Amy Atwell - Lying Eyes

Sergei, practically a child still in his late twenties, his blond hair as yet untouched by gray, leaned over his great-aunt. “Are you sure you want to make this trip, Aunt Tatiana? It will take hours to fly to America on this crowded airplane.”

Marko held his breath. With his ice-blue eyes, young Sergei had a way with women-all women-of any age.

“Don’t think you can talk me out of this.” Tatiana eyed them all warily.

Her once-vivid blue eyes were faded now, her skin wrinkled and spotted with age. Though she was diminutive and frail of body, Marko would think twice before crossing her. Apparently, Cosmo hadn’t thought at all.

“You’ll not be leaving me behind on this, so forget your notions.”

“Flight 8211 departing for Las Vegas, Nevada, will begin pre-boarding at gate six shortly.” The announcement over the loudspeaker featured a friendly woman’s voice, and Marko gave thanks they’d be on their way soon. He was counting the hours until they landed in the casino-laden American desert.

“Do you want some water? Maybe one of your little pills?” he asked his aunt.

Viktor reached into his pocket for the prescription bottle. Even Sergei drew a breath as if he’d approve drugging her with a sleeping pill before they boarded.

“I do not want my pills,” Tatiana said with asperity. “I want Cosmo Fortune’s head.”

“You saw Daddy this afternoon?” Allie asked, hope and joy apparent in her voice.

Iris couldn’t say anything, but a giddy sort of relief flooded her at the news that, as of a few hours ago, Cosmo was still alive and kicking. Until now, she hadn’t realized how much she’d feared she’d never see him again.

Cory shifted her position on the couch and pushed the heavy curls from her face. “Papa came by the casino. He was disguised so well, even I didn’t recognize him at first.” She proceeded to tell them about the card game with the tourist from South Carolina, and how he’d beaten her best hand of the day with a trio of queens.

“That’s when I knew without a doubt it was him,” she finished.

Iris pursed her lips, trying to form the question she wanted to ask without putting Cory on the defensive. “Why didn’t you tell Hunter?”

Cory glanced at the blonde but then met Iris’s gaze levelly. “He’s my papa, and I believe with all my heart that he didn’t do anything wrong. He said he would wrap things up, and I think he can do that better on his own without the police interfering.”

“Fair enough,” Iris said.

Allie leaned forward. “So he turned over three queens to let you know who he was, but did he tell you anything?”

Cory rose, her elegant hands wringing each other while she strode about the living room. Though petite, she carried herself with regal grace in her khaki shorts and green camp shirt. “He said we were each a queen of our own country, and he loved us all equally. He said fortune had dealt him three lovely queens, and he had to think about us and do what’s right.”

“That sounds like Daddy,” Allie said.

Iris remained silent, wishing she felt as confident about Cosmo’s motives.

“He said a queen is always a strong card.” Cory stopped, her eyes squinting as she tried to recall more. “But three of them together are practically unbeatable. Then he told me I was the queen of spades, that I had the power to bury him.”

“He risked coming to you when he knew you might turn him in,” Iris said.

Cory’s dark eyes held a haunted look when she gazed at the others. “I let him get away with cheating at my table. I mean, he had to have cheated to get those three queens, and I didn’t turn him in. I never thought I’d let someone cheat.”

“You did the right thing,” Allie said. “These are very special circumstances.”

“It made one thing clear to me-Papa’s more important to me than my career.”

Iris felt a sting of jealousy at the words. She wanted to be able to say them, wanted to believe them. But Cosmo had always been more committed to his magic career than to her, so for years she’d made her own career more important than him. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t trusted her.

Allie cleared her throat. “Which queen was I?”

Cory’s demeanor softened. “You’re the queen of hearts. He said you have blond hair and a heart of gold-and he’s right.”

Allie smiled. She looked across at Iris. “You must be the queen of diamonds. It only makes sense with the jewelry store.”

“More than that,” Cory said, approaching Iris. “He said you’re the keeper of the gems.”

Iris furrowed her brow as she tried to make sense of that.

“Anything you’d care to share with the class, sis?” Cory asked.

Iris locked eyes with the brunette, still unwilling to be railroaded.

Allie interrupted their stalemate. “Iris, do you have a pet?”

The question was so far out in left field, it wasn’t even in the park. Then Iris remembered Cosmo’s rabbit and scrambled out of her chair. “Hell, that poor rabbit is still in the box.” She shouldered past Cory to get to the box and open it.

Edgar blinked up at her, or maybe it was the sudden brightness. His front paws burrowed at the corner of the box, scratching at it until the other women came over to peer inside.

“Edgar!” Allie heaved the monster rabbit from the box to cuddle him close. “You poor thing. What are you doing in that dark box?”

Edgar nuzzled her face with nose a-twitch before swiveling his ears, and then his head, to consider the others in the room.

“These are my sisters, Edgar.” Allie scratched him gently between his long ears.

He looked up at her and blinked his red eyes.

“Did you know that already?” Allie paused to contemplate the rabbit, her brows knit, her head tilted, almost as if she were listening.

A shiver ran up Iris’s spine, and she shared a look with Cory. Definitely, the brunette agreed that there was something odd about Allie.

“You knew Daddy had more than one family, didn’t you?” Allie looked at Iris. “Well, I like that. Edgar knew about us.”

From the blonde’s other side, Cory stepped toward her. “Allie? Are you talking to the rabbit?”

Iris snorted. A little snuggly with the bunny was cute, but this was going too far. Sure hadn’t taken long to discover that at least one of these so-called sisters was potentially certifiable.

Allie drew a breath and turned with a frown to the brunette. “I know it sounds silly, but I have this…telepathy with animals.”

“It doesn’t sound silly,” Cory said.

“Yes, it does,” Iris countered.

Cory glared at her. “Your problem is you don’t believe in anything.”

“I don’t have a problem. If you believe her, why don’t you ask ol’ Edgar there when and where was the last time he saw Cosmo?”

The brunette opened her mouth, no doubt to deliver a stinging retort, but Allie shushed her.

Adjusting the rabbit so she could look into his eyes, the blonde looked like a fairy princess, some magical being able to communicate with woodland creatures.

“Oh, please,” Iris said.

She was immediately silenced with the simplicity of Allie’s quirked eyebrow before the young woman again made eye contact with Edgar. She held him up in the air so he could look down upon her. His nose twitched, and his jaw nibbled invisible grass. It almost looked like he was talking.

“Edgar was with Daddy right before he disappeared.” Allie lowered the rabbit back into the box. “Someone threatened them.”

“Who?” Cory asked.

Allie looked into the box for a few seconds. “Tall, dark, strong. Wait, are you sure?” She shook her head, still looking down at the rabbit. “No, it’s not that I don’t believe you.”