Dark Legend (24 page)

"Of course I care about them, I've dedicated my life to them. You haven't learned that it's okay to want to make a decent living. You have money, Francesca. You have more than enough, although you're giving it away at an alarming rate. I need to make a living. It's as easy and as heroic to help a rich sick child as it is to help one that's homeless."

"Like Skyler," Francesca said softly. "She can't do a thing for your career. You didn't want her in your life so you tried to make certain she wasn't in mine. That is beneath contempt, Brice. That child needs a home and I can provide her with a good one. For you to try to keep me from taking her home was absolutely unforgivable. How could you do such a thing?"

"Damn it, Francesca. You're the one who's changed, not me. You knew I wanted certain things. This isn't about me, it's about him. Gabriel. What is he, exactly? A government spy? A mob boss of some kind? Is he holding something over your head? Over the judge's? Are you all afraid of him? Don't think I haven't noticed something's not quite right about him. Was he in prison for a crime? Where has he been all the years he was gone?"

"You heard what the judge said. He has all he needs to know about Gabriel. His life is a matter of security. It's classified."

Brice bit back an explosion of swear words. "Is that what he told you? And you just believe him? Don't you see, Francesca? He could be a criminal of the worst sort. You're too trusting. He just waltzes back into your life after dropping off the face of the earth and you accept him. The judge accepts him. Your attorney accepts him. My God, don't you see? He's not like us."

"No, he's not. He's good and kind and has no ulterior motive when it comes to Skyler." Francesca's dark eyes were flashing fire at him. She was so beautiful Brice found himself reaching for her, wanting to take her into his arms. He must have blinked because she moved so fast he didn't actually see her move, but his arms dropped empty to his sides.

"That's a hell of a thing to say to me. I wanted Skyler to get better. I was the one who asked you to look at her in the first place. Her father had no money. Don't forget that, Francesca, while you're so busy condemning me. And don't think for one minute your precious Gabriel has no ulterior motive when it comes to Skyler. His motive is you. He wants you and he'll use anyone to get you. Is Gabriel holding something over your head? Are you afraid of him? Is that what it is? You can tell me. I can help you. He can't be so powerful we couldn't fight him together."

Francesca almost burst out laughing. Brice had no concept of what power really was. The two of them and an army could not defeat Gabriel. "No, Brice. I'm not afraid of Gabriel, but thank you for asking. I'm grateful you would want to help me."

"Why have you taken him back into your life without so much as a fight?" Brice demanded. "He just showed up on your doorstep and you let him in. Why? Why didn't you take some time to get to know him again? Don't you see what a mistake this is? I'm your friend and I can see him more clearly than you. He's dangerous, Francesca. I mean really dangerous. He's a criminal of some sort. He reeks of it."

Francesca shook her head wearily. "I don't want to fight with you any more, Brice. I can assure you Gabriel is no criminal. If the judge has information on him and is willing to allow Skyler to stay with him, you must accept that he is a good man. You know he's no criminal. You're just angry because I've allowed him back into my life. I don't know what I'm going to do about Gabriel, but it's for me to decide. I've never deceived you, not once in our relationship. I never told you I loved you, I never committed to a relationship with you."

"You've always known how I felt. I haven't changed. I'm sorry I'm jealous. Just spend some time with me." His voice suddenly turned cajoling, appeasing. "Come home with me. Spend the night." Brice bent over her, his mouth hovering close. His face was suddenly filled with a kind of crafty, greedy lust, his eyes flat and unfamiliar.

Francesca's heart slammed in alarm. It was all she could do not to jerk away from him. She was very aware of his suddenly strong grip on her upper arms as he drew her body into his. He seemed different somehow, a stranger, not at all like the Brice she thought she knew. Could she have been so wrong? Had she been so desperate for companionship that she had overlooked his true character? It didn't make sense. It wasn't in Francesca to make a scene and it was ingrained in her to act human at all times. She stood very still, like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, he coughed, both hands going to his throat as he began to choke. His eyes glazed with instant alarm.

