Page 4 of Fateful Reunion

“Roxanne!” Gabriel warned.

But her boss should have known better. Hell, even after twenty-three years Charles still knew her better than anybody else. Roxanne had been told one too many times by men what to do or not to do.

“I quit!”

Ah, shit! He’d expected her to do something rash, but to quit? That wasn’t part of the plan.

“You can’t just quit!” Gabriel ground out. “Wait in my office for me. We’ll talk.”

“I’ve got nothing to say!” Roxanne yelled and charged to the door. She ripped it open. “I’m done with this!” She stormed out, slamming the door behind her so hard that the glass bowl on the conference table rattled.

For several moments, it was silent in the conference room. Charles closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. With it, his lungs expanded and pressed against his ribs, shooting pain through his chest.

“Fuck!”

Gabriel took a few steps toward him, but Charles lifted his hand. “I’m fine. It’s just a few broken ribs.” He forced a smile. “Though I wouldn’t mind continuing our conversation sitting down.”

Gabriel motioned to a chair.

Gratefully, Charles lowered himself to sit and watched his host do the same.

“You’re not going to tell me what this was about, are you?” Gabriel asked.

He took his time answering. “No.”

“Thought so. So how can I help you?”

“As I said, I’d like four bodyguards. And I’d like one of them to be Roxanne.” That part was crucial. It was the only way he could force her to be in his presence and give him the opportunity to mend old wounds.

“Maybe your hearing got damaged when Roxanne threw you against the wall, because you obviously didn’t hear that she just quit.”

Charles chuckled. “Then you don’t know Roxanne very well.”

The Scanguards boss lifted an eyebrow and folded his hands. “Enlighten me.”

Charles jerked his thumb toward the door. “That was just her way of telling me that she still loves me.”

“Hmm. I think it’s time I called my wife to tend to your medical needs. It appears you’ve got a concussion in addition to those broken ribs.”

“Believe me, Mr. Giles, there’s nothing wrong with my brain.”

Though he couldn’t say the same for his mind—which he’d clearly lost.

2

Twenty-three years earlier

At the door to the hotel room, Roxanne stopped and looked over her shoulder. The hallway was empty. She knocked. The door swung open instantly, and Charles pulled her into the room, closing the door behind her.

Their lips fused instantly. He was kissing her with the same longing that she’d tried to keep contained during the long nights they’d been apart. Roxanne slung her arms around him and felt possessiveness surge through her, despite the fact that what they were doing was wrong. Wrong on so many levels. Because a vampire should never love a witch. But she couldn’t command her heart to stop loving him, no matter the consequences. Charles embodied everything she’d ever wanted in a man: strength, integrity, and kindness.

Breathing hard, Charles released her lips and pressed his forehead to hers. “Did anybody see you?”

“I waited until Silas left with his men.” She shuddered internally, knowing all too well that whenever Silas and his motley crew of sadistic vampires left the compound, they did so to wreak havoc. And she was caught in the middle.

“Good.”

“But I don’t have much time.” She had to be back before the men returned and noticed her gone, or Silas would assign somebody to keep an eye on her.