Page 106 of Secret Pleasure (Bound Hearts 13)

Baby?

“Alyssa, wake up!” Margot’s voice was more imperative now, pulling at her.

“Wake up now, girl!”

Alyssa jerked awake, sitting straight up in the bed and staring around the bedroom, certain the ghost of her mother would be floating next to her bed.

Her heart was racing, adrenaline surging through her body with a fight-or-flight instinct that had her throwing the blankets from the bed and moving for the bureau.

Shane and Sebastian weren’t in the bed, and she knew when she’d drifted off to sleep they’d been there, one on each side of her, surrounding her with warmth.

Moving from the bed, she hurried to the bureau where she’d laid out clothes for the next day. Jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers. She dressed hurriedly, only distantly realizing she should have opted for the gown and robe next to the bed.

For some reason, the clothes seemed the better choice, though.

Looking around the bedroom, she moved back to the bed and her cell phone. Grabbing it, she quickly hit the activation button and waited for it to load.

No missed calls and no messages, not that she expected there to be. But as the screen loaded, a message displayed that her volume was muted. She never muted her phone unless she was going into a meeting. And she hadn’t had any meetings in a while.

Only Shane or Sebastian could have muted the phone, and they would have only done so to ensure she stayed asleep.

Moving silently to her dresser, she opened the center drawer and drew out the small, holstered handgun Margot had insisted she learn how to use years before. Securing it between the band of her jeans and the small of her back, she stared around the room once again.

She was scared.

She would feel damned stupid if everyone was gathered downstairs for coffee and cake, but she was really scared.

Retrieving the cell phone from where she’d laid it while dressing, she hurriedly typed in a message to Shane’s phone.

Okay?

OK. [The answer came back quickly.]

She was just beginning to relax when the next one lit up the screen.

Keep doors locked, phone off. Stay in room.

She stared at the message.

Oh God, what had happened?

B there soon. [Sebastian’s text lit up the screen then.]

B there soon.

Dimming the light again, she pushed the phone into her back pants’ pocket before rubbing at the chill racing up her arms.

What should she do?

Just wait there like Shane told her to do?

God, she hated waiting; she always had. It was torture.

Walking cautiously through the bedroom and into the sitting area, she strained to hear anything over the sound of her pulse racing in her ears. How did anyone control their nerves enough to be spies or agents anyway? She’d end up giving herself away from nerves alone.

Watching the shadows carefully, she worked her way through the room, heading for the door leading to the hall when a hard surge of panic stopped her in her tracks.

A second later a sound at the bedroom door had her heart racing so hard she wondered if she was going to be light-headed. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the low knock a minute later.