Zoe's Blockade (Destiny's Trinities Book 5) by Tracy Cooper-Posey Read Free Book Online Page A

for her.
    “You might want to use the room,” Diego pointed out. “I’m fine here. I have a lot to do.” He sat on the bench.
    “Like what?” Zoe asked, puzzled.
    “Oh, hello.” It was a woman’s voice. A strange one.
    Zoe turned, startled.
    A tall woman with masses of long golden blonde hair and very large blue eyes was standing in the middle of the hallway. Zoe had a hard time pulling her gaze away from her face. Her skin seemed to glow. She wore perfectly normal jeans and a sweater.
    “You’re elvish,” Zoe said. She could feel her cheeks burning. “I mean…I’m sorry. You’re my first elf.”
    The woman smiled and it was a lovely expression that made Zoe feel warm and happy. “I am Seramela. You can call me Sera.”
    Zoe didn’t offer her hand. It was only humans who used the practice of shaking hands with a stranger.
    “I’m Declan,” Declan said, coming up behind her.
    Sera smiled at him, too. “And you are my first ghost,” she said.
    Declan shrugged. “I’m the first ghost I’ve ever met, too.”
    “Diego tells me you are also a healer.”
    Zoe glanced at Diego, startled. None of them had mentioned that to him.
    Diego lifted his phone. “It’s all over the Internet.”
    Declan’s smile was warmer. “I was a doctor,” he agreed.
    “You still are,” Sera said firmly. “The urge to heal does not fade.”
    As Declan studied her, surprised, she turned to Diego and lifted a tangle of leather and buckles and two holsters, both with pistols in them. “Your spares, as requested.”
    Diego got to his feet and kissed her and it was not a polite peck. “You are ever my savior.”
    She laughed and dropped the bag in her left hand to his feet. “More supplies, including the machete.” She looked around the hall. “What a beautiful house,” she added. Then she smiled up at the ceiling. “Well, hello there.”
    Zoe looked up quickly. There was nothing there.
    “On the top beam,” Sera said softly. “They’re very shy. They seem to like elves, though. Lindal has a friend who almost lives on his shoulder.”
    “Ferr,” Zoe said. “Diego told us about her.”
    Sera looked around the hall once more, taking in everyone there, including Cole, who was standing in the kitchen doorway now, his chest still bare. “I’m interrupting,” Sera said. “I also left behind three vampires who are dealing with their own bonding, who I should get back to.”
    Diego tilted his head. “They’re still fighting it?’
    Sera looked troubled. “They have all been passing as human. One has a fiancé. It is…difficult.”
    “The bonding will change that,” Diego said. “I was more stubborn than most and it worked on me.”
    Sera looked at Zoe and rolled her eyes. “He caved, the moment he saw me.”
    Zoe fought not to laugh as Diego looked affronted.
    Sera spread her hands. “I really must not linger. Call if you need me.” She held her hand out to Diego and he caught the tips of her fingers with his, then let her go. It was a barely there touch, yet their expressions made Zoe feel embarrassed she was witnessing the highly intimate moment.
    She glanced at Declan. He was watching the pair with his dark eyes narrowed, a look of heavy concentration on his face. She had seen that expression many times before, when he had been dealing with a tricky diagnosis.
    Sera lifted her hand in a small wave goodbye and disappeared.
    Diego stirred and returned to the bench. He did not look awkward about having been seen showing such raw emotions.
    “I think I understand….” Declan breathed.
    Diego looked at him. “Good,” he said flatly. “Go. Go and talk.” He sat down. “Have your discussion. Let the bond arrange things, while I take care of the rest.” He yanked one of the pistols from the harness, pulled out the clip and checked it, then snapped it back with a practiced motion and cocked the gun and put it beside him. He turned his head to look through the glass pane beside the door, toward the