It was then she realized just how stunned she had been at Paul’s abandoning her. She’d forgotten that new life mates were very easily read. She probably also looked rather stricken, Jeanne Louise supposed, and that everyone would have wondered why she was back so quickly. She supposed she probably would have helped Paul more by staying downstairs for a bit.
“The blood bag is mangled on the floor beside the bed and the screen door is open.”
Jeanne Louise glanced to Bricker at that announcement as he returned from downstairs.
“Anders went after them while I came to report,” Bricker added, as he crossed to the kitchen door. “I’m going to help him loo—”
Bricker paused abruptly, then pulled the door open and stepped out of the way as Leigh entered with Lucian behind her, a sleeping Livy in his arms. Paul was right behind them, Jeanne Louise saw. She was torn between being happy to see him and upset that he hadn’t managed to get away. There was also a little wanting to smack him silly for leaving her behind. Nice mix, she thought dryly, and had to clutch the back of the chair she’d stopped behind to keep from running to him.
Her gaze slid back to her uncle as he passed Livy to Bricker.
“Take her downstairs, hook her back up to the IV and give her more drugs,” Lucian ordered. “Take the father with you, and stay until someone replaces you.”
Bricker nodded and waited for Paul to lead the way, then followed without comment when he started across the room.
Paul’s eyes sought hers as he passed. He offered her a weak smile in passing, but she couldn’t respond in kind. Jeanne Louise turned and watched as the two men walked to the stairs and disappeared down into the basement.
Once they were gone, she turned back to find Lucian eyeing her. She could tell by the way his eyes were narrowed that he was reading her thoughts. Knowing she couldn’t stop him, Jeanne Louise simply waited for him to finish.
“He didn’t abandon you,” Lucian announced abruptly after a moment. “Livy woke up and went outside while he was in the bathroom and he went out after her. It was stupid. He should have shouted for help, but the man is used to being on his own and the only one responsible for Livy.”
Jeanne Louise’s eyes widened and she sagged briefly with relief at the knowledge that Paul hadn’t left her. But then she forced herself to straighten and eye her uncle warily. Lucian Argeneau was the true hard case among immortals, and he would be the one to decide Paul’s fate, which decided her own. She couldn’t afford to be weak now.
“I love Paul, Uncle,” Jeanne Louise said quietly when he didn’t speak. “He’s my life mate, and he loves me too, I think.”
“I know he does,” Lucian said calmly, not looking impressed by the knowledge.
Jeanne Louise bit her lip, and then added, “I know he shouldn’t have kidnapped me, but I was a willing victim the moment I realized I couldn’t read him. There were several points I could have left and didn’t. I even helped him evade the Enforcers when we returned from dinner and I spotted their SUVs on his street.” She straightened a little and added pleadingly, “Surely, as the supposed victim in this, if I don’t wish him punished, he shouldn’t be?”
When Lucian merely raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, she added unhappily, “I can’t turn him now, thanks to Bricker. We can never be proper life mates. Isn’t that punishment enough?”
“You can still be together, Jeanne Louise,” Lucian said quietly.
“Sure for ten, twenty, maybe even thirty or forty years if we’re lucky,” Jeanne Louise said bitterly. “A heartbeat out of my life. And during those few short decades I get to watch him wither and die the slow mortal death of aging.” Her mouth tightened at the thought, and she said, “In truth, that’s probably more punishing than anything you could come up with.”
She felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced around to see that her father had moved up behind her to offer his comfort and support. For some reason his offered strength suddenly made it hard to fight back her tears. Turning back to Lucian, she took a shaky breath and said, “Paul’s a good man, Uncle. What he did, he did out of desperation, for the love of his daughter. He didn’t know our laws, didn’t know what he would be asking of one of us and he never hurt me. In fact, he did everything he could to see to my comfort from the start. The only reason you even figured out it was him was because he was concerned with my comfort and refused to put me in the trunk of his car when he switched vehicles.”
Nicholas had admitted as much as they’d sat watching over Livy through the night. As she’d speculated, they’d checked traffic cameras around the parking lot where Paul had left her car and switched her to his own. They’d spotted her unconscious in the front seat of his car, got the license number and used that to get his name and address and particulars.
“Fine,” Lucian said abruptly, drawing her attention.
Jeanne Louise peered at him uncertainly. “Fine? What does that mean?”
“He lives and keeps his daughter as well as his memories,” Lucian said, and then added solemnly, “That’s punishment enough.”
Jeanne Louise felt her father squeeze her shoulder, but just stared at Lucian.
As expected he wasn’t done. “However, the minute, and I mean the very minute, that the girl is through the turn I want the three of you on a plane to Toronto. I’ll have someone pick you up and take you to Marguerite’s.”
“Aunt Marguerite’s?” Jeanne Louise said with surprise, aware that Etienne had gone still at mention of his mother. “Why?”
“Because she obviously knew what Paul was up to when she ran into him before he kidnapped you, and rather than tell me so that I could do anything about it, she merely gave him a nudge in your direction,” he said dryly.
Jeanne Louise’s eyebrows rose at these words. With everything else on her mind the memory of that conversation with Paul hadn’t been on the top of her memories. Her uncle had done a thorough search when he’d read her mind. That or the memory had been on the surface of Paul’s mind for some reason.
“Since Marguerite helped bring about all this,” Lucian continued dryly. “She can help with the fallout and at least start training Livy to be an immortal.”
Jeanne Louise bit her lip, but nodded in consent. She liked her aunt, and knew Paul did too. And she was sure Livy would love the woman, but . . . “How long do we have to stay with Aunt Marguerite?”