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friend and, if there was even the slightest chance that she knew where Daniel had sent Jack and Ava, Quinn had to try and get it out of her. She couldn’t phone Piper, it would make it all too easy for them to trace her, and besides, she doubted that Piper could be convinced over the phone. Sadly, the Guardians would be expecting her to come searching, so she would have to give it time – wait until they decided she wasn’t going anywhere near the Cathedral. In the meantime, she realised, she would go crazy if she didn’t have something else to occupy her time. She needed to keep her mind off Jack and Ava until she could actually do something about them. And so, despite her reservations, she started to integrate herself into the Brookfield community.
    She visited Sarah, taking a box of doughnuts she had bought at the store, and this time she made polite conversation. Sarah was sincerely delighted with the abrupt turn of events and, soon enough, a friendship began forming. Sarah introduced Quinn to Todd Cooper, who was as nice a person as Sarah herself, and Quinn spent a few evenings a week with the two of them. She found her heart hurt just a little bit less when she was around other people. For those few hours she could forget her loneliness, her guilt and her concern for the children.
    Alice, the char, continued to come every week. Her initial reaction to Quinn’s unexpected arrival was a simple, “Do you still need me to come in?” Alice was a lady in her late fifties and it seemed that nothing could ruffle her. Steadfast and dependable, she arrived every Tuesday at eight o’clock precisely – cleaned routinely and diligently and then left via the back door. Quinn was amused by this – she simply walked around the front of the house and then trundled up the street. Quinn could not see the reason for her leaving through the back. She assumed it was simply a habit that Alice had formed in the year that Quinn had not been around.
    Doing nothing was silent torture for Quinn, as her desperate longing for Jack and Ava grew, but she consoled herself with the small victory of having eluded the Guardians. They had not discovered her hiding place and for now, that would have to be enough.
    About three weeks after her arrival Quinn ordered a couple of pizzas from the local pub to take over to Sarah’s. It turned out that Phil’s Place was the only pizzeria in Brookfield after all, but fortunately their food was superb. Quinn wasn’t partial to cooking and had ordered more meals from Phil’s than she had made in her own fully-functional kitchen. It wasn’t far from the house and she decided to walk rather than take her car. Her black leather boots made little sound on the deserted street and ten minutes later she entered the small tavern. A few tables were occupied and Quinn waved at a couple of familiar faces she recognised from her trips to the shops, calling out a greeting to a teacher who helped Sarah at the kindergarten. Country music played softly in the background.
    “Hi Quinn!” Phil, the friendly owner greeted her from behind the bar. “Sorry, it’s been a bit busy tonight but your order won’t be long.”
    “Thanks,” Quinn smiled, taking a seat at the bar while she waited.
    She sensed him before she actually saw him, but not quickly enough. This tall, dark-haired stranger, with pale, flawless skin, who came to stand beside her at the bar counter, had approached almost undetected.
    “Drake!” Phil greeted him as warmly as he had Quinn, “you want the usual?” The stranger inclined his head and dropped down onto the seat beside her. “Where’s Genevieve?” Phil called as he poured two fingers of bourbon into a brandy snifter. “You want anything while you wait, Quinn?” he added, before the stranger could answer.
    “I’ll have a beer,” Quinn replied, keeping her voice light. The vampire, Drake, stiffened beside her, but he didn’t turn his head.
    “Genevieve’s at home,” he remarked