“Sorry to crash on you so late.” Rome swept past her with Tanner bouncing on his shoulder. “How’s Sunny?”

“Sleeping.” Lexis nearly shut the door in my face.

I caught it with my foot and shoved my way inside. Sunny… I’d heard the name before, I think. It hovered on the edge of my memory. “I’d like to come in, too,” I said.

“Oops. Sorry,” Lexis said, not sparing me a glance. “I didn’t see you.”

I mentally flipped her off.

“Put the boy in the yellow room,” she told Rome. “I’ve already made the bed for him.”

As I dogged Rome into the hallway, my shoulder brushed Lexis’s. She whipped around, her face a kaleidoscope of horror. I stopped. My lips thinned into a scowl. What, did I smell? Did I offend her delicate sensibilities? Did my hideous ugliness ruin the ambiance of her home? Maybe I should warn her that I’m a dangerous weapon and pissing me off isn’t a good idea.

She tore her gaze from me, reached back with a shaky hand and closed the front door. Her cheeks were colorless by the time she faced me again. “Your name is Belle,” she said, a statement, not a question.

“Yeah. Did Rome mention me?” Had that sweet man told people about me already? He must like me, then.

“No. He didn’t.” She strode to a nearby table, lifted a cell phone and dialed a number. “You need to come over here right now,” she said into the mouthpiece, and hung up.

O-kay. Had she just told someone to come and get me? Had she blown my cover? My heart skipped a beat.

Rome emerged from the hall minus his burden. He approached my side, causing Lexis to frown. “I’ve called your brother,” she told him.

At the same time I said, “She called someone-” Wait. Rome had a brother? “Is he an agent, too?” I asked.

Confusion flittered over Rome ’s face. He ignored me, saying to Lexis, “Why did you call Brit?”

“I want him to take Sunny for a few days.” Lexis anchored one hand on her waist. “Why have you not taken Belle to John?”

John. As in John Smith, Rome ’s boss? Huh. I’d thought he’d been lying about his boss’s name.

Rome stiffened and became utterly still, not even breathing. “Is Sunny in danger?” He didn’t bother responding to the question about me, I noticed.

“She’ll be fine,” Lexis soothed, reaching out and stroking his arm. “I promise. Your friend, who should be locked in a laboratory right now, is going to cause trouble. I want Sunny out of the building.”

I popped my jaw. Lexis, who should be punched in the face right now, was working her way up my People to Punish When I Could Control My Powers list. But much as I wished I could discount the “cause trouble” comment, I couldn’t. Not after the fires, the ice and the car chase. “Who’s Sunny?”

“Our daughter,” Lexis told me haughtily.

I stopped breathing for a moment. Our daughter. As in Rome ’s and Lexis’s. So. Rome had been intimate with this beautiful, perfect woman. Was he still? My hands twitched at my sides. Other than the fact that we’d admitted we wanted to sleep together, I had no claim on Rome. Still, I was feeling very possessive at the moment.

“You want to take me to your friend’s house, huh?” I said quietly, darkly. “Are you two married?”

“Not anymore,” Rome said. That was a relief, at least. I hadn’t kissed and fondled a married man. To Lexis he said, “I’ll go wake Sunny up and get her things packed.” He strode away in the same direction he’d taken Tanner, leaving Lexis and me alone again.

We didn’t speak. Not a single word. We didn’t even look at each other, just stood there. Uncomfortable. She was the mother of Rome ’s child, for God’s sake.

I used the time to inspect the apartment. I don’t think I’d ever been in the presence of so much wealth. A panoramic wall of windows consumed the far edge of the apartment, looking out onto the heart of the city. Vibrant paintings of oriental flowers pulsed with life. Mint-green-and-pearl marble flooring swirled in rivers of iridescence. Scattered throughout were chests and tables composed of bright blue and green lacquer. A crimson velvet couch with silk pillows adorned the center of the living room.

Running out of things to look at, I peeked at Lexis. She was as sophisticated and elegant as her home. She wore a bold green dress that hugged her slender curves, each seam threaded with gold. Gilded leaves adorned the hem. Such loveliness was irritating. And Rome had seen her naked, which was even worse.

He returned none too soon, holding an angel and a bag. The angel’s hair was as black as his and-gag-her mother’s, with just a hint of curl. Her eyes were up-tilted and green, also (gag) like her mother’s. She wore a nightgown with brown bears scattered all over the fabric. One of her delicate arms was wrapped around Rome ’s neck and the other clutched a teddy bear. She yawned.

Seeing father and daughter together made my chest ache. Love radiated between them, a shining force of trust, comfort and serenity. A quiet bond that no one would ever be able to break. I had that with my dad, I thought, homesick.

“I missed you so much, sunshine,” Rome told her.

“Missed you, too, Daddy,” she said sleepily.

She was four years old, was my guess, and the cutest thing I’d ever seen. Until her gaze latched on to me. She frowned. “Who,” she said imperiously, “are you?”

“This is Belle. She’s a friend of Daddy’s,” Rome answered for me. Tenderly he smoothed a hand down the girl’s hair. “Let’s be nice to her, okay?”

“I don’t like her,” was the reply, stated as conversationally as if she’d said, “My bear needs a hug.”

Lexis smirked.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Mind telling me what I did wrong?” I asked the girl.

“She doesn’t like anyone,” Rome told me. He kissed Sunny’s plump little cheek. “Except me.”

“It’s true,” Sunny said, sounding like a college professor. “Oh, I like Mommy, too.” She shook her head and her hair swished over her shoulders. “But strangers are bad, bad people who do bad, bad things.”

Rome beamed with pride. Sunny had probably quoted him verbatim.

“They sure are,” I agreed. “So I guess this means I can’t like you, either, since you’re a stranger to me.”

She giggled, and the sound lit up the room. “I’m not a stranger.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, tapping a finger to my chin. “You look like a stranger to me.”

“Very sure,” she said with a laugh, and Rome smiled. He gave me a soft look that nearly melted me into a puddle.

“Brittan is here,” Lexis said, and moved to the front door. She opened it, revealing a tall man whose fist was poised, ready to knock. He wore black lounge pants and a gray T-shirt. His dark hair was rumpled, and if not for the bump in his nose and the fact that his eyes were brown, he would have been an exact replica of Rome.

Brittan’s lips twitched. “I thought for sure I’d beat you this time.”

“Like that will ever happen.” Lexis stepped back and waved him inside. “Come in.”

“Hey, bro,” Brittan said, walking forward. He clapped Rome on the shoulder with genuine affection. Up close, I could see that Rome was taller than his brother and the younger of the two. Silver was woven through Brittan’s hair, and there were fine lines around his eyes.

Brittan saw me and frowned. “Who’s she?” he asked, giving me a chin nod.

“Belle Jamison,” I answered before someone else (namely Lexis) could introduce me as Troublemaker. “ Rome ’s friend.”

“Co-worker?” he asked, but I wasn’t given the chance to answer.

“Uncle Brit, Uncle Brit! Stop ignoring me!” Sunny squirmed in her daddy’s arms and threw herself at Brittan. Amid her giggling, he hugged her tightly. “You saw me a few hours ago, squirt, but I like this kind of greeting.”

“I need you to watch her for a few days, Brittan. Don’t take her back to your apartment, take her out of the building,” Lexis instructed. “To our safe house on Peach Street.”