He'd love one. "I don't want to put you to any bother."

"It's already made. I waited up for you, too. Come on in." She headed for the minuscule kitchen.

"Why'd you wait up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Bethany."

Hopefully not a lecture on relationships and all that c.r.a.p. But since he had her alone for a minute, Lucius thought it might be the perfect time to find out more about her irresistible sister, so he agreed.

"All right." He followed her into the kitchen and leaned on the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. "We can chat over the coffee. But just one cup. No reason to keep Bethany fretting."

"Don't worry about it. She's asleep."

That amused Lucius. "Yeah, sounds like she was pretty frantic with worry." In truth, it relieved him that Bethany wasn't up pacing the floor, wringing her hands the way some of the women he'd dated had done. It only added to his pressure with the job. Knowing Bethany could nod off put his mind at ease on at least one issue.

Marci frowned at him. "She was plenty worried. But it's been a horrendous time for her lately and she's exhausted."

"Do tell." He wanted to know about this bozo who had upset her.

But Marci waved that away. "I went over twenty minutes ago to check on her, and she and Hero are sacked out in that big lounge chair you have." Marci poured fragrant coffee into a mug and set it on the counter in front of him. "You two have a penchant for sleeping on the furniture. I'm beginning to wonder if you'll ever both be in a bed at the same time."

"Count on it." In fact, he planned to have her in his bed, with him, just as soon as he finished his coffee and got the lowdown from Marci.

A smile curled her mouth. "Somehow I knew you'd say that." The smile vanished. "I think you might be just what she needs."

He knew he needed her, so he hoped she needed him, too. "I'm all ears on this one."

Marci wasted no time diving into her subject. "You're hard-nosed, Lucius. And you're too good-looking, too confident for your own good."

He c.o.c.ked a brow. "Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"Neither. It's a simple fact that you're a very competent man. Strong. Intelligent. Gorgeous. And very s.e.xy."

Did Bethany feel the same? He hoped so. "Now, Marci, don't make me blush."

"As if that's even possible." She grinned. "The thing is, Bethany hasn't had much experience with guys, and she's had no experience with a guy like you. We're twenty-six. I know why I don't date much. It's too risky when so many people want to expose me for a nutcase. Having a special talent hasn't made it easy."

"People really do get on you about it?" He still thought it a little nutty, too, but he didn't doubt her ability.

For once, her gaze wasn't direct. She toyed with the edge of her coffee cup and her voice dropped. "I don't really blame others. I denied it myself for a long time."

Seeing her uncertainty, Lucius regretted his past teasing remarks. "It's a talent, hon. You should be proud of it."

Her laugh sounded bitter. "At times it feels more like a curse." Her breath shuddered out, and she looked up at him. "When I was a kid, I couldn't bear to walk down the street. I felt the emotional pain of so many animals. A dog chained out to a tree. A cat ignored. A bird locked in a cage. It made me so furious. People take in pets, and many of them make the pet a member of the family. But a lot don't."

Lucius reached for her hand. "People are sometimes idiots."

"And often cruel." She squeezed her eyes shut. "At first, it was impossible to deal with it. I went into a depression and I cried a lot and my folks got fed up with me." Her eyes opened again. "But not Bethany. She's always been there for me."

Yeah, he figured Bethany for the loyal sort. It was one of the things he adored most about her. "Have you thought about marketing your talent?"

"Right. Like on Jerry Springer? No, thanks. I prefer to help quietly. When I sense that an animal has a problem, I contact the owners and try to help. That way, they can either take my advice or not. I'm not exposing myself. I'm not opening myself to ridicule. Only the believers listen. The others sometimes hang up. I don't want to be a spectacle ever again."

"If I can ever help..."

She straightened with determination. "Now there's my perfect lead-in." She gave his hand a squeeze, then released him. "Bethany has been put through h.e.l.l because of me. All through school she got teased about having a loony sister."

Lucius winced, remembering how he'd said similar things-and Bethany's immediate defense.

"Don't do that, Lucius. Never, not even once, has your teasing felt malicious or mean-spirited. Support-that's all I've ever gotten from you, and I appreciate it. I told Bethany that, so she knows it, too."

"Still..."

