Demon's Vengeance The Complete - Jocelynn Drake Page 0,8

snapped pictures of both Bridgette and Paola sitting on Bronx’s lap. “He told me what happened this past fall. I’m very sorry. I know he doesn’t show it, but Gideon has been torn up about it. He feels guilty that he wasn’t able to do more.”

“There was nothing else he could have done. We just have to make the best of a bad situation. I’m adjusting.” As I spoke, I could feel some of the weight on my shoulders lift. Just the idea that Gideon had wanted to do something to help made me feel better. Working for the Towers was far from an ideal situation, but it gave me access to their plans as well as better enabled me to help people who could be threatened by the witches and warlocks. I just had to remember to be careful.

“How’s your girlfriend adjusting?”

I flinched at her question, though I tried to hide it. It didn’t matter. She had felt it.

“Have you told her?” Ellen pressed.

I closed my eyes, frowning. “I haven’t been able to talk about it. Things were too . . . raw for too long.”

“I understand, but you have to be fair to her.” I opened my eyes to see Ellen smiling at me, but there was a look of sadness in her wide brown eyes. “This is a difficult relationship to be in and the only reason Gideon and I have made it is because he talks to me. When things go bad, he tells me because he shouldn’t have to go through it alone. Neither should you. But it’s a burden for the other person and they have to make the choice to wade through the darkness with you. Right now, your girlfriend is trying to wade through the darkness but she doesn’t know why it’s dark.”

“Don’t you worry about the danger to you and your daughter because of Gideon?”

“Of course I do,” she said sharply, glaring at me. “But I won’t let that worry ruin our life. We take precautions and I trust in Gideon to keep us safe. In the end, life happens. I love Gideon and he loves me. We love our daughter. We are all happy together. I think it’s selfish to demand more than that.”

A bark of laughter escaped me. There was something so wonderfully practical about Ellen, and maybe that’s how she managed to thrive in a forbidden relationship with a warlock. It gave me a little shred of hope for Trixie and me.

“Thank you. I’ll talk to her.”

“Soon?”

“I promise.”

“Good.” The smile had returned to Ellen’s face and she relaxed again. Turning her attention back to the crowd before her, she let a contented little sigh escape her. I followed her gaze and found Gideon kneeling before his daughter as he talked to her and looked at the board game she had gotten from Santa Claus. The camera hung around his neck and he had one arm across the girl’s slim shoulders. At the same time, his other hand was holding Paola’s hand as she clutched what looked to be a box with a chess set. Even from this distance, I could tell the young woman was fighting back tears, but they looked to be happy tears.

Something inside my chest ached for her and the other runaways. How long had it been since any of them had received a gift or celebrated a holiday in a warm, loving atmosphere? For some, it was close to ten years. Paola was safe and loved in Ellen’s home.

As I looked up at Bronx and Trixie surrounded by kids, the sexy elf caught my eye and winked, putting the smile back on my lips before she turned her attention back to the task of soothing a frightened child. The last of the darkness that had a hold on me faded. The good will and cheer I had been desperately trying to find with this holiday party had soaked into my parched soul. I knew it wouldn’t last, but it would get me moving forward again. It would help me get my relationship with Trixie back on track again.

I just needed to tell her what had happened that night in the Towers.

CHAPTER 3

Checking the time on my cell phone, I stuffed it into my back pocket and turned the heat down on the spaghetti sauce. Trixie would be arriving any minute and I was proud to say that everything was ready. The bread was out of the oven and the salad was chilling in a