A Kitten's Tail Ch. 39

I could see the smile in her eyes when she glanced over at me and knew what she was talking about. Her path had let her to meeting me, and I can't say either of us was unhappy with the results. "I can't say I would change anything my dear, other than what your family went through these past couple months. I will do what I can to help your siblings get back on their feet, but we can discuss that over lunch. From the smells wafting through the house, I would guess it's about ready, so we need to get up and dressed to eat."

Of course, I was the only one who had to get dressed, but only because Sophia was going to be at lunch and she had a habit of crawling into my lap after she finished eating. I wasn't too concerned about her seeing me naked, it happened often enough when I was out by the pool, but having her crawl into my lap like that wasn't going to happen.

I was a bit surprised to see Scarlett get up and slip into street clothes, but I realized Katherine had done the same. "I know, we would prefer to be on display for you as well, but we didn't bring any of our regular outfits. This was supposed to be a business trip, other than a surprise visit to see you, and Master Julien figured we would be either dressed up for the business end or naked for play. It will be easier to remember we're not just here for fun if we stay dressed."

I looked the two of them over and shook my head. "That's fine as long as you remember to find some time for fun as well. I'll be taking Kiera and Rebeca out for their walk after lunch, and I imagine you will both insist on going with me."

Katherine glanced over at Scarlett, who nodded. "If we are in the house just one of us is fine, but even out in the yard you should have both of us close by. I know it seems a bit much, but there are still two men out there who want you dead. We don't plan on letting that happen."

It did seem like a bit much, but I wasn't going to question it. I knew Scarlett was under orders to keep me safe and would do whatever she felt necessary to accomplish that. I hoped the people hunting me never got close for their own sake. Scarlett and Katherine wouldn't kill them, but I had seen the girls' martial arts workouts so I knew how dangerous they really were. Anyone attacking me would be lucky if they didn't end up with all their limbs broken.

"I won't argue with you, my pet. I'll trust your judgment on whatever security measures you feel are necessary," I told her as I followed the girls down to lunch. "I imagine someone is going to be very excited to see the two of you, so you may want to cover your ears once we get into the kitchen."

"Sophia already knows we're here," Katherine chuckled. "Thankfully we were outside so the screams weren't quite as deafening. Marcello was showing us exactly how secure the back windows are when Paige brought her out of the other house to get some exercise. She was a bit disappointed when she found out Master Julien wasn't here as well, but that lasted about as long as it took us to tell her he would be visiting this weekend."

I already knew how happy she would be to see him. She had been disappointed when we had to postpone our visit to the island, simply because she missed her daddy. With him arriving this weekend, I would have to see if she wanted to go back so she could spend more time with him, but I didn't think she would go for it. As much as she missed him, I doubted she would want to be away from her sisters for a month.

We made it through lunch and I was listening to my favorite nine-year-old explain why she needed a chemistry set when the phone rang. Zara jumped up to answer it and I heard Kayla's name when she called Scarlett over. I was hoping for good news, but I had to deal with the redhead in my lap first.

"Paige, you're her teacher. I need your input on this issue as well."

Paige looked over and shook her head slightly. "I'm sure she is ready for it, but I don't have the knowledge to guide her. She has already finished everything we normally teach for the hard sciences on the island, but her sisters keep talking about their chemistry and biology courses."

"And someone I know wants to be just like her sisters?" I saw Sophia blush a bit as she nodded. "Very well my dear, I'm assuming you know what kind of experiments you would like to start with. As intelligent as you are, you're too young to have free rein with potentially dangerous chemicals, so we're going to talk to Jaden tonight at dinner and see if he is willing to go over your proposed experiments. If he agrees, he will have final say over what experiments you can go ahead with."

"If he agrees," Marian snorted. "You realize my husband is almost drooling to get his hands on her, academically speaking. He can see she has the same excitement the twins do when they are talking about their classes, and having a student who really wants to learn the material is rare. Believe me; he'll be more than happy to help teach her."

I looked down at Sophia and grinned. "I would say you have a pretty good chance at convincing him to help. After you finish the rest of your regular school work today, you might want to start writing up your first experiment."

"I know, you have grown up things to talk about now," Sophia said as she saw Scarlett sit back down. She stretched up to kiss my cheek before jumping off my lap. She wasn't even out the door before Scarlett sat in my lap and kissed me hard enough to raise my heart rate a bit.

"That one was from Kayla, with an apology that they couldn't talk to you directly. Her, Anna and Master Julien barely made it to their first meeting on time and have been busy all morning. She had to slip away when our contact called back and only had a minute to update me," she explained. "They found the second man in New York. Apparently, he saw the police raid on the house and jumped on the first train he could. Unfortunately, we don't have a current update on the third man, but they know he is the one coming after you. The man they picked up in New York said he has been over here since the first attempt failed."

"Why do I get the feeling that we're not going to contact the police?"

She looked almost apologetic despite the fierce smile. "They have nothing to link him to any crime, so it wouldn't help much. This is exactly where we expected to be, Master, and it's a very good thing. There are only two ways this can play out now. First, he could approach the local syndicate for assistance and be picked up by them. If the second man managed to contact him, he would know that isn't an option, leaving the second scenario, taking you out personally to save his own ass. If he can take you out, his own people will probably bury the issue."

I shook my head again. "I'm not sure how that is supposed to be a comforting option."

Scarlett's grin grew a bit wider. "That's because you don't pay much attention to laws that don't affect you. You don't have any interest in firearms, so you're not familiar with Italian weapons laws. Obtaining any kind of firearm in Italy is difficult, and it would be impossible for him to do so without assistance from the local syndicate. His only weapons options now are either a zip gun or some kind of hand weapon. Either way, he has to get close enough to use them, and we know what he looks like so that gives us the advantage."

"Okay, what makes you assume he doesn't already have a gun?"

"Italian firearms laws again," she replied with a smirk. "The local syndicate would have warned him how dangerous it was to even have one stashed in a car and told him to get it the day of the job he needed it for. The random roadside checks helped us out on that one."

"That would be the logical choice, although they haven't necessarily been logical up to this point," I told her. "Let's assume he does have a gun, just to be covered. How much danger is my family in because I'm here? I'm still contemplating calling Julien and arranging a sudden trip to Fakahina until this is cleared up."

"I don't think they are in any danger to be honest. Me sleeping in the twins' room and us being with you around the clock are precautions in case he does something unexpected, but I have a pretty good idea of when he is going to attack." She caught my confused look and smiled. "Sorry Master, but my quick chat with Mandy confirmed how well I know you. After your therapy session, you always go for a walk while you wait for your ride. That walk is the most likely time for him to strike and make it look like a mugging. Before you ask, no, you shouldn't just wait at the hospital next week if he is still on the loose. I promise we won't let anything happen to you."

"I have no doubt the three of you will keep me safe, but who's going to take care of you?"