Time to get ready,” Keelan whispered.
     Stirring on the sofa, Evonne’s eyes fluttered open. She wrapped herself in the blanket and grabbed all of her belongings before heading into the bathroom to dress. The remaining light from the sunset filtered through the small window, allowing her to see. After dressing, she returned to the living room and heard the Jeep’s engine, telling her that they were already in the garage.
     She found Gabriel sitting in the Jeep and Keelan standing by his door, talking. Upon seeing Evonne, he opened the passenger door for her. She got in and buckled her seat belt.
     “I will see you in a few days,” Keelan reminded her.
     A few days? Evonne thought he said two days last night. Perhaps she was too tired and heard him wrong. Had their plans changed already? She wanted to question him; instead, he closed the door and waited as the Jeep backed out and onto the road.
     Evonne watched the side mirror as the dark house faded from view. The nervousness returned. She had wielded herself to focus on other matters, but her mind always landed on the truth. She was finally free of her father, the estate, and her old life—free to do things she had only dreamed of. Traveling had been her major dream. And she began to see this one little trip as a beginning.
     The Jeep headed south on an interstate for two hours. During the drive, neither spoke. It wasn’t that Evonne didn’t want to, she just had nothing to say. Gabriel wasn’t the easiest to figure out. To her, he was someone who commanded respect and shown respect in return. How could she idly speak to someone like that? In her eyes, they had no common ground. At least the radio was on, even though the volume was low.
     Two hours passed before the Jeep turned on a side road that snaked around a city. Evonne didn’t know the name of the city, or where in the state they were, or even if they were in the same state. The houses and buildings appeared to be of a higher class.
     The Jeep continued on until the spacing of houses became distant. Gabriel then drove down another road that led to a fancy iron gate. He stopped the Jeep and waited for the gate to open. As they entered, Evonne noticed the security cameras and the absence of guards.
     Inside, the driveway took them through the tree covered grounds. The road split but they stayed on the one that steered them to a house. It was like something from a European countryside. The house was built from stone and stood three stories high, with nearly one-third of the front covered with ivy. Dull light came from many of the windows, while the others remained dark.
     Gabriel parked the Jeep next to several other vehicles. From the looks of the cars parked outside, the place wasn’t too crowded.
     “Where are we?” Evonne asked as she struggle to see the house through her window.
     His reply was simple. “A haven.”
     A new type of nervousness, mixed with anxiety, found her.
     “That word frightens you, why?” Gabriel questioned, picking up on her uneasiness.
     “I’ve heard stories,” she admitted.
     “And most of them are probably true.” He turned off the Jeep.
     Evonne glanced at him. “You’re joking, right?”
     “We will only be in there for a few minutes.”
     “Then I can stay in here and wait,” she quickly offered.
     Gabriel got out of the car and opened her door. “You’re not staying out here.”
     Reluctantly, Evonne removed her seat belt and stepped out.
     “Stay close,” he advised her as they entered.
     A young woman greeted them in the foyer. She carried herself with poise and dignity, all mirrored in the clothing she wore. Instinct told Evonne that she was human. But she didn’t believe her assumption one-hundred percent. When she stepped closer to her, Evonne caught sight of a bite mark on her neck. The woman was human.
     The woman looked at Gabriel and bowed. “Demetrius sensed your approach and wishes to speak with you,” she informed.
     “I will speak with him later,” he replied.
     The woman blinked in confusion, as though his words were foreign. “You are denying his request?”
     “Yes, I am.”
     “He is an elder. That is something you can not brush aside.”
     “You do not have to remind me, Samara.” He walked past her and headed further into the house. Evonne hurried after him.
     They entered a room filled with many other humans and vampires. From the small amount of cars out front, Evonne didn’t imagine to see this many people inside. But she quickly remembered that havens served as a home to some vampires. There would be no need to hunt when humans were common in places such as these.
     Gabriel led her to a far corner where he ordered her to wait and speak to no one. Evonne watched as he then moved across the room where he met up with a dark haired woman. She led him to a quiet section, free from onlookers. The woman had plenty of marks on her wrists, the insides of her elbows, and even her shoulders, yet her neck remained untouched. Evonne continued to watch as the woman turned her head, offering Gabriel her unmarked neck.
     Evonne looked away. Her eyes searched for something less unsettling to watch. The floor. She stared at the floor. Nothing else in the room appeared to be safe to look at. She didn’t want to think of the word “brothel,” but it popped up a few of times in her mind, coupled with the word “vulgar.” These were the places she learned to fear. But here she stood, in the lion’s den. Play it cool, she told herself, and no one will know who you are. Gabriel wouldn’t have brought you here if he didn’t feel that you’d be safe. Just trust him on this.
