Free Eternal Faith - Book 4 (The Ruby Ring Saga) by Chrissy Peebles Page A

attention to us.”
    He
smiled, knowing he’d made his point.
    “Use
the log,” I said. “If anybody asks, tell them you’re training for a boxing
match.”
    He
kissed my cheek. “Where are you headed, love?”
    “Liz
went to get dinner and hasn’t come back. She won’t answer her cell phone
either. I was just going to go check on her.”
    His
eyes widened. “I’ll go with you.”
    “I’m
sure it’s not the blue-ringed Immortals. She got in a fight with Charles, and I’m
sure she’s just taking some time to herself to cool off.”
    He
started to head to the car. “I’m coming with you anyway.”
    I
playfully grabbed his sweaty shirt from behind. “You’re not getting in my car
smelling like that, mister. You need a shower.”
    He
took one whiff of himself and laughed. “I do smell quite like a pigsty, don’t
I? I’ll clean myself up and see you when you get back.”
    “Okay.
Sounds like a plan.”
    “Do
be careful, My Queen.” And with that, he gave me one last kiss and rushed into
the house.
    Thanks
to my Immortal-charged ears, I could hear rock music blasting through the walls
before I even stepped through the door of the grill. I walked in to pick up our
food and look for Liz, but even though I could hear her over the crowd and
through the laughter, I didn’t see her anywhere. I hurried down the hall and
into the poolroom, where I found my sister, dressed in a low-cut red sweater
and tight black pants. Several men were gathered around her, drooling like
hungry dogs over a juicy steak.
    Liz
picked up the $500 bill and slammed it on the table. “Okay, boys, this is my
last shot. If I make it, I win everything.”
    “She’ll
never do it,” a thin man whispered in a fatter man’s ear.
    “Not
in a million years,” another said with a laugh, then sipped his cocktail.
    “Oh
yeah?” Liz questioned, finishing her drink and slamming it down on the table. “Just
watch me.”
    She angled the pool cue in her hands and leaned
forward. She closed one eye as she leaned forward and focused. My sister had
always been the dramatic one, and she was really playing it up. She pulled the
pool stick back and hit the cue ball hard.
    I couldn’t let her make the shot and win; we couldn’t
bring any attention to us whatsoever. As the white ball was getting ready to
connect with the last remaining ball, I focused my energy. I could feel the
familiar tingles, but that was all. My powers were off balance and didn’t seem
to be working properly. I threw my hand back to create a huge gust of wind, but
all I managed was a slight draft. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it sure did the
trick. The ball rolled left, off course, and barely missed the last remaining
ball.
    “Good
game,” I heard a few men say.
    Liz
let out a few curses as the men laughed and gave each other high-fives. Glaring,
she turned and met my gaze. “Sarah!”
    A
tall man nudged Liz. “Who’s this?”
    “That
would be my annoying, troublemaker, holier-than-thou sister.”
    I
shook my head. “Let’s go home.”
    “You
just ruined everything!” she roared.
    My
gaze connected with hers. “You’re really something, you know that? You’re
supposed to be picking up our food, not gambling, and especially not using your
special talents.”
    “My
powers!”
    “I
was trying to be discreet,” I said in a heavy whisper.
    A
man chuckled. “Uh, her ‘special talents’ had no effect on me. She thought she
could distract me with that gorgeous body, but it didn’t work.”
    “Her
powers of persuasion didn’t work whatsoever,” another man said.
    “You
know how much money you just lost me?” she said.
    Her
breath reeked of alcohol. “You’re drunk,” I said, fanning my hand in front of
my face.
    “Yeah?
And what’s it to you?” she slurred. “I’m grown, and I can drink if I want to.
I’m not the one who’s knocked up.”
    “You’ve
got a husband waiting for you at home, not to mention a starving family, yet
here you are flirting