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Gabriel’s dad had been the most unforgiveable of those firings. The Lordes had looked after our garage all the way back to when it’d been a stable. Three generations of service thrown away because I’d gone rambling through the woods with his son. And from what the guys had told me, it had hit Mr. Lorde hard. He’d fallen into a depression and then committed suicide.
Was it any wonder Gabriel had wanted to get away from this place? And now I’d pulled him back here without even asking whathewanted.
But I couldn’t help wishing he’d been here from the start. Everything would have been so much simpler than it was now.
“I heard about your dad,” I said, my throat tight. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea about the lay-offs or any of it.”
Gabriel shrugged with a rough chuckle, but his gaze darted away from me for a second. “Of course you didn’t. I never thought you did. None of that is your fault, Rose. You know that, right?”
He looked at me again, so directly and insistently then that I knew he meant it.
“It was still wrong,” I said.
“Well, it’s done now, and we all made what we could of the hand we were dealt.” He nodded to Kyler. “Since you asked about where I’ve been—I made it all the way to Argentina. Backpacked around South America for a while. Then came back up and spent a few months here and there, trying places on for size. I was in California just before I came back here.”
“Argentina!” Jin said, interest sparking in his dark brown eyes. He was the only other of the guys who’d spent much time out of town. His dad worked as a back-up bassist for various bands and had taken Jin along on at least one world tour, where he’d picked up the inspiration for a few of the paintings hanging on the gallery walls around us. “I haven’t been down that way yet. I hear the atmosphere is amazing.”
“It got pretty wild,” Gabriel said, any tension that had come into his stance when I’d mentioned his dad melting away. “You’d have been blown away by the public art there. Some of those murals—the whole side of a building—I wish I was more of a photographer so I could show you, not that it’s the same as standing right there in front of the painting.” He glanced around. “Some of the work in here is yours, isn’t it? With stuff like that, you’d fit right in down there.”
He pointed at the painting I’d been eyeing earlier, and Jin beamed. Trust Gabriel to be able to identify the other guy’s style, even years after they’d last spoken.
“Hey,” Ky said, snapping his fingers. “Isn’t it Argentina where the political parties have their own beers?”
Gabriel laughed. “Trust you to remember the most random facts. I tried a couple of those. Can’t say they’re the best I’ve ever had, but I’d hate to see what our politicians would come up with here.”
Damon let out a snort. “God, can you imagine?” he said. He raked a hand through his jagged coffee-brown hair, his stance still wary as he gave Gabriel a more thoughtful appraisal. “How’d you make ends meet, wandering around like that?”
“Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that,” Gabriel said. “There’s always some dive looking for an extra server or a mechanic place that’s happy to throw me a few bucks if I lend a hand. It wasn’t the high life, but I wasn’t tied down anywhere.”
“There’s something to be said for that,” Damon said. He looked a little awed despite himself.
“I’d take the security of knowing I’ve got someplace to come home to, no matter what,” Seth said mildly.
Gabriel tipped his head. “It can get a little tiring, always being on the go. I can’t say anywhere ever felt like home—not the way this town does.”
He paused, and Seth’s mouth slanted in sympathy. And just like that, in the space of a few minutes, Gabriel had drawn us all back in again, as if we couldn’t ever possibly fit together properly without him in our midst.
Except we had. Last night… Heat rose in my face at the memory. My magic danced in my chest.
How did he fit in with us now, when the other guys and I were bound, hearts and bodies, in a way completely separate from him?
“Are you going to stay, then?” I asked. “In town?”
Gabriel brought his attention back to me. A shadow passed through his eyes. “I was waiting to see what I’d find here before I made any decisions. From what Seth said, it sounds like your homecoming hasn’t been all that smooth. You called out to me; I’m here. If you need me.”
The last four words held a question.DidI need him?
I had four consorts, and through them I had my magic. Last night, after the five of us had sealed those bonds, I’d confronted my stepmother about the plot she’d formed with my supposed fiancé to allow him to control my magic. To turn me into all but a slave, wracked with pain unless I followed their demands.
I’d sent her off, forbidden from saying anything about what had happened there. Her, I no longer had to worry about. But that confrontation should have ended with me bringing both her and Derek to my father, so we could see them brought to justice by the Witching Assembly. The problem was, when I’d threatened to do it, Celestine had laughed and told me my father had arranged the whole plot himself.
Maybe she’d been lying. Maybe she’d just wanted to make me doubt him. But she’d seemed so sure… and soscaredof him finding out she’d failed.
He’d be back from his business trip today. Soon. And who knew what would happen when he found her gone? I wanted to think I had nothing left to worry about, but I wasn’t sure.
After everything I’d been through to keep my freedom, Ineededto be sure. And if it turned out that my own father was a threat to that freedom too, then yes, I was going to need all the help I could get. Dad didn’t have magic of his own, but he had powerful friends. If he was capable of treating me, his only daughter, like that, I had no idea what else he might be capable of or how far he’d go to ensure my silence.
“I don’t know yet,” I said. “But I… I might.” I turned to the other guys. My consorts. The thought sent a wash of pleased warmth through my chest despite the bad news I’d come with. I’d hoped to spend an hour or two just enjoying their company—in all sorts of ways—before we came to this part of our reunion. But here we were.
