Page 14 of Dark Gambit Reliance

Kaia glared at him. "What's wrong with my cooking?"

"Nothing, my love. You are an excellent cook, but I'd rather you rested after a long day of work instead of spending an hour or more on food preparation."

"Good save," Eric murmured.

"It's the truth." William lifted his hand to his nose as if he was still wearing glasses and needed to push them up.

"What did she serve?" Darlene asked. "I heard that it's a fixed menu, and you get what you get."

"There were five courses," Kaia said.

"The appetizer was mushroom crostini, and she served it on beautiful crystal plates." Kaia gestured with her fingers to indicate the size. "About this big. The second course was a salad made of mixed greens, beets, goat cheese, and almond slivers."

"The third course was soup." William licked his lips. "It was the best butternut squash soup I've had the pleasure to sample, and I've sampled many in the fanciest restaurants. She made tiny croutons from red bell peppers, all of different heights, and they were centered in each soup bowl, looking like high-rise buildings surrounded by an orange lake. It was such a pretty presentation." He shifted his eyes to Eric. "It makes a difference, you know. The presentation, the decor, the sounds in the background, all come together to create a one-of-a-kind culinary experience. Callie nailed it."

"There were three different main courses." Kaia wiped the juice from Ryan's chin. "One was almond-crusted tilapia with roasted vegetables. The second was seafood paella, and the third was a vegetable paella for Kian and the other vegetarians. The fifth course was a choice of marzipan cake, chocolate cake, coffee, and tea."

"You forgot to mention the champagne and the wines," William said. "Callie told us that she will be serving champagne every day for an entire month to celebrate the opening. She wants everyone to feel like they were at the opening night."

"That's so nice of her," Darlene said. "I wonder what she'll serve when it's our turn. I hope the seafood paella will be on the menu for that night."

After Idina and the boys were moved to the den, Karen got that conspiratorial look on her face that warned Eric about what was coming next.

"So, did you do it?"

Darlene frowned. "How did you know that we were planning it? Did Eric tell you?"

"Don't be mad. He told Gilbert. You know why."

Darlene sighed. "Yeah. You are in the same boat as me."

"I wish." Karen winced. "My grandfather is not a god."

"Right." Darlene looked at Eric. "Just tell them. But try to be mindful of how I feel about it."

He nodded. "It was awkward as hell," he admitted. "Especially for Darlene. Max chained me to the bed, which I thought was absurd, but he was right. When he bit Darlene, I wanted to tear him apart, and I discovered that I was as strong as a damn gorilla. I pulled on the chains and toppled the posts. Those were not twigs. They were massive. I would have never been able to do that as a human."

Karen looked at Darlene with alarm in her eyes. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

Darlene shook her head. "Eric protected me. The posts fell on him, but since he's immortal now, nothing broke, and he was as good as new the next morning."

William smirked. "Welcome to the club, Eric. Our civilized veneers hide dangerous animals. Most of the time they lie dormant, but when our mates are threatened, the beasts come out."

"Max didn't threaten me." Darlene looked down at her plate. "He was doing us a favor."

"The beasts are mindless," William said. "They are all instinct and very little thought. Max was smart to chain Eric to the bed."

11

ELEANOR

"Got it. Thanks, Julian." Eleanor ended the call, put the pen down, and turned to Sofia. "Julian sent the referral to the cardiologist, and he gave me the precise wording for the fake diagnosis."

They needed to start building the case for Sofia's fake heart problem, and a visit to the cardiologist's office was the perfect excuse for a road trip that would include the cat with the tracker, killing two birds with one stone so to speak.

Sofia shook her head. "Marcel told me that it's not permitted to thrall humans unless it is done to protect the secret of immortals' existence or their lives. How are you going to justify thralling the doctor?"

"Easy. You are a potential immortal, and if we don't fake your death convincingly enough, your life will be in danger. Besides, I'm not going to thrall anyone. Marcel is going to do that. I can only compel." Eleanor leaned her elbows on her thighs and rested her chin on her fist. "A diagnosis by a human cardiologist who is in no way connected to us will be more convincing than just your word."

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