Neither, apparently, was Carly. “Mario,” she said flatly as she wagged one small, elegant finger in the face of the brother who had thus far refused to put her down, “if you say one more thing, I swear to God, I will start bringing the pain right at the damned dinner table. And you know I know things.”

Mario, unimpressed, snorted. “Yeah, right, Carlotta.”

“One word, Mario. Magazines.”

Mario continued to dangle her a couple of inches off the ground, but his eyes narrowed. “What do you know about …”

“Loose board, left-hand side, three from the wall in your old room.” Carly’s look was smug as she was immediately lowered back to the ground by a suddenly pale Mario.

“Blackmail. I’m impressed,” Gideon murmured into her ear as she returned to his side. Carly simply shrugged.

“The necessary weaponry of a baby sister. And actually, I’m sort of indebted to the two of them. Without those magazines, it would have taken me a lot longer to figure out what exactly the bad kids at the back of the bus were talking about. Instead, I got to be,” she grinned, “worldly.”

“Hmm. Then perhaps I should thank them,” Gideon laughed, earning him a smart smack to his midsection.

“So! This is the boy you’ve been hiding from us!” Gideon turned at the bright, clear voice behind him to find his face grabbed by two plump, bejeweled hands and pulled down over a foot to be kissed, hard, on each cheek. Completely immobilized in his surprise, Gideon had his cheeks pinched, patted, then released before he could do more than widen his eyes at the woman who was now looking up at him with smiling approval.

Maria Silver, apart from her short stature, was about as far from her daughter in looks as night was from day. Gideon could see right away that she’d been beautiful as a young woman, with her almond-eyed, olive-skinned Mediterranean looks. She was attractive still despite the fact that she’d grown decidedly thick around the middle during the ensuing years. Her hair, black without so much as a thread of gray, was clipped back in a sleek chignon with a glittering marcasite clip, revealing the thin lines etched around her mouth and eyes that told him this was a woman who laughed often. But then, Gideon supposed, to have survived raising this particular brood she’d have to have had a sense of humor.

“Gideon MacInnes. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Silver,” Gideon said by way of introduction, returning her smile. He noted, suddenly, that she’d taken care to dress up a bit before meeting him. She was casually elegant in a loosely flowing tunic top and wide-legged slacks, both in a rich shade of green that brought out, he was sure she knew, the warm hazel of her eyes. That she would take the trouble for a man she’d never met simply because her daughter had brought him home charmed him immensely.

“Nice to meet you, too, Gideon. It’s good to finally meet someone smart enough to catch our Carlotta. Lucky for you, I’m predisposed to liking people with such good taste. And call me Maria. Mrs. Silver is my mother-in-law, as far as I’m concerned.”

He laughed. “I’ll remember that.”

Carly just groaned, her cheeks as pink as the clouds at sunrise. “Mama.”

“Come on in, you two,” Maria continued, ignoring Carly’s obvious embarrassment and looping her arm through Gideon’s after giving her daughter a quick kiss. “I made enough lasagna to feed an army, so I hope you brought your appetites.” She looked up to eye Gideon speculatively. “I never expected Carly to bring home someone so tall. I hope you’re careful with her, you know. She’s awfully delicate.”

Carly’s cheeks were now more volcano than sunrise. “Oh, for the love of …”

Gideon simply slid his free arm behind her back, ignoring the snickers of her two brothers and earning an approving nod from the tall, mostly silent man who trailed them. He was identifiable by his fair looks and fine features as Carly’s father. That, and a certain something about the ghost of a smile that played around his lips and the intelligent humor that glittered in his eyes.

Seeing the warmth between Carly and her family, the strength of that bond, Gideon realized that the Silver family’s approval meant a great deal to him. He reveled in it, even as it twisted sharply into his gut. He would take this approval, this trust … and betray it utterly by breaking their precious daughter’s heart. Still, better a broken heart than a broken body, Gideon tried to tell himself. The heart, at least, would heal. He was sure of this. Almost.

Swept along into a comfortable dining room and to a table covered in food that smelled like heaven itself, Gideon realized with a pang of conscience that not only was he being introduced, he was being welcomed with open arms. They so obviously wanted the best for Carly, and if he was who she had chosen, they were prepared to make him a part of their family. It was humbling. And as he watched her laugh with them, watched the graceful way she did things as simple as smooth back her hair, and as he enjoyed the long, slow looks she gave him from the corner of her eye, Gideon realized how very badly he wanted to stay.

