Page 94 of Touched By Destiny

Her father’s heavy footfalls stopped abruptly.

“I can’t do it,” her father whispered. “I can’t erase what is left of Nariko.”

If Maribeth could’ve sighed without agony, she would have. Her father wouldn’t kill her. All she had to do was stay there to ensure he didn’t shoot Eric. But if he took a shot at Eric’shead, there was nothing she could do about it. Except beg for his life, which she did as loudly as she could between shuddering, painful breaths.

“I knew it would end this way,” her father remarked, his voice eerily calm. He paid no heed to Maribeth’s mumbled ramblings. “I was prepared. I am prepared. It was always a sacrifice I was willing to make. Necros can’t go to prison. Another life stolen by the destiny-touched. As much as I hate Clark for wishing for a destiny-touched child, I won’t make him kill me. Tell him I did this for him. I didn’t add to his ghosts.”

The second her father raised the gun to his own temple, Maribeth squeezed her eyes shut.

“No,” she screamed. “No!”

He didn’t listen, and his body hit the floor with a solid thud. Since her thighs were trembling so hard she could barely stand, Maribeth slid to the ground and stared up at the ceiling while she waited for help to arrive. Her tears were salty as they hit her lips. Next to her, her cousin was weeping and calling out her name. Thanks to her father, he was traumatized. They both were. But Eric had lived. And so would Maribeth.

Chapter 38

His tears fell unabatedly, but Eric didn’t care. The last twenty or so hours of his life remained unfathomable. Even as he’d been forced to step around the prone body of his uncle, Eric had had trouble processing reality. Maribeth had been gently lifted from the floor and was already on her way to a hospital to have her injuries tended to.

Despite everything, Eric worried about her necromantic blood and what would happen if the humans discovered how different his hybrid cousin was from them. But his greater fear was that she would succumb to the bullet her own father had ripped through her. Life without Maribeth wasn’t something Eric wanted to contemplate.

He owed her so much. Heedless of the danger, she’d fought to protect him. Eric would never be able to thank her enough for her sacrifice and courage. As for himself, he’d steadfastly refused any healthcare. Physically, he was fine. He could not say the same for his mental state.

What he most wanted and needed in that moment was Gabriel.

Someone shouted Eric’s name, and he nearly fell to his knees at the sound of Gabriel’s voice. He turned and let outa shuddering breath as a tall blond with windblown hair ran toward him. Gabriel’s green eyes were a mixture of fear and relief, his mouth thin with tension.

Two seconds later, Eric was in his strong embrace. He clung to Gabriel and took some much-needed comfort from the man he loved. The cops around Eric tried to separate them and insist that Gabriel step away.

“No,” Eric said. “No. He’s mine.”

Gabriel laid a hand on Eric’s cheek, and his thumb trembled as he swept away Eric’s tears.

“Come on, we’ll leave the police to their work. Your family is not far behind me. We didn’t expect you to be outside.” His jaw flexed. “We thought they’d be negotiating your release.”

Eric shook his head and allowed himself to be led a short distance from the whirling lights. There was still much he had to do. Although he’d explained a little to the police, they needed detailed information from him. To punish the people who’d kidnapped him from his home.

“Eric,” his father shouted, spotting him.

Eric left Gabriel to explain to the police who the newcomers were as he embraced his parents, brother, and even David. They stepped far from the crime scene, as Eric refused to get in the way of the people who were processing the scene.

“Are you okay?” his father asked.

In short, stumbling sentences, Eric explained what his uncle had done and where Maribeth was now. Because of him, she was on her way to an operating room to have a bullet removed from her body. One lodged in her by her own father.

The grief in his father’s eyes made Eric wish he could take back the words. Gabriel tugged Eric close, and it was a relief. Eric’s knees were shaking so hard he could barely stand.

“I’m so sorry,” his father said.

“It’s not your fault,” Eric replied. “Go to the hospital. We need to find out how Mari is doing.”

“Come with us,” Richard insisted.

Eric glanced over at the cluster of cops escorting the two men who’d kidnapped him into separate squad cars. “I have to talk to the police.”

“I’ll stay with Eric,” Gabriel said, offering Eric a reassuring squeeze and a kiss to his messy hair. “Go to the hospital.”

None of his family liked it, but they traipsed away from the edge of the front lawn to their waiting car. Eric turned in Gabriel’s arms and looked up at his beloved face.

“I love you,” Eric said.

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