     “Are you new here?” a man asked.
     Evonne looked up to see a man with short dark hair speaking to her. Something about him whispered “vampire.” She recalled what Gabriel told her and said nothing.
     “I take that as a ‘yes,’ ” he assumed, stepping closer. “You don’t need to be all fidgety. Humans, especially young girls like yourself, get paid very well here. And don’t worry, there’s no killing allowed. You’ll catch on soon.” He smiled. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
     “She is with me.”
     Evonne turned to see Gabriel coldly staring at the young vampire.
     In a swift turn from overflowing cockiness to bumbling idiot, the vampire quickly apologized as he backed away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll just leave you two alone then.” He hurried away from them.
     Evonne was impressed. Gabriel must have been someone on the top of the vampire hierarchy to scare the fledgling away with one look. Maybe this was why he was certain she would be safe in here with him.
     Gabriel took her hand and led her back outside.
     Once in the Jeep, Evonne breathed a sigh of relief.
     “I think I was offered a job in there,” she lightheartedly mused. “But it sounded like prostitution.”
     “A form of it,” he quietly said.

The long drive returned to its constant silence. There were things she wanted to ask him, but found herself losing the confidence to speak. Were the next few days going to be filled with the same uncomfortable silences? If so, she would have to find a way to deal with it.
     A dull pain settled within her abdomen. Her stomach was beyond growling and was beginning to feel sick. She had to ignore it. A humorous thought entered her mind as she visualized Gabriel ordering her a hamburger at a drive-thru.
     The rain began to fall as the Jeep pulled into the parking lot of a motel. Gabriel left her for several minutes as headed into the main office. Returning to the Jeep, he grabbed one of the bags from the back and ordered Evonne to follow.
     The motel room was small and simple in design, with two full sized beds, separated by one bedside table, a long dresser carrying a microwave and TV, and a round table with two worn chairs. Evonne’s nostrils flared at the scent of the room. She couldn’t place the unique smell.
     Gabriel placed a little card on the outside of the door then locked it. Evonne caught a glimpse of the card that read, “Do not disturb.”
     She gave the room another quick look and pursed her lips.
     “Quaint.”
     Setting his bag and long coat on the bed furthest from the door, Gabriel began to remove a few items of clothing. He then headed into the bathroom and closed the door.
     As Evonne heard the shower kick on, she took a seat on the other bed. Her attention easily centered on the TV. Looking around, she spotted the remote sitting on the table between the beds. She grabbed it but found that it was secured to the table. Confused, Evonne couldn’t figure out why it was stuck. Then her mind hit and obvious fact. It was attached to the table to deter anyone from stealing it. But who would want to steal a remote?
     Evonne turned on the TV and began to flip through the channels. The majority of the shows were infomercials and home shopping. She clicked on the movie channels and decided to watch a movie about wizards and dragons. She had the movie on DVD back home.
     Home, Evonne remembered. By now her father was aware of her absence.
     Her worry turned to Keelan. What was his plan? If he chose to stay at the house and wait to see if Zachary squealed, then he was in danger from SEVEN and her father. But this would also clear him of having anything to do with her. Or was his plan to meet up with them at the motel?
     The water from the shower turned off. Minutes later, Gabriel exited, wearing a dark shirt and jeans. He set his other clothes on the bed.
     An amusing thought struck Evonne and she said it out loud before she could stop herself. “I thought vampires didn’t need to take showers.”
     “Not as many as humans, but we do bathe,” he replied, looking through his bag. “You should take a shower, as well.”
     “I don’t have any clean clothes,” she pointed out. In the rush to leave the estate, she forgot to pack.
     Gabriel retrieved a black shirt from his bag and handed it to her. Uncertain, Evonne took the shirt and headed into the bathroom.

The hot water from the shower was a welcoming feeling as it washed away the dried rain from the previous night. Evonne left the shower feeling like a new person. She then placed her clothes in the sink and began to wash them. With a small hairdryer she found attached to the wall, she dried her hair, and then her underwear. The thought of sleeping in wet underwear was as unthinkable as sleeping without any at all.
     The shirt Gabriel loaned her hung loose, but not loose enough to call it baggy. It was comfortable.
     Gathering up her wet clothes, coat, and holster, she walked back into the main room where she found Gabriel sitting on the bed, cleaning an array of handguns, with the second duffel bag on the floor.
     She draped her wet clothes over the backs of the chairs, along with her jacket, and set her boots on the floor.
     “Let me see yours,” Gabriel said, catching her off guard.
     Evonne quickly realized that he meant her gun. Carrying her holster to his bed, she handed him the gun. He then motioned for the entire holster. She freely gave it to him.
     Gabriel removed the knife to gain a better look. “You never used it,” he pointed out, concluding this by appearance alone.
