked, curious what the girl had meant.
“Of course we do.” Nova shot her sister one last narrow-eyed glare before turning back to him, “You’re Zoey’s brother. The resemblance alone convinced me. My sister is just more wary of strangers than I am.”
“I think I have a right to be.” Maya growled before she turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen, “I need a drink.”
Zander watched her go around the corner and disappear from his line of sight. The urge to get up and follow her was strong but he kept himself rooted in place. He turned his attention back to the younger sister when she cleared her throat and from the smile on her face he knew he’d been caught staring.
He tried not to blush with embarrassment and spoke quickly, “She doesn’t like strangers, huh?”
“You caught that, huh.” Nova smirked, showing him she was teasing, but her smile faded away just as quickly. “We’ve had some people show up in town in the past who… didn’t have the best intentions. People we knew, people we loved, got hurt.”
“Oh, wow. I’m sorry.”
Nova only gave a one shoulder shrug as if she’d heard too many apologies from people who didn’t and couldn’t really understand, “Noir is a small town and we don’t get a lot of new people so when we do, it’s hard not to wonder what ulterior motives they may have.”
“I don’t have ulterior motives.” Zander swore. “I just want to find my sister.”
“I know.” Nova forced another smile before turning her attention to where Violet still sat beside him, curled in on herself, small and quiet and nearly forgotten. “How about you? Are you excited about the prospect of finding your aunt?”
Violet glanced up slowly, looking to Zander who gave her a nod of approval, a silent gesture that it was okay to talk to this stranger. She shifted uneasily next to him and he wanted to put his arm around her and hold her close. He didn’t know if Uncle’s did that kind of thing, or if it would be awkward since he’d never done it before so he stayed still. Better not to let this nice girl who had invited them into her home see just how uncomfortable he was with being guardian to his own niece.
“I want to meet her.” Violet’s voice was soft and hesitant. “My mom told me about her, about how she got split up from Uncle Zander and her. She said if anything good came out of them going into the system, it was her sister going to a family that loved her. At least, that’s what she hoped.”
Zander’s gut clenched and this time he did reach out and pull Violet into the wreath of his arms. Those were the most words he’d heard her utter in one breath since the day he met her in that hospital in Boulder. She hadn’t told him any of that. Not while he’d been pouring through the paperwork in Zenia’s apartment and not when he’d told her he wanted to fulfill her mother’s wish to reunite with their little sister. He wasn’t sure what it was about the women in this apartment but as surely as the one named Maya riled everything inside of him, Nova seemed to offer a calm understanding place where Violet felt at ease.
“She did.” Nova reached out and took Violet’s small hand in her own. “Zoey’s family loves her very much and that includes me.”
“You?” Violet’s eyes widened. “You’re her family too?”
“Not by blood, obviously.” Nova smiled, “But in all the other ways, yes. It’s a long story but maybe I’ll get to tell it to you sometime.”
“You could tell us now. While we wait.” Zander found himself very interested in that story himself, wanting to know how Maya DeLuca was related to his own sister, but Nova shook her head.
“Some other time. There’s someone else you need to talk to more.” Nova hummed slightly and then smiled, as if the answer to a question had just popped into her head. “And they’re here.”
“What?” Zander asked a moment before a loud knock vibrated the front door. He glanced to the door and then back at the girl who had stood in front of him. His mind was whirling again and he felt a headache coming on. “Wait, how did you know someone was…”
“Come in.” Nova called instead of answering his question and before he could right himself the door swung open.
A tall, broad figure stepped into the apartment followed closely by a small, red-headed woman that took Zander’s breath away.
He would have known her anywhere. On a busy street in Times Square or halfway around the world on the Great Wall. One glimpse of her was all he needed. That was all it took for warmth and recognition to seep into the hole deep inside of him. He stared at her, completely in awe of the woman she had become, unable to do much more than be grateful he had finally found her.
