Beauty and the Beastmaster - Linda Winstead Jones Page 0,60

brothers were more than competent.

If he had a chance he’d check in with them again later, but until a few things were taken care of Gabi was his top priority. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight.

They had more than Blake Pierce to worry about. Jenna would be pissed when Silas insisted Gabi be allowed to stay. He could argue that one more Non-Springer in the mix wouldn’t weaken her isolation spell, but she was unlikely to accept that argument. She’d obviously already turned to someone else to get Gabi out of town. The mouse infestation in her shop was all the proof he needed. That had to stop, now.

Would the others be able to stop her? Maybe. Maybe not.

He still liked the idea of isolating, of closing off the outside world and allowing all Springers to be open, to be themselves at all times. No more hiding. No more pretending. He just wanted Gabi with him when the spell went down. Maybe it wouldn’t happen this year, maybe it would never happen, but if it did…

All he had to do was convince her that they were meant to be together, that love was still possible for her.

As he was learning it was for him.

He stepped onto the front porch to call Jenna’s cell. She didn’t answer, but called right back. She was breathless, as if she’d been running.

“What do you want?” she snapped.

There was no need to play games. “Shut down whoever you’ve put on Gabi. I’m going to keep her.”

Jenna sighed, then shushed someone in the background. A man. No wonder she was breathless. “If you want to keep her knock her up,” she snapped. “If she has a Springer baby in her I’ll let her stay.”

He would love for Gabi to have his baby, one day. But not like this. It would be a choice they made together, when the time was right. “She stays, no matter what.”

Again, that long-suffering sigh. “We need to talk about this, face to face.”

“I can’t get away.”

“Tomorrow,” she conceded. “Surely you can find half an hour to meet me. I’ll come to you. Anywhere in town, you choose.”

“Aren’t you still keeping your presence here a secret?” he asked.

“Is it still a secret, Silas?” she asked, as if she knew he’d told. Maybe she did. “I’m not an unreasonable woman.”

She wasn’t exactly reasonable, either.

“I’ll think about it.” With that, he ended the call.

It occurred to him, as he went back into the house, that he was going to have to tell Gabi about the spell to isolate the town and everyone in it. It would be a lot to take in, after just learning about the town’s biggest secrets. But she deserved to have a choice. She deserved to know what she was getting into, by choosing to stay in Mystic Springs.

And if she deserved a choice, didn’t everyone else in town? Springer or not, there were young people out there who would never have a choice about whether to stay or go. They’d be trapped. He’d been as selfish as Jenna when he’d agreed to her plan, when he’d agreed to participate in it.

How could he possibly tell Gabi about his suspicions where Mia was concerned? That’s all they were, suspicions, but keeping that from her felt like a betrayal. He hadn’t been beholding to a human for so long, he wasn’t sure where the lines were, he wasn’t sure of his obligations.

One thing at a time.

Pissing off Jenna and the Milhouses and whoever else was in on the plan wouldn’t be the smartest thing he’d ever done. But dammit, he was about to do just that.

Jenna reclined on Blake’s bed, mostly naked, nicely rumpled, and still a little pissed that when she’d come here hoping to get pregnant with his child he’d been out, against her orders. As if he would ever take orders from a woman. She’d said she wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. Had she lied to him, or simply changed her mind? It mattered. No one lied to him and got away with it.

Now that he knew about the magic that had been sleeping inside him all these years, he wanted more. More knowledge. More power. What could he do, when he set his mind to it? Were there any limits at all? He loved the idea of a life with no limits. No laws, no limitations.

Wasn’t that what he’d always wanted?

Jenna liked to talk, and he let her. Every time she rambled, he learned something