Page 39 of The Dancer and the Dark
“The rules in the immortal world are harsh, but they exist to keep a modicum of order within a community of calculating predators. Violence against humans who are under vampire protection must be avoided, or there will be chaos and vendettas would take over our world. Once Mila’s men took that step, Ernesto had to act or his leadership would mean nothing.”
“So… it wasn’t really about me.”
“For me, it was about you. But your captors signed their own death warrants the moment they took you and shot Zain.” He squeezed her hand. “None of this was your fault.”
11
Ben and Tenzin had decided to fly back to New York on their own, which meant that Audra, Semis, Gavin, and Chloe flew back three nights later on a private cargo plane, another of the customized fleet Gavin had invested in.
They’d taken a few nights to reassure everyone that Chloe was fine, her family didn’t need to worry, and Gavin wasn’t some gangster who had dragged the innocent Chloe Reardon into his dark and dangerous underworld.
Privately, Gavin thought that was a fairly accurate take. It didn’t mean he was giving her up though. He also spent one of those nights introducing Chloe to Ernesto and the entire immortal court of Los Angeles as his mate. She’d been uncomfortable with that much attention on her, but Gavin convinced her it was a necessary evil.
Message sent. Territory claimed. It would take some time, but word would get around, and Chloe would be safer for it.
His lover settled into the plush beige seat of the airplane and immediately reclined the seat. “I want to sleep for a week.”
“Then you should do that.” Gavin sat next to her and took out a print copy of theFinancial Timeshe’d picked up in the private terminal in Burbank.
“Don’t think I haven’t forgotten that you called me your wife to that guy.”
He glanced over. “I’m immortal, dove. That’s more than enough time to convince you.”
She didn’t say anything, but she gave him a sleepy smile.
His internal monster sat up at attention, then settled down inside with a growling kind of satisfaction. Chloe hadn’t run. He’d been terrified that she’d go back to her mother’s house after her ordeal and decide that Gavin’s life wasn’t what she wanted, but it had been the complete opposite.
She’d started asking him about the phone calls he took. Acted curious about the plane-sharing scheme and how it worked. She eased him into questions about the vampire hierarchy of New Orleans and expressed excitement about moving to New Orleans while the new business was being started.
“Do you know that Louisiana is one of the few states in the country with no publicly funded dance companies? None.” She frowned. “Can you imagine? It’s both depressing and inspiring.”
He looked up from a column analyzing the falling prospects of the ruble. Dance was far more interesting. “Inspiring how?”
“Well, obviously it’s depressing that the state doesn’t fund the arts, but that means that all the dance companies I’m finding online, all the studios and groups, they’re all doing it purely out of love. That’samazing. To dedicate that much time to something because of passion?”
Gavin smiled and touched her chin. “Love can be quite surprising.”
“Agreed.” Chloe’s smile turned into a slight scowl. “But it’s also wrong—those dancers really ought to be paid.” She looked back at her tablet as the plane started to move. “I’ve written down three groups that look interesting. Going to see if Phillip knows anyone in the area.”
He touched a finger to her temple where he could still see the faint lines of a bruise from the barrel of Luc De Smet’s gun. “Did you already tell Phillip you’ll be moving for a while?”
“I told him six months, and he assured me he’ll still have a place for me when I get back, so that feels good. I didn’t tell him why we were going because…”
Because she hadn’t known how to talk about his business before.
Gavin put his newspaper down. “If people ask what I do, tell them that in addition to a hospitality group, I’m also a venture capitalist. Most people don’t really know what that means, but they’ll accept a lot of moving around because of it.”
She nodded. “That sounds about right.”
“It’s actually quite accurate.” He picked up the paper again. “And of course, as my wife—”
“There’s that word again.”
He glanced over and saw the smile flirting around her lips.
Gavin leaned over, slid his hand around to cup the back of her neck, and kissed her, sinking into the sunshine scent of her perfume and the warmth she offered him.
What had he done to deserve her? Nothing. Not a damn thing.
