"I already have. I told him outside that I'd be his life mate," Alex said at once.
"Oh, thank God!" Sam rushed across the room to hug her tightly with relief. More tightly than she realized, Alex thought as she began gasping for air.
"Sam, honey, you're a bit stronger than you realize," Mortimer said gently. "You might want to let Alex go before you suffocate her."
"Oh, sorry!" Sam let her go and patted her armapologetically. "Sorry, I'm just so happy." She hugged her again, less tightly this time, and babbled, "I was so worried you'd say no, and then they'd wipe your mind, and we'd never be able to see you again."
Alex frowned. "You mean Cale wouldn't be able to see me again."
"No. Jo and I wouldn't either now that we're immortals too. It might have sparked memories, and they wouldn't have allowed it. You'd have been lost to us forever."
Alex stared at her blankly, feeling like she'd just been punched in the gut. She then shrieked, "Jo's an immortal too?"
Sam winced, and then offered apologetically, "Yeah. Nicholas turned her just days after they met."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Alex asked furiously. "It was bad enough when you didn't tell me about Mortimer, but I can sort of understand that. But Jo? Our baby sister? You should have told me!"
"They wouldn't let me," Sam said at once. "They were afraid it would influence your decision on whether to accept Cale as a life mate and turn or not. That's why they wouldn't let me tell you that if you said no, you'd lose us too."
Alex turned to glare at the three men, but they were no longer there. They'd used the opportunity her distraction had afforded and slipped out of the house.
Chapter Eighteen
The sound of the front door opening stirred Alex from the light doze she'd fallen into on the couch, and she sat up to glance tensely toward the hall as she heard the men stomp their way inside. Sam got up at once and moved out to greet them, but Alex stayed where she was, almost reluctant to know what had happened. She didn't want to believe anyone had been behind her run of bad luck, but Bev's phone call had convinced her Jacques must have been the one who had forced her car off the road ... which made it possible that he'd had something to do with the other problems she'd been having of late. To her it was just plain stupid. She was the one who'd been wronged in their relationship. Why the hell had he set out to make her life such a misery?
Cale appeared in the doorway, and then crossed the room to join her, and Alex saw Sam lead Mortimer and Bricker to the kitchen. They were giving them timealone. That didn't seem like good news, she decided, as Cale paused before her.
"Is it okay if I sit down?" he asked, eyeing her warily, and she found herself smiling wryly. He wasn't sure of his welcome. At least he knew sneaking out had been dirty pool.
"Yes, of course," she murmured, and waited until he'd seated himself beside her before turning to sit cross-legged facing him. "So?" she asked. "What happened? Did he do it?"
Cale blew his breath out on a sigh, and then admitted, "He wasn't at the restaurant when we got there. It seems as soon as you hung up, Bev called Mark to ask him what kind of vehicle Jacques drives so that she could pass the information on to you. She then ripped into him about what a jerk the guy was for saying you'd had a terrible accident when you were fine. Mark told Jacques about the call, and he left at once." He grimaced. "We figure he got spooked because you were asking what kind of vehicle he drives ... which was a black pickup, by the way. According to Mark's memories, he was driving that until Monday, when he showed up at the restaurant in a rental car claiming his pickup was in the shop."
Alex ran her hands through her hair with a little sigh, acknowledging that that was pretty damning. It seemed Jacques had tried to run her off the road on Monday morning. She was just lucky it had been Cale behind the wheel. Not that she was happy that he had been hurt, but she never would have survived. "I suppose you checked his house after that?"
When Cale appeared surprised, she shrugged. "Mortimer and Bricker are vampire cops, cops would check the house next."
He nodded. "His drawers were open and half-empty, and there was a spot in his closet between a large suitcase and a small one where a medium-sized suitcase would have fit. We think he packed in a hurry and got the hell out. They're having someone check his bank records right now to try to track him, and Mortimer has sent some men out to hunt. They'll find him eventually and figure out just how many of your recent problems were caused by him and how."
"And then what?" she asked quietly. "And please don't tell me they'll hand him over to the authorities. I know the car has already been sent to the wreckers, so there's no proof he did anything wrong. What will they do with him?"
"I don't know," Cale admitted quietly. "Lucian will probably decide what should be done. He makes all the decisions like that."
"Lucian." Alex murmured the name with dislike. Sam had told her a lot about the immortal while they waited for the men to return. She'd explained that just because she'd chosen to turn didn't mean she could now go about her life. If she didn't turn right away, she would have to be "interviewed" by Lucian Argeneau. He would decide if it was safe to allow her out with the information about who and what they were. It was an effort to keep their secret and their people safe.
Alex understood but, judging by Sam's description, would rather avoid that interview. Sam had described it as brain rape. She also didn't particularly want to goweeks worrying about having to go through the turn. It had looked damned painful to her when she'd seen Sam suffering it. She'd made her decision, and as always, just wanted to get to it and get it done.
Deciding not to worry about Jacques and his future now, she said, "So ... if you turn me tonight, will I be recovered enough to work tomorrow? "
Cale looked shocked by the question. "Tonight? This morning you weren't sure what to do."
"And then I had a nap and decided I wanted to be with you and turn," she said firmly. "I don't want to waste any time."
"Yes, but it's a big decision. If you want more time-"
"Geez," Alex muttered, and shifted up onto her knees to climb into his lap. She felt a little awkward doing it at first. It was all still new to her, but she settled in his lap and slipped her arms loosely around his neck. Looking him in the eyes, she said solemnly, "You sound like you're having second thoughts."
"Never," he assured her, slipping his own arms around her waist. "I just don't want you jumping into it before you're positive."