All Hell Breaks Loose (22 page)

“If I meet them, I can tell you for sure,” Kyle suggested.

Byron nodded.  “Let’s go and see what Athena has discovered about our guard first.”

They made their way to the staff quarters, where Athena was just exiting one of the communal lounge areas.  Though it was well past midnight, the deceptively powerful Magus was dressed in a neat business suit with her long, blonde hair pulled neatly into a ponytail.  Perfect make-up and cream pumps with half-inch heels completed her ensemble.

“What have you found out?” Byron asked her.

“Well,” she gave the others a slight nod of greeting, but her face was as grim as Byron’s, “he’s not lying as far as we can tell, and the Healer is pretty sure there is some kind of drug in his system.  Of course, she can’t tell exactly what drug it is, but possibly
rohypnol
or something similar.”

“The date-rape drug?”
Gabi asked in surprise.

Athena nodded.  “Yes, the last thing the guard remembers is drinking a cup of coffee.  Rohypnol is easy to slip into a drink, and it would explain his loss of memory and confusion.”

“Where did he get the cup of coffee?” Kyle asked.

“That’s one of the things he can’t remember,” Athena answered.  “He has vague memories of someone bringing it to him, but he can’t recall who it was.  Though we would assume it was someone familiar enough not to raise his suspicions.”  She sighed.  “I’m calling in a Magus friend who might be able to help his recall, but for now, that’s as much as we can help you with.”

“That’s more than enough, Athena.  Thank you,” Byron told her.

Kyle moved towards the room and stuck his head in the door.  He was back with them a moment later.

“Yep, that’s one of the Shape-shifter scents,” he told them.  “If we can track down the
Werewolf
who discovered the escape, then we have everyone accounted for except the second Shape-shifter.”

“He should be back in the kitchens,” Byron said, already heading back towards the elevator.  “I told him to stay there.  With the lock-down in place, nobody can leave.”

Gabi could tell that this event had affected Byron worse than he was letting on.  This was the place he and her father had built to house and protect the members of the SMV.  It was a kind of sanctuary.  It had never been designed as a secure compound, for all the protective wards and security measures.  The safety of HQ relied on the integrity and loyalty of the people who came and went through its doors.  For someone to have broken the trust of this place and the people within it would be a blow to Byron’s faith in the people around him.

They passed a few people on their way, and Gabi was amused to see every one of them take a slightly wider berth around Fergus than the rest of them.  He was so quiet and stealthy, without actually trying to be, that he gave a couple of them a start when they finally realised he was there.  Gabi wondered if this was the first time a Vampire had walked these halls.  Quite possibly, as when it came to
rogue
Vampires, she’d only ever seen kill orders handed out.  It was considered too dangerous to try to capture one.  It was likely that things were about to change on that front, she thought, if Julius decided to get involved on the Council.  With Vampire back-up, they would be able to capture
rogues
for questioning.  That could make life much more interesting.  They banged through the kitchen doors and found a handful of the kitchen staff sitting around on stools and counters.  They jumped to attention when they saw Byron.

“Michael,” Byron called, and a young, slightly scruffy man in torn denims and a black T-shirt stepped forward.

Kyle closed his eyes briefly and inhaled.  Gabi wondered if she looked like that when she was scanning for
supernaturals
.  If she did, it was time to stop—he looked like an idiot.

“Yep, that’s the
Werewolf
who was in the cell,” Kyle said.  “The other Shape-shifter isn’t here.”

Byron nodded and began to escort them back towards his office.  “I’ll have to do a bit of investigation to find out who else was here during the timeframe, and we’ll try to narrow it down from there.  The chance of whoever it was still being here is slim, so I’m going to let everyone head home now.  The
Werewolf
is gone, and he didn’t escape on his own, so we have to assume
he’s been taken by whoever is creating these
rogues
.  Hopefully, they’ll keep him from hurting anyone tonight.  We can figure out the rest tomorrow.”

Just as they approached his outer office, the phone rang.  Byron reached to answer it from Hazel’s desk; she worked normal office hours, so Byron was his own secretary if he was in his office at night.

“Ian,” Byron said with obvious affection.  “Oh, sorry, I must have left it in my office,” he said, patting his pockets.  “There’s been a bit of a problem here, and I was running around trying to sort it out.”  There was a pause as he listened.  Gabi, Kyle and Fergus could all hear what Ian was telling him.  “Okay, I’ll send someone right away.  They’ll contact you when they’re almost there.  Keep him in isolation until then.”

“Damn, the good news just keeps coming,” Gabi said sarcastically as Byron put down the phone.

“You heard?” he asked them.

“Another
Werewolf
attack, this time ending up in the City Hospital,” she confirmed.  “Thank the Lord and Lady for small miracles like Ian.  Don’t worry, we’ll go get him.”  She patted Byron on the arm as she turned to follow Kyle and Fergus.  “Keep us posted, and be careful, we’ll be back soon.”

“Take one of the secure vans and some back-up,” he called after them.

It was a tense atmosphere in the van.  Gabi let Kyle drive while she called Ian to get more details.  It turned out the guy had been found by joggers out for a late-night run in one of the local parks.  It was assumed he’d been attacked by a pack of dogs; he’d been in the hospital for a couple of hours before he came to Ian’s attention.  One look at his wounds had told Ian that it wasn’t a simple dog attack.  The man was luckily unconscious and had already started a mild fever.

“You don’t have to hang around with us anymore, you know,” she told Fergus when she finished the call to Ian.  “This guy isn’t going to be a danger to anyone except himself for a couple of days.”

