“Are there many of you?” Francesca requested the information softly. “Are there any others named on this list of potential threats? Perhaps I can aid you in some way.”
“We have to protect ourselves now. We’ve lost many of our best people. It’s a war, a real war, between them and us. We only know a few of each other’s names; our meetings are small. We use phone numbers and a place on the Internet to leave messages back and forth. That way if our society is penetrated, we will only lose a few.”
Francesca could see that something was making him very resistant to giving out the names of those on the vampire list, although he was deeply ensnared by her compulsion. She pushed further into his mind and found a strange phenomenon. Immediately she reached for Gabriel and shared the information, puzzled by what she found in Barry Woods’s mind.
“He has undergone some kind of strong hypnosis.” Gabriel relied. “You can get around it, but he might have flashbacks. I can remove all traces of you from his memory. It is not so difficult to extract the information from his mind. He will never know.”
“Go ahead then, Gabriel. I don’t want him to take up any more of my time.” Francesca wanted to get her business out of the way and return to Gabriel. She didn’t like him being out in the city hunting the undead. She wanted him back in the safety of their home. She wanted Skyler safe within the walls of their home. She wanted the reporter long gone.
“Are you attempting to distract me from my task with your wanton thoughts?” There was a curling caress in Gabriel’s voice, brushing at the walls of her mind, flooding her body with heat and excitement.
“Wanton thoughts? You need a checkup, my boy. Your fantasy world seems to be growing larger with each passing day. I wanted you home to take out the trash.” She was staring directly at Barry Woods, so that Gabriel could use her as his instrument, could “see” the reporter and extract the information they needed from his mind. Gabriel’s teasing had lifted her spirits, given her the impression of a cool cleansing breeze moving through her mind, erasing her worries.
Francesca smiled at the reporter. Gabriel had what they needed and it was time for her to reinforce her most important command. She leaned closer to him so that her eyes held his. “You will never, under any circumstances, go near Skyler again.” At once she felt Gabriel’s power moving through her mind, swift and deadly, unbreakable, relentless. He issued his own command, stronger than any she could have made. The reporter would protect her, ensure that others left her strictly alone.
Francesca shook her head over the vehemence of that command, but she felt very precious to him. Cherished.
“You are cherished. Now do something women are supposed to do, something I will not worry about.”
“Look who’s talking!” She tried to sound indignant, but he was making her laugh with his nonsense.
“It is not nonsense. These are commands from your lifemate, and you should listen and obey.” He sounded very arrogant as only Gabriel could.
“You’re showing your age again. You awoke in the twenty-first century. Women no longer listen and obey, worse luck for you. I have work to do, and you are in some place very musty and smelling of wet dirt. What are you doing?”
“Performing secret masculine rituals.”
Francesca found herself laughing out loud. Woods startled her by smiling and reaching out to shake her hand. She had almost forgotten his existence. “Thank you so much for your time, and I enjoyed the tea.” He sounded very brisk and businesslike. Gabriel had ensured his obedience and the reporter was doing exactly as he had been instructed. He was leaving Francesca and going to report his findings to his friends. They would believe him: Francesca was a human woman with extraordinary talents but she walked in the sunlight and drank tea. Woods was certain he had shared such a thing with her.
Francesca smiled gently. “I am pleased to have met you, Mr. Woods. Good luck with your work.”