Guardian's Joy #3 by Jacqueline Rhoades Read Free Book Online

slowly let it out between clenched teeth. “Dov ad
Willem, you will not speak again unless it is to acknowledge
orders. Are we clear?”
    “Okay, sorry.” Dov slumped in his chair.
    Canaan continued to stare. “Are. We.
Clear?”
    He didn’t shout, but the room seemed to
reverberate with his voice. Everyone sat up a little straighter,
Dov much straighter than the others.
    “I serve at my Liege Lord’s command,” Dov
said, his voice loud and his face red. He’d gone too far with his
clowning.
    “Could be he’s a loner, an Independent. Could
be his family doesn’t know or doesn’t want to admit,” the Liege
Lord continued as if the interruption hadn’t occurred.
    “He’s from the Sanctuary, my lord. You know
it. I know it. They know it.” Nico’s face was hard and his teeth
were clenched, but when his mate, Hope, reached over to pat his
hand affectionately, he visibly calmed.
    Hope was tall for a human woman and buxom
with a narrow waist and broad hips. She wore plain dresses and had
an abundance of dark auburn hair that fell to her waist on its rare
release from the tightly controlled bun at the back of her head. A
year ago, no one would have matched her with the suave, unsmiling
Nico, but they’d clearly been mistaken. You could practically see
his batteries charge every time he looked at her and her shy smile
and blushing cheeked response told a story all its own.
    “Go on Canaan. We’re listening,” she said
quietly.
    “There’s nothing to prove the vampire
originated in Moonlight Sanctuary or if it’s a vampire at all for
that matter.” He raised his hand to halt Nico’s protest. “Hell’s
damnation, will you let me finish. Yes, the wounds were consistent
with a vampire attack and yes, there was a definite feeling at the
Sanctuary that they weren’t telling us everything, but that doesn’t
mean they’re protecting him. Their pride may be getting in the way
of good sense. They have their own police force out there, such as
it is, and those guys resent the hell out of our being called
in.”
    “They were insulting,” Nico snarled. “They
offered you a cell in which to spend the day.”
    Ah , Nardo thought, and there lies
the source of Nico’s anger . The sophisticated Guardian, with
his expensive clothes and dark, Eastern European good looks, was
usually a model of control and diplomacy. It was the insult to his
Liege Lord that set him off. He was close to Canaan in age and
abilities. Discipline and loyalty made him a natural to serve as
Canaan’s Second. His blood bond with Hope almost guaranteed he
would remain part of the family well beyond the three years of his
pledged service. This was the only House that allowed its Guardians
to keep their women within its walls and Nardo couldn’t see his
comrade going anywhere without his mate.
    “We weren’t exactly dressed for dinner,”
Canaan laughed.
    Nico started to protest, but Grace
interrupted.
    “What did you mean when you said if it’s a
vampire at all? Can’t you tell?” she asked.
    “There was too much blood,” he explained, “A
vampire would have drained her dry. And there were other things…”
He looked apologetically at Otto who sat quietly at the other end
of the table, holding the hand of his mate, Manon.
    Uncle Otto nodded in acknowledgement of
Canaan’s consideration and motioned with his free hand to
continue.
    “Non, Mon Coeur,” Manon stopped him, “This
isn’t necessary.”
    “It is, my love. The girls need to know.”
Otto smiled to reassure her. “There’s no secret to what I was, what
I am.”
    The baby monitor that sat between two
computer stations issued the soft rustle of someone moving and Hope
jumped up.
    “She’s awake. I need to go.”
    Broadbent was already on his feet and
motioning her to sit. “I think it more important that you be here.
Uncomfortable subjects should only be spoken of once. I shall get
her a glass of milk and a plate of that delicious shortbread and
Faith and I will