Page 7 of The Forbidden

Sylvie lifts a shoulder. “It was fine. I mean… most of the kids were nice but a few were assholes.”

God, she’s so cute cursing with her sweet French accent. I don’t chastise her. I’m the cool aunt who lets her get away with that stuff when times are tough and she’s been swept up in a shit show. Six weeks ago, her mother died. Five weeks ago, she came to live with Ethan, the father she’d never met, and with him, she inherited the motley Blackburn lot. It’s been a difficult adjustment, but Sylvie is starting to flourish. Then, ten days ago, her own grandfather tried to kill her, all so he could gain control of the winery his daughter Alaine had left to her daughter.

My inclination is to pull Sylvie into my arms to comfort her, but she looks at me with pleading eyes, not to help her fracture but to be strong. “Bullies feed on reactions, my dear sweet niece. Starve them of it, and they lose their power.”

She considers my words and nods. “I know.” She then lifts her chin. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“That’s my warrior girl,” I praise.

“Much,” she adds on. “It doesn’t bother me much.”

“You wouldn’t be human if it didn’t affect you in some way.”

Her gaze drops to her hands and I know she wants to get to the heart of the matter, the reason she sought me out. When it comes, I’m not prepared for it.

Her green eyes—same as Ethan’s, same as mine, same as all my siblings and my sweet Irish mom—rise to meet mine. “I know you’re going to see Gabe. I overheard you and Dad talking.”

“Oh,” I murmur, mind racing to the conversations I’ve had with Ethan the last few days about this meeting with Gabe and whether we specifically talked about Sylvie, or rather… Sylvie and Gabe’s relationship.

“I was wondering how he is.”

“How who is?” I ask, not trying to play dumb but to give myself more time to make sure I will say the right things. Gabe is dangerous territory to discuss.

Sylvie rolls her eyes, knowing I’m being deliberately obtuse. “I want to know how Uncle Gabe is. I want to see him.”

“Oh, wow. Um… okay, that’s not up to me, kiddo. That’s your dad’s call.”

“I know,” she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest and settling back against the cushion. “He doesn’t want me to see him, but I thought maybe you could talk to my dad. And since you’re going to be seeing my uncle today, I was hoping you could… you know… let him know that I don’t blame him.”

I ignore that for the moment. “Honey… have you really talked to your dad about this? Does he know how you feel?”

She shakes her head. “I only asked once but he’s got a lot of worries on him. I don’t think he wants to hear that I want to see Uncle Gabe because he hates the Mardraggons so much.”

“He’s just protecting you.”

Sylvie’s face screws up with frustration. “Yes, I know. But I don’t believe Gabe had anything to do with it. Do you?”

I can’t tell Sylvie that I probably know Gabriel Mardraggon better than any Blackburn does, including herself, and while what I know gives me far more reason to despise him than any of the others, I truly can’t see him being involved in a plot to kill Sylvie. I know he was close to Alaine. I know he loves Sylvie.

I shake my head. “No, I don’t think Gabe had any idea Lionel was going to do that. But it’s very complicated, Sylvie. That’s his father and he will be loyal to his family. Maybe not to Lionel in particular but to the Mardraggon name. Gabe’s interest in protecting that worries your dad.”

“But Uncle Gabe wouldn’t hurt me,” Sylvie insists, and my heart constricts painfully as I see how tortured she is about this. “He’s the last tie to my mother.”

“I know,” I murmur, reaching over to rest my hand on her shoulder. “Tell you what… I’ll talk to your dad after I meet with Gabe, okay? We’ll try to figure out something.”

“And you’ll tell Uncle Gabe I don’t blame him?” she presses.

“Of course I will. In fact, would you like to write him a note and I’ll give it to him?”

Sylvie’s eyes light up and she nods exuberantly. “Yes, that would be awesome.”

I have no clue if Ethan would approve of this, and I fully intend to let him know what I’m doing.

But after I hand the note over.

This is important to Sylvie and I’ll take the heat if it pisses Ethan off. But at this point, I can’t see the harm in making her feel good about maintaining the hope of a relationship with the one person who loved her mother the way she did.

CHAPTER 4

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