Page 69 of Oracle Returns: Time will Stop

Jagger shrugged.

“In my defense, I’m normally ready to do that with Maura. She gets herself into shit.”

When she went to protest, he said two words.

“The Hummer.”

Well, that shut her down.

“Yeah, I get into trouble. He’s right,” she admitted, knowing she’d done him dirty on that one. “No offense, Avalon, and we’ll always love you, but when we left, we left. We have two kids and one on the way. The Phoenix Files were shut down, and if they start back up, it won’t be with us.”

Tori was holding her tongue, and for only one reason.

“Go ahead, Victoria,” Avalon said. “You know you want to put it on record, and I don’t offend easily.”

Tori took that opportunity to make their intentions crystal clear to everyone in the room.

“You seem like a perfectly nice person, Avalon, but I’m not nearly as nice. I fight for what I want, and I’m not going to lie. I’m not letting our family go easily. Lucian is ours, and so is Bishop. You can’t have our family. We will fight you on this.”

Instead of answering, she waited.

Why?

Because the person in question was now in the room.

When they heard his voice, everyone turned to see him standing there with Ridge beside him.

“Lucian has already made up his mind,” he admitted. “I’m not leaving, Avalon. I’m sorry, but Bishop is happy here, and Ridge is my family now, too. We began a life here, and while I would love to dedicate my life to saving lost psychics, like I once did, that’s not my path. Maybe had things been differently, and I never met my wife, but I can’t drag her and my children into this.”

Avalon knew what was at stake, and she knew what was in Lucian’s heart. When you connected on the other plane and shared psychic links, you felt and saw it all.

This man loved it here, and she’d never ask that of him.

EVER.

So, she reassured him.

“We don’t need to worry about this,” she said. “I may not survive, and then the point is moot, no?” she asked. “We can cross that bridge when we get there.”

At her words, Nate looked pained. Only, Lucian got it. Nate was loyal to his wife and was doing everything in his power to save her.

There was no doubt that loving Avalon had to be difficult for him. He knew what was at stake when he fell in love, and it had been a rough journey.

They had been through a lot.

From lost friends to nearly dying a few times, he’d stayed loyal because they were the core of that family. Lucian and Bishop had found a whole other core to connect to.

Lucian sat, and on one side of him was Bishop, and the other was Ridge. He held both of their hands, connecting them as one.

For what was coming, he suspected he was going to need to be strong for them, and himself.

“I’d like to get Ridge home so he can rest and shut down for a while,” he said, “but first, I’d like to say something to everyone.”

They were all ears.

They were all eyes, too, because they were seeing how closely Ridge was sitting to Lucian, and how Bishop was NOT reacting to the man holding the other man’s hand.

“This is going to be dangerous. I can feel that energy starting back up. He’s on the prowl. We shouldn’t risk the whole family, so I’m asking we don’t. Taking that energy and Wynter’s life fed his needs for a while. Like any killer, that urge will be back, and I believe he’s already on the prowl. I can feel the darkness in Salem.”