Leah grinned as she finished tying her bootlaces and stood. “I’d ask how I look, but your eyes say it all.”
“You’re so beautiful.”
“And you’re gorgeous. Now tuck all of those delicious desires of yours away so you won’t walk out of here hard.”
Seth glanced down and sighed.
She laughed. “Wouldn’t want to shock your guys any more than you already have.”
At least she had a sense of humor about it.
As soon as Seth reined in his desire, he escorted Leah out of the bedroom, down the hallway, and into the living room.
Almost every immortal currently stationed in the area appeared to be present. David. Zach and Lisette. Roland and Sarah. Bastien and Melanie. Richart and Jenna. Étienne and Krysta. Ethan and Heather. Aidan and Dana. Sean, Imhotep, Chaak, and Marcus. Their Seconds were also present, as were Ami and Adira. Even Stanislav and Susan were there.
Where’s Jared? Seth asked Zach telepathically.
Guarding network headquarters.
All conversation ceased when Seth and Leah stepped into view. Everyone stood and faced them, clustering together.
“This is Leah Somerson,” Seth announced, resting a hand on her lower back.
Leah smiled and offered them a friendly wave. “Hello.”
Before they could respond, Seth scowled and decreed sternly, “Do not read her mind, telepaths. I expressly forbid it. Zach, you and David may read Leah’s mind only in the case of a dire emergency. The rest of you may not. Do so against my wishes and you will suffer my wrath.”
Leah nodded somberly. “Seth told me that many of you view him as something of a father figure.” Leaning into his side, she gave his chest a little pat. “Trust me when I say you do not want to read my mind and see the kinky shit daddy does in bed.”
Eyes widened as over a dozen mouths fell open.
Seth threw back his head and laughed as Zach burst into guffaws.
Curling his arm around Leah, Seth hugged her close. “She’s teasing you,” he told their stunned audience, then looked down at her. “Tell them you’re teasing. Quickly. I’m already starting to pick up on some freaky guesses they’re mentally broadcasting.”
Leah grinned. “I’m just teasing.”
Everyone laughed and parted to allow David passage.
David shook his head as he approached Leah, his deep brown eyes alight with laugher. “Well done.”
“I couldn’t resist,” she told him with a laugh.
Taking her hand, he pressed a kiss to it. “I’m happy to see you well and recovered from your injuries. I’ve been assured that your home has already been cleaned and put back in order. All repairs are complete. And your employees are running the shop well.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for holding Tessa for us. She probably would have escaped us yet again if you hadn’t distracted her.”
Leah sobered. “How is she?”
“Confused.” David met Seth’s eyes. “That’s why Aidan wishes to speak with you.”
Aidan stepped forward. “Sorry about that, Seth. I didn’t realize you were with Leah when I told Zach and David I needed to talk to you.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Aidan smiled and offered Leah his hand. “I’m Aidan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She smiled. “Nice to meet you, too.” When Aidan kissed the back of her hand instead of shaking it, she sent Seth a glance. “You guys are all so gallant.”
“Because we’re so old,” he returned with a rueful smile.
“Hi, Leah!”
Seth looked over the heads of the others. Sheldon and Tracy stood in the entrance of the kitchen, waving.
Leah waved back. “Hi, Sheldon. Hi, Tracy.”
Darnell stepped into the doorway behind them.
“Hi, Darnell.”
Smiling, he waved back.
Leah looked up at Seth. “Seriously, who doesn’t live here?”
He laughed. “Usually it’s only David, Darnell, Ami, Marcus, Adira, and me. But Roland and Sarah have been staying here since they adopted Michael. And everyone else has been sticking close to keep them all safe while my enemy is at large.”
“That’s so sweet.” Leaving him, she moved forward to stand among the immortal males, every one of whom smiled down at her and studied her curiously. “And look,” she said with a broad grin as she tilted her head back to look up at the warriors. “I’m shorter than all of them.”
David chuckled. “I told you you’d love our family.”
“You were right. I feel positively dainty.”
Ami and Sarah stepped up beside Leah, both barely five feet tall.
“Hi, Leah.”
“Hi, Leah.”
Leah sent Seth a wry smile. “Well, I did feel dainty.”
He grinned.
Ami surprised Seth by giving Leah a hug. She was usually painfully shy around men and women she didn’t know well, a holdover from the torture she had endured.
Leah hugged her back.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Ami told her. “Were you badly injured?”
“No.” Leah waved it off the way one might a paper cut. “It was nothing.”
“It was not nothing,” Seth countered, his amusement dying. “She was shot in the back and the bullet tore through her chest.”
Silence fell. Expressions darkened as everyone stared at her.
Leah shot the men around her a disgruntled look. “What? It was an accident. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Ami touched her arm. “They aren’t angry at you for getting hurt. They’re angry that someone hurt you.”
“Oh.”
“How did it happen?” Roland asked, stepping up behind Sarah and resting his hands on her hips.
Seth answered before Leah could. “She took a bullet for Tessa.”
Sean moved forward. “The missing immortal I fought?”
“Yes. Tessa led the vampires that attacked Leah in her home last night. Leah guessed who she was and took a bullet to save her.”
