Francesca couldn’t exactly argue that. She hadn’t been able to look at the beach house as a paradise anymore, anyway. It was a damn shame. She’d loved every second of their time there.
Right up until Easton slipped through the back door.
There was no way that man could’ve lived much longer, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed his death. Despite everything, it hurt Maxine terribly. She’d seen her cousin as one of her responsibilities. The failures that had led to his quick but gruesome death were hers, whether that was fair or not.
Francesca knew all about guilt. If there was one thing she could offer her friend, it was a sympathetic ear.
And revenge — but that was more Luis’s thing than hers.
They’d decided they’d been on their own long enough. Luis needed to help his family, and she wanted to be there for Maxine. They’d compromised with Felix, who wanted them to move into the Amauri Estate, by agreeing to stay with Luis’sparents instead. It was a decision that’d been met with much joy from Mary and only mild grumbling from Dahlia and her partner in crime.
And of course, there was one more task that required her presence in United Washington: the hunt for Billie.
Tomas Bowan had been convinced to take her case. It seemed like a trivial thing for someone like him to spend his time on, but she had learned firsthand that money could convince someone to do just about anything.
They’d begun talking on the phone a few times a week as she briefed him on everything she could possibly think of, including her own frustrating lack of progress in finding her sister. But she didn’t want to be sidelined. She wanted tohelp,even if that made both Tomas and Luis nervous.
Wherever Billie was, when she was found, Francesca would be there.
It was nerve-wracking, entering the fray again, but after everything that had happened, she knew they all had to face what was coming head-on. A family was strongest when it was together, and this was her family now. She had to look out for them, too.
They pulled up to the massive brick mansion late in the evening. A heavy full moon hung like a disk in the sky, accompanied by what few tenacious stars managed to break through the city’s light pollution. Cool moonlight spilled over the meticulous landscaping and grand entrance.
As Luis helped her out of the car, Francesca spied a large tree peeking around the side of the mansion — and just the edge of what had to be a truly spectacular treehouse.
Her chest clenched, just a little, at the thought of her vampire building it. Maybe someday their own kids would play in that outrageous structure. Or maybe they’d watch nieces and nephews frolic amongst the branches in the moonlight. There’dnever been much time or space in her life to consider either option, and one could argue that was still the case, but the future hung in her mind, as real as a picture in a frame.
“It’s day thirty,” she blurted, stopping in her tracks.
Luis took half a step forward before the tension in the rope connecting them signaled he should stop. Looping his fingers around it, he gently pulled her closer. “It is.”
His eyebrows were dark slashes over his eyes when he peered down at her, a frown tugging at his lips. “You’re not planning on changing your mind, are you?”
She couldn’t exactly blame him for worrying. After all she’d seen, any sane person would’ve run halfway to the Elvish Protectorate by now.
But she’d let something wild and reckless out when she met Luis. It’d been freed, never to be put back in the cage she’d made, and it would never let her leave his side.
Twisting her own fingers into the silk rope until their knuckles brushed, she whispered, “I think I’d like to extend our contract, Mr. Amauri.”
“Yeah?” His lips quirked. “How long?”
“How does forever sound?”
Luis’s eyes crinkled with the force of his smile. Leaning down to press a hungry kiss to her mouth, he growled, “Sounds like I won.”
She smiled, arching onto her toes to deepen the kiss. They might’ve stood there all night if the front doors of the mansion hadn’t burst open.
They both turned to see Felix standing on the stoop, his hands on his hips. A terrible scowl grooved his handsome face when he bit out, “Hey lovebirds, if you’re not too busy, we have a fuckin’ problem.”
Luis snapped to attention. Grabbing her hand, he asked, “What happened?”
“Nash is gone,” Felix replied, “and he took Ginny.”
THE END