Faith V Smith [Bound by Blood, The Legends 01] Kensington's Soul (pdf)

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safe.
Miranda? The woman you rescued from the
carjackers?
Yes, and the woman I took to dinner tonight
before you called me.
So, you re seeing her as what, a man or&
Zacke raised a brow.
I mean instead of as a case. It wasn t a slur on
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Kensington s Soul
your exceptional background.
Yes, as a man. But I don t know how long it will
last. I will have to keep my talents from her but still
find a way to protect her from Gabriella.
Gideon popped the top on the can and took a
hefty swig.
You think Fang Woman will go after Miranda.
Yes, I d bet on it. She has a penchant for not
liking competition. Miranda would be an easy target
for her.
Yeppers, but how are you gonna protect her
twenty-four seven? I mean you have to do your sleep
thing, buddy, and she has to work.
I hope it will not come to that. I expect
Gabriella will confront me first. I will warn her to
stay away from Miranda, but I doubt she will heed
my counsel. Gabriella has never tempered her
actions with reason.
So tell me what went on way back when.
Gideon set his beer on the coffee table and waited for
his partner to speak.
Zacke s features changed as Gideon watched.
Never one to show emotion, his friend s face now
took on two expressions he could have done without.
Disgust and anger narrowed his eyes, and the
blatant view of incisors made Gideon want to make
the sign of the cross over his heart and run for the
nearest church.
After a moment, Zacke shrugged his shoulders.
I was almost forty when I met her the first
time. Newly widowed, Lady Sanspree needed a fresh
husband. Husband number three was thirty years
her senior. Their marriage lasted a year. I assume
her appetites for carnal pleasure killed him.
Zacke s cheeks acquired a faint tinge of red.
Gideon had never known him to be embarrassed.
I arrived back from Scotland a few days prior to
our meeting at court. Beautiful did not suffice to
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Faith V. Smith
describe her. She had long raven hair and the most
intense amethyst eyes I had ever seen. Gabriella
knew how to entice even the most bashful of men. I,
as one would say in this century, was a pushover.
Gideon could not stand it a minute longer. So
you got it on with her.
The smile Zacke gave him did not reach his
eyes. We went to bed and stayed there for several
days. For me, our relationship was nothing more
than a pleasurable interlude. And then, I received
orders to return to Scotland. There had been some
trouble with one of the border lords and a highland
laird. Some dispute over reiving.
Hold it a sec. What is reiving?
Gideon welcomed Zacke s laughter. His partner
had sunk too far into an unnatural funk.
Reiving is where clans steal cattle and sheep
from one another. It is often done to carry out a feud,
but this time it had escalated into the death of a
clansman.
So, I take it she didn t like you leaving.
No, she had a temper tantrum in front of the
king. Told him I dishonored her.
Zacke got up and walked to the window. When
the king laughed at her, she said that she would
make both of us sorry. Of course, she didn t follow
through with her threat to the king. But she more
than made up for it with me.
Gideon followed the same path to the window.
He dropped a hand on the shoulder of a man that
had saved his butt several times over. Look, you
don t have to tell me the rest of it. I know she s
dangerous. I promise to watch my back and to safe-
guard Miranda.
The sadness and gratitude he glimpsed in
Zacke s eyes humbled Gideon. This man was not a
monster. He was the best friend a guy could have.
A good man with a warm heart.
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Kensington s Soul
He had seen his partner give money to the
homeless roaming Savannah s streets and witnessed
the countless times Zacke had spirited away an
abused wife or child.
Zacke held Gideon s gaze for a moment more
before he turned to stare out the window at the
night sky.
Thank you, my friend, but I need to tell you the
rest.
Gabriella hired mercenaries to lie in wait until
I crossed the border into Scotland. I didn t have time
to draw my weapon before they were on me
slashing and gouging. Within moments, it was over.
I lay in a pool of my own blood.
Zacke shuttered his eyes; the images were as
strong tonight as they had been initially. I lost
consciousness. I could already hear what sounded
like the harps of Heaven when Gabriella shook me
awake. The smile on her face caused what blood I
had left to freeze. She told me that I would be hers
forever. And I would pay dearly for slighting her.
Zacke s hands trembled. The grasp of the
window ledge stopped the outward signs of his
relived horror, but not the swirl of emotions on the
inside.
She bared her teeth, and I saw the feral
creature she truly was. I wept and prayed for
deliverance. When she sank her fangs into my
throat, I was ready to die. I believed in God and
hoped to wake in Heaven. Instead, I awoke to an
eternity of Hell here on earth. She has tormented me
even in her absence. I look at myself, and I hate
what I am.
He faced the man at his side. Gideon, I will
defeat her, but I need to know you are safe and that
Miranda will not fall into her hands. Gabriella will
strike at those closest to me. She did it before. She
will not hesitate to do it again. I ll not have the blood
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