face to face. “Cindy and Eve are going to stay with you while we…”
Eve was here? When had she… Yes, there she was, frowning, arms crossed defiantly.
“No,” Gabi said, her voice stronger and steadier than it had been moments before.
“We’ll find Mia, and we’ll bring her home,” Silas said, his voice maddeningly calm. “Judge is the best tracker in the Southeast, and you know he won’t let anything happen to his person.”
“I’m going with you,” Gabi said, standing. It took a small effort to appear relatively calm and steady. She was neither.
“Let me do this,” he said.
Silas, who in all honesty she barely knew, had been better to her than any man she’d ever known. Even now, after she’d done her best to kick him to the curb, he was willing to do anything for her. Yes, he’d lied to her. He hadn’t begun whatever this was with the noblest of intentions. And still, there was something unbreakable between them.
“I’ve been hiding for years,” she said. “Before Mia was born. Before I met Blake. I lived in the shadows, afraid to take a chance, unable to believe in myself. It wasn’t chance that Blake chose me. He saw what I was. Not just quiet, but always afraid. Fear has ruled my entire life, and I won’t allow it to continue. I can’t.”
“You’re hurt.”
“I’ll survive.”
Silas looked like he wanted to argue with her, but he held his tongue.
“She’s my daughter. I can’t sit here and wring my hands while others go out to rescue her.”
“Gabi…”
She took his face in her hands, pulled him close, and kissed him. It was far from a romantic moment; most of what she felt at the moment was terror. But the kiss shut him up and gave her a moment to think. “I don’t care why you asked me out. I don’t care why you burst into my life like a wrecking ball. I’m glad you’re here, I’m glad we had these days together. But if you go out to find Blake and Mia and leave me here, I’ll head out on my own as soon as you’re gone.”
“If he catches you alone he’ll finish what he started,” Silas whispered.
“Maybe you’d better not let me go alone.”
Gabi wasn’t dead, he knew it. Dammit! He’d let Jenna pull him away before he was done, all because someone was coming. So what? Power was rushing through his veins, his mind was more brilliant than it had ever been, he could do anything. He could take on anyone and everyone.
Jenna didn’t agree. She wanted to hide, to play it safe, to stick to the shadows. That’s what they did as they ran, then walked, through yards and across streets. The shadow seemed to move with them. He wondered if anyone could see them at all. Was that the witch’s doing, or his?
The kid wouldn’t shut up. She screamed, then cried softly, then moaned and hiccupped, and then started screaming again. It wasn’t long before he passed his daughter to Jenna.
That didn’t help matters at all. The scream turned into a screech.
“Can’t you make her shut up?” he snapped.
“She’ll settle down, just give her…”
“Now,” he said, a warning in his voice. They weren’t far from the B&B.
Jenna made a gentle shushing sound and placed two fingers on Mia’s head. Then the kid slept.
Blessed silence.
The past few minutes proved that he was going to need help with the baby. While he looked forward to the day when she was older and they could be partners in crime, getting to that point wouldn’t be easy. He was no nursemaid.
Maybe he shouldn’t have pushed his mother down the stairs. She’d come in handy, right about now.
Inside the B&B, Jenna placed Mia on a sofa in the cozy, dusty parlor. The kid slept on, breathing deeply and steadily.
“After I take care of Gabi, you should come to Florida with me.” Jenna had shown that she could quiet Mia down. She was a woman, so she’d know about diapers and feeding and that kind of thing. She was also a witch who could teach Mia everything she needed to know about who and what she was.
He didn’t expect the blonde to laugh at him. The laughter enraged him; his hands balled into fists that burned.
“I can’t leave,” she said. “That’s not the plan.”
“Plans change. Who will teach Mia about magic? Who will show her what she can do?” He attempted to sound reasonable.
Jenna took a few steps toward him; her smile was wicked and self-satisfied.