Dark Legend (22 page)

Francesca nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, honey, the locket will be waiting for you at home. I'll see to it personally." She murmured the promise softly as she brushed her mouth against Skyler's forehead.

Gabriel reached right passed Brice as if he weren't there and captured Francesca's hand, twining his fingers through hers as if they belonged together. "You need to sign the papers, sweetheart, and then, I think we will visit several shops for our young lady." He flashed his smile at Skyler, the one that could light up the sky and take Francesca's breath away. She loved him in that one single moment. She loved the way he reassured Skyler with genuine caring. She felt it in him. He was her lifemate and could not lie to her or mislead her in any way about his true feelings. He wanted Skyler to share their life and their protection. He wanted her safe from all harm. There was true goodness in Gabriel.

Francesca allowed him to pull her from the room, down the hall into the waiting room where she could finish her business with the judge and her lawyer. Gabriel remained at her side, silent but supportive. He didn't try to catch her eye or hold her attention in any way, yet she could think of little else. He was there, larger than life. He was life. And laughter. She wanted to smile just thinking of him. How had he managed to create such a shifting of her loyalty in such a short period of time?

As a young girl so many centuries ago, she had been certain of what she was, proud of who she was. She knew she was created to be the lifemate of someone extraordinary. She had always known it. She had been proud of Gabriel, always proud of him, even when she thought him lost to her. He was a legend, a great vampire fighter, a hunter unsurpassed by any other. Francesca had known the call of the lifemate was powerful, yet she had been certain the passing of centuries would diminish that strong pull. She had counted on it. She bit her lip, attempting to concentrate on what her lawyer was saying; yet all the time,
he
was in her mind, filling her senses and confusing her completely.

She wanted peace. Rest. After all the emptiness, all the long years of being alone, she deserved rest. She had been useful, she hadn't wasted her life or her gifts.

"No, my love, you did not. I could not be more proud of anyone. You accomplished a great deal, all for good. While I was taking lives, you were saving them."
The voice was soft in her head, filled with respect, tinged with regret. As if he considered himself unworthy of her.

At once her large dark eyes turned to capture his.
"You were saving lives, too. Gabriel, you are the guardian of our people. You must know you stood between mankind and the undead. You gave up your happiness to do so."

Watching them from the doorway, Brice saw the raw emotion in Francesca's beautiful eyes as she gazed so lovingly at Gabriel. She had no idea of her own feelings, how deep, how intense they ran within her, but he could see the truth in her eyes. It looked as if they lived in their own secret world. They seemed to communicate without words. His fingers bunched tightly at his sides, curling until his knuckles were white and his body shook with anger and disappointment. He had courted Francesca for so long, devoted himself to her, yet never once had she looked at him in such a manner. And she was more beautiful than ever, more alluring. Watching her, he realized she was sexy beyond anyone he had ever encountered. He had always thought her beautiful, a perfect ornament to display in the social circles he intended traveling in. Brice had never thought of her in terms of hot steamy nights and sex, yet now, looking at her, he could hardly restrain himself.

Just then Gabriel lifted his head and looked at him, a long cold look that sent a shiver racing down Brice's spine. Brice turned on his heel and walked away. There was no way Gabriel could actually read minds, no way he could judge the extent of Brice's hatred of him. No way he could have seen the erotic pictures in his head. Brice needed Francesca in every way and he deserved her. He was not going to allow Gabriel to waltz in and take over. Maybe no one else could see it, but he knew there was something wrong with Gabriel, something dark and dangerous. A monster lurked inside him and every now and then, Brice caught a glimpse of it in his eyes. Brice intended to protect Francesca from her own compassionate nature.

