standing in front of me as a man. He said nothing, but gave me a long look.
Gabriel came to stand next to me. “Thanks, Alex,” he said with honest gratitude. “Meg, Gio.”
Alex nodded with great dignity before he gave me one last look. Words weren’t needed for me to understand that my barbed question had wounded him, but I wouldn’t take it back. He returned to his lupine shape and ran back into the darkness flanked by Meg and Gio.
I looked over at Gabriel and opened my mouth to speak, but realized that I didn’t know what to say. He looked back at me, blood streaking down his face in the rain. I found a place to start. “Are you alright?”
“I think so. You?”
“Yeah, I will be. He bit me.”
“He . . . What ? Where? Jesus, Remi, are you okay?”
I tilted my head toward my left side, a movement that hurt more than it should have. Gripping the collar of my raincoat, Gabriel pulled it away to look at the bite wound.
“Vampire bites don’t leave many survivors. This doesn’t look too bad, all things considered.”
“I lost some blood, but that’s the worst of it. He did it to hurt me, not to drain me dry.”
“Why not kill you when he had the chance?”
“To toy with me. Because I’m my father’s daughter, and . . . He wanted me to watch you die.”
Gabe let go of my collar and his eyes met mine.
“Why would he want that?”
“Think about it, Gabe. Did you see the way he ordered the other vampires? They see us together every time we fight them. They watch us help each other and they must have reported back to Valan . . . He has some sort of power over them, or command of them. He still wants to hurt me, so what better way than to make me watch another man that I care about be killed. Valan thinks he’ll break me.”
There was something unreadable Gabriel’s eyes; it was a look I had never seen before. He looked like he was trying to figure out what to say, much like I had been lost for words moments before.
“He won’t,” he finally said. “He already broke you once and you came back stronger. He won’t be able to again.” His expression changed back to all business. “Can you drive?”
“Yeah.”
“We’ve had enough action for one night. Let’s get back to headquarters . . . Meredith can have a look at that bite.”
I didn’t argue. Things had gone from adrenaline-pounding to awkward, so I was plenty ready to get the hell out of there. “Yeah, sure. See you there.”
Bruised and rain-soaked, I climbed back into my jeep and headed out of the city limits. The worst of the storm had passed. Forks of lightning came at slower intervals to the east and the wind had subsided to a chilly breeze. I turned on the windshield wipers, but the rain was falling steadily rather than pelting with a vengeance. The sparkle of the drops in the headlight beams and the rhythmic swish of the windshield wipers soothed my raw nerves.
To have come so close to finally taking Valan out and failing was a crushing disappointment. I promised myself that I would use it as motivation rather than let it dishearten me.
chapter four
It was a slow day at the shop. The August afternoon was laying it on thick, heat rising off the blacktop parking lot in waves. Nobody was out and about, and I couldn’t blame them.
I had nothing better to do than answer the odd phone call and ruminate about the night before, so I went to work cleaning the display cases. Thinking came easier to me with a dust rag in my hand, so I took my time. I concentrated on each crystal knickknack, gold watch, and diamond ring as I took them from their shelves and rearranged as I cleaned. I kept one eye on the door since I was dealing with the most expensive part of our inventory, but that proved to be unnecessary as more than an hour passed without anyone coming in.
By the time the glass was shining so that I could see my reflection in it, I was feeling quite pleased with myself and my thoughts weren’t
Gabriel came to stand next to me. “Thanks, Alex,” he said with honest gratitude. “Meg, Gio.”
Alex nodded with great dignity before he gave me one last look. Words weren’t needed for me to understand that my barbed question had wounded him, but I wouldn’t take it back. He returned to his lupine shape and ran back into the darkness flanked by Meg and Gio.
I looked over at Gabriel and opened my mouth to speak, but realized that I didn’t know what to say. He looked back at me, blood streaking down his face in the rain. I found a place to start. “Are you alright?”
“I think so. You?”
“Yeah, I will be. He bit me.”
“He . . . What ? Where? Jesus, Remi, are you okay?”
I tilted my head toward my left side, a movement that hurt more than it should have. Gripping the collar of my raincoat, Gabriel pulled it away to look at the bite wound.
“Vampire bites don’t leave many survivors. This doesn’t look too bad, all things considered.”
“I lost some blood, but that’s the worst of it. He did it to hurt me, not to drain me dry.”
“Why not kill you when he had the chance?”
“To toy with me. Because I’m my father’s daughter, and . . . He wanted me to watch you die.”
Gabe let go of my collar and his eyes met mine.
“Why would he want that?”
“Think about it, Gabe. Did you see the way he ordered the other vampires? They see us together every time we fight them. They watch us help each other and they must have reported back to Valan . . . He has some sort of power over them, or command of them. He still wants to hurt me, so what better way than to make me watch another man that I care about be killed. Valan thinks he’ll break me.”
There was something unreadable Gabriel’s eyes; it was a look I had never seen before. He looked like he was trying to figure out what to say, much like I had been lost for words moments before.
“He won’t,” he finally said. “He already broke you once and you came back stronger. He won’t be able to again.” His expression changed back to all business. “Can you drive?”
“Yeah.”
“We’ve had enough action for one night. Let’s get back to headquarters . . . Meredith can have a look at that bite.”
I didn’t argue. Things had gone from adrenaline-pounding to awkward, so I was plenty ready to get the hell out of there. “Yeah, sure. See you there.”
Bruised and rain-soaked, I climbed back into my jeep and headed out of the city limits. The worst of the storm had passed. Forks of lightning came at slower intervals to the east and the wind had subsided to a chilly breeze. I turned on the windshield wipers, but the rain was falling steadily rather than pelting with a vengeance. The sparkle of the drops in the headlight beams and the rhythmic swish of the windshield wipers soothed my raw nerves.
To have come so close to finally taking Valan out and failing was a crushing disappointment. I promised myself that I would use it as motivation rather than let it dishearten me.
chapter four
It was a slow day at the shop. The August afternoon was laying it on thick, heat rising off the blacktop parking lot in waves. Nobody was out and about, and I couldn’t blame them.
I had nothing better to do than answer the odd phone call and ruminate about the night before, so I went to work cleaning the display cases. Thinking came easier to me with a dust rag in my hand, so I took my time. I concentrated on each crystal knickknack, gold watch, and diamond ring as I took them from their shelves and rearranged as I cleaned. I kept one eye on the door since I was dealing with the most expensive part of our inventory, but that proved to be unnecessary as more than an hour passed without anyone coming in.
By the time the glass was shining so that I could see my reflection in it, I was feeling quite pleased with myself and my thoughts weren’t
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