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"It's not that simple, little one." Tears filled her eyes, and he sighed. "You go on up to bed. I'll talk to Luca. We'll figure it out, I promise."
She wanted to argue. But she was suddenly too tired to do more than push up off his lap and make the trek up to her bedroom. Without even bothering to change her clothes, she curled up on top of the duvet and fell into a fitful sleep.
* * *
"Shit."Rubbing the back of his neck, Jason watched Evie slink away, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"You made the right call, Jay." The worry on Luca's face contradicted his words. "She's too emotional right now, and we won't get anywhere with her tonight."
"Of course, she's fucking emotional," Jason snapped. "She's terrified he's gone after her parents. And maybe he did. We didn't anticipate that, and we should have."
Teagan let out a little growl of frustration and stomped over to the coffee maker. Luca followed and plucked the bag of grounds out of her hand before she could start a new pot.
"You don't need any more caffeine tonight, darlin'. We're all going to bed soon."
"I want coffee," she argued with an uncharacteristic whine.
"Too bad."
"Ugh, fine!" She pushed past him, only to have him grab her arm and spin her back around.
"Should I send you to bed with your sister, Teagan Anne?" Luca's voice was deep with warning.
Teagan's lip curled up in a snarl and she yanked against his hold, but she didn't get anywhere. "I'm not a child, Luca. And you need me."
"You may not be a child, but I am your Daddy. Are you going to be a good, respectful little girl? Or am I sending you and Ro up to bed?"
"Me?" The confusion and insult were clear in Ro's voice. "But I haven't done anything."
Octavius ran a hand over her hair. "You're being good, for now." His laughter rang out when she stuck her tongue out at him. "You're only proving my point, sunshine."
"We do need you, Tea." Jason pulled his glasses off and dropped them on the table so he could rub at his tired eyes. "But you're no good to us, or to her, if you're going to get into a pissing match with Luca at every turn."
Lifting his head, he saw the moment his words hit their mark. With a sigh, she relaxed into Luca's embrace and rested her head on his chest. "Sorry."
"You're getting off with a warning right now, darlin'." Luca pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I suggest you heed it."
"Yes, Daddy."
"Now that you two lovebirds have made up, maybe we can get on with the business of figuring out what in the actual fuck is going on here?" Octavius suggested dryly.
Teagan had the grace to blush and look sheepish for half a second before she was all cop again. "You're right. Evie is obviously convinced something is up with her parents. I'm not sure she's wrong."
"Because of the hair thing?" It was clear from Luca's tone he still wasn't convinced. "Seriously, darlin'?"
"No, she's right." Shaking her head, Ro stood and started pacing. It was fascinating to watch her slip into 'lawyer mode'. "Humans, in general, are creatures of habit. A woman like Margaret Berkshire would be even more so, especially in a time of crisis. Image is everything to her. Just look at the habits she's passed down to Evie. It would take something life-altering to force her to deviate so far from her routine."
"Something like believing her only child has been kidnapped and forced into some deranged plot to discredit the new governor she thought was going to be her son-in-law?" Leaning back against the counter, Luca cocked an eyebrow.
"Possibly." Ro frowned and stopped pacing. "But I think it's more than that."
"Why?"
Teagan picked up the thread. "Because if that were the case, she would have been confused, maybe even angry when Evie told her she needed to talk to your men. At least, at first, she should have been thrown off by Evie's insistence that she listen to them."
"But she wasn't confused by the request at all. And she should have been relieved, seeing her daughter's face for the first time and realizing Evie was clearly unharmed." Ro started pacing again, her brow furrowed. "But Evie was right, you could hear the fear in her voice. She was terrified. There was even a second of relief. And she had insisted Eviecome homeimmediately. If she really believed Evie had been kidnapped, she would have asked for her to be released."
Frowning, Luca looked over at Jason. "You were recording, right? Play it back."
