Page 52 of Prodigal Son

Cain frowned. “How? He wasn’t even there.”

“Are you certain?”

Destiny chattered a lot on their journey, and he tried to recall any mention of others. “It’s her brother?”

“Yes,” Eleazar agreed. “If he wasn’t in the woods, then she must have told him what she saw. That means the compulsion didn’t last.”

It made sense that Cain couldn’t penetrate her mind once he discovered her thoughts were a jumble of English and Portuguese, but the bishop spoke both languages. He was an elder more than half a millennium old. He should have had no issue taking control of the mortal and wiping her memories. “How is that possible. She’s just a mortal.”

“So you did not tamper with her mind?”

“I couldn’t,” Cain reminded. “I did exactly as you asked.”

“She does seem rather confused about why she’s here,” Larissa said.

Perplexed as well, Cain asked, “How did she get here?”

“They have a vehicle. I had David move it into the barn.”

“She drove here but doesn’t know why?”

“So it seems.”

“Where is she?”

“That is not the issue at the moment.”

The hell it wasn’t. Cain opened the door. “I want to see her. Where is she?” The door ripped out of his hand, the bishop’s telekinesis stronger than his grip.

“Sit down, you fool,” the bishop growled. “You and your bleeding heart have caused enough trouble—”

“Tell me where she is or I tear this place apart brick by brick.” The thought of her locked in one of the holding cells had him seeing red. “She’s been through enough.”

“You’re out of line.”

“You are. Unlock the door before I break it!”

“They’re in the den under compulsion,” his sister blurted, disobeying her husband’s demand for control.

“Larissa!”

“I won’t stand for this arguing between you two. As my mate and my brother, I insist the two of you find a way to get along.”

Cain jiggled the knob. “Unlock the door.”

“We’re not finished talking.”

“Vito was good to me,” Larissa snapped. “He was my friend. What we shared happened before you and I were mated, and I needed to feed. You’re being completely unreasonable.”

The bishop pinched the bridge of his nose. “Larissa, we will discuss this later. Right now, we need to focus on a solution. There are two confused mortals sitting in my den, and I want them gone.”

“When we mated, you swore I would be allowed to have friends.”

“He’s mortal. My loyalty on the issue resides with the safety of The Order.”

“Well, I hope your stubborn loyalties keep you warm tonight.”

“You’re behaving like an irrational female.”

---