She says Aiden is returning soon, he replied in text.
There was a long pause before Bel answered and it was simply, I hope she’s right.
They all felt a little lost without Aiden, which was strange. When their mother was a vampire, Aiden couldn’t come anywhere near them without risking another of her violent episodes. But even if he wasn’t physically close, they knew he was watching over them. They knew he would be there as quickly as he could if there was a problem. Even from a distance, he felt a part of them. Even if he and Julianna never married, Aiden was family. He was a Varik.
But since she was murdered, Aiden felt distant and lost. Rafe understood. He’d loved Julianna immensely and had been forced to be apart from her for too many years. They never got their shot at happily ever after with all the fireworks and sunset walks. They’d had only a couple of short years, and then everything went to hell. Too short a time for humans and even worse when one of them was a vampire. Just a blip on the screen in their long lives.
Rafe was just hoping that if they could get Aiden to join them in Hartford, they’d all be able to help him heal. To move forward. While he might like to argue with his brothers at every turn, Rafe agreed with them on one thing. They were stronger together.
Shoving away from the wall, Rafe started for the coffee house door again, but it was already opening, and Philippe was stepping outside. His expression was drawn, and he looked as if he was lost in thought, not even noticing that Rafe was standing directly in front of him.
“Not good news, huh?” Rafe murmured as he grabbed the edge of the door.
Philippe’s head jerked up, and he stared at Rafe for a second. He shook his head. “Sorry. I—”
“Don’t worry about it. She can be a lot.”
Rafe moved so that Philippe could step out of the open doorway. The vampire winced at the cold wind.
“Do you want to head back now? It’s a long drive. Plenty of time to think.”
“Yes, please. If you don’t mind.”
Rafe smiled and pointed in the direction of the parking garage where he’d tucked his car. They walked in silence for several minutes, accompanied only by the sound of their footsteps on the pavement and the rush of the cars. Rafe was expecting that silence to continue until they were nearly to Hartford, but he was surprised when Philippe spoke after just a couple of blocks.
“How did you meet her?”
“Hyde Park Christmas market. London,” Rafe said, looking over at Philippe with a smirk. He shoved his hands into his pockets and lifted his shoulders to his ears against the wind. “I was wandering around one night and I spotted this little old lady selling handmade ornaments and decorations. Some copper was giving her grief.”
“And you gave her a hand.”
“Definitely not,” Rafe said with a delicate sniff. “She had everything under control. Was giving the man a piece of her mind before he could finally shuffle away with his tail between his legs.”
Philippe’s laugh warmed him and helped to erase some of the lines of worry about the blond vampire’s mouth. Rafe was happy to tell a hundred extravagant stories if it meant Philippe would laugh and smile at him.
“Then how…?”
“She caught sight of me and knew I’d been there with the intention of butting in to help her. She remarked I was smart for knowing to hold my tongue, but she appreciated that I wanted to assist her. Gave me a little hand-carved cat for my mother.” His voice softened at the last bit of the memory that left him wondering if the cat was still among his mother’s possessions.
She had been staying with Bel when she’d been killed. Bel would have all her possessions, but Rafe had no idea what Bel did with any of those things. Had he given them all to charity? Burned them?
Rafe shoved that line of thought aside. It wasn’t the time or place. Later. He could ask Bel later what happened to her things.
“Did you know then?” Philippe asked, drawing him back out.
“That she was a witch? God, no. I was barely aware of vampires at that time.” He smiled at his companion again. “I was still human when I met her for the first time. Aiden didn’t turn me for another two years.”
“Oh my,” Philippe breathed. His expression was a little unsteady when he met Rafe’s gaze again. “I’ll admit that until tonight, I wasn’t entirely sure that I believed in witches. I’d heard whispers, but people have talked about a lot of crazy things over the centuries, and I’ve seen little evidence that any of it’s true.”
Rafe led the way into the well-lit parking garage, climbing the concrete stairs to the second floor. He spotted his black beauty right where he left it and tapped the fob in his pocket to unlock the doors.