"There's a man. I knew him as Mitch Tracer, but he told Bethany his name was Michael. He's making her life h.e.l.l."

Lucius straightened. An alias? He didn't like the sound of that. "This is the a.s.s she used to date before coming here?" No way in h.e.l.l would he let anyone hurt Bethany.

"He started out by pretending an interest in her, and she liked him enough that she went out on several dates with him. But when she mentioned him to me, I recognized the description. Blond, gla.s.ses, nice clothes, and a not-so-nice smile. See, he'd wanted to date me months before. I refused him. He asked too many questions about my work, about animals. I avoid intrusions into my personal life, and he made me uneasy."

"He tried to use Bethany to get close to you?"

She rubbed her forehead. "Unfortunately, it's not the first time it's happened."

"But that doesn't make any sense. No insult intended toward you, hon, but h.e.l.l, you're twins. What makes you more appealing than her?"

"Nothing. It's just that Bethany is more...independent, and that can put some men off. But they see me as an airhead, somehow sweeter and easier than Bethany, and so they come after me."

"That's just idiotic."

She laughed. "Yeah, I know it, but...Bethany doesn't. Sometimes, too, they're just trying to get to me because of my ability. They want to expose me, interview me, maybe use my talent for something, but I'm not dumb. I can see through them. So, I don't date much."

Lucius could understand her way of thinking, but he didn't like it. If he ever caught anyone giving Marci a hard time, he'd handle it for her, with or without her permission. "Those are your reasons. What are Bethany's?"

She drew a deep breath, then admitted, "More than once, men have gone to her after I've rejected them."

d.a.m.n. That'd be a tough pill for a woman to swallow.

"They act as though we're interchangeable. Can't have first pick? Well, then, they'll take second."

"s.h.i.t."

"Exactly."

It felt like the right time to make something perfectly clear, so Lucius leaned forward over the bar and took her hand again. "Far as I'm concerned, Bethany would never be second best. Like I said, you two are different. One isn't better than the other, but one sure as h.e.l.l affects me differently."

"I believe you, but Bethany has taken to distrusting any guy who knew me first."

Which included him? Smiling, he released her and leaned on the bar. "She wasn't exactly slapping my face earlier today."

"I hoped not. But she hasn't said much about it, and you said she threw you out..."

"I got called in for a barricade. Let's just say, the timing sucked."

Appearing delighted, Marci asked, "Interrupted some interesting things, did it?"

Not even for her sister would Lucius kiss and tell. Bethany could share the details as much or as little as she wanted. "Some dip-s.h.i.t sped his pickup through a residential area, and when a deputy tried to pull him over, he fired a shotgun at the patrol car's window. The deputy wasn't hurt, but soon as he ran the plates, he found some outstanding warrants for possession and trafficking. The truck pulled into a house and the driver disappeared inside."

"He broke into someone's home?"

"Nope. It was his own place. The officer called for backup, and they tried to establish contact with him, but he wouldn't respond. That's when we got called in."

"Does that happen a lot?"

"Often enough that it can make relationships difficult. If I'm in town, then a day off is never guaranteed."

Marci seemed to consider that. "So what happened?"

"We tried the loudspeaker, the phone, we even lobbed some tear gas in there, and still, for over four hours, the guy wouldn't come out or make contact. So we stormed the place."

"Oh my G.o.d. Was anyone hurt?"

Lucius rubbed the back of his neck, remembering. He had a well-trained team, and they always wore the appropriate protective gear, but that only offered so much security.

"As soon as we hit the door, we encountered gunfire. One of my men got shot in the knee, another in the hip."

Her hand covered her mouth. "You got the man responsible?"

He nodded, p.i.s.sed off all over again. "I shot the idiot in the hand, and we were finally able to subdue and arrest him."

"The others will be okay?"

"Last I saw them at the hospital, they were patched up and flirting with the nurses." Thank G.o.d, SWAT knew how to keep a cool head in chaotic situations.

Marci worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "You could have been shot, too."

"I wasn't." He finished off his coffee. With Marci now distracted from the intimate details of his time with Bethany, he put her back on track.

"Tell me everything you know about Michael Tracer."