     Sitting on the her bed, Evonne admitted, “Well, no. I haven’t.” She looked away and innocently asked, “Keelan said that you made it. Did you?”
     He slid it back into the holster and handed it to her. “I did.”
     Evonne placed the holster beside her on the bed and replied, “It looks like it was made by a professional.”
     “Centuries of practice,” Gabriel said vaguely.
     Pulling herself further onto her bed, Evonne tried to watch the rest of the movie.
     “Did I make the right choice in leaving?” she finally asked out loud.
     He replied without looking at her. “I can’t answer that for you.”
     “It feels right, but… I don’t know.”
     “You’re still in shock at all that has happened,” he explained, preoccupied with the handgun. “Give yourself a few days to see it with a clear mind.”
     “Why didn’t Keelan come with us?”
     “He remained behind to throw Zachary off of our trail incase he came looking for you,” said Gabriel as he stood and placed her gun back in the holster, then sat it on the table. “If your father believes Keelan is still in contact with you, he will have his men watching his every move.” He returned to his bed, picking up where he left off with a previous gun.
     “And after these couple or few days are up, then what do we do?”
     “He said that he’ll meet us when everything quiets down at Eden, and he knows for certain that he’s not being followed.”
     Evonne rolled onto her side, her back facing Gabriel. She didn’t want him to see her cry. The tears were left over from the night before, when Keelan told her not to cry for David. She wanted to be strong but her willpower was fleeting. The tears fell as she tried to make no sound. But her light crying didn’t go unnoticed.
     She heard Gabriel’s voice calmly speaking to her. “Are you crying for the loss of you life at Eden or for David?”
     Evonne wiped the tears from her eyes. “David. But the David I knew is dead.”
     “You sound like your father,” he said, the spite thick within his words.
     Evonne turned to face him. “Why do you say that?”
     “Because it is true,” he replied as he began to carefully placed the guns back in the bag. “You were raised on the same beliefs and principles that Alex believes. But having one set of beliefs shouldn’t rule out the possibility and truth of others. If so, you are running the risk of becoming just as narrow-minded.”
     “I’m not narrow-minded,” she snapped back.
     Gabriel stopped and looked at her. “Yes, you are.” He continued packing away the guns. “And so was David. But I believe as of now, his outlook on the world he once feared has completely changed.”
     “She had no right,” Evonne muttered.
     “She had every right,” he corrected. Gabriel felt Evonne’s eyes turn cold on him. “Your father has waged this little war for short time now. He is a tiny thorn in the sides of many. This was her way of telling Alex that he has her attention. Or you can look at it this way; if Saros wanted to, everyone within the manor would be dead, including you.”
     Evonne grew quiet. He was right. The presence of Saros at the manor would have been a great deal to her father. However, he probably saw it as though he had her running scared, and her only option was to frighten him away.
     “Am I really narrow-minded?” she asked.
     Gabriel set the bag on the floor. “What do you think when you look at me?”
     She paused. What she thought? When she did look at him, she saw someone whom she wanted to trust, someone who she knew would protect and watch over her as he did in the haven. There was a reason Keelan left her in Gabriel’s care, and she believed it was because he would protect her. Keelan had a lot of trust in his sire. But what did she truly think when she looked at him?
     “Honestly,” Evonne began, “I see something that can kill me without remorse. Something that frightens me and makes me second guess why we’re staying in the same room. I see an creature that has the same regard for my life as he does for a tiny fly begging to be slapped. That’s the short answer.”
     He stared at her. “I asked what you thought, not what you were told to believe.”
     “What I think… I don’t know what I think.”
     “I believe you do. But once you say it, you will be turning your back on your father. And your not ready for that. Eden is over two hundred miles away, and even though you are in this room with me, you are still at the estate.”
     Evonne replayed his words in her mind. “You’re right. I’m just like him.”
     “But this is where you’re different,” he pointed out. “You have taken that first step against the mold he has set for you. You made a choice to leave him and begin a new life, even though it meant turning away from everything he had taught you. You can’t see it now, but in that one moment, you made the decision that you weren’t going to follow the same path. Alex may believe he lost a daughter, but you need to believe that you are now free. He can’t dictate your life anymore. This means you need to start thinking for yourself. There may come a time when I ask you the same question again, and when that time comes, I want you to tell me what you think and what you believe.”
     Evonne wanted to reply, but every possible response fell short. His words spoke the truth—words she didn’t want to admit to herself. But how could she look at this any differently? A world she had come to fear was now a world she had to live in.
     Evonne slid under the covers and tried to sleep. Her belly had to go empty for a while longer. Tomorrow she would have to find something to eat, even if it meant scrounging up change for the vending machines.