Chapter Forty-Six

Manny

"Gabriel?" Manny heldhis brother's head in his lap as blood poured out of Gabriel's mouth. He turned to his other brothers. "We need to get him to the healer!"

But they weren't listening. They were arguing with two gringos, who had shotguns pointed at their chests.

One of the men, a wiry blond with a lazy eye, aimed his shotgun at Pedro when he tried to charge him. "Stand back, hombre, or you're next."

"What's the meaning of this?" O'Leary boomed.

The blond's companion, a man with a shaved head, a black eye, and two missing front teeth, spit a wad of tobacco into the mud. "We thought he was a negro robbin' a corpse."

"Bobby." His friend nodded toward Gabriel's lifeless body. "That ain't no negro."

"It's a Mexican." Bobby shrugged. "Close enough."

"You stupid son of a bitch!" O'Leary yelled. He yanked the cane out of the doctor's chest, and in one clean sweep, knocked their shotguns out of their hands. Then he thrust the blade right through Bobby's chest. He withdrew the cane, and Bobby fell face-forward at O'Leary's feet.

His friend took off at a run, screaming for the police.

O'Leary rolled up his sleeves before spitting on Bobby's body. "You boys get the hell out of here. I'll handle the chief."

* * *

Fiona

I LAY IN THE CROOKof Duncan's arm, my head resting on the heart that beat in accord with mine. I closed my eyes and smiled, sensing Safina's pulse beating softly nearby. Words couldn't express my relief that our bond was restored and our beloved daughter had her immortality back.

A chorus of frantic male voices shattered my tranquility. I sat up and looked at Duncan. He slipped from the bed and looked out the window.

When he turned to me, all color had drained from his face.

"What is it, Duncan?"

His eyes turned as hard as stone. "They're carrying Gabriel. Get dressed." He tossed a dress at me and slid into fresh trousers.

I hastily fastened the buttons on my gown. No sooner had I left the room than I heard my daughter's blood-curdling scream.

My breath caught in my throat. "Oh, Almighty Mother, please."

I raced down the stairs after Duncan, straining my neck to look above Josef's grandson's shoulders. My heart beat wildly when I saw Gabriel beside Mrs. Jenkens, his lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling as Josef and Safina cried over him.

"Out of my way!" I screamed.

The crowd parted, and I fell on Gabriel, running my hands over his wound. Safina's hands shook as she joined me, but no matter how hard we tried, his wound wouldn't heal.

"Why isn't it working?" Safina wailed.

I looked at Safina through tear-soaked eyes. "Because we're too late."

"No!" Safina ripped open his shirt and pressed harder on the gaping cavity in his chest. She sobbed convulsively, breaths coming in gasps, screaming at Gabriel to wake.

Oh, how my heart broke for my daughter. Never before had I known such sorrow, not even after the loss of my own dear mother, for nothing was more distressing than watching my child suffer.

"Safina." I grabbed my daughter's arm. "Safina, stop."

Safina jerked away, shaking me off with a growl. "No, no, I won't stop!"

"Safina," I pleaded, though it imploded my heart to say the words aloud, "he's gone."

A fire lit in Safina's eyes. "Don't say that!" She shook her mate's shoulders. "Gabriel!"

I gently pried Safina off him, pulling her into an embrace. "Darling, I'm sorry."

Safina shoved me away, pointing an accusatory finger. "You did this! You broke my bond, and you killed him!"

"No." I stepped back, thankful when Duncan wrapped a comforting arm around my waist. "We restored the bond."

"You were too late!" Safina shrieked. "He was my soul mate, and you killed him!"

She raced out of the house and down the steps.

"I'll go after her," Duncan said, squeezing my hand and rushing out the door.

I fell into a chair beside Josef, too numb to follow, for as Safina's words sunk in, I knew them to be true. I was responsible for Gabriel's death. Had I not broken the bond, had I listened to Josef when he'd warned me about the severance being dark magic, Gabriel would still be alive.

"Safina, I'm so sorry." I buried my face in my hands. How could I live with myself now, knowing I'd robbed my daughter of all future happiness?

* * *

Duncan

I CHASED AFTER MY DAUGHTERas she dodged wreckage along the beach. I had to stop her before she did something drastic, for I couldn't go on living if something happened to her, and I knew her mother felt the same way.

"Safina, come back!" I yelled.

She stopped abruptly, clutching her stomach. She fell on her knees and retched into the sand. I knelt behind her, holding her hair out of her face as she continued to vomit. I saw why Safina had halted so unexpectedly. Beside Safina was the corpse of a small boy. His pants had fallen around his ankles, and he clutched a stuffed toy in his hand.

I grasped Safina's shoulders, whispering in her ear. "You shouldn't be out here. Come inside, lass."

"I can't live without him," she sobbed.

The piercing pain in Safina's heart struck me like a dagger to the chest. For every sob that wracked her, the dagger twisted and dug deeper. Never before had I known such bone-crushing sorrow. That's when I realized Safina wouldn't survive without Gabriel for long, for her heartbreak would surely kill her. Fiona would be so overcome with guilt and despair, she would take her own life next. I would have no choice but to follow them into the afterworld. I'd been parted from them long enough. I would not abide another lonely lifetime without my mate and child.

"But your mother and I can't live without you," I begged.

She looked at me with red-rimmed eyes and a swollen nose. "You should have let us drown in the ocean." Then she turned and raised her arms to the sky. "Almighty Mother, why? Why?" Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she collapsed in my arms.