He’d thought, after all his traveling, that he’d been looking for home. As it turned out, home was Carly. And everything in him tightened up in excruciating pain when he thought of what he had to do, and the life he would leave her to have without him.

Seeming to sense something was wrong, Carly tilted her head at him, a questioning look in her eyes, as the warm chatter continued around them. A phone rang somewhere in the direction of the kitchen, and after a brief battle of wills and name-calling between him and his brother, Mario jogged off to answer it.

“What is it?” she asked softly enough so the others wouldn’t hear. Gideon could only smile thinly and shake his head. He was uncertain of how to express what he was feeling. And he was completely certain that he didn’t want the rest of the Silvers, who were trying to listen without appearing to be listening and doing only a middling job at it, to know anyway.

Carly, to her credit, didn’t attempt to push. She just slipped her small hand into his beneath the table, gave it a squeeze, and left it there as she turned back to answer a question Luigi had asked her.

“Gideon?” Maria Silver poked her head out of the doorway to the kitchen, a frown on her handsome face, jerking him out of his unpleasant thoughts. “There’s a Gabriel on the phone for you…he says he’s your brother?”

A fresh set of dark thoughts burst into bloom as Gideon rose quickly to take the phone from her. He managed a short “thanks” before disappearing into the empty kitchen, ignoring the questions on Carly’s face. He hadn’t told Gabriel where he was going tonight. This couldn’t be good.

“Gabe? How did you find me?”

Gabriel’s voice, usually loud and full of humor, sounded thin and hoarse on the other end of the connection. “Gideon. Thank Christ. I got online … you’re lucky there aren’t many Silvers in that area code, because I just started dialing. I hoped someone could at least tell me where you were.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s bad, Gid.”

“Bad?”

“Dad’s gone.”

Gideon stood stock still, floored, as he absorbed this, tried to let it sink in. “Gone,” he repeated slowly, hoping for clarity and finding none.

“Yes, gone, Gideon,” Gabriel replied with a flash of irritation. “I thought I’d go and spend the weekend at home for once. Good way to keep an eye out, and I knew he’d tolerate it since I don’t get back all that often, even if he didn’t like the why of it. But when I got there …” Gabriel’s voice trailed off for a moment before he continued. “It was madness, Gideon. Furniture broken, blood everywhere. Ian and Malcolm are doing the best they can, and they haven’t let it out to the Pack yet,” he said, referring to Duncan’s two trusted lieutenants, “but it’s only a matter of time. And poor Harriet. She’s just beside herself. Can’t stop crying. Malcolm finally gave her something to make her sleep.” He sighed hollowly. “Lucky for us it’s off-season. The one couple we had staying here left not twenty-four hours ago.”

“One small blessing, I suppose,” Gideon murmured, feeling the numb cloak of shock settle over him, staring blankly at the surroundings that had, only moments before, filled him with warmth and comfort. Now, he felt only apart, empty. And once again, alone.

“The only one,” Gabriel replied, sounding more tired than Gideon thought he’d ever heard him. “We have to find him, Gid. Even with everything else, I never thought they’d get to him, not really. He’s so strong, and you know what a clever old bastard he is. But the blood …” He drew in a shuddering breath. “It’s my fault, you know. I provoked them that day in Edinburgh. Poked at their tempers, said more than I ought, stupid git that I am. And now look, look what I’ve done.”

“No,” Gideon said firmly, inwardly distressed at how close his brother seemed to be to losing it completely. A playboy he might be, but one who was strong and annoyingly self-assured nonetheless. For him to sound like this, Gideon knew with a sinking feeling, the scene would have to be bad. Worse, probably, than he could yet imagine. He thought of the taunting voice in the woods, and numbness began to be replaced by a seething black rage, the likes of which he had never experienced before. He’d been baited, distracted. Misled. His focus had been on himself and Carly, their safety. Their bond. Had it been deliberate, he wondered? Or had their adversaries simply seen a better opening? Regardless, he had helped this to happen, albeit with the best intentions. And now he would have to own the part of it that was his, and make the best that he could of what was to come.

“I asked that of you, Gabriel. If either of us bears fault, then it’s mine for ever leaving in the first place, thinking I might escape from who we are, and what I’m meant to do.” Gabriel started to protest, but Gideon silenced him quickly. “No, Gabe. It’s true. But even with that, I think we both know where to lay the blame of this. We’ll make them pay for it, you and I. And we’re going to get him back.”