Noble Release [Nature's Nobles 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Nature's Nobles 4
Noble Release
Caden and Trent Luca feel their sister is in danger, but the police disagree. Using every resource at their disposal, they find that Lauren Suval can assist them in finding her. Lauren is a Locator, a Noble with a special ability to locate missing people. She hadn't counted on the two men thinking she can be their permanent third, and in the midst of locating their sister, she does all she can to resist their charm.
Since Lauren doesn't believe love can exist, she runs back to the safety of her sterile life once she confirms their sister is safe. Trent and Caden refuse to lose her, so they set out to convince Lauren that trust and love could endure with the right men by intermingling their BDSM lifestyle with her vanilla one. All it takes is trust, but can Lauren find the courage to let go of her fears?
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal
Length: 40,750 words
NOBLE RELEASE
Nature’s Nobles 4
Peyton Elizabeth
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
NOBLE RELEASE
Copyright © 2012 by Peyton Elizabeth
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-018-7
First E-book Publication: August 2012
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
To Jeffrey...for teaching me to trust. I love you.
NOBLE RELEASE
Nature’s Nobles 4
PEYTON ELIZABETH
Copyright © 2012
Prologue
No one could really know the force of nature, could they?
Decades ago, in a small farming community on the outskirts of Montana, a meteor crashed into a field causing mayhem and destruction among the people. Days upon days of smolder and dust rose from the crater and circulated its way through town. The soiled air seeped into the townsfolk’s skin and descended into their lungs with each mouthful they inhaled. Foreign particles traveled through mazes of tissues merging with cells inside their blood, uniting in a way that would change creation among descendants of this small population—change that ignited fear throughout the world.
Each generation became stronger in their newfound powers. From simply being able to see the future or read people’s thoughts to more complicated abilities such as mind control, these mutated chromosomes shifted the makeup of a new legion and beyond.
Opinions of these altered humans varied. The unaffected who feared the transformation quickly united to see these aberrations wiped from existence. Others embraced the deviation, claiming a new revolution was taking place in order to extend human life and help those in need. A civil war started between the divided sides, causing the afflicted ones to go into hiding or blend into society to hide their true nature.
They called themselves the Nobles.
Chapter One
Lauren heard her cell phone ring across the small apartment. Giving a grunt in frustration, she slammed the drawer shut with her hip and plopped the metal spoon in her chocolate ice cream container. She hadn’t bothered with a bowl, since she lived alone and absolutely hated to wash dishes. Walking through the bare kitchen, Lauren made her way into the living room, following the shrill jingle of her phone. Seeing the lighted display on the glass coffee table, she glanced down to see who was calling her at ten o’clock at night. Unknown was the only word that appeared. Letting whoever it was on the other end go to voicemail, Lauren sat down on the couch and pulled the manila folder into her lap that had been lying next to the phone.
Lauren scooped up a bit of ice cream, and let the cold treat melt on her tongue before opening the file. Inside was a picture of an elderly man in his late eighties, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a smile that lit up his wrinkled cheeks. Charles Brewer suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and had been missing for three days. His daughter had reported him missing after finding the back door of their home swinging open and no sign of her father. Unfortunately, the police had canvassed the neighborhood to no avail, and Lauren was positive he would not be found alive. The only question now was where exactly his remains were in order to give his family closure.
Brinng. Brinng.
Leaving the spoon to dangle from her mouth, Lauren reached over the folder without taking her eyes off of the information in front of her. Grabbing up her phone, she spared a glance to see the same Unknown caller. Hitting the button on the side to send it straight to voicemail again, Lauren went back to reviewing the data. The officer who had taken the daughter’s statement had done a relatively good job in gathering all the facts, along with trying to ascertain Mr. Brewer’s favorite areas to visit. She glanced at the list, seeing the local park as the location where he and his deceased wife had become engaged. The police had checked the area, but Lauren was positive there was a large pond along the pa
th Mr. Brewer would have taken. She’d have to check with Officer Bates in the morning to see if they had a diver scheduled. It was always tricky in Florida, where alligators were prone to enjoy the large bodies of waters.
