Love Beyond Sanity by Rebecca Royce Read Free Book Online

on the splendor of uptown New Orleans for the nothingness of the St. Tammany Parish was beyond him.
    None of that mattered now. The truth was it had been extremely convenient for Sebastian when Gabriel had stopped hanging around, filling Alexa's mind with doubt about him. No, he couldn't have the key to the whole plan disappearing into the bayou tonight.
    He crossed the room as if he contemplated his words. Alexa's eyes followed him as he moved. "Has he told you what has gone wrong between us? We are, after all, brothers, and you know how important family is to me."
    Or rather she knew how much he pretended family meant to him. A former foster care child, Alexa craved family above all things. So that's what he'd given her. But Gabriel hadn't believed it, or at least he didn't anymore.
    "No, Gabe has been rather tight lipped about the whole thing." Alexa shook her head. "It's like he goes out of his way not to mention it."
    No one would ever accuse Gabriel of being stupid. The only reason Sebastian had left him alive was for Alexa. If she were no longer on his side he'd end both of them and it wouldn't be pleasant. He watched as she tucked her brown hair behind her ears, observing him with serious, sable eyes.
    Sebastian sat down on the couch's arm. He drummed his fingers on the couch side. "Maybe I should tell you, Lex. But I don't like to talk about others, especially people who I care about, who I still hope can change their way."
    "What did Gabriel do?" Alexa stood up, her hands on her hips. "What did Gabriel do?" she repeated.
    He needed to go carefully into these stormy waters. Gabriel and Alexa had come up through the foster system together. They'd clung to each other, knowing only the other one could understand their oddities, the things that made them different from regular people. Sebastian had used all of that when he'd made his parents adopt them. He considered himself lucky they weren't soul mates or he'd never have gotten this far. They would have been too solid.
    "Do you remember a few months ago how we went to Maine to find those people that are using their energy to destroy other people's lives and how they strangely got away?"
    It still vexed him that Kal and that woman, Isabelle, had bested him, but he knew now how powerful they'd grown. That was why things couldn't be allowed to continue as they were. He was going to take action, and Alexa was not going to St. Tammany parish.
    Alexa nodded. "Of course I remember. That terrible cult in Maine." It helped that Alexa didn't think very highly of 'Yankees'. Human distinctions puzzled him sometimes.
    "Yep, that's the one. You remember Kal? Their leader who I tried to reason with? The one who shot me with electricity? Well, he somehow recruited Gabriel, convinced him of terrible things, and has gotten Gabriel to spy for him. He's been looking for a way to recruit you ever since. He knows that I know. That's why he stays away from me and why he wants you to go with him to the North Shore. So he can try to convince you he's right. He's been brainwashed."
    Alexa's mouth hung open as her eyes darted back and forth. He rose and took two steps towards her. "If he's brainwashed—if they've infected him with their awfulness—then we need to help him, Bastian, not abandon him."
    She said abandon like she said the word toxic or terrorist. He would use this to his advantage. She was so easily manipulated.
    "I wouldn't dream of harming Gabriel. Why do you think I've left him alone? I haven't brought him here for a detoxification. You know the risk of that. I would never put Gabriel in any situation where there could be any risk at all. Night after night, day after day, I've racked my brain, desperate to figure something out. I want to help Gabe and I thought perhaps I could spare you the pain of having to know about any of this." He looked down as if he felt forlorn.
    "Sebastian." Alexa sounded horrified. "You can't be expected to handle these things by yourself. That's what