Love Beyond Loyalty by Rebecca Royce Read Free Book Online Page A

she would, once again, not believe it was Sebastian who had done it.
    Someday, and he had a feeling that particular day was not going to be too far away, he was going to have to stop banging his head against the increasingly frustrating brick wall that was Alexa's loyalty to Sebastian. Where the hell was her trust in him? He'd been the one who had fed and clothed both of them during their years on the street. In no imaginable circumstance could he foresee ever betraying her, and while she thought she was helping him, it might be nice to see a little of the same unwavering support from her.
    Loraine opened her door, telling Futon to stay in the car. He watched as she lowered several of the windows.
    "Are you doing that so he won't get hot?"
    She nodded. "It's the responsible thing to do. Also, he can escape if he needs to."
    "Has he run off before?"
    "Yes, but he always comes back. One time he disappeared for an entire year. He never tells me where he goes. Then again, it's not unusual for Futon to be cryptic. He's definitely here on his own terms." She cleared her throat as she looked up and down the street.
    He could remember the first time he'd been here. Even at eight years old, he'd known that someone should have objected to two children running barefoot through the streets at ten o'clock at night. Hand-in-hand, he and Alexa had moved silently, not ever daring to complain if one of them stubbed a toe or stepped on broken glass.
    Alexa, no more than a waif when she was well-fed, had diminished down to where he was afraid she was going to disappear if she lost any more weight. All he could see when he looked at her was long, unwashed, black hair flying in every direction as they ran together.
    He knew he'd needed to take proper care of Alexa. Never sure exactly why he felt the way he did, he knew that he was responsible for her. In his soul, although no one as far as he could remember had ever uttered words to tell him thusly, he was sure that a man took care of the women around them. Warriors never falter. They never fail.
    Shaking his head, he recalled how he had gripped Alexa's hand tighter in his. "I heard there was a good place to sleep, Lexie. I heard that they take children in and they don't call the authorities. The man who I met told me that the grownups who work there wouldn't let anyone give us a hard time."
    Gabriel shook his head, clearing the memory. Warriors never falter. They never fail . The credo had to be an Outsider thing. Something his father or mother said to him before he was old enough to really remember, or maybe it was just imprinted on the brains of all Outsider men. Alexa wasn't his soul mate, but she'd been his in the sense that she was also an Outsider. They were kindred that way.
    He looked at Loraine who hung slightly behind him and to the left as they walked into the building. He bet she'd never had to spend the night in one of these places. That thought made him happier than anything else he'd contemplated all day.
    "So, if I went to Maine, I could find the others?"
    He nodded. "The rest of us, yes."
    Meeting Loraine had solved one problem for him. He was sure now that he'd be making the trip to Maine. Leonardo was right, there was safety in numbers. While he hadn't cared one bit about his own security, now that he had Loraine he was going to get her away from New Orleans and Sebastian's clutches.
    It was, he decided, a tribute to just how despondent things were that the shelter was completely full of people and nobody had said one thing about the fact that he was wrapped only in a blanket. Loraine's eyes were huge. Her violet gaze troubled. He wondered how deeply the poverty she saw around her affected her.
    Wishing he could say something to ease her mind, but not sure how to do that considering he didn't control the world and he'd long ago discovered there wasn't much to be done to settle other people's problems, he continued his silent composure. Hell, it wasn't so long ago he'd been