Brinng. Brinng.
“You are persistent,” Lauren muttered around her spoon, looking back toward the phone. There were only a handful of people who had access to her number, and she really thought the person must have had the wrong number. This late at night, it wasn’t a telemarketer either. Picking it up, she caved and hit Answer with her thumb. “Hello?”
“Is this Lauren Suval?” a deep voice asked, his tone nearly vibrating the phone. She ignored the little shiver that danced down her spine and leaned forward to place her ice-cream container on the table. Whoever he was, he wasn’t much on pleasantries.
“Who’s asking?” Lauren knew she sounded like a bitch, but it was late and she was tired. There was a reason she kept her friends to those she could count on one hand. She wasn’t a people person, per se. But she was loyal to those who deserved it. Whoever was on the other end of the line was certainly not a friend.
“This is Caden Luca. Sergeant Joseph Davies gave me your number and believes you can assist me.”
Lauren didn’t immediately reply, giving herself time to compute his words. She had a hard time believing that Joe would give her number out to a potential client. That had never been the arrangement, and this random call made her hesitant to continue the conversation. Joe always gave her the contact information of the missing person’s relative, and she would be the one to initiate communication. So what was so important about this man that Joe would break their agreement?
The only person who knew her true identity, as a Noble, was Joe. It had taken years for her to trust him with that information, and it had been an accident to begin with. Every other officer thought of her as a missing-person consultant, who happened to be good at her job. Her power as a Locator enabled her to find missing persons by touching an item that contained traces of their energy. If the victims were dead, there was no energy to be found, which is how she knew Mr. Brewer had passed on. Lauren would still assist on those special cases, as with the one sitting in her lap, because it broke her heart not to be able to bring back a loved one. It was like watching her mother all over again, and that was something she wouldn’t wish on anyone. So she did what she could with the information given.
“Ms. Suval?”
Lauren still found herself hesitating. There was something about this man’s voice that made her feel that if she continued this conversation, her life would never be the same. This was one of those moments when she wished she were born with the ability to see the future. She was good at knowing when to go with her gut feeling, and it was definitely telling her to be cautious.
“Sergeant Davies is a good friend of mine, Ms. Suval. I need your help.”
Shit. Lauren was a sucker for those four words. Did Joe tell him that, as well? She was well aware that Nobles were integrating into society rather well, once the government had shown their support. But that didn’t mean she was willingly going to put herself out there to be a target for some whack job that was afraid of her power. But Joe had yet to steer her wrong, so she sucked in a breath before answering.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Luca?”
“My sister is missing. I need you to find her.”
“Mr. Luca—”
“Caden, please,” he instructed. The hardened edge to his voice broke no argument. Lauren could tell he was used to getting what he wanted, but she had never been known to follow instructions. She wasn’t about to start now, and she always kept things on a professional level.
“Mr. Luca, why would Sergeant Davies send you to me? His detectives are very good at their job. If you give them time to investigate, I’m sure they can locate her for you.”
“They aren’t Nobles, are they?”
Lauren bit her tongue before issuing an immediate snarky reply. Joe certainly had told him quite a bit, and she could think of some very choice words he was going to hear very shortly. None of them were going to be kind either.
“The detectives feel she is in no danger, that Victoria left on her own volition. I’m positive that’s not true.”
Lauren knew deep down that if Joe had sent Mr. Luca her way, he agreed with that scenario. Either that, or he wouldn’t stop harassing Joe and he finally caved in. Unfortunately, there were times that the detectives’ hands were tied and there was nothing they could do unless concrete evidence came into play.
“I’m assuming your sister is over the age of twenty-one and, for whatever reason, they believe she left on her own?”
“Yes, that would be the correct assumption.” There was a pause that Lauren guessed Mr. Luca was using to formulate his words carefully. “Lauren, we love our sister very much. We feel she might have been coerced into leaving and possibly even know who is responsible. We just can’t prove it.”
