Flawless Evans, Gabrielle (ebook smartphone .txt) 📖

that he hadn’t even realized the man had unbuckled his seatbelt. Oh, this was going to go so wrong. They weren’t even inside yet, and he couldn’t even keep it together.

“Nothing is going to happen to you,” Kieran whispered in his ear.

“I swear that I won’t let anyone touch you.” The words spoken in that deep timbre soothed his frayed nerves like a cool aloe to overheated flesh. The soft lips that brushed over the side of his neck just made his dick hard, but he appreciated the gesture all the same. “Thank you, Kieran.” Kieran brushed Lynk’s hair back from his shoulders and nuzzled him just under his jaw. “That’s what I’m here for, sugar.” Flawless 49

Oh, Lynk was in trouble. He was far too weak where his mate was concerned. He loved the way Kieran always nuzzled him, growled for him, the silly endearments he used. The man was quickly becoming someone Lynk couldn’t walk away from, and that could be a problem.

The guards must have been expecting them because one look at Varik, and they just waved them through the gates. The main house loomed ahead of them, not small by any measure, but not nearly as large as the one at Haven. Still, Lynk liked the four huge columns that lined up along the front porch.

“Can you feel anything?” Demos asked, turning in his seat to look at Lynk. He was obviously tense, his eyes wide and alert, ready for trouble. It did nothing to reassure Lynk that they weren’t going to end up a midnight snack for the residents of the coven.

The sooner he could determine if his brother was close-by, the quicker they could get the hell out of there. Closing his eyes and drawing on the strength that Kieran offered, Lynk stretched his mind, flexed his magic, and sent out feelers for Thane.

It took approximately half a heartbeat before Lynk’s eyes snapped open and he gasped. “He’s here.”

* * * *

“Shit!” Ridley cursed from the backseat. “This is going to blow goat balls.”

Kieran had to agree. While he was glad they’d located Thane Braddock, getting the witch out of the coven was going to be another matter entirely. “What do we do now? It’s not like we can just walk in and accuse them of being slime.”

“We should go back and let The Council deal with this,” Ridley answered. “We know he’s here. That should be enough for them to send a whole army of Enforcers in here.”

“We are Enforcers, numb nuts.” Varik growled and slammed his fist against the steering wheel as he came to a stop in the circle drive 50 Gabrielle

Evans

just across from the double front doors. “I agree that we can’t just go in there and demand that they hand him over, but if we leave now it looks suspicious.”

“Do we have a cover story?” Kieran asked. “I mean, is there a reason for us being here?”

“We used to be part of this coven.” Demos looked out the window to the enormous house. “We’re just coming to see some old friends and see if our old leader has any new information for us about enslaved paranormals.”

“Well, then let’s get this over with so we can leave.” Ridley slapped the back of Kieran’s seat. “This place makes me twitchy.”

“Everyone just keep your cool and act normal.” Varik glanced at them over his shoulder. “The leader is a vampire by the name of October Tuesday.”

Kieran snorted while he tried to contain his laughter, but in the end it was just too much. He’d thought the Braddocks had some interesting names, but this guy took the cake. Hell, he knew strippers with less ridiculous names. What the hell had his mother been smoking when she birthed him?

The look Demos leveled on him quieted his mirth instantly.

“Don’t let his name fool you. He is over a thousand years old and deadly. Do not fuck with him.”

“Don’t piss off the guy who is named after the month and day he was born on,” Kieran recited. “Got it.”

“Lord, save me from fools,” Varik mumbled. “That is the kind of attitude that will find your head separated from your shoulders. Just keep your mouth closed unless you’re asked a question. Now, c’mon.”

They all exited the SUV and climbed the front steps as a unit.

Before anyone could knock or announce their presence, one of the two doors opened and a tall, too-skinny vampire waved them inside while she smoothed the wrinkles from her dress. “Leader Tuesday is Flawless 51

expecting you.” She kept her head down, her eyes looking somewhere around their knees as she welcomed them.

No sooner had she spoken the words when Kieran heard several sets of footsteps coming in their direction. Not sure of the coven’s stance on same-sex couples and not wanting to embarrass Lynk, Kieran stood close, but kept his hands to himself.

“Demos, Varik, it’s so good to see you again!” If that was Leader Tuesday, he looked damn good for his age. Six-foot give or take with broad shoulders, short blond hair, and a smile straight out of the movies, he was everything most men wanted to be.

He just looked kind of fake to Kieran.

Three other vampires flanked him, two bigger and dressed from head to toe in black—obviously the man’s personal guards. The man to his left was fairly average in size and appearance. Perhaps the leader’s assistant?

“Leader Tuesday,” Varik and Demos said in unison as they bowed their heads in respect. Then Varik made the introductions, giving Kieran a warning glare when he said his name.

“Yes, yes, you’re all welcome here.” Tuesday waved a hand, indicating the men surrounding him. “You remember Axton, Gideon, and Zasha, of course.”

None of the men looked happy to be there, but they acknowledged their names with curt nods. All except for the little guy, Zasha, who looked like he’d been clubbed over the head. He was staring in Kieran’s direction, but his eyes were glazed as though he wasn’t