Fergus actually smiled, a gesture that pulled the thick, shiny scar running across his face in macabre and gruesome ways.  “No, lassie, I’ll be
comin
’ along
fer
the ride.  My Lord will no’ be
thankin
’ me for
leavin
’ ye unprotected,” he told her.

Gabi sighed.  “Fergus, you’re supposed to be part of our crew to help catch
Werewolves
, not to be my personal protection,” she said firmly.

Fergus gave an amused snort.  “I could be
lyin
’ to
yer
face and agree with ye, lass, but
it’s
no’ my style.  Ye might as well get used
te
the idea.”  Under the façade of mirth there was a deadly serious edge to his words.

Gabi took a deep breath and counted to ten. 
Several times.
  It was pointless yelling at Fergus, but she and Julius would be having a chat before the night was over.

“Cut the man a little slack, lass,” he rumbled when she finally had her temper under control.  A retort sprang to her lips, but he continued.  “If ye were in his shoes, now, wouldn’t ye be tempted
te
do the same?”

She wanted to argue with him, but if she denied feeling protective of Julius, she’d be the one lying this time.  So instead, she sat stewing and fuming in silence.

“We’re here,” Kyle announced in relief.

The caramel latte was like ambrosia when it hit her tongue.  She groaned aloud in pleasure at the first sip,
then
handed the cup over to Fergus in the passenger seat while she changed gears.  As soon as she was at speed, she took it back.  The new
Werewolf
victim was safely housed at HQ, and the Shape-shifter guard had been replaced by a
Werewolf
guard, who’d be harder to drug.  Though the
rogues
only seemed to be interested in their victims once they had actually
Changed
, so this one should be safe for a few days.  The whole situation was unfathomable.

Thank the Lord and Lady for late-night hours at Starbucks.  She and Kyle had hit the café on their way to the Estate.  Kyle was following them in his van and could’ve just headed home, but he claimed to want to check on Derek.  Gabi had a feeling it was more Trish that he wanted to be checking on, but she reined in the teasing for once.  Trish was a huge step up from his usual choices.  He had a habit of dating completely unsuitable women, then spending weeks lamenting
his bad decision, only to make a similar one days later.  Males, she grumbled to herself, breaking off a piece of fresh blueberry muffin to stuff into her mouth.

“So are you my only babysitter, or is there a roster?” she asked Fergus between mouthfuls.

The Vampire’s mouth moved like he was trying to hide a smile.  “I ken
ye’re
young, but I
hadna
thought of ye as a babe,” he countered.

Gabi rolled her eyes.  “Just answer the question,” she growled.

“
Ye’ll
probably be
seein
’ a lot of me,” he admitted.
“If not me, then Marcello.”

“Great,” she muttered.  “What did the two of you do to pull babysitting duty?”

A laugh rumbled up from the Vampire’s chest.  “We be
te
best at what we do, lass,” he told her and then added with a wink, “and neither of us mind a bit o’ action and excitement.  We’ll be
havin
’ a great time spinning yarns about the time when we were back-up
te
Angeli Morte ’
erself
.”

Gabi glared at the Vampire sideways, but it was mostly show.  It was hard to be mad at Fergus.  The guards at the gate waved them through, and Gabi pulled the Mustang up outside the front of the mansion, leaving it parked where she knew it would most annoy Maximilian.  Usually she’d park it out of the way in the parking spaces alongside the main house.  There was an underground garage that Julius and his Clan used, but that required a remote access card.  She made sure she took the keys with her.

Fergus glanced at her shrewdly.  “You know he could tip it over on its roof?” he asked, eyeing the sports car with amusement.

“He knows he’ll be working as janitor for a lower-end motel for the rest of his immortal existence if he dares to touch it,” she said archly.

Fergus threw back his head and laughed.  “Lass,” he finally said when he’d caught his breath, “ye are the most
interestin
’ thing to happen to this Clan
fer
many a year.”  With that, he ghosted away into the dark.

Julius was on a phone call, and Alexander was typing on a laptop at the opulent dining room table.

“When did you learn how to use a computer?” she asked him from the doorway on her way to the bar.  He flipped
her the
bird but continued working without looking up.

“While you’re in there, be a good girl and pour me a bourbon,” he said and then added, “and don’t spit in it,” as she sauntered off.

Julius joined her in the large entertainment room a few minutes later.  He didn’t comment on the bourbon and ice in a cheap plastic cup standing on the bar counter, but reached for one of the crystal glasses of red wine and held it under his nose, savouring the bouquet.

“Did you have a fruitful evening?” he asked, joining her on a leather sofa.

“Not really,” she replied.  “But I’m sure my babysitter can tell you all about it.”

He wasn’t looking at her, but rather studying the ruby colour of the
pinotage
in his glass against the light.  A muscle twitched in his cheek, and he schooled his mouth into a thoughtful pout rather than a smile.

“Hmm,” he mused, “what makes you think he hasn’t already?” Then he looked at her, a rueful smile cracking through.  “You do realise you’ve just cost me a new car?” he asked her.  Just then Alexander appeared in the room and gave a whoop.

“Excellent,” he enthused.  “I knew you wouldn’t let me down, Hellcat.  I think I’m
gonna
get a Ferrari.”  His appreciation lost a little of its shine once he picked up the cup of bourbon.  He stared at it for several seconds, swirling it and listening to the dull clunks the ice made against the plastic, then shook his head and took a sip.  He looked thoughtful as he ran the whiskey around inside his mouth, then he swallowed and went to take a seat opposite Gabi and Julius, nursing the cup as though it were made of Wedgewood crystal.

“You bet Alexander a car that I wouldn’t work out Fergus was my bodyguard?” she asked, disbelief clear.