Immortal Obsession by Denise K. Rago Read Free Book Online

him.”
    “Why don’t you send Philippe or one of your other lackeys?” Gabrielle asked, trying to control her anger.
    “Exactly, my love. Why do you have to go?” Solange grinned from ear to ear as she wrapped her arms around his legs.
    “Look what happened to Antoine!” He shrugged innocently. “I thought he could do the job and he was slaughtered.”
    “Perhaps he just wants to protect the girl,” Étienne chimed in. “I cannot imagine Christian using her for his own gain.”
    “We have no idea who he is anymore, Étienne. Who knows what he thinks these days.”
    “If killing the girl means keeping the peace here, then you have my consent, but that is all, Gaétan.” Gabrielle waved a long finger at him. “Anything more I will view as a declaration of war, and I doubt either of us is up to it.”
    “Thank you Gabrielle.”
    “How much time do you need?” Gabrielle asked curtly.
    “Give me six months.” He smiled into her dark eyes and took her hands. “I promise you I will return with her head.”
    “I trust your word on this, Gaétan. No harm to Christian or Michel.”
    For a moment, the walls dropped between them. The centuries of bloodshed and pain vanished, and he felt her as she must have been as a mortal woman, centuries before he had met her. It is the blood , he thought, still holding her hands.
    “I thank you both for coming.” Gaétan escorted them to the door with a pang of regret when they were gone.
    Her perfume lingered in the living room.
    “Please come to bed, Gee.” Solange whispered, running her hand over his crotch. She wrapped herself around him. He could feel her need, her desperation as she tried to arouse him, but he was already gone, lost in the sights and smells of his new home, New York.

PART TWO

    NEW YORK—SIX MONTHS LATER

    Chapter Six

    I T BEGAN TO snow just as Amanda left the museum for the night. She headed down the stately front steps and crossed Fifth towards Park Avenue. After returning a skirt she felt she could not afford, she decided to see if Detective Ross was in his office. It had been six months since her brother’s death and two months since she had heard from anyone at the NYPD. As she headed back toward the Central Park precinct, she studied the faces of the passersby out of habit, forever searching for the stranger who had saved her life. I may never see him again, but I will never forget him , she thought, dodging the sidewalk full of rush hour commuters.
    The last six months of her life felt like a dream. After the attack, she had spent the weekend in St. Vincent’s hospital being treated for shock. Since then, she had continually relived the events in the park, trying to make sense of it all. Bethany Daniels, her best friend and roommate, professed to believe her descriptions of Ryan’s murderer—a madman with fangs and a knife—and the tall blond-haired man wielding a machete. She wondered if Bethany was simply humoring her. The road back to her normally sedate life had been rocky at best, and the disturbing memories of that night continually haunted her.
    Her cell phone rang, interrupting her ruminations. Glancing at the incoming number, she smiled. It was Thomas, a night shift guard in the European Decorative Arts and Sculpture galleries. She had noticed him one night about five months ago. Whenever Amanda found herself working late on exhibitions, they always managed to run into each other and he would say hi. One night she was on break, sipping a cup of coffee in the cafeteria, when he happened to come in on his break, too. From then on, whenever she worked late, they somehow managed to end up in the cafeteria at the same time. He would join her while as she ate a quick dinner or had a drink, but his visits were always brief.
    As they got to know each other, they scheduled their breaks together. It seemed as if he had the uncanny ability to know when she needed a break, usually inviting her for a cup of coffee in the museum cafeteria