Gabriel shook hands automatically with the judge and with Francesca's lawyer. He was used to thinking and even speaking on two different levels. He made small talk easily, all the while turning the problem of Brice over and over in his mind. The doctor was jealous and obsessed with Francesca. He was becoming a threat to their well-being. Brice's hatred seemed out of sync with his bland personality. Was there a subtle taint of power that Gabriel had not caught? Few of the undead could hide such a thing from him.
Lucian.
Was it his twin playing games again, using his human enemy against him? He examined Brice's mind. If it was tainted with the power of the undead, the user was extremely skilled. He should recognize traces of his brother, yet he did not. Yet Brice seemed twisted with hatred. It was centered on Francesca, as Gabriel knew it would be. Brice was determined to get her back, to turn her against Gabriel. If the undead was using the human, Gabriel could not detect the subtle power.

"What is it?" Francesca asked softly, placing her hand in his.

He smiled at her. She was his world. The only one in it. Very slowly he brought her palm to the warmth of his mouth, lingering for a moment to inhale her scent. "You are an extraordinary woman, Francesca."

She was glad the others were already out of the room. She could hear them as they walked down the hall together, pleased with the outcome of the meeting. Color was moving up her face like a schoolgirl's; she was blushing simply because he had kissed her palm. Francesca tried to tug her hand back.

Gabriel retained possession, his white teeth very much in evidence. "You are shy with me even after all we have shared?" Deliberately his voice held a husky seduction, a teasing temptation.

"I am not," she lied, embarrassed by her reaction. She had once thought his eyes so empty of emotion, yet when they rested on her they were filled with such hunger, such intensity, she could barely think straight.

His white teeth flashed at her. "I think we need to find a store and furnish a room for our teenager. I never thought I would have to 'father' a girl of her age, and a human at that. I pity any young man who thinks he might like to take her out on a date. Reading minds is very helpful in certain situations."

Francesca reached up to rub his chin. "Thank you for wanting to do this with me. I'm really excited about bringing Skyler home with us and it's nice you share that with me. She's such a beautiful girl."

"Yes, she is. She should have clothes that make her feel good about herself." He suddenly grinned. "I know quite a bit about the world, almost any subject, but I have no idea what a teenage girl would want in her room. I must rely heavily on you in that department. There were no images in Skyler's head of what she would like."

"I don't think she's ever thought about such things. Her life has been one of survival. I have been thinking we could give her the upstairs room with the balcony, the one with the small turret attached to it."

He nodded solemnly. "I believe she would like that very much, Francesca." He took her hand. "Fly with me this night. We can go to the shops and walk unseen until we decide what we would like to purchase. Allow yourself to feel the freedom of our race once more. You have not done such a thing in a very long time."

Francesca found a small smile forming at the idea. It was true. She had given up many of the gifts unique to their people in order to think and feel and act human. It had been very necessary in order to hide herself. But now the temptation was too strong to resist. Allowing her senses to flare out into the night, scanning the entire area, she waited until she knew there was no one in the vicinity, then took a running leap skyward. As she launched herself into the air, feathers shimmered, iridescent and beautiful, so that she flew silently across the starlit sky.

The feeling of soaring through the night was so incredible, she could hardly take it in. It had been so long since she had allowed herself the luxury of thinking like a Carpathian. She had wanted her thought patterns to be wholly human at all times. Now it seemed she could enjoy the special privileges of her race once again. She laughed with joy as she moved through the sky.

Gabriel joined her, a large raptor, silent and swift and deadly, winging through the sky toward the heart of the city. He knew her mind, knew she would go first to the home of Skyler's father to retrieve the precious locket. He flew close to Francesca, determined to protect her even from her own exuberance if necessary. He was in her mind, ensuring that she held the image of the bird in flight so she could make no mistakes. He shared her joy and reveled in her freedom, but he remained a shadow, determined to protect her.

Francesca settled on the rooftop of the old building where Skyler's father had lived. It was severely run down.

There were bars on the windows and the door, something that was no barrier for the two powerful Carpathians. The little apartment was a wreck of smashed liquor bottles and filthy dishes. There was no food in the refrigerator, only beer. The cupboards held a box of crackers and two cans of soup. Francesca touched one of the cracked mugs sitting in the sink.

