The road was bumpy and not at all pleasant to travel on, Darius decided as he was once again thrust against the back of the black velvet seat of Remont’s impressive carriage.

His brother and their maker did not seem to mind the ride. Not that they had paid him any mind. In fact, Demetri’s hand still had not moved from Remont’s thigh.

“Perhaps this was not a good idea,” Darius said, looking at the passing landscape that consisted of road and tree after endless tree. He could see fine in the night and noted the creatures looking back at him as they passed.

No wonder the highwayman had chosen this lonely stretch of road.

Demetri moved his hand back to his own lap. “Come, Darius. What is wrong with having a little fun from time to time?

Darius shrugged.

Remont sat up abruptly, putting his hand up as he cocked his head. “Do you hear that?”

“What?” Demetri asked, his brows furrowing.

Remont’s eyes lit up. “Ah, I think the infamous highwayman is about to pay us a visit.”

Demetri rubbed his hands together. “Oh, this shall be great fun.”

“Do not harm him,” Darius said sternly, and received a scowl from both Remont and Demetri.

The driver pulled on the reins hard, forcing them to brace themselves.

“Stand and deliver!”

Demetri grinned like a boy on Christmas morning. “This is fantastic!”

“For God’s sake, how old is the lad?” Remont asked, looking out the curtain. “Twelve?”

“Not much younger than you, love,” Demetri replied with a devilish smile.

“Fuck you.”

“Beg me next time,” Demetri said, flashing his fangs.

The carriage shifted as the driver climbed down and met Darius at the doorway. The servant’s face was pale in the moonlight as he looked at Remont. “Sorry, sir. I could not help but stop.”

“That is quite all right,” Remont said, stepping down and giving the man an encouraging pat on the back.

Demetri followed and shut the carriage door behind him.

“Oh dear God,” Darius thought he heard the highwayman say, though it was muffled by the dark kerchief covering his face.

The lad wore light-colored breeches that barely disguised long, slender legs. He wore a jacket that looked a good three sizes too big, and a hat so large it nearly covered his eyes.

Remont’s gaze shifted over the boy. “Not bad.”

Demetri lifted a brow but stayed uncharacteristically quiet.

“Your money or your life,” the lad said in a gruff voice, removing another pistol from the band of his breeches.

Demetri laughed under his breath, but Darius elbowed him.

“What if we have no money?” Demetri asked, his gaze sliding over the lad slowly. “What else might we give you?”

“You have money.” The highwayman’s voice cracked.

“Not really,” Remont said, crossing his arms. “I left it behind at the hotel. Would you like to come back to our hotel room?”

“Aye, that would be lovely,” Demetri said with a wicked smile.

The lad shifted on his feet. “Certainly you have money on your person. I do not believe the three of you would be out on such a night with no coin. After all, look at your clothing.”

Darius noticed the pistols quaked in the boy’s hand.

“Our clothing?” Demetri asked, already stripping off his jacket, and quickly moving to the buttons on his pants. “I assume you want them?”

Darius shook his head. “Brother, the lad means that we are dressed so finely, he therefore does not believe us when we say we have no money.”

Demetri shrugged back into his coat and buttoned his pants. “What if we have no riches to give you?”

The highwayman cleared his throat. “Then I shall have to kill you.”

Demetri’s lips curved in a sinister smile. “Not if we kill you first.”

Darius looked at Demetri, who took a step closer to the boy.

The lad cocked the gun. “Do not come one step closer.”

“Do you think we fear you?” Remont asked, his voice silky soft.

Horses’ hooves sounded in the distance, and all three heard it at the same time. As did the lad apparently, since he ran for his horse.

But Darius was quicker. He grabbed the boy by the jacket, turned him around, and pushed his back up against the tree trunk.

“Bloody hell, Darius,” Demetri said behind him. “Seems you have a bit of fire left in you, after all.”

The lad fought him, but Darius tightened his grip. “Shh, Gabrielle.”

Her light green eyes narrowed. “How did you know?”

