Page 57 of Touched By Destiny

Eric was growing restless and slightly annoyed as he sat in the car. His frustration had nothing to do with the other occupants of the vehicle. As usual, Paxton was driving and Gabriel was a solid, welcome presence at his side. In fact, if Eric had known his day would start with nearly an hour-long drive, he would’ve flipped the privacy screen up and curled in Gabriel’s lap.

Or maybe he would’ve started by unbuttoning Gabriel’s shirt and running his fingers through the crisp, lovely hair on his chest. Sometimes the problem with being Gabriel’s partner was picking between so many delicious options.

“What’re you thinking about?” Gabriel asked as his mouth curved.

“Huh?”

“Daydreaming again? Tell me what’s on your mind. Are we closer to your spirit?”

Irritated that he couldn’t focus on his soulmate and had to deal with a mischievous spirit who had spent the past three days leading them on a wild goose chase, Eric frowned. “For a ghost that can’t talk, this guy is being a damn nuisance.”

“There’s a big church up ahead, and the parking lot is empty. Do you want to try to communicate with him there?”

“Yeah, sure,” Eric replied. They were clear on the other side of Las Vegas in the suburb of Henderson. It wasn’t an area Eric traveled to often, but he’d had the occasional ghost draw him to the sprawling city.

Paxton parked the car and wished them well, and Eric stepped out into the cool morning air. Winter and its accompanying holidays were edging closer. Eric wondered if hanging mistletoe throughout the house and smooching Gabriel at every opportunity would too obviously give away their relationship.

Although he’d have preferred to consider the ramifications of his holiday décor ideas, Eric closed his eyes and allowed his shield to slip away. The spirit was there immediately. Not only was it mischievous, but there was another, less welcome feeling in Eric. Something about this ghost wasn’t entirely benevolent.

It was rare for Eric to connect to spirits with darker souls, but it happened occasionally. They were slightly threatening, and some even tried to inhabit his body. He was far too strong to allow it and gently used his magic to brush away their attempts. Like the other menacing ghosts, his newest charge used proximity to irritate Eric.

The ghost rushed toward Eric in a furious wave. Holding up a hand, Eric sent out a warning wave of magic and opened a portal. If this ghost was going to act his ass up, then Eric would send him to whatever plane of existence waited for him. The spirit cackled in Eric’s head and zoomed around him in a circle.

So consumed with his quest to banish this spirit, Eric barely noted the car pulling into the parking lot. But he didn’t miss the way Gabriel’s body tensed. Then Gabriel reachedforward and grabbed Eric’s hand, effectively covering the glowing skull on the back of it.

“What’s wrong?” Eric asked. The spirit could do whatever the fuck it wanted; Eric’s priority was seeing to the man who held his heart.

Gabriel’s gaze was focused on the vehicle, and his mouth was pinched. “How are things going with your spirit?”

“He’s playing games right now. Dancing around the portal in dizzying circles. Why are you upset?”

“Do you think you can encourage him to get into the portal quickly?”

“I don’t know,” Eric replied, growing more concerned about Gabriel than the silly ghost.

“If you can’t get him into the portal now, I need you to get in the car.”

Eric shoved a wave of his emotions to the spirit, and to his delight and relief, the ghost whipped around and charged through the portal.

“He’s gone,” Eric said, already moving toward the car and shoving his hand in his pocket as soon as Gabriel let go.

As fast as Eric walked, Gabriel was quicker and whipped open the door. Eric slid inside and didn’t breathe easily until Gabriel followed. His long body finally on the seat, Gabriel slammed the door.

“Take us to the back entrance of the main casino,” Gabriel told Paxton.

The urgency in Gabriel’s voice sent the inspirit into immediate action, and Paxton pulled out of the parking lot without a word.

“Gabriel, what’s going on?” Eric asked.

Their eyes locked, and Eric bit his lip at the concern and reassurance warring for supremacy in Gabriel’s green eyes.Gabriel lifted a hand, and it trembled as it hovered above Eric’s knee. Then Gabriel patted his jean-clad thigh.

“I’m pretty sure that same car was at the strip mall we were at yesterday morning,” Gabriel said.

“But that was in North Vegas.”

“Yeah, so how did anyone know we were heading to Henderson? We didn’t even realize it until we got in the car.”

“They’re following us?”