Page 86 of Touched By Destiny

Before Eric could so much as blink, Seamor was patting him down. As Eric’s mind spun, they read him his Miranda rights, and he barely heard a word. His cellphone was tossed onto the counter, and Eric trembled as his arms were yanked down. Two cuffs snapped around his wrists behind him, and the sound was obscenely loud in the quiet kitchen.

“Can you just take him like this?” Eric’s mother shouted.

“Mom, call Gabriel,” Eric said.

“Let’s go,” Seamor demanded. “We can fill you in on what we know about your crime in the car.”

Although Eric wasn’t an expert on law enforcement, his brain was kicking into gear as the cops hustled him quickly out of the house. Difficult as it was to think clearly, Eric’s suspicion increased. No one had ever asked him a question about the supposed murder. Eric recognized the Arwynns’ last name, but he’d never heard any of their first names. How had evidence of this man’s unfortunate demise led the police to Eric?

He posed none of those questions. Seamor placed a hand on his head and ushered him into the squad car. It was to his benefit to remain silent, and Eric wasn’t going to say a fucking word to anyone. This had to be a mistake—a colossal one which would soon be remedied. All Eric had to do was gather his courage, find a way to rein in his overwhelming terror, and wait for Gabriel and their family—and a herd of lawyers—to help him.

The car sped away from the curb, and a hinky feeling that something was off grew. Eric wasn’t sure if his senses could be trusted. Not once had it ever entered his mind that he’d be arrested for anything. His palms sweating profusely as they lay smushed against the slick fabric of the backseat, Eric concentrated on taking deep breaths.

His heart raced as he wondered why neither of the cops were saying a word to him. And he worried. The most important task in his immediate future was making sure no one figured out Eric was far from human.

???

“We all have soulmates to get home to, so let’s move through this as quickly as possible,” Clark said, handing Gabriel and Rhonda a stack of papers with a spreadsheet on top. “Richard and Douglas are completing their list of promotions for the conference staff in their office right now, which leaves us with nothing but security to finish. These are the people who work at the European hotels. We don’t work with them as often, but we know the inspirits and have their reports on the human staff.”

“We missed our trip to visit those hotels this year,” Rhonda pointed out.

“I know,” Clark replied as Gabriel perused the list of names on the spreadsheet. Most of them were familiar to him, but new human staff had been hired since his last visit. “We’ll go, I promise. But we didn’t feel comfortable being that far away from Eric while these people are trailing him. Things are different now that you’re his soulmate, Gabriel, and I assume you’ll want him at your side. However, let’s see if we can get to bottom of these people following him before we plan any trips.”

Irritation had Gabriel’s jaw clenching. “I was so fucking pissed last week. We had this wonderful evening, and I didn’t appreciate it ending with a clandestine trip to the hotel.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t call me and tell me what was going on,” Rhonda complained, lifting her gaze from the spreadsheet she’d set on her maroon pants.

“There was no reason for us both to spend the night angry,” Gabriel reasoned. “I didn’t see any reason to spoil your mood, and I told you as soon as you arrived in the morning.”

“Meeting Tasha was such a treat,” Clark said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. It had nothing to do with Rhonda’s soulmate, but rather the ongoing fury the head of the Marwood family was experiencing as his destiny-touched son was trailed. “Eric has been singing her praises ever since.”

“We had a wonderful time,” Rhonda replied. Like Clark, her words belied the tension on her face. “I really want to find these pricks and demand to know what they want with Eric.”

“If I’d known Arwynn was going to cause so much fucking trouble, I wouldn’t have met with the guy,” Clark stated.

“You didn’t know he was going to use the opportunity to come to Vegas to discover whatever he could about the Marwoods,” Gabriel answered.

Clark pursed his lips. “I really hate when you don’t include yourself as a Marwood. You’re Eric’s soulmate, and the truth is, we considered you part of the family long before he was even born.”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with you?” Rhonda asked. “I heard a little bullshit talk about you dating the boss’s son from a couple of newer human employees, but no one else was surprised.”

“That’s because we’ve been watching Gabriel quietly moon over Eric for the past five years,” Clark teased, his humor finally overcoming his irritation as he grinned at Gabriel.

Annoyed that he’d been unsuccessful in hiding his feelings for Eric, Gabriel scowled. “You hired me to guard your children. That didn’t line up in my head with pursuing your youngest because I was attracted to him.”

“Do you think I give a shit that you’re his bodyguard and you’re sleeping with him?” Clark asked. “Even if you weren’t his soulmate, you’re both adults. You’re free to make your own decisions. It’s not my place to judge you for them. I would’ve been furious if your affair had pushed you to quit or separate yourself from your family. And no one could’ve calmed Rosalind if she were to lose you. Once we figured out that you both were interested in each other, Rosalind was determined to get you together. If I believed in such things, I’d think she wished you into being soulmates.”

Rhonda laughed as Gabriel tried to separate his emotions. For so long, he’d convinced himself that the world discovering what Eric meant to him would destroy his life. The reality was the complete opposite, and he was still adjusting to the profound change.

“If anyone could do it, it’d be Rosalind,” Rhonda mused.

“And Eric is convinced Tasha is as perfect for you as Gabriel is for him,” Clark said.

With a grin, Rhonda closed her eyes briefly. “I adore her.”

“Then I have some fucking questions for you both,” Clark remarked, tossing his spreadsheet onto his desk and pinning them both with his direct blue gaze. “You’ve both met your soulmates. You adore them. But what are you doing about it? Neither of you live with your soulmate. What about marriage? Where are the plans for the rest of your lives?”

“Um, Gabriel, you can go first,” Rhonda said with a wave of her hand in his direction.

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