“He gave me a very special gift,” Lisette continued.
“I did?” Aidan asked.
Lisette’s smile widened. “You told how to me how to strengthen my mental barriers so I can know all of Zach’s secrets without you and the others ferreting them out.”
Aidan smiled. “So I did. And it’s working, by the way. Your mental barriers are already so much stronger that I couldn’t breach them. I just assumed you were reading Dana’s thoughts.”
Lisette laughed. “You assumed correctly.” She turned back to Dana. “As I said, he’s precious to us. And you’re clearly precious to him. So I wanted to take a little peek and see if you were finding our world too overwhelming.” Stepping back, she grinned up at her husband. “Clearly not, because she Tasered Roland and tranqed him.”
Zach laughed. “The other immortals are going to love her.”
Even Roland laughed at that.
Then all levity died as the immortals looked toward the front of the house. Again.
“Seriously?” Heather blurted in disbelief.
Dana consulted Aidan. “What is it?”
“Marcus, Ami, and their daughter Adira.”
Roland swore.
As did Zach. “Seth will be furious.”
Nodding, Heather turned to her Second. “Hey, Ed?”
“Yeah?”
“It looks like we’re going to need a bigger house. You can tack on a few extra rooms, right?”
He laughed. “That’s a little outside my job description.”
The crunch of gravel under tires intruded upon the night, accompanied by the low rumble of a well-tuned engine.
Seconds later, both sounds ended. Doors opened and closed. Then the doorbell rang.
Ethan opened the door.
A man and a woman stood on the porch.
Dana recognized the woman. Ami was the redhead she had seen in her vision. The one with the Chuck Taylor high-top sneakers. Although tonight she wore heavy boots.
Marcus, the man at her side, held a beautiful redheaded toddler in his arms and had a large bag looped over one shoulder. Like all of the other males present, he bore black hair and brown eyes. But his hair fell a few inches below his shoulders like Zach’s.
Both newcomers wore all black like their brethren, so Dana assumed they were immortal.
Although maybe not. They did have a baby.
She frowned. Could immortals have children? She hadn’t thought to ask Aidan.
Ethan shook his head at the couple. “Seth is going to be furious.”
Ami thrust her chin out stubbornly but didn’t deny it as she stepped inside. Marcus followed.
The baby grinned when she saw the gathering and bounced in her daddy’s arms. “Unca Wowand! Unca Wowand!”
As Ethan closed the door, Marcus bent and lowered the little girl’s feet to the floor.
“Dana,” Aidan said, “this is Marcus and his wife Ami.”
The little girl beelined over to Roland, who bent and scooped her up into his arms, giving her an affectionate grin and a peck on the cheek.
“And that’s their daughter Adira.”
Seth abruptly appeared just inside the front door. When his gaze alighted upon the large group in the living room, his eyes lit with golden fire.
Chapter Thirteen
“Seriously?” Seth roared.
The world beyond the windows brightened for an instant with a flash of lightning.
Thunder followed, so loud that Dana felt the vibrations in her chest.
Everyone quieted.
“Was I unclear in my instructions?” Seth demanded. “When I said I wanted Aidan and Dana to stay with Ethan and Heather instead of at David’s place so Dana wouldn’t have to bump into powerful immortals every time she turned around and perhaps might have an easier time adjusting, did I muddle my words or speak in a language you failed to comprehend?”
Seth had wanted them to stay away so she could have some time and space to come to terms with all this?
That was kind of nice. And really didn’t gel with Dana’s knowledge that Seth would soon want Aidan dead.
Roland stepped forward, Adira cradled in his arms. “I screwed up, Seth, and wanted to make amends. I’m the reason Dana has to deal with all of this at once. I pretty much threw it in her face.”
Sarah nodded. “We wanted to see if there was anything we could do to mitigate the damage and—if not—thought the least we could do was guard Aidan and Dana and keep them safe.”
The fury that blazed in Seth’s eyes didn’t dim when he turned his gaze upon Ami.
Thunder rumbled again at the same time lightning brightened the windows.
“I told you I didn’t want you in the same home as Aidan and Dana,” Seth bit out. “It’s too dangerous. We believe the vampire attack last night confirms Gershom’s interest in Dana and—as I said earlier—I believe the chance of getting you, Adira, and Dana all in one fell swoop might prove a great enough lure for him to risk anything.”
Ami looked both defiant and nervous.
Hell, they all looked nervous. Except for Zach. Seth was emitting so much power that the hair on Dana’s arms stood up. And Dana was pretty sure Seth was responsible for the sudden storm brewing overhead. The skies had been clear when she, Aidan, and the others had been outside.
“Seth,” Ami said, “I would know it if Gershom were nearby. I would feel it. You know I would. And as soon as I did, I would call you.”
Seth vanished and reappeared in front of Ami, the long fingers of one hand wrapped around her throat.
Dana gasped.
Marcus emitted a shout of protest and lunged forward, then stopped short about the same time Dana realized the powerful immortal leader was exerting no pressure with his hold.
“A second to you,” Seth growled, “is half an hour to one with my power. Gershom could silence you before you even had time to recognize his presence. And he could take you and Adira beyond my reach without your ever having made a sound.” The Immortal Guardians’ leader sounded tormented by the thought. “Do you know how hard it would be for me to find you? How long it might take?” he rasped.
Too long, his tone implied.
Remorse filled Ami’s green gaze. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Lowering his hand, Seth stepped back and turned his eyes, still bright with anger, on Marcus. “What the hell is wrong with you, letting them come here?”
Marcus scowled. “Let? You know how hard her head is,” he said in his own defense. “I can only bang mine against it for so long before I end up caving. Besides, I knew you’d follow as soon as you realized where we’d gone.”
Zach laughed.
But Dana remained on edge. The danger had not yet passed. Seth looked the way he had in her vision. And she feared it might be coming to pass, that Seth would turn that wrath upon Aidan and attack.
Seth swung on Lisette. “Why are you here?”
Lisette gave him a penitent shrug and looked to Dana like a child being chastised by a parent. “Aidan has been good to me. I wanted to make sure they were okay.”
Grumbling something under his breath, Seth shifted his gaze to Zach. “Et tu, Brute?” he said, sarcasm creeping into his deep voice.
But his glowing eyes, Dana noted, didn’t dim.
Zach smiled and nodded toward Lisette. “I go where she goes.”