"What's wrong?" Francesca deliberately touched his arm to read what was happening in his body. Was it Gabriel? She didn't feel the surge of power his presence should cause, but he was an ancient. She had no real idea of his true power. All she could tell was that Brice's airway was blocked. She couldn't tell what was wrong. His throat seemed swollen, almost as if he was having an allergic reaction to something.

Brice went limp, his eyes rolled back in his head, and his knees buckled so that he began to topple to the floor. Francesca easily caught him with preternatural strength, easing him to the floor, reaching to open his shirt, frantically seeking to find if his airway was open.
"Gabriel!"
She reached for him almost automatically.
"Help me."

He was there instantly in her mind, a soothing calm in the eye of the storm, assessing the situation. Francesca was attempting to breathe for Brice, but no air could make it through his passageway. When she tried to enter his body using pure energy and light, there was some obstruction she could not pass. Gabriel was grateful that she had suspected him only fleetingly, had turned instantly to him for aid. She was beginning to trust him far more than she realized.

"Lucian, I know you are there."
Gabriel was very calm.
"You are killing this man. Let him be."

"You do not fight your own battles."
It was a taunt, a reprimand. Francesca renewed her efforts to enter Brice's body to heal him, but the obstruction was like a brick wall. Sharing Gabriel's mind enabled her to "hear" the exchange between the twin brothers.

"Who is this man that you do not remove him when he causes you such annoyance? You have grown soft, Gabriel. You expect to hoard these two women when you cannot even destroy your enemies?"

The voice was beautiful. So beautiful that Francesca had to try to block it out. It was compelling without the vampire even trying to make it so. She was frightened to think what power he wielded so easily.
"Hurry, Gabriel."

She whispered it on their own private mental path. Brice had been without air for far too long.

At once she heard the soft, beautiful laughter echoing in her mind.
"She is begging for the life of this worthless human. Your woman, begging for the life of another male. What does that mean, brother? You cannot even keep your woman."

It was shocking to discover that the private path used between lifemates had been so easily invaded by the vampire. It was unheard of. Her heart began to beat loudly. She felt very vulnerable and she was desperate now to save Brice. Gabriel, however, remained as calm as ever, completely unruffled.
"Keep this between the two of us, Lucian. You are becoming rather tedious with these displays. Showing off for women is beneath you. Are you so afraid, then, that I am not paying enough attention to you? I will come to you at once if that is your desire."
He was searching for a path to locate the vampire.

All at once, Brice coughed and choked, gasping for breath. Francesca felt the unmistakable ripple of power. It filled the spaces around her, vibrated in the air, and then it was gone. She shuddered, sitting back on her heels beside Brice, her hand on his shoulder, her large dark eyes anxious. "Should I call someone?"

"Water," he croaked, his voice strangled and hoarse. His hands groped their way to his neck rather weakly.

Francesca could feel Gabriel's frustration as he realized that once again the vampire had slipped away before he could pinpoint his exact location. Since there was nothing she could do to help Gabriel, she hurried to find a cup of water for Brice, nearly spilling it as she helped him into a semisitting position.

"It was Gabriel," he accused, his voice rasping. "I felt his hands on my throat strangling me."

"Brice, it was not Gabriel. He is nowhere near this hospital. You were choking. I cleared your airway so you could breathe." She made the suggestion calmly and clearly.

Brice's eyes flashed at her. "It was Gabriel. I even smelled him. It was his hands around my throat and he tried to murder me. I saw him. I know I did and you're trying to cover up for him."

"There is no use trying to persuade him otherwise, Francesca."
Gabriel said it softly, matter-of-factly, not bothered by Brice's opinion of him.
"Lucian is far too powerful for you to overcome the compulsion he has buried in this man. I have seen him destroy an entire army. When we hunted together he often ordered a vampire to rid the world of its existence using only his voice and it was done without a fight. The vampire ended his existence without so much as a struggle. You know vampires will do anything to continue their life, yet Lucian is able to control them with only his voice. You have no idea of his power. Allow Brice to think what he wishes. I will have established a perfect alibi with the judge. It will not be hard to do so."

