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“Sweetheart, I’m not sure it’s suitable for you to stay with me while I greet Gabriel tonight,” I told her, sitting on a couch in the living room, surrounded by Bella, Chrissy and Rose.
“But I want to see!” Jenni declared. “You said I could.”
“Well... no, I said you could...” I sighed and rubbed my forehead where a headache was building.
“Jenni,” Bella called out, “When the boys shift back to human, they’re usually naked. So, you might need to wait until Gabe has at least pulled some pants on. Yeah?”
Jenni’s mouth dropped, then her cheeks colored red. “Oh... yes. Okay, that makes sense. Um, well. Can I see him as soon as possible?”
I glanced around the circle with the other girls. Our men generally took us straight to bed when they woke up, but as this was the first time Jenni would see Gabe after knowing the truth, I could probably bend our schedule a little.
“All right,” I told her. “But you get ten minutes, then you’re off to read.”
“Yes! Thank you.” Jenni said, throwing her arms around me.
I hugged her back, then heard a vibrating on the table.
“It’s Anthony.” Rose called out to me after shifting forward to read the screen. “He’s calling you.”
I grabbed up the phone and put him on speaker. “Anthony! The man of the hour...”
“They’re coming!” Anthony yelled. “I was just on the phone to Bill and they got him. They’re close. You all need to hide! Run! Now!”
I jumped to my feet, adrenaline zinging through my veins. “But the guys... they’re still...”
“I know... you can’t do anything for them now. Lock all the doors and hope the sun sets before the men find them.”
“But...”
“Angelique! I’m on my way but I’ll be too late to help any of you!” He sounded terrified which made tears spring to my eyes. “You need to act. Now! Go!”
I hung up the phone, spurred on by Anthony’s screams. “Okay. Jenni... go up to Sharon and tell her you all need to hide. Take the children and go to the attic. Sit on the couches. Lock the inside of the latch and move something heavy over the lock. Okay? Go!”
Jenni’s eyes filled with tears. “But mom...”
I grabbed her hands, hard. “No buts, Jenni. You are a brave, steady girl, and I am so proud of you. But my babies need you. Can you help me?”
She nodded, her lip quivering as tears slid down her face.
“Go!”
Jenni ran from the room and Bella came to me. “I’m not leaving Rafael.”
“We need to lock everything.” I said, already running towards the front door. “I’ve got the front. Bella take the back. Rose and Chrissy do the windows!”
I got to the front door to find my butler standing guard. “Giles. They’re here. Bill’s been hurt. We need to lock the house.”
He nodded and moved faster than I’ve ever seen him, deadbolting the large double doors.
“Now go.” I said. “Find the rest of the staff and hide in the basement. Lock yourselves in and don’t come out.”
“But what about you ma’am?”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, giving him a shove towards the servant’s quarters. “They’re not here for you. Go.”
I double checked the front doors and the windows adjacent, then set off running to the back. Bella had gotten most of it locked up, but I adjusted the stubborn handle, and we got it closed together.
“Windows.” I said to her and bolted to the next room. The residence was huge, over three thousand square feet. We needed to make it as hard as possible to get inside.
