Free The Wishing Stone by Allison Smith Page B

such a very long time.
    Lara awoke, and he smiled down on her. Her arms came up to encircle his neck as her mouth met his in a welcoming kiss.
    “What took you so long?” she asked in a husky, sleep-tinged voice.
    “I can see that you were pacing the floor waiting for me.” A low chuckle accompanied his words.
    She sat up and the crumpled newspaper in her hand crackled as she moved. Placing it on the coffee table, she rubbed the newsprint off her hand onto her faded blue jeans before looking up at him. “I’ll confess I drifted off to sleep reading the news and the want ads.”
    “What are you reading the want ads for? Looking for another man?” He growled playfully, hugging her close.
    “Absolutely not; I imagine I will have my hands full with just you.” She shyly gave him a kiss. “I was checking to see if there was any work out there for me. It’s about time I got back to the grindstone; I’ve been off long enough.”
    “You already have a job. You work for me.” As her mouth opened to object, Lucien continued, “I have more than enough work to keep you busy for quite a long time.”
    At her doubting look, he softly assured her, “I have a specific job that only you can handle for me. I want to help a hospital in a small village that is in dire need of new medical equipment. Sadly, they are—and have been—lacking in the modern technology that the more state-of-the-art hospitals have, and which would help save the lives of many of their patients. I want you and Ethan to take over the task of determining exactly what they do need, and also to make certain that they receive it immediately.”
    A low grumble sounded from Lara’s stomach, interrupting him, and a blush stole across her face. Lucien smiled. “Grab a sweater and we’ll walk to the nearest restaurant.”
    The late night was clear and cool as the couple walked hand in hand down the tree-lined street in front of her apartment building. The houses were all dark, but the street lights were bright. Every once in a while, a car would pass them, but otherwise they had the sleeping street to themselves. Lara drew closer and curled up against Lucien’s side, his arm encircling her shoulders, her arm around his back.
    Neither of them brought up the previous night’s discussion, but Lucien planned to talk about it later, hopefully when they were lying sexually spent in bed.
    Turning the street corner, Lucien came to an abrupt halt. Their way was blocked by two gang members, obvious by the colors they wore. The heavier of the two arrogantly brandished a large black revolver and waved it threateningly.
    “Gimme all your money,” the youth demanded.
    Lara began to tell the young men exactly what she thought of both of them and their futures until Lucien shoved her, sputtering, behind him.
    He turned to confront their attackers. He gave them each a disbelieving once over, especially since the one holding the gun did indeed have killing on his mind.
    “I really don’t think you want to do this,” Lucien countered the youth’s demand.
    The two gang members looked at each other and laughed. The heavy one turned back and again demanded, “Gimme all your money now, then I won’t have to shoot you or your bitch.”
    Lucien began to advance on them, again shoving the still outraged and hissing Lara behind him and out of harm’s way.
    The gunman began to panic. Sweat streamed down his face. His feet shuffled back and forth. Then, all of a sudden, his sweaty, shaking finger pulled the trigger. The sharp report of the gun was deafening, causing Lara to cry out in a combination of fear and rage.
    When Lucien continued toward them, the gunman fired a second time and then a third. When their target failed to fall, terror replaced the hard expressions on the boys’ faces.
    A glint of the moonlight captured the sharp white fangs Lucien displayed, and the gun dropped from the boy’s hand as he took off. The second boy ran screaming in the opposite direction,