To Save His Mate(15)

“Yeah, and Stephanie is married to his other brother, Abraham,” Gus clarified. “I haven’t seen Erik since the wedding though.”

“Erik? Let me guess, another brother?”

Gus simply smiled, and Lacy returned her attention to the people left at the scene in time to see Adam nudge one of the officers before jerking his head toward Ethan and Stephanie.

“Hey, Steph,” Adam called out. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this problem I’ve got.”

Without missing a beat, she replied, “I don’t handle mental health issues, Adam.” A small smile played at the corners of her lips.

Lacy snickered then noticed the look on both individual’s faces. They were picking at each other, and the smooth replies told her they did this often.

“Is that any way to treat your favorite brother-in-law?” Stephanie rolled her eyes, but he either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “You see,” he continued, pointing to his butt, “I’ve got this rash I wanted to show you.”

Smiling—the look purely wicked—the girl turned, placed her hand on his solid chest and calmly spoke, “It’s called an STD, and if you’d take your meds, it would clear up.”

Adam gaped, Ethan howled with laughter and Stephanie just smiled sweetly up at him.

“Darlin’ that was just plain mean,” Adam chastised. “Besides, my kind can’t get STDs, and you know it.”

“You’re kind?” Lacy asked, reaching a still-laughing Ethan’s side.

“Virgins,” Stephanie offered, extending her hand in greeting. “I’m Stephanie, by the way.”

Lacy accepted her outstretched hand, shaking her head at Adam, who stood with his mouth hanging open again while Ethan seemed to be succumbing to a fit of hysterics. “I’m Lacy. So, Stephanie, what can you tell me about the victim?”

“Well…um…”

Lacy pulled out her badge—might as well get the explanations over with while Gus was briefing his officers—then watched as Adam’s jaw fell for a third time. “You’re a cop?”

“Yes, and undercover for the time being, so can it,” she ordered before facing the only medical professional left on the scene. “Now, what can you tell me about the victim?” she repeated. “Will he survive?”

Stephanie seemed to recover quickly from her surprise, and explained, “Well, it was definitely a severe anaphylactic reaction, but we won’t know how bad it is until he reaches the hospital. I won’t lie to you, it didn’t look good, and if I’m not mistaken he’ll be breathing through a tube before they land.” Stephanie’s somber tone conveyed to Lacy just how serious the situation was.

“Damn,” Lacy breathed. “I need to keep this bastard around long enough for him to slip up, but if this guy dies, the killer will likely disappear again.”

Stephanie looked stunned. “You want a murderer hanging around?”

“I’ve got to catch him.” Lacy was used to people thinking she was a little off her rocker. Most had it in their heads that female officers were weak, unable to handle dangerous situations, or some other such nonsense. “I’m trained for this type of work, so don’t mistake me for some halfwit model who can’t defend herself.”

“Sweetheart,” Adam began, looking her over, “nobody’s complaining about your training because you’ve got a killer body from it, but against a grown man—”

Lacy didn’t even think, she simply latched on to the hand he was gesturing with, twisted her body around so that her back was against his chest and yanked as she bent, sending Adam over her shoulder to land flat on his back.

The display earned her a round of applause, a reminder of that job offer from Gus, and a big hug from Stephanie.

“You have got to teach me that,” she gushed.

“Don’t you dare,” Adam grumbled as he picked himself up. “Good job, though. I guess I stand corrected.”

“Sorry, but that’s usually the easiest way to prove my point.”

“Effective, too,” Stephanie snickered.

Gus sauntered over and draped his arm over Lacy’s shoulders. “My offer stands. If you ever consider moving to a smaller town, keep me in mind.”

Lacy just laughed. “I will, but for now, I’d like to walk the scene.”

Ethan was instantly at her other side. “Come with me, and I’ll show you what Adam showed me then what Storm and Lightning discovered.”

Observation was a major part of any investigative work, and Lacy always watched everyone, so she didn’t miss the expressions Adam and Stephanie wore as Ethan led her off.