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"Merci beaucoup, Étienne. I really appreciate it."

"Think none of it, mon amie. I'm glad you're okay."

Giselle smiled. "Me too."

She gave him a parting kiss and waved goodbye. As she walked out of the private airport just outside of NOLA, she took a deep breath.

Time to go home, she thought. Louis will be able to find me no matter where I am.

Giselle hailed a taxi and was driven home. Once she was dropped off in front of the gates to her house, Giselle let out an involuntary shiver.

"Do I really want to go in?" she asked herself quietly. Then she sighed. "I have to."

She slipped in through the gate and walked up to the front door. After pulling the key out of her purse, Giselle unlocked the door. She pushed the door open and gasped.

"Louis!"

He was leaning against the stair's railing, arms crossed over his chest, with his right leg across his left. A stormy look was in his piercing blue eyes.

He pushed himself off the railing and walked over to her. Giselle stiffened, waiting for contact, but it never came.

"I figured you'd eventually come back here. We'll talk in my office. Close the front door."

Giselle did as she was told. Once they were in Louis's office, he rounded on her.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

"I had to get away from you for a bit."

"I don't think you understand, Giselle. I lost you."

"No, you didn't," she said, a bit confused.

He sighed helplessly and sat on the edge of his desk. Giselle seated herself on the sofa off to the side of the room.

"I lost where you were. I couldn't sense you. It was like you had died and yet, you could've and I probably wouldn't have felt a thing. Something happened, Giselle. Normally, I can sense you, no matter where you are in the world, but for the past few days, I couldn't tell where you were. It, it scared me."

"Oh, Louis. I'll tell you everything. I promise."

He was about to say something when she held up her hand.

"Uh-uh. My turn now."

He nodded solemnly.

"I brought you a little gift, Louis."

Giselle took her bag and tossed it onto his desk. It landed with a distinct thud.

"What is this?" Louis asked.

"Open it up and find out."

Louis looked into the bag, his eyes widened, and he suddenly retreated five steps back.

"How?" he breathed.

"I hunted him down. The thing is Louis, I knew Bashar al Assam from back when I was still a human."

"How?"

"My older brother, Julien, got into some trouble with him. Bashar recruited him as a personal soldier. You know the men that were roughing up your brother?"

Louis nodded.

"Julien was one of them. He was turned by Bashar. I was the only one in our family who knew. I knew he was assigned to a very powerful vampire. But when he told me the vamp's name, I didn't know who Henri was. Not until I met you. After you turned me, I began to put the pieces together. I realised that your brother was killed by my mine. I felt shame, Louis. That's part of why I ran. I dreaded the moment when I'd have to tell you the truth. I figured you'd hate me afterwards."

"Is that the whole truth then?" Louis asked darkly.

"No." She took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. "I had heard about a rumour of the Original Families. I recognised the Montpierre name from what Julien had told me of Henri. So... I purposefully went looking for you. You killed my brother. I, I was going to end you. I found a small group of vampire hunters and joined their ranks. I worked my way up and soon was their leader."

By this point, Louis was dumbfounded.

"When I finally met you, and got to know the real you, I figured that maybe you weren't a cold-blooded killer." Giselle scoffed. "How wrong I was. But that doesn't matter now. It was over 650 years ago. I now see that you were just willing to do whatever it took to avenge your brother. I tried to do the same."

Finally done, Giselle put her head in her hands.

"Well, if we're telling the truth right now, I might as well come clean with you, mon amour."

"Louis... what did you do?"

He looked away, guiltily and sheepishly.

"I wanted you to myself. So I purposefully exposed your parents to the Black Plague. I just didn't expect you to catch it as well. That part wasn't well thought out. Your little brother, I sent off to England to fight the Britons. He died on the front lines, but you already knew that."

Giselle fumed. "You basically killed my entire family!! You know that?! You're responsible for each and every one of their deaths!!!"

Louis winced visibly.

"Mon amour..."

Giselle stood and held up a hand. "Don't. You. Dare. Talk. Or. Touch. Me. Right. Now. Or I may wind up doing something I'll later regret."