Exhilaration rushed along his spine the moment he had stepped out of the carriage. It had taken just one look into those green eyes to know he had found her again.

“Be still.” He leaned back, glancing at his brother and Remont. “Leave now. I shall be fine.”

Remont smiled knowingly and took Demetri by the hand. “Come, we have had our bit of fun for the night.”

“Brother, will you be alright?” Demetri asked, hesitating at the carriage.

“Aye, brother, go ahead. I shall be along soon."

Darius pulled the kerchief down past her chin. “Gabrielle, trust me,” he whispered.

She stared at his lips. “I cannot. I have to leave, Darius. The other carriage could have made it to town by now and I could be arrested at any moment. I cannot stay here and wait. I must return.”

“Return where?” He lifted her chin with his fingers, urging her to tell him the truth. “Trust me, Gabrielle. I swear to you I will not harm you. But you must trust me.”

She glanced at the retreating carriage that disappeared around the bend. Remont and Demetri would deter anyone coming to capture Gabrielle. The problem now was he could not use his powers and jump to another location. It was a nice trick when in close confines, but great distances could not be covered, especially when jumping with a mortal. Indeed, he had never tried such a feat, and the only one of them who could do it had just left in the carriage. Remont, since he was an elder, could travel longer distances than he or Demetri put together.

Which meant he hoped luck was on their side.

Gabrielle looked up at him, her eyes frightened. “I will trust you, Darius. Just get us out of here.”

Unable to help himself, he kissed her, softly at first, but then with all the anger, fear, and excitement he had been feeling since meeting her at the Vanderline ball.

Even more surprising was the fact she readily accepted his kiss, and her arms wrapped around his neck. The blood in his veins sang as he kissed her, hard, long, his heart pounding unsteadily.

The horse raced past them, and Gabrielle tore away from Darius, ready to cry out, but he stopped her. “Shh, we can do nothing about it now. Let it go. Perhaps it will deter the men who are coming.”

“But she has been so docile.”

“I have that effect on horses,” he said, sincerely sorry.

“I see,” she said, and he knew she knew the truth of what he was.

“Look at that!” someone yelled, the voice coming from nearby.

Damn, he had hoped for more time.

He put a finger to his lips and started for the trees, being sure to watch their step.

There were so many twigs, leaves, and broken branches on the ground that he feared making too much noise. They would have to stay put until the threat passed.

Resting his back against a tree trunk, he pulled her into his arms and covered her with his cloak.

She sank into him, resting her cheek against his chest.

“Stay alert, gentlemen! The lad cannot be too far off given his horse is here.”

She looked up at him, fear shining in her amazing eyes. It is alright, love. No one will hurt you. I will not allow it.

She nodded. I trust you.

He had waited five hundred years to hear those words.

“Spread out into the woods, men! Let’s get this thief once and for all!”

There were so many of them. Gabrielle’s nails dug into his sides. We will never escape!

Do not move. Someone is coming our way. No matter what happens, I want you to stay here, right by this tree and do not, under any circumstances, move. Understand?

Her face was deathly white.

The men fanned out into the woods, and unfortunately, one was heading right for them. Darius put Gabrielle from him and crept slowly toward the man coming toward them on horseback.

Darius was at a definite advantage, as he could see so well in the dark. The man had a rifle resting on his lap, and as he approached, Darius stepped out in front of him, reached up, and pulled him from the horse.

The man let out a startled yelp.

Darius held the stocky man by the throat and hoisted him up, pushing his back against a tree. The man’s gun fell into the brush as he looked down at Darius with a horrified expression.

“I won’t—” he gasped, wetting himself. “Yer a vamp—”

“Shhhh,” Darius said, lifting his free hand to his lips. “Quiet.”

“Kenneth, is that you?” came a nearby voice.

The man’s eyes widened. “Hel—”

Darius bit into the man’s neck and sucked his blood. As always when feeding, his body thrilled at the metallic taste which reenergized him and gave him strength.

“Kenneth, is that you?”

