Page 85 of Touched By Destiny

“Mom, I know you’ve been dying to have Gabriel move in since you met him, but he’s probably still getting used to all the chaos in the house.”

“I don’t find the house chaotic,” David chimed in.

“Good point, I don’t think it is either,” Eric’s mother insisted.

With a smile, Eric rolled his eyes. His mother wasn’t going to give up on her quest to have Gabriel under her roof. While Eric would love for Gabriel to be settled in the house permanently, he saw no reason to rush. They spent all their time there together anyway. As long as they were a couple, Eric had no complaints.

“Did he ask you to go with him to the awards banquet?” his mother asked.

“He did. I’m looking forward to it. Gabriel can relax and enjoy himself because I’ll be surrounded by almost every security guard and inspirit we know.”

“Wait until you see the dress Rosalind is wearing,” David remarked with a grin. “It’s really pretty.”

“Of course it is, you picked it out,” Rosalind told her best friend. “I really wish you’d come with us.”

“I’m looking forward to a long soak in my tub and a good book,” David replied.

“You sound like Richard,” Eric’s mother said with a sigh. “Since Mari went to her father’s, all that boy has done is stay home and sit in his bathtub until he gets pruny. Of course, that’s after he’s called Douglas to review their schedule for the next day and probably added a hundred new notes for himself.”

“We take a kung fu class once a week,” David argued.

“Which is wonderful, dear, but it’s not going to get either of you any closer to your soulmate,” Eric’s mom commented, her expression pained.

David shrugged. “I think we have everything to start the recipe.”

“And there he is, changing the subject because he doesn’t want to talk about it,” Eric’s mother complained, taking her apron out of the pantry and slipping it over her head.

“Mom, leave David alone. He and Richard will meet their soulmates when it’s right.”

His mother opened her mouth to offer a retort, but the loud sound of the doorbell had all three of them jumping.

“Who could that be?” Eric’s mom asked, already charging out of the room to answer the door.

“Is Takoda working over the garage tonight?” David asked softly, tension causing a crease between his dark brows.

David didn’t like strangers, and he preferred the sanctuary of home. The inspirit never left on his own, and Eric had often wondered through the years what had happened in David’s life that made him so fearful. It wasn’t something Eric questioned aloud; David was entitled to his privacy, and both of Eric’s parents were ferociously protective of the inspirit. They accepted his preferences, and besides Eric’s mother’s gentleprodding about his soulmate, no one pressured David to go out of his comfort zone.

Eric nodded. “Yeah, Gabriel is uneasy about leaving us in the house without an inspirit close since Arwynn and his lackeys are still surveilling me.”

“That’s a relief,” David murmured, then he froze in place.

“Eric,” his mother stated in a strange tone that had Eric immediately turning toward her. Her face was ashen, and the fear in her eyes had Eric swallowing heavily. Behind her were two men in light sandy uniforms proclaiming that they were Vegas cops.

“Are you Eric Marwood?” the taller of the two asked, his expression flat and disinterested.

Eric slid off the stool and lifted his chin. “I’m Eric Marwood.”

The shorter man held out a folded piece of paper. “We have a warrant for your arrest, Mr. Marwood.”

Eric’s heart was a heavy weight in his chest, and he could hear each beat as a wave of terror swept through him. Clenching his fists, he forced himself to think rationally despite his fear.

“A warrant? What for?”

“First-degree murder,” the tall man stated. His nameplate readSeamor.

Gulping, Eric shivered as cold sweat slid along his spine. “Murder? Whose murder?”

“Weston Arwynn,” Seamor replied. “Please put your hands up. Do you have anything in your pockets?”

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