Page 41 of Guardian

Side by side they walked up the steps leading to the dark wooden door. There, they stopped and Logan put his hand on Winter’s arm, making her look at him.

“There’s something you should know about Gabriel.”

“Yes?”

“He has a disfigurement, a long scar reaching from his ear to his chin. It’s not a pretty sight, and it may give the impression that he’s a violent man. The contrary is the case. I don’t want you to be afraid of him.”

“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll do my best to ignore it.”

“Good.” Logan pressed the doorbell and heard the chiming sound inside the house.

Moments later, the intercom crackled and the light of a camera shone into his face.

“Is that you, Logan?” a male voice came through the speaker.

“It is. Who’s this? Ryder?”

“No, it’s Ethan.”

The buzzer sounded, and Logan pressed against the door, opening it. He held it open for Winter, ushered her inside, and followed.

Within seconds, Ryder and Ethan, as well as their sister Vanessa, appeared in the entrance hall, each coming from a different direction. They were young adults now, with Vanessa being the youngest at age twenty, and Ryder the oldest at twenty-three.

“Oh my God, did something happen?” Vanessa asked. “Does Dad know you’re here?”

Vanessa, who reached him first, hugged him quickly then stepped back.

“He doesn’t, though I really need to see him.” Logan reached his hand out to Ethan and shook it. “Hey, Ethan. Good to see you.”

Then Ryder offered his hand in greeting. “Did you bring us some d—” He stopped himself when his gaze fell on Winter. “Oh, hi, I’m Ryder.”

“Hi, I’m Winter.”

“You can speak freely in front of her. She knows everything about us.” Then he nodded at Ryder. “And, no, I didn’t bring you any demons to blow up.”

“Blow up?” Winter asked, her gaze darting between Logan and Ryder.

Ryder grinned. “I’m doing explosives training right now. With Quinn. And blowing up some demons would be immensely fun.”

“So gross!” Vanessa said. “Splattering green blood all over the place. Yuck!” She shook her head then smiled at Winter. “I’m Vanessa. And don’t listen to those two oversized blowhards. So far none of them has blown up any demons yet.”

Logan noticed Winter smile and was glad that the hybrids’ sibling rivalry was putting her at ease. After all, the three were just like any other young adults, carving out their place in life, and testing their boundaries with each other.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing them all blown up,” Winter said.

Ryder and Ethan exchanged a conspiratorial look and chuckled.

“I guess somebody should wake Dad,” Vanessa said and turned toward the staircase.

“Not necessary,” a deep male voice came from the top of the stairs. “With the ruckus you’re making down here, you could wake the dead.”

Gabriel came into sight a moment later as he marched down the stairs. He wore a pair of low-slung jeans and a white shirt, which was unbuttoned. His long brown hair, which reached to his shoulders and was normally tied into a ponytail, was open. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, but of course he was much older.

“Logan, don’t tell me you’re bringing us even more work than we already have?” Gabriel greeted him with slap on the shoulder and a firm handshake.

“Nothing you can’t handle,” Logan replied. “May I introduce Winter Collins? Winter, this is Gabriel Giles, second-in-command at Scanguards.”

Gabriel extended his hand and Winter shook his, but barely lifted her eyes.

“Nice to meet you,” she said and dropped her lids.

There was an awkward pause, before Gabriel said, “Pleasure. By the way, it’s okay for you to look at me. I prefer people staring at my scar rather than avoid looking at me altogether.”

Winter gasped and lifted her head to face Gabriel. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Her gaze lingered on his face, and Gabriel didn’t move, allowed her the time she needed to get used to his appearance. “It’s not as disfiguring as Logan made me believe. In fact, you’re an attractive man, even with the scar.”

“I’ve always thought so,” a female voice proclaimed from the stairs.

Winter’s eyes snapped to the woman, barefoot and dressed in a bathrobe, descending the stairs. Logan followed her gaze. Maya was a beauty with long dark hair and a sensual figure. And despite having three grown children she still looked like she was in her early thirties. Being a vampire did have its advantages.

“I’m Maya, Gabriel’s mate,” Maya said with a charming smile and took Winter’s hand into hers. “You’re human.” She turned to look at Logan. “It’s nice to see you, Logan. Though I get the feeling this is not a social visit.”

“It’s not.”

Gabriel motioned to the end of the hallway. “My study?”

Logan nodded. “Lead the way.”