Leah frowned. “Don’t say it like that. You make it sound like I saw the bullet coming and dove in front of it like action heroes do in movies. That’s not what happened.”
Seth arched a brow. “You saw a bullet strike her, knew more would follow, and dove between her and the shooter, tackling her and taking her to the ground. How exactly is that different?”
“Dude,” Sheldon said. “That was badass.”
“Yes, it was,” Seth acknowledged, then frowned at Leah. “Don’t do it again.”
Instead of getting offended or expressing anger at the order, Leah smiled and closed the distance between them. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,” she quipped lightly. “You are hot when you turn into Mr. Tough Protective Guy.”
He shook his head. “You think you’re going to wrap me around your little finger, don’t you?”
“Not really.” She winked. “But I’m going to have a lot of fun trying.”
Curling an arm around her, he pulled her up against his side once more.
“Speaking of having fun,” Sheldon said. “I’m sure you two have worked up quite an appetite, so I—”
Tracy elbowed him in the ribs. “Sheldon!”
“Ow! What? I counted at least four or five thunderstorms and earthquakes. Who wouldn’t be hungry after that?”
Rather than being appalled at having her sex life discussed so openly, Leah laughed. “Actually, I am pretty hungry.”
“I am, too,” Seth added and felt guilty that he hadn’t offered her more than chips before now.
“Excellent,” Sheldon replied with a grin. “Anybody else hungry?”
Many voiced an affirmative.
“That’s what I figured, which is why Tracy and I have spent the past few hours working our butts off to cook you dinner. Who wants to set the table?”
Krysta, Étienne, and Sean all darted forward in a blur. Place settings appeared on the long
table in the adjoining dining room as if by magic as the three zipped back and forth from the kitchen.
Leah smiled up at Seth. “That is awesome! I’m totally going to borrow some of your guys the next time I do inventory in my store.”
Everyone laughed and began to migrate toward the table.
Aidan hung back.
“What did you wish to speak to me about?” Seth asked.
The ancient Celtic immortal’s face acquired a grim look. “I read Tessa’s mind. Gershom did an excellent job of making her want you dead.”
“Tell me.” He had been too concerned about Leah to delve into Tessa’s thoughts earlier.
“He took your form and slaughtered her twin brother.”
Leah gasped.
“And he did it right in front of Tessa, dragging out the pain to make him suffer. Then he damned near gutted Tessa, too.”
“That poor girl,” Leah said softly.
Aidan nodded. “Before she could bleed out, he stopped, looked over his shoulder as if he heard something, then sped away in a blur.”
Fury filled Seth. “Let me guess.”
“As soon as he was out of sight, Gershom shifted back into his own form, cleaned up in seconds, and raced back to Tessa’s side. Because he came from the opposite direction, it looked to her as if he was hunting you and you were fleeing him. He made himself the hero, healing her wounds and burying her brother. And he’s given her no reason to suspect otherwise. She doesn’t know he can shape-shift. She thinks such impossible. Gershom even convinced her that we killed Veronica. The two women saw each other briefly right after he rescued Tessa.” A muscle jumped in Aidan’s cheek, betraying his anger. “I fear Veronica could not tell the difference between Gershom and me when he took my form and kidnapped her, so Tessa heard her expressing confusion over why I had done it. She, too, thought Gershom had rescued her… from me. Gershom separated them before she could say more, then later told Tessa that we killed Veronica when we got our hands on her again and weren’t satisfied with the information she gave us, then killed her son.”
Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?
The words Tessa had spoken when he had accused her of hurting Leah resurfaced in Seth’s memory. Such bitterness had infused them. She thought he had tortured and killed her twin. And she wanted to bring him the same pain by harming those he loved most.
No wonder she had attacked Leah. Gershom must have already divined that Seth was seeing her.
“Did you speak with Tessa?” he asked Aidan.
“No. She heard me talking with Bastien and Melanie. Nothing we said swayed her though, so I thought…”
“What?”
“I wanted to ask your permission to take the children to see her.”
“Hell no!” Roland roared from the dining room.
Seth held up a hand, forestalling further refusals. “Does she even know what Michael looks like?”
“Yes. Tessa looked Veronica up on social media after Gershom gave her a cell phone to call him in case of an emergency when she started hunting immortals.”
Leah made a thoughtful hmmm sound.
“What?” Seth asked her.
“Well, I think that’s a good sign, don’t you? Why would she look Veronica up on social media if she thought the woman was dead? It sounds as if she wasn’t sure, despite Gershom’s words, and wanted to see if Veronica had posted anything recently that would indicate she still lived.”
Aidan nodded. “I thought the same.”
Roland joined them, scowling up at Seth. “You can’t actually be considering it—letting him take Michael and Adira to see her at the network. She attacked Leah. She’s dangerous.”
Seth shook his head. “I won’t let him take Adira and Michael to the network.”
Roland relaxed.
“I’ll bring Tessa here instead.”
Once more, the room fell silent.
“What?” Roland and Marcus both barked.
“I’m going to bring Tessa here,” Seth repeated. “She will be joining us for dinner.”
