Page 6 of Charmed By Destiny

“I will. The last thing I want is danger in my life.”

Richard swallowed heavily to get past the lump in his throat and promised himself he’d have a good cry later. He refused to have Maribeth mop up his tears. She had enough on her plate. “I need you to make me one more promise.”

“Okay, what?”

“Since Eric was kidnapped, you haven’t gone to a club or ventured on a single date. You were the only one of us with enough bravery to put yourself out there constantly to find the woman meant for you. I don’t want you to be alone forever. Get back out there. Promise me.”

Maribeth smiled, and Richard relaxed slightly. Some of her usual verve was in the sly curve of her lips. “I’ve already been looking into the hot spots. I’ve taken a big enough break from trying to find my soulmate. But if I’m making you this vow, then you need to do better too.”

“Mari, you know how I feel about this. I don’t want a soulmate. It’s not a big deal. I suck at choosing partners, and I’m not dealing with any more vapid men with pretty faces.”

“Richard.”

“What?”

“I can’t enjoy my life fully if I’m worried about you sitting in this mansion by yourself forever.”

Richard smirked. “That sounds like ayouproblem, Mari.”

“Can’t you try a little? Date or drag Douglas to the club at the casino?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Which means no.”

“I have a wedding to plan,” Richard said, shooting for a subject change.

Maribeth’s mouth tightened, but they’d argued plenty in recent years about Richard’s desire to stay single. He refused to budge. Not even for Maribeth.

“How did the meeting go today?”

“How do you think? We were about thirty seconds in, and both Eric and Gabriel had glazed-over looks. I lost count of how many times Gabriel checked his watch. They wanted out of the room. Mom and I talked afterward. We’ll narrow the choices down to two or three and let them choose from there. They’ll fucking elope if we don’t step in and push things along. They like things simple and classic. I want it to suit them, so it will. Are you sure you have to leave tomorrow?”

“It’s overdue, Richard,” Maribeth said softly. “I’ve been putting it off because I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but this is what I want.”

“Then I’m happy for you,” Richard managed, though his spirit was crushed. He’d miss her terribly, and he hoped that being away from everyone wouldn’t dig her scars deeper into her soul.

???

Luke didn’t know what the hell he was doing. That morning, he’d called the number Foxe had picked up from some random necromancer, and to Luke’s horror, the man had told the truth. It was answered by a kind inspirit who asked only pertinent questions and insisted Luke venture to the largest Marwood property in Vegas immediately so they could get him settled.

With a hug and a promise to call him later, Luke had dropped Foxe off at a small casino off the strip and driven to an absurdly gorgeous casino dramatically decorated in black and white. He wondered if any of the humans wandering through the glass doors knew that black traditionally represented necromancers and white was the color chosen for inspirits.

Supposedly they’d discovered that because of soulmates, but Luke was skeptical. He was also dawdling because he was scared shitless. His palms were sweaty. His heart was racing. And what he wanted most was to call Foxe and tell him the mission had failed. They could meet up somewhere and put together another plan.

Foxe didn’t have a way to get around yet or any money, so he required help. Luke refused to let him down, so he set aside his escape plans and gathered his wavering confidence.

Luke walked through a shiny silver-trimmed door, and his mouth nearly dropped open. The lobby was as dramatic as the outside. The floors were tiled, and a giant trio of chandeliers filled the lobby with slightly sparkly light thanks to the crystal teardrops dangling from the fixtures. A long black desk of ornate dark wood was manned by several people—many of whom Luke’s senses quickly identified as inspirits.

It was early in the morning, so few people were checking in or out. That gave Luke plenty of options, but he headed for the closest inspirit.

“Good morning, how can I help you?” the inspirit asked kindly.

“Hi, my name is Lucas Wynnter. I have an appointment; I called this morning. They didn’t tell me anything else. Just—”

The inspirit smiled. “It’s okay, Mr. Wynnter, we’re expecting you. I’ll call Gabe. Do you need anything right now? A beverage or something to eat?”

Taken aback by his friendliness and immediate offer of assistance, Luke shook his head. He wasn’t sure who Gabe was, but apparently that was who he was meeting.

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