“I don’t want to go to China until we know more. It’s not in our best interests to arrive without some sort of introduction.”
“But we will go.”
“Yes, I think we must.”
“What are we going to do about Ben?”
He sighed and shifted on the couch. “I don’t know. I don’t like leaving him, but the safest place for him to be is away from us. Lorenzo has already discovered him; I don’t like the idea of leaving Caspar and Isadora here alone with him when we know he’s a target. Then there’s Dez and Kirby in L.A. I think we should speak to your Grandfather Alvarez and-”
She pulled him down and stopped the rambling list with a kiss. Slowly shifting on his lap, she continued kissing him until he forgot about the worries swirling in his mind and all he could think of was her soft skin, sweet mouth, and the feel of her hips under his hands. She ran her fingers through his hair and along the back of his neck, searching for his heated skin as her hands slipped under his collar.
“Tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll worry about it tomorrow.”
“Beatrice,” he groaned. “Careful, tesoro. I’m getting…hot. The fire-”
He broke off with a groan and his eyes rolled back as Beatrice’s teeth found his ear and bit the lobe between her teeth.
“Gio,” she whispered. “I need…”
“What do you need?”
He pulled her closer as she murmured in his ear and rocked against him.
“You guys are so gross.”
They both froze when they heard Ben at the door.
“Benjamin, why aren’t you in bed?”
“Are you guys going to be doing that stuff all the time now? ‘Cause I really don’t need to see that.”
“Benjamin,” they said in unison. Beatrice moved to crawl off Giovanni’s lap, but he held her in place, shifting and clearing his throat with a meaningful glance.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Ben whined before stretching into one of the armchairs. “I think I drank too much Coke at the party.”
“Remind me to forbid that beverage when we get home,” he muttered.
Beatrice curled up against his chest again, and he tried to distract himself as he played with the ends of her hair.
“Are we going home soon? I miss L.A.”
“You miss your basketball hoop,” Giovanni said.
“And the neighborhood girls,” Beatrice added.
“Well,” Ben thought for a moment. “Yeah. I miss those. But I missed you guys, too.”
Giovanni smiled at the sleepy boy stretched out in the chair next to them. Ben had a happy, contented look on his face, and he immediately began nodding off again.
“I think he missed his Uncle Gio,” Beatrice whispered.
He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I missed him, too.”
They sat for a few more minutes, enjoying the quiet.
“Benjamin?” he asked. “Are you asleep?”
“No, what’s up?” The boy sat up in his chair.
“We should talk.”
Ben’s face fell a little before being replaced by a determined expression. “Because you’re going to leave again?”
Giovanni frowned and felt Beatrice squeeze his arm.
“It’s okay,” Ben said. “I get it. I know Lorenzo’s still out there. And you haven’t found B’s dad yet.”
Beatrice said, “We don’t want to leave you again, Ben.”
“But you have to.”
The boy met his eyes and Giovanni was both relieved and saddened by the understanding he saw there. If he could, Giovanni would wipe away the sad memories that colored the young man’s childhood, but he knew it wouldn’t be fair. Just as his own childhood had shaped him, so would Ben’s. He only hoped he and Beatrice could make life a little easier in the end.
“So,” Ben sighed and seemed to rally himself. “What are we gonna do? Am I gonna stay with Caspar and Isadora here? If we do that, can I get a basketball hoop before you go?”
He smiled at the boy and nodded. “Yes, Benjamin. I will make sure you have a basketball hoop.”
“Who’s getting a basketball hoop?” Caspar asked as he entered the library.
“Ben is. That way, when he stays here while we are traveling, he will not be deprived of his greatest love. The girls, however, he’ll have to see to himself,” he said as Ben did a small victory wiggle in the chair.
“Ben’s staying here?” Isadora came in behind Caspar. “But when will you leave for Asia, Beatrice?”
“We don’t know, Grandma. We’ll stay as long as we can, but we want to make sure you and Caspar and Ben are safe in case we need to leave quickly.”
“We’re still waiting for word from Tenzin. She should be able to smooth channels for us,” Giovanni said quietly. “As for security-”
“Caspar,” Isadora said. She gave him a look before linking her hand with her new husband’s. Caspar smiled down at her and nodded before he turned to Giovanni and Beatrice.
“Isadora and I have been talking about this. As much as we love this house, we feel like we need to move to Los Angeles with the rest of the family.”
Giovanni blinked when Caspar said, “family.” He looked from Ben’s sleepy face to Isadora’s warm smile. His eyes paused on Caspar for a long moment before he looked back to Beatrice, who was watching him with loving eyes. His arm tightened around her, and he felt his heart thump twice. Giovanni suddenly realized it was exactly what they were. For the first time in over five hundred years, he had a family.
A fierce wave of protectiveness swept over him, and Beatrice ran her hand over his jaw, soothing him as the heat rose to the surface.
“Yes,” he said hoarsely, “the family should stay together.”
“And if everyone’s in L.A., Matt can keep an eye on things if we have to leave,” Beatrice said quietly.
“Don’t forget Ernesto,” Giovanni added. “I’m sure he would be as pleased to meet your grandmother as he was to meet you, tesoro.”
“Are you kidding?” she snorted. “Grandma’s way more charming than me. Ernesto will love her.”
Caspar only nodded. “So, that’s settled then. Who wants a drink?”
Isadora chuckled and began a rapid-fire conversation with Beatrice in Spanish about the Alvarez clan while Caspar moved to the sideboard to pour drinks.
“So everyone’s moving to L.A. after all?” Ben piped up. “Sweet!”
A strange peace settled over him as he began to plan, strategizing to ensure the well-being of the four people who had become, quite unexpectedly, more important than anything else in the world.
He and Beatrice would go to China in search of her father and the manuscript, but Lorenzo was still a threat. Luckily, with the help of his contacts in Los Angeles, he would be able to ensure the best protection for Caspar, Isadora and Benjamin.
Beatrice would go with him, adding her keen intellect to his own as they worked toward solving the puzzle of Stephen De Novo, the missing manuscript, and what his son was trying to accomplish by taking them both.
Giovanni heard the phone in the back of the library start to ring. He frowned at Caspar, who went to answer it.
“Hello? Tenzin, my dear!” Caspar paused as Beatrice’s eyes swung toward his. They both rose from the couch and walked to the phone.
“They’re right here…yes, here you are.”
Giovanni picked up the phone, holding it away from his ear so Tenzin’s voice did not deafen him.
“Gio!” he heard her clearly. “Is B there?”
“Yes, did you get our e-mail?”
“E-mail? I never check that stuff.”
Giovanni frowned at Beatrice, who only shrugged.
“Gio?”
“Still here, bird girl.” Everyone was looking toward the back of the room as he spoke.
“Can you tell me why I’m getting a summons from my sire to meet him at Mount Penglai?”
Giovanni’s heart sank. It was happening much faster than he’d anticipated. He looked at Caspar and Isadora, then at Ben’s wide eyes from across the room. Finally, he looked to Beatrice, who reached out to grasp his hand. He took a deep breath.