Page 44

44

Cary

A fter getting Evan back home, I pulled him into the solarium and began applying the wards to keep him safe. He didn’t blow me off or tease me about my chanting. He stood there, watching, those big, bold eyes taking everything in.

When I finished, I sat him in the chair across from me. “Evan, are you sure you won’t stay home tonight? Let us—”

He shook his head. “No, Cary, I can’t keep hiding. Andy, he… that’s what he and his kind want. He wants to scare us into hiding. I’m not surprised Andy showed up because he and Leon Cordelia were so similar. I think I—” He looked at me for a few moments, then sighed. “I know this sounds weird, but I think the evil entity might’ve called Andy. Even if he came on his own, the entity recognized a kindred spirit in him, and I think he began influencing him against me.”

I sat back in the chair and nodded. “He attacked me. The entity. He was angry that we’d stopped whatever he’d started, kept him at bay. Had I not shown up, I think he would’ve hurt you. That’s what I felt. Oh, and I met Andre’s lover. He warned me something was happening. That’s why I came back early.”

“Really? I-I thought he’d left. Why would his spirit be lingering?”

I shrugged. “Way too many questions without answers. I don’t even know his name, so I’m not sure how to research him, but he said someone had told him he had to leave to save Andre. Anyway, that’s not the point right now. We have to figure out how to quell the evil. Then, we can chase down the information on Andre’s lover.”

Evan nodded, came over, and pulled me up before sinking into my arms. “I love you, Cary. I’m also so thankful you’re here and keep protecting me. Part of me hates needing to be protected, but thank you for being so willing.”

I smiled and kissed the top of his head. Then I tilted his head up until I could see his handsome face. “I love you, too, more than I thought was possible.”

He nodded, then came back in for the hug. “We don’t have to be back to the manor for a while. Why don’t we go up and take a nap,” I said, and waggled my eyebrows at him, making him laugh.

“You’re insatiable… thank God,” he said, and let me pull him up to his bedroom… our bedroom. I didn’t think of it as just his any longer since I never seemed to sleep in mine these days. The room was all Evan, and I wouldn’t want it any other way because he belonged here. He belonged with me.