The twins looked between each other and Kat dropped her pizza crust into the box. “Estranged? I’ve been looking for the man for the past two decades.”
Prince quit chewing his food and swallowed the last bite. “Would you mind explaining?”
“While my sister wants to sit there and pretend that our father left us, I know for a fact he’s in trouble. Someone took him, because he wouldnevergo this long without getting in touch with one of us.”
Nadia rolled her eyes, and when Prince noticed, Kat followed the direction of his gaze.
“I’m sorry that you weren’t daddy’s girl, but that doesn’t mean you have to punish him with your indifference,” Kat said. “He didn’t abandon us; someonetookhim. You don’t have to believe me, but I’ll never stop looking for him.”
“And why would someone take our father? What reason could anyone have to abduct a Packmaster? Kidnapping is so Middle Ages.”
“People do it every day,” Kat murmured, prying another large slice of pizza from the pie.
Prince pushed his plate away, his appetite gone. “What makes you believe he’s in trouble? Who would have a grudge against him that they’d risk capturing a Packmaster?”
Kat swallowed a bite from her fourth slice and sat back, patting her bloated stomach with a satisfied look on her face. “I have a couple of ideas, but nothing solid.”
Nadia tapped her fingernail on her glass of white wine, the crystal ringing a high note. She looked at Prince and lowered her voice. “Remember what I said about infectious behavior?”
A hiccup from Kat drew his attention forward again.
“Seriously, are youstillcalling me a virus?” she asked Nadia. “I’m not the only rude one in this family. Having an opinion isn’t a character flaw; God knows you have plenty of your own that I’m subjected to hearing. Motivating people isn’t a negative trait. If I were a man, I would have been a Packmaster and you wouldn’t be questioning my behavior.”
Nadia held the stem of her glass. “But as it stands, you don’t have any testicles that I’m aware of. Prince is a respected Packmaster with responsibilities. He’s not a man you can brainwash into following your schemes.”
“He’s also a man of free will who happens to be sitting at this table.” Kat looked at Prince, her eyes resolute. “So what do you think? Do you want to help find my father?”
Nadia threw her white cloth napkin on the table. “That’s enough, Katarina. You’ve exceeded your wine and caloric intake.”
Kat stood up and grabbed the bottle. “I don’t think I’ve hadenough,because I sure as hell need something to anesthetize me from the ignorance that lives within this house.”
“One you’re free to leave anytime.”
Prince sat back and folded his arms, amused by the quarreling between two women who looked and sounded the same but were mirror opposites.
Kat took a swig of wine, settling her eyes on Nadia. “At least I make an attempt to keep a relationship with you. Maybe you don’t like me swinging by unannounced, but how often do you call or come by where I’m staying? Never. I call you as often as I can, but you don’t answer. Before cell phones, you used to let the answering machine screen your calls, but at least you could lie and say you weren’t home. There’s no excuse for you not answering my calls now, because you carry that phone wherever you go!”
Something changed in Kat’s voice—a catch in her throat that snagged Prince’s attention. Her anger switched to something else, and her lip trembled for a fraction of a second before she took another swig of wine and stalked out of the room. His heart clenched and he felt an unexpected compulsion to go after her. There was nothing petulant about her outburst, just an underlying sadness.
Nadia gripped his left arm. “If you’d like to go, I have no complaints.”
“Not one?” he asked, placing his right hand on top of hers.
She flashed a lovely smile and tilted her head to one side. “Maybe a tiny one.”
“Your life intrigues me. I never imagined Alex would have such willful, strong daughters.”
“Alex?”
He nodded. “It’s what I called him.”
“I never did like nicknames,” she said, her voice tired. “Sometimes I wish a man would take her off my hands, then maybe she wouldn’t come around so often.”
“You don’t like your sister’s company? She’s your twin.”
The air cooled, and Nadia retracted her hand to sip her wine. “We have nothing in common. If you don’t have siblings, you wouldn’t understand. The last time she came to visit, I was entertaining a group of friends. It was an upscale party until she had everyone doing shots. Then the music changed and she infected them with her riotous behavior. No one wanted her to leave.”
“I’ve heard twins are competitive.”
