She was not about to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was avoiding Brice on purpose. She no longer viewed Brice in the way she had before Gabriel had entered her life. It made her feel guilty. Francesca had no idea what to say to Brice. She knew Skyler was destined to live with her, yet Brice didn’t want anything more to do with the teenager. He didn’t know what Francesca was, what she needed to do to survive. Everything was different now that Gabriel had returned. She was very confused and needed time to sort everything out properly.
Francesca touched her stomach with the palm of her hand, a light caress. A child. Gabriel had given her a child when she had gone so many centuries certain she would never have such a gift. And now Skyler. Able to touch minds as she could, Francesca knew everything about the young girl. Everything. She already loved the girl as a daughter.
There was soft male laughter brushing her mind. “You do not look old enough to have a daughter Skyler’s age.”
“I am old enough to be her ancestor. She knows we are not human.”
“Not really. She knows we are different. She thinks we are psychic as she is. Eventually we will explain the full truth. In the meantime, we must treat her the way humans with money treat their children. She will need a bodyguard during the daylight hours when we cannot be with her, along with a housekeeper to see to her needs.”
“I have to do this, Gabriel. I cannot leave her alone to face the world. She needs me.” Francesca was unsure whether she was apologizing or not.
“She needs the two of us,” Gabriel corrected her gently. “She must learn from someone that all men are not the monsters she has encountered. She is still of two minds. She wishes to retreat back into that place where nothing can touch her, yet the hand you are holding out to her is very tempting. She has felt you, the love you have for others, the compassion in your heart, and it calls loudly to her.”
“She will choose to come with us, Gabriel. She is tremendously courageous.”
Francesca flagged a cab to take her to the judge’s office. Her lawyer would meet her there. “We will meet back at the hospital as soon as the paperwork is finished so that the judge can ask Skyler if she is agreeable to my guardianship. I am concerned that Brice may make a scene over you. Are you prepared for such a thing?”
Gabriel censored his thoughts immediately. It was ingrained in him not to call unwarranted attention to himself. This was a situation he was unfamiliar with. His instinct was to remove the threat to himself and Francesca and even Skyler. Brice would not interfere with their plans. He would not allow such a thing.
“Gabriel?” Francesca’s voice was soft with worry. “Why have you closed your mind to me? You will not harm Brice, will you? He has been a good friend to me when I needed one.”
Gabriel swore to himself in several languages, mixing them up as he did so. Francesca had a way of forcing compliance on his part. It felt rather like being hobbled. What was he to do when she was always placing restrictions on his actions? “Attend your meeting, woman, and leave me in peace. I will be there should you need me later. For now, I am hunting and cannot take the time to give you reassurance.”
“Don’t growl at me, you fraud. I was not the one monitoring your thoughts. You opened this conversation, not me.”
She was laughing at him. Gabriel. The hunter of vampires. A warrior two thousand years old. Men feared him but Francesca was laughing at him. It was a new experience but one he could definitely get used to. She had a way of turning his heart over and melting his insides until he barely knew himself.
Gabriel streamed through the city, checking every haunt remembered from centuries earlier. He knew the layout of the huge sprawling city now. Every rat trap, every narrow alley and bolt-hole. He knew the cemeteries, the cathedrals, the hospitals and blood banks. He looked in every place he could think of for signs of Lucian. He knew his twin was in the city yet it was as if he were searching for the wind itself; there was no trace of Lucian’s existence other than that body left for the police.