It didn’t escape Lauren that he specifically used her name to make this a more personal plea. She was already aware she would take the case because of Joe but felt Mr. Luca should be warned what would happen if there were no traces of his sister’s energy. “Mr. Luca, you know I am a Noble, but did Joe explain how my power works? You need to be prepared that you might not like what I find.”
“I’m well aware of that risk, Lauren. My brother and I need to know one way or the other. We will find her. I know the first thing you will do is confirm things with Sergeant Davies, so do you have a piece of paper to write down our address? We’d like to meet with you first thing in the morning, if that is possible. Sergeant Davies only felt comfortable giving me your number, not your home address. And he insisted that you would want to meet us here, at our house. Otherwise, I would be on your doorstep instead of speaking with you on the phone.”
Lauren flipped the manila folder on her lap over to the back and jotted down the address he gave her. She was pretty sure she knew the area, although it was at least a good thirty minutes from her apartment in downtown Orlando, maybe longer. “Does ten o’clock sound good?”
“Yes, my brother and I will be waiting for you.”
For some reason, those words did not give her reassurance. She tried to imagine what he would look like, but there were too many possibilities. Lauren would guess just from the way he spoke, Caden Luca was in his thirties. He was probably a businessman, one in a position of power, although he felt a responsibility to his family. His brother was undoubtedly the total opposite, as it tended to be that way in the families she observed. Hell, she and her brother were as different as night and day.
“Until tomorrow, Lauren.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Luca.”
Lauren pulled the phone away from her ear and disconnected the call. Instead of calling Joe, she would stop by the station first thing in the morning and kill two birds with one stone. Actually, it would be three birds. She would speak with Joe and make sure Caden Luca was on the up and up, while she gave him a piece of her mind over this turn of events. Then she would check in with Officer Bates to see if they had scoured the pond that was located between Mr. Brewer’s residence and the park. And third, she would speak with whichever detective had decided that Victoria Luca had left on her own free will. And only then would she make the drive to meet these two brothers.
Chapter Two
Lauren followed the directions her GPS was spouting out and made the final turn that brought her to a black wrought iron gate. A speaker was located on the left side, so she rolled down her window to press the little white button on the speaker box. No voice came through, only an annoying buzzing sound, and then the gate slowly opened to allow her entrance.
Lauren had been surprised to find the address had been farther out in the country than she had originally thought. It had taken her close to an hour to make the drive, and she wondered why Mr. Luca chose to live so far from the major cities. He was obviously very wealthy, considering the acres of land on either side of the ro
ad. She could not make out the house due to the numerous large shade trees that obscured her view. Spanish moss hung down, creating cover where one might find relief from the Florida sun. The light breeze made them move in a sensual dance, as if they were swaying for their lover. The sound of his voice rang through her mind and suddenly, it hit her why his voice affected her so much. He had the voice of a lover. She pushed the thought out of her mind immediately. She was here to help Mr. Luca find his sister, that was all.
Once the gate was wide enough for her small, dark-blue compact car to fit through, Lauren made her way past the beige brick pillars and followed the paved driveway. After around three hundred feet, the shade trees seemed to part, and standing in front of her was what she would consider a large plantation home, although very up-to-date with modern times. The white columns were high, and the hot pavement made a circle, which led underneath the supports, only to be completed through the other side. It was hard not to feel conspicuous, pulling her small, inexpensive vehicle to a stop underneath the shaded area. This place had to be worth millions.
Lauren didn’t immediately get out of her car, but instead looked down at the passenger seat where another manila folder lay. This one contained the information Caden Luca had given to Detective Troves. She understood why he felt Victoria had left on her own and felt the brothers who came to make a statement were just being overprotective. According to the file, Victoria Luca was a twenty-six-year-old woman who traveled for her job as a pharmaceutical rep. Although she apparently stayed with her brothers often, she lived in an apartment in Tampa. Two weeks ago, she left a cryptic message that said she would be out of touch for a while. The voicemail stated she needed some personal time and that she would touch base within the month. Her company verified that she personally came into the office to file her vacation time. It seemed her domineering brothers weren’t convinced it was voluntary.