"I'd say it was more a comedy than a nightmare,"
Bricker assured her with amusement. "The guy's a real loser. I'm glad your taste in men has improved."
Alex narrowed her eyes on the enforcer, wondering if she could take him now that she was immortal too, and Mortimer suddenly ripped his bag from his teeth and gave Bricker a shove toward the door, ordering, "Go get Lucian. He'll want to decide what to do with this guy."
"Just when you start to like him," Cale muttered, watching the younger immortal leave. He shook his head, and then glanced to Alex and held out his hand. When she took the few steps around Jack to take it, Cale tugged her to his chest and frowned with concern. "Are you all right?"
"Yes." She sighed, and then glanced to Jack, noting that he stood blank-faced and still, apparently under someone's control. "What about him?"
"We'll take care of him," Mortimer assured her quietly, relieving Cale of Jack's gun. "You two go on back to the party before the girls come looking for you. We don't want to draw too much attention to this room. It would just mean a lot of work wiping minds and replacing memories."
Cale nodded and urged Alex into the office, and then on to the door.
"What will they do to him?" she asked quietly as they stepped into the kitchen.
"Probably wipe his mind, dump him in a psychiatric facility, and make sure he stays there," he said with a shrug.
"Shouldn't we just hand him over to the police?" she asked with a frown.
"For what?" he asked dryly, and then said, "Unfortunately, we don't have proof that he's done anything. I'm sure he paid his bribes in cash, and then there's no way to prove he's the one who attacked you in the parking lot. As for the incident with the car, we never reported that and can't now. The car was taken to the auto wreckers that very night. Even if it hadn't been, how would we explain my not having even a bruise on me now?" He let her think about that, and then shook his head. "No. It's better if we handle this ourselves."
"Yes, but putting him in a psychiatric facility seems ..." Alex bit her lip unhappily and shook her head.
Cale stopped walking and took her into his arms. "Don't feel bad for him, honey. If you'd been in the car rather than me, you'd be dead now." His arms tightened briefly at the thought, and then he added grimly, "He's getting off light. If he were immortal, he'd be staked out in the sun to bake all day, and then beheaded. Besides, he's not really in his right mind, Alex. I know you can't read thoughts yet, but I read his, and he's cuckoo, trust me-" He stopped and sighed, before adding, "Or, you know, rather than trust me you could ask one of your sisters to read him and-"
Alex pulled back and quickly placed her fingers over his lips. "I don't have to. I trust you."
The tension left his face at once. "Do you?"
She nodded solemnly. "With my life, my body, and my heart. I really do love you, Cale."
"Oh, thank God," he murmured, pulling her close again. "I love you too.""Geez, you two, not in the kitchen. It's not hygienic. Go find a room somewhere or something. Honestly."
Alex and Cale pulled apart to see Bricker leading Lucian Argeneau to the office.
"Someone's going to kill that boy someday," Cale muttered, as the two men disappeared into the office.
"Yeah," Alex agreed on a sigh. "But someone else can do it. I have better things for you to do with your time."
"Oh?" he asked, turning back to her with interest.
"Hmmm," she murmured. "I'll show you later tonight at the house."
"Sounds good," he murmured, turning her to continue toward the door to the dining room. "I can't wait."
"Well, I'm afraid you'll have to," she said apologetically. "Sam, Jo, and I are going to have some girly time first."
Cale paused again to glance at her with a frown. "Girly time?"
She bit her lip and nodded.
Cale sighed. "All right. I guess they can have their girly time with you ... So long as I get you after that."
"You get me forever," she assured him quietly.
Cale grinned. "Hmm. I like compromise."