Someone came closer. Darius turned around to find a young man looking at him with wide, frightened eyes. He glanced from Darius, to the body of his friend that lay at his feet.

“Do not kill me,” the man said, nearly in tears as he took a step back. “I will not say anything, I swear it!”

* * *

Gabrielle was going to be sick.

She could not believe her eyes. Darius had held the man who outweighed him by five stone up against a tree trunk, leaving the man’s feet dangling. Even worse, he had sucked the life from him right in front of her.

She had been paralyzed, unable to move. Even when the boy came toward them. He had seen Gabrielle first, his eyes narrowing as they looked her up and down. Her hair had come loose of its tight knot, and without the kerchief to cover her lower face, he had to know her true sex.

She had read his lascivious thoughts immediately. Saw his wicked intentions, and then he had looked at Darius and his now-dead friend.

Gabrielle screwed her eyes shut, not wanting to see another life drained.

If she’d had doubts before, now she knew Darius MacLeod was indeed a vampire. A bloodsucker. A creature of the night.

She swallowed hard.

Was she in danger now, too? Should she run for her life?

How could she when the woods were thick with men who wanted to see her hanged?

Gabrielle took a step backward, and then another and another. Suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth and she was pulled up against someone taller and larger than herself. “Shh, I am not going to harm you.”

Beside her a man stepped out, and Gabrielle recognized Darius’s twin. He put a finger to his lips, and Gabrielle nodded. The man, who must be his blond companion, released her a moment later.

Three vampires.

It looked as though she was not going anywhere.

Gabrielle pointed in the direction Darius had gone. Demetri nodded and moved forward, a dagger in hand.

They were not fooling around.

A small commotion followed, but Darius and Demetri surfaced not even a minute later.

Gabrielle’s heart gave a happy jolt at seeing that Darius was unharmed, aside from a long scratch mark on his neck.

Darius looked concerned, and she wondered if he had read her mind. She must remember to block him, because he could read her thoughts as easily as she could read his.

“We have no time to lose,” Remont said, heading back through the trees. “The carriage is down the road a half mile. The two of you jump. I shall follow behind with Gabrielle.”

“Thank you, Remont,” Darius said, brushing a hand through his dark hair. “I thought about you the instant the horse ran off.”

“I did, too, my friend.” Remont took Gabrielle’s hand. “We have no time to lose. We shall be right behind you.”

“Come, brother,” Demetri said, pulling Darius with him. Darius stared at Gabrielle for a long moment, and with a reassuring smile, the two brothers vanished into thin air.

There one second and gone the next.

Remont smiled at Gabrielle. “We will do the same in a moment. You will be safe, and no harm will come to you.”

He was exceptionally beautiful, this young man standing before her. Even more so than she remembered. He could not be much older than herself. Tall, blond, and with eyes that seemed otherworldly, he would make any woman’s heart accelerate.

“You are all vampires then?”

“Yes.”

“I saw Darius hurt those men.”

“He saved you, did he not?”

She nodded. “Yes, and they will die.”

“He fed from those men, Gabrielle. Just because he fed from them does not mean they will die.”

“You can choose whether or not to kill someone?”

“Yes.”

Voices came closer, and Remont glanced past her shoulder. “My friend is a good man, Gabrielle. He will not hurt you, nor will I.”

“And what of Darius’s twin?”

Remont laughed under his breath. “Demetri has a temper, to be sure, but he will not harm you. Indeed, it was Demetri who told Darius about you to begin with. You have nothing to fear from any of us. You have my word.”

Perhaps it was the man’s trusting green eyes or maybe the soft smile that put her at ease. Whatever the case, Gabrielle felt safe in his company.

Had Darius, his brother, and Remont not come along when they had, she could have been raped or even dead by now.

“I shall have to embrace you in order to jump. Hold me tight in return and close your eyes.” He opened his arms, and she went into them.

She was surprised she felt no fear, but instead the same comfort she had experienced with Darius.

“You are trembling, Gabrielle,” Remont said, humor in his voice. “Trust me, I will not bite.”

She smiled against his chest and closed her eyes.