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“You know, both of you—and your whole family, actually—are amazing to me.” The sisters’ startled stares get my upheld palm in reply. “You’ve got all the labels and adulation about being the chosen royal ones of Hollywood,” I explain. “You’re the anointed family. But that lifts you so high onto pedestals that you’re no longer human. Incapable of having faults or needing forgiveness for them. It’s not like you can book a prime-time interview and come clean about the big family secret.”
Kara sighs. “The secret that doesn’t do anything to make up for itself.”
Kell sneers. “Oh, come on. Therearethe super-keen superpowers, right?”
“Valid point,” I interject. “You guys could’ve inherited halitosis and dandruff.”
“Or god-sized biceps?” Kell’s crack earns her my darker glare, though Kara’s new laugh is worth it. “Uhhh, yeah. Ireallysee how lucky we are now,” she snarks as follow-up. “Especially because Jaden’s too far away to have heard any of that by now.”
I relax against the cushion with an easygoing grin. “If he’s that keen to build some mass, he’s welcome to join Jesse and me at the pit in Venice. It’s more tolerable with friends to yell at you.”
No more than three seconds after I’m done with the magnanimity, I’m regretting it—as soon as I catch the new sparks that transform Kell’s gaze into a miniature force of nature. “Wow. That’s so cool of you to offer. Which days do you guys do that?”
“Ermmm…” My hesitation isn’t feigned. “We’re not tied to a set schedule.” And then throw a puzzled stare out the window. “Doesn’t look like our driver knows how to set stuff, either. Like his GPS.”
“Huh?” Kara frowns. “Why?”
“Because…we’re at the mall.”
The pause in my answer is from the temptation to phrase it as a question. Her shrug confirms that intuition.
“Oh, right. Thatisperplexing.” She swings a glance at Kell. “Didn’t Doc Doug pick this one last time?”
Now itistime for me to question. “This one? For what?”
“Late summer sales,” Kell remarks to her sister. Fortunately, her gaze sobers when it hops to me. “For obvious reasons, the underworld docs don’t have traditional, or even permanent, offices. They rotate their covers in every city. The businesses that barely get attention are the best ones, which is why Doug usually goes for his bunker underneath the country club around this time.”
A fast snort from me. Can’t be helped. “That’sstaying under the attention radar?”
“During seasonal reseeding and marketing for film awards contenders, it is. But lucky for us, Doug likes a hot deal on Gucci better than a martini overlooking the sixteenth hole.”
During her explanation, we’ve rolled to the front of the queue beneath the Beverly Center’s gleaming valet rotunda. She presses the button to roll down the window beside her seat, already prepped to beckon the guy with a Benjamin between her outstretched fingers.
“Hi there.” She acknowledges his flash of recognition with a serene smile. “We’re here for the VIP car detail. And it needs to stay private.”
The valet tips a respectful nod. “Of course, Miss V—”
She pulls back on the tip. “Remember the part aboutprivate?”
“Yes.” He flushes. “My apologies, miss.”
To our right, a section of the marble wall slides away into a pocket slot. Once the car is all the way inside, the door closes, and we progress through a dimly lit tunnel. After another fifty yards, the light gets better. We arrive at a private lobby that reminds me of a Klimt painting crossed with a silent movie set. It’s gaudy and gilded but oddly cool.
Kell crosses the space and knocks on a large, ornate door. Less than a minute later, the portal is pulled back to reveal the one thing Ihaveexpected from this trip. A clean, wide hallway. Fluorescent lights overhead. Several doors along the corridor, denoted by different numbers.
As soon as we enter, a tall man emerges from one of the rooms. He’s wearing a spotless lab coat with a round badge at one shoulder. Well, what I think is a lab coat. It’s a well-fitted, double-breasted style, with a black silk tie with a crimson dress shirt beneath it. His thick trendy glasses match the color theme.
“Ahhh. Well, well, well. Look what the expeditious feline has brought to my fancy den,” he drawls. “So good to see you lovely girls. Very good indeed. But the daredevil bucko couldn’t make it, hmmm?”
“Sorry, Doc.” Kell uses the chance to rear back, away from the guy’s overeager loom. “We brought a decent substitute.”
“Ahhh. My goodness, better than decent. The famous professor, in the flesh. How do you do, sir? How do you do, indeed? They call me Doc Doug, but I’m sure you know that already.”
I’m pretty sure I haven’t forced out a smile like this since Mom coerced me to be her date for a co-worker’s wedding. I was promised prime rib and cake. I got two hours of awkward dancing with bratty girls.
“Maximus Kane. Good to meet you as well, Doctor.”
I manage to sneak a glance around him, which gets me a double dose of Valari-style giggles. They’re savoring the fun of watching me commiserate with their mystery jitters from the car. So much for hoping either one of them will take pity and throw me a safety line from the Dr. Doug Zone.
