Divine’s head went back slightly at that. It was a consideration that hadn’t occurred to her and one she would definitely consider more later, if she had the opportunity.
“You’re still thinking of yourself as Divine in your head,” Lucian growled. “Cut it out.”
“Yes, Uncle,” Basha murmured, and then, unable to stand the worry for her future any longer, she blurted, “I am the woman who whisked away Leonius II when you had him at the hotel in Toronto.”
“Yeah. That’s a problem,” Lucian said, releasing her shoulders with a grimace.
“You—” Marcus began, but Lucian cut him off.
“Do not spout your bit about my brother Jean Claude. I heard it the first time,” he said sharply, and then admitted, “I was standing in the door quite a while longer than you realize, which proves that we’re all useless when we find our life mates. Hell, if I’d been this A-bidet character—”
“Abaddon,” Basha corrected, but couldn’t help grinning at his mispronunciation.
“Whatever,” Lucian muttered. “If I’d been him you’d both be dead right now.”
Neither of them argued the point. He was right.
Lucian rubbed his forehead grimly, and then straightened his shoulders. “You didn’t know the boy you raised as your son was a killer when you helped him. You didn’t even know he was rogue.”
“No,” Basha assured him even though he wasn’t asking.
“You also didn’t know feeding off the hoof wasn’t allowed anymore,” he added, and she blinked, startled by just how much he did know. But he was continuing, “While that doesn’t excuse your actions, it does mitigate them.”
Basha stilled as he considered her briefly.
“We can forgive the feeding off the hoof so long as you stick to bagged blood in future.”
“I will,” she promised.
“As for the other . . .” He paused, expression unhappy, and then said solemnly, “I know this will be hard since you’ve thought of him as your son all these years, but you’ll need to help us recapture Leonius to make up for it.”
Basha was silent for a moment, her emotions in chaos. She had thought of him as her son for so long, and as such her instinct was to protect, but after all she’d learned about him . . .
Marcus squeezed her shoulders, and Basha sighed and nodded in response.
“And you’ll also have to help catch this Abaddon character who has apparently scurried back to whatever hole the two of them are hiding in,” he added.
There was no hesitation this time, Basha nodded firmly. She’d be happy to put an end to that bastard.
“Good,” Lucian said quietly. “Then come on. I made the others wait outside until I knew what was what. I’m sure they’re peeing their pants worrying over whether you’re both okay or not.”
Basha sagged back against Marcus’s chest with relief when her uncle turned away. It was a relief she knew Marcus shared. She felt the tension slide out of his hard body as his arms slid around her.
“We’re going to be okay,” he assured her.
“Yes,” Basha agreed, and found a smile to offer him as he turned her into his arms.
“No more running,” he said with a smile. “We can make a home. We’ll have family, both yours and mine, and we can have children . . . if I’m still capable,” he added wryly.