Krysta ducked into the kitchen to fetch another place setting.
Roland looked furious, Marcus worried.
Seth shrugged. “There are over a dozen immortals present and at least half a dozen Seconds. Tessa couldn’t harm Adira and Michael if she tried. And if she does try,” he added, catching every immortal’s eye, “incapacitate her if you must, but do not kill her. Understood?”
“Understood,” most chorused. He didn’t blame Roland for refraining.
“As long as she thinks us monsters, she will remain loyal to Gershom,” Seth told them. “So let her see us as we are—a loving family and protectors of innocents.”
It took a moment, but activity resumed as immortals helped Tracy and Sheldon carry trays bearing three large turkeys to the table along with bowl after bowl of side dishes.
Seth clapped Roland on the back. “Relax. I won’t let Tessa hurt them. I vow it.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Roland released it in a long sigh. “I know you won’t.”
Leah looked around. “Where are the children?”
Roland nodded to two sofas that had been pushed together—facing each other—to form a huge crib of sorts. “Napping on the sofa.” His lips twitched as he met Seth’s gaze. “The tremors and storms unnerved them a bit, so they wanted to stay up here with everyone else.”
Damned if Seth didn’t feel heat creep into his cheeks.
Leah bit her lip. “I don’t know what’s worse: the dismay I feel that everyone knows exactly how many times we made love, regret over possibly frightening the children, or fear that you aren’t going to touch me anymore, Seth.”
Roland chuckled. “Don’t worry about the children. We managed to convince them that the ground shaking was like a fun carnival ride.”
Leah grinned. “It sure as hell was for me.”
Laughter erupted throughout the room.
Even Seth joined in.
Two little heads poked up from behind the sofa’s back.
Adira’s eyes brightened when she saw Leah. Squealing with glee, she stood and started to climb over the back of the sofa.
Marcus zipped past and caught her before she could fall. Roland did the same for Michael when the little boy opted to follow her.
As soon as their feet touched the floor, the toddlers raced over to Leah, who knelt and accepted warm hugs.
R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” filtered faintly through the conversations that arose. Across the room, Zach answered his phone. “Yes?”
“Riley and I are badly outnumbered and could use some help,” Quinn, an immortal stationed in Ireland said. “Shite!”
Zach teleported away.
Guilt suffused Seth.
“Don’t,” David said softly enough to prevent Leah from hearing him.
Seth sent him a penitent look. Zach, David, and Jared had been fielding his calls for hours while he lolled in bed and explored Leah’s beautiful body. “You shouldn’t have had to field my calls for so long. I should have—”
“Done exactly what you did and taken the time you needed. You’ll hear no complaints from us, Seth. Immortals around the world are becoming accustomed to their calls being answered by Zach and Jared. They all have devices that confirm Zach and Jared aren’t Gershom. And both are fine with taking on additional responsibilities.” He patted Seth on the back. “The fact that you can shoulder all of the burden yourself doesn’t mean that you should.”
Seth smiled. “I haven’t shouldered all of the burden myself in thousands of years. You’ve taken much of it off my shoulders.”
“Zach and Jared will take even more.” David’s smile broadened. “Jared is loving it, by the way. He’s been bored for millennia. This gives him something useful to do and will save us a lot of headaches by keeping him too busy to date.”
Seth chuckled and shook his head. “That’s going to be a nightmare.”
“Such was my thought.”
David palmed his cell. “Yes?”
“David,” a Finnish immortal named Leena said breathlessly. “Joakim is down. We’ve defeated the vampires, but he nearly lost an arm and could use a healer.”
“Call the network and have them send a medic and a cleaning crew to you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Pocketing the phone, he sent Seth a smile. I’m so glad I can teleport now, he told him telepathically.
Seth was, too. Only Sarah, Roland, and Zach knew it, however. So David left through the front door and flew away in the form of a hawk on the off chance Gershom might be watching from far enough away that Ami couldn’t detect him. Once David had flown a few miles, he would seek the cover of forest, retake his form, teleport somewhere discreet near Leena, then fly to her side.
They would let no one else learn that particular secret until their final confrontation with Gershom.
Chapter Eighteen
Tessa paced the length of the studio apartment. Her stomach growled.
Aidan hadn’t made an appearance with a dinner tray. She had dared him to come to her, dared him to try to convince her that Gershom had lied. But he hadn’t.
“Coward,” she muttered furiously, resting a hand on the butter knife she’d tucked into a pocket. One didn’t need a sharp blade to penetrate flesh when one had preternatural strength. Tessa planned to pierce the Scot’s heart as soon as he made an appearance, then fight her way out of… whatever the hell this building was.
“You’re the coward,” a male growled in response.
She jumped. It was the same man she’d heard arguing with himself and saying some truly scary stuff. It had not taken her long to determine he wasn’t right in the head. “What?”
“You’re the coward,” he repeated. “Too afraid to see what’s right in front of your fucking face,” he grumbled. “Too afraid to admit you’ve placed your trust in the hands of a monster.”
“You’re one to call someone else a monster,” she challenged.
“At least I have an excuse,” he retorted without pause, offering no denial. “I’m a vampire.”
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