She turned to look at Gabriel with tears in her eyes. She could feel the violence locked in the tiny apartment. A child's terror. The brutality a man could impose. She saw flashes of Skyler's life, the father, a huge man, swinging a belt at her in the bathroom. Skyler huddled in a corner while a man approached her with an evil smile.

Gabriel grasped Francesca and shook her gently. "Leave this evil place. You are too sensitive for such as this."

"Skyler was, too. That beautiful child was subjected to this depravity. They drove her to the edge of madness, Gabriel."

The tears in her voice were almost more than he could bear. "She is safe with us, Francesca. We will not allow harm to come her way again."

"She is a human psychic, a rare treasure to our males. She would have been invaluable to our race, but after such atrocities, I cannot imagine her being able to love one so dominant and wild as any of our males. What are we to do?" There was despair in her voice.

"That dilemma is a long way off, honey, not something we have to solve at this moment. In any case, we do not know if she is the lifemate to one of our species. Our first duty is to her now. She is our daughter and deserves our protection. Go, I will find her mother's locket," Gabriel assured her.

She linked her fingers with his, needing the comfort of his closeness. She didn't question why his touch felt so right to her. She only knew she wanted to be held in his arms and feel his enormous strength when all around them was the evil of mankind. Gabriel fitted her beneath his shoulder, instinctively knowing she would rather be with him in this wicked place than outside alone in the clean air. The realization made him humble. He brought her hand to the warmth of his mouth, breathed a kiss onto her skin, his mouth telling her without words that she was the magic in his life.

They found Skyler's locket and he secured it around his neck as they made their way to the shops. Francesca was in her element there. She knew the city, knew the vendors. She often bought thousands of dollars' worth of clothes to donate to the poor. Gabriel twined his fingers with hers as they entered one of the stores. This was not Gabriel's forte, but he was more than willing to share the excitement with her. He watched Francesca blossom, her beauty almost ethereal. She lit up the shop and he couldn't help thinking of their night alone in her friend's boutique. When he flashed her a grin, she blushed and quickly looked away from him, sharing his thoughts of their wild encounter together.

Closing hour came and went, but all of the merchants Francesca called cheerfully opened their shops for her. Gabriel found he enjoyed watching her move through the stores, examining clothes and furniture, selecting youthful styles appropriate for the newest member of their family.

"Are you planning on getting her an entire wardrobe?" he teased when she showed him pair of faded blue denim pants. "What is this fascination modern women have with these men's pants?" He rubbed the bridge of his nose thoughtfully. "Must our daughter wear such things? Dresses and skirts would be much more appropriate."

Francesca's eyebrow shot up, and her mouth curled in a small smile. "Perhaps you're right; perhaps we need to look at more feminine clothes for her."

It was her voice that warned him all might not be as he would like. He followed her with some apprehension into a different area of the store. Francesca took a navy blue sheath from a hanger and held it up. "This is darling, Gabriel. Don't you love it? You're right, I think we need to concentrate on much more feminine articles of clothing."

He reached around her and fingered the soft material. "Where is the rest of it?" He was very serious, his dark eyes searching her face for signs she was teasing.

"This is the entire dress. Girls wear them quite short these days. Haven't you noticed?" Francesca couldn't believe he had never noticed the women in the city and the clothes that often revealed a generous portion of leg.

"You do not wear such clothes." He made it a statement.

"Of course I do. Short and long dresses. Anything goes in this age."

"You wear things like that dress in front of men?" There was a curious churning in the pit of his stomach. He didn't quite understand why he suddenly wanted to rip the doctor's head off. Had the man seen her in such garments? The thought of it brought an unfamiliar volcanic feeling to his gut.

Francesca laughed at him. Straight out laughed at him. Her dark eyes were shining with merriment. "You sound just a tiny bit on the jealous side."

His hand reached out, almost of its own accord, his fingers circling her throat. "I know you are not making fun of me, are you, Francesca?"