Francesca climbed slowly to her feet, turning her full attention to the problem at hand. "You may think anything you wish, Brice, but remember when you accuse Gabriel of this terrible crime, you are also accusing me of aiding him by my denial. I was here with you, I helped you. What motive would I have for lying to you?"

Brice shook his head, rubbing his sore throat and neck. "I know he's evil, Francesca, and I know you have to do as he tells you. I know you wouldn't want me hurt. He's making you say and do the things you're doing. You're afraid of him, aren't you? You probably did save my life, but you're covering up for him because you're afraid. If you'd just tell me what he's holding over your head, I could help you."

Francesca sighed, swept a hand through her long silken hair impatiently. "I thought you knew me, Brice. Really knew me. If I was afraid of Gabriel and thought him capable of outright murder, if he was threatening me in some way, even with so trivial a thing as blackmail, do you think for one moment I would expose Skyler to such a person? Never. I could never, under any circumstances, be persuaded or induced to place her in jeopardy. If you know nothing else about me, you should know that. And if Gabriel had tried to strangle you, you would be dead. I would not be able to fight him off, nor would anything induce me to protect him if he had attempted to murder you."

"I don't know what he's done to you, but you can expect a visit from the authorities, because I intend to press charges against him." Brice massaged his neck and throat, coughing several times.

"Do whatever you think you have to do, Brice," she said softly. "Obviously you think me capable of being an accomplice to murder." Regally, she turned and swept down the hall toward the double doors, leaving Brice to stumble unsteadily to his feet by himself.

"
I do not know where Lucian is, Francesca."
Gabriel's voice was as calm as ever but she was beginning to know him well enough to hear he was worried.
"Do not leave the hospital until I am once again with you. I am on my way."

"What if that's just what he wants? What if he is using me to lure you out where he can harm you?"
There was real fear in her voice.

"He has never defeated me in battle, sweetheart. You should have more faith in your lifemate. Lucian is a very unusual vampire, just as he was an unusual Carpathian. There is no other like him. It does no good to try to second-guess him. He always does the unexpected. He could just as easily have attacked you or Skyler. He is intelligent far beyond your imagining, just as he is more powerful than the legends have told. To guess what he is up to is impossible, but he has found you and he has found Skyler. I do not want you to set one foot into the night without me by your side."

For some reason, Francesca was annoyed. "
I am not about to allow this vampire to change my life, Gabriel. This is my city. There is much I do here, much I love. Over the centuries there have been many vampires who have come and gone. For that matter, there have been many Carpathian males, yet I live on and do as I please."

"Lucian likes games, Francesca. His mind craves action at all times. He is not one you can 'play' with and expect to win."

"I will not live my life in fear of him."

She said it defiantly, both to him and to the vampire if he was monitoring their conversation. She didn't think it was possible, but then she had not thought it possible that anyone but Gabriel could "hear" their private path. All Carpathians communicated on a common mental path, but this was different. Gabriel was her lifemate. Their path was an individual, very intimate, personal one. No other should have been able to penetrate their private communication. Lucian was indeed powerful and unique. As she emerged into the darkness of night that was her world, into the fresh air where she could breathe without the stench of human suffering, Gabriel materialized beside her, his strong arm encircling her slender waist.

Francesca's heart nearly stopped, his presence was so unexpected. "I thought you were establishing an alibi somewhere."

"It is not so hard, honey, to send vivid images to those humans I have touched already. The judge and I have spent a pleasant evening together in his home. He plays chess, did you know that? Naturally I was the victor, but it was a close game. He believes I drank his favorite brandy with him and conversed on all sorts of subjects. As he resides alone, it was not at all complicated to plant the memories in his mind."