"There isn't that much to tell." She sipped her coffee, thinking for a moment. "I met him shortly before I left the area where Bethany still lived, right before I moved in here. I didn't like Mitch or Michael or whatever his name is, so even though he continued to call and ask me out, I didn't tell him I was leaving, and I sure didn't tell him where I'd be going."

"He knew about Bethany?"

"Most everyone in town knew us both, so it wouldn't be a stretch to think he'd quickly piece it together. Twins stand out, especially when one of the twins is known as a fruitcake."

It angered him to think of anyone calling Marci names. "This was the town where you grew up?"

"Yes, and I shouldn't sound so bitter. I had friends there. It wasn't all bad. But after Mom and Dad retired to Arizona...well, there didn't seem to be enough reason to stay." She closed her eyes, looking pained. "But I should have stayed for Bethany."

It sounded selfish, even to his own ears, but Lucius said, "I'm glad you didn't. If you hadn't moved here, I never would have met her."

Her lashes lifted and she smiled. "That's a nice way to look at it." Then she nibbled on her lip some more. "Michael wasn't local. He just showed up one day. He told me he was in real estate, but he's probably a reporter or some whack job hoping to write the next great expose. That's the only reason I can think of to explain why he'd be stalking Bethany now."

A dangerous tide of rage rolled through Lucius. "Define stalking."

"Now Lucius, don't look like that. He hasn't done anything threatening. Nothing dangerous. It's just that he won't leave her alone, even now that she knows he was lying. He kept calling her, and he started showing up at her house. Once he even peeked in the windows, like he knew she was home and refusing to answer the door."

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h."

"At first, Bethany tried ignoring him, but...he makes her as nervous as he made me, and that's enough for me to worry."

It was enough for him to worry, too. "Police?"

"When Bethany called them, a very nice officer offered to talk to Michael, but they can't find him. The address Bethany had was bogus. Maybe both the names we have are bogus, too. Who knows?"

"When did she last hear from him?"

"The first night she came here, he kept calling her cell phone until she turned it off. When she checked in the morning, he'd filled her mailbox. I don't think she's turned it back on since then."

"I want to hear the calls."

"I think they were personal-you know, sort of embarra.s.sing stuff. She might not be keen on sharing them with you. But talk to her about it. She's not unreasonable where her and my safety is concerned."

Lucius left the stool with a purpose. "Thanks. I think I'll do that right now." The sooner he got a handle on the jerk hara.s.sing Bethany, the better he'd feel.

Marci stopped him by coming around the bar and taking his arm.

"Just so you know...Bethany's looking for the whole package, not just a good time."

That gave Lucius pause. He stared down at Marci-and wondered how anyone could consider her a better catch than Bethany. "By the whole package, you mean what? Marriage and kids and all that?" The idea didn't seem too bad to him. "I have to tell you, marriage to a cop isn't easy, and SWAT is especially-"

"I mean love."

"Oh." His heart beat a little too fast, mostly because he already knew he loved her, but he had no idea how Bethany really felt. She'd softened a lot, and now that he understood her reserve, he intended to get past it.

"I'm not going to lecture you on relationships, Lucius, so relax. Bethany's a big girl and she can take care of herself where men are concerned."

"Stalkers aside."

"Stalkers aside, yes. But as a friend, I want you to know that she's vulnerable right now. Because of Michael, she's turned her life upside down, mostly to protect me. Just as I feel guilty that Michael contacted her to get to me, she worries that she might have said or done something to encourage him in that regard. She's given up her job, her home-"

Lucius caught her shoulders in a gentle squeeze. "I plan to look out for both of you, so don't worry about it, okay?" He had plenty of contacts who would help him find Michael or Mitch or whatever name he used. He'd see to it that the man got out of their lives, p.r.o.nto.

Marci sighed. "That's all well and good, but I don't want to see her deliberately hurt. If you hurt her, I'd have to move out of here, and that'd just suck."

Lucius laughed. "Well, I certainly don't want to start looking for a new tenant, either." On impulse, he cupped Marci's face. "Thanks for everything, hon. The relationship advice, the insight on your maddening sister, and the info on Michael. I appreciate it."

He pulled Marci into his arms for a tight hug-and the apartment door opened behind them.