Free Seduced by Chaos by Stephanie Julian Page B

design houses.”
    Lacey held her breath as Fred thought that one over. She could tell he wanted to ask more questions, and frankly, so did she. She had no idea what Teo did for a living. Time for that later.
    Fred nodded once then turned to her again. “Took a call for you a few minutes before you came down. Asked for you by name but wouldn’t give me her name.
    Gave a weird message. Said to tell you the flowers bloom in May, see you there.”
    Lacey wasn’t sure if Fred said anything after that because the buzzing in her ears drowned out everything else.
    67

    Stephanie Julian
    She only realized she’d passed out when she woke and found herself held in Teo’s arms.
    “Hey, babe.” Teo’s voice soothed along her jittery nerve edges and for a second, she wondered if she’d had a dream and was still in bed. Then Fred pressed a cool damp cloth to her head and she knew she hadn’t imagined what she’d heard. “It’s all right, stay still.”
    “Teo.”
    “Shh, sweetheart. Don’t move around too much. Does anything hurt? Your head, your chest? What the hell happened?”
    Good question. Had she heard Fred correctly? Had someone called and used the code words she and Cara had devised years ago? She had to know.
    “Fred.” She sought the little chef’s eyes. She had to see his eyes when he answered her. “Fred, repeat what you told me. Please.”
    She felt Teo stiffen against her and Fred’s eyes narrowed as he repeated the phrase, word for word. Her lungs constricted as Teo’s arms tightened around her.
    It was exactly what they’d planned. Every word. And they’d been so careful.
    They’d never spoken the entire phrase out loud. They’d planned to use it when they’d finally escaped as a signal to let the other know she was okay.
    “Lacey.”
    They’d had a plan. A good plan. And then Cara had died. And Lacey had been left to execute it by herself.
    “Lacey.”
    What if Cara hadn’t died? What if she’d survived the fall? But if she had, why hadn’t their captors returned her to their prison? Had she been too badly injured at the time? Had it taken two years for her to heal?
    “Lacey!”
    68

    Seduced by Chaos
    The sharp edge in Teo’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. And the worry in his eyes made her lips curve in a tiny smile. Which just made Teo frown harder.
    “Come on, babe. Let me take you back upstairs to lie down for a few minutes.”
    Yes, they needed privacy for this. Even though she trusted Fred almost as much as she trusted Teo, Fred couldn’t know her story.
    “Yes, I…I think…that’d be good. Fred, could you—”
    “Don’t worry,” the monaciello waved his hand, eyes still narrowed. “I’ll finish getting ready. You have a rest. All will be ready when you return.”
    She and Teo didn’t speak as he carried her back through the kitchen and up the stairs.
    But the second he sat on the couch, she bounced off his lap.
    “It has to be her, Teo. It just has to be.”
    He watched her with narrowed eyes as she began to pace. “So the words were a code? Is that what you’re saying?”
    She nodded. “From my sister. It can only be from Cara. No one knew our secret code. Not Carmen. Not any of the guards. It has to be her.”
    Teo’s frown devolved into a full-blown grimace. “Whoa, slow down. You can’t be sure about that. Take a breath and think this through, Lace.” His gaze slid down to her shaking hands then back up to her eyes. “You said you saw her fall. You were positive.
    Now, after one phone call, you’re sure she’s alive.”
    She knew it made no sense. No one could have survived that fall. Especially not tiny, delicate Cara. They were not identical twins. Cara was smaller, her hair more red than brown, her features rounder, prettier.
    She looked straight into Teo’s eyes. “I know how it sounds, but there’s no way anyone other than Cara could know that phrase. It had to be her.”
    His expression didn’t change, only the furious tic in his jaw