Black Blood (19 page)

Trying to
forget her nakedness yet fueled by the desperation of that fact,
she fought hard and dirty. Breaking every rule Dom had ever taught
her, she threw herself into getting free, kicking, biting, punching
and clawing until every man was down and bleeding.

She wiped the
blood from her lips and winced. She could feel the oncoming golf
ball beneath her lower lip and was sure her right eye was going to
look pretty purple upon her return. All she could hope was that
Gabe wouldn’t be there to greet her.

Stepping
over the moaning debris, she was about to stand in the shadows and
disappear when one of the men yelled. “Police! Help!”

Gemma looked up
the alley with a gasp and spotted the silhouette. The baton in his
hand made his occupation clear. She held her breath, hoping he’d
walk on by, but it was too late. She couldn’t see his face, but
somehow knew he’d spotted her.

Spinning
around, she lurched down the alley at full speed.

“Hey!
Stop!”

She ignored the
sound of his whistle, focused solely on finding a place of escape.
She knew she needed somewhere dark enough not to be seen and
somewhere hidden enough that she’d have time to concentrate and get
the hell away.

Jumping over an
old crate, she landed on something sharp and let out a wail. Her
barefoot hit the ground again and a sharp pain seared through her
flesh. Adjusting her running style, she limped down the alley,
turning to see the officer’s bulky form struggling to keep up with
her. The alley was coming to an end. She could see a brick wall in
the murky darkness. Panic rose swiftly. She came to an abrupt stop.
A dead end.

She turned back
and watched the police officer approaching.

I can’t knock
out a police officer. That will definitely make the news!

Frantically searching her surroundings, she noticed a
window ajar. It was two stories up, but it would have to do.
Stepping onto a metal garbage can, Gemma jumped and caught the
lowest rung of the fire escape ladder. Using what strength she had
left in her arms, she hauled herself up. The police officer made a
grab for her ankle, but she cleared it just in time and raced up
the ladder. The pain in her foot was screaming by the time she
climbed onto the ledge and shimmied across the bricks.

Sliding the
window open, she ignored the officer’s shouted commands and
slithered inside. She landed with a soft thud and held her breath,
listening for sounds of movement in the room. The lump in the bed
across from her rolled over with a sleepy moan. Gemma went statue
still, waiting for the occupant to settle before jumping to her
feet.

The noise
outside the window was increasing as orders were shouted down the
alley. Gemma heard the screech of the ladder being pulled down and
knew she only had moments left. Jumping to her feet, she hastened
for the door. The lump in the bed suddenly grew restless and began
to sit up. She saw the hand reaching for the light. Grabbing the
door handle, she swung it open and hid behind it. Squeezing her
eyes tight, she thought of Gabe’s lot.

She heard a
click and sensed the light as her body broke apart.

* * * *

St Augustine, Florida
– 2011 AD

Gemma kept her
eyes shut as she curled into a ball and covered her face. Her body
shook with panicky tears.

“Gemma! Oh
thank God.” Gabe’s voice approached rapidly.

She stayed in a
ball and wished for invisibility.

“I saw your
bike. When I couldn’t find you, I just knew.”

Gabe covered
her with a large T-shirt.

“What the hell
were you thinking?”

“I thought I
could do it.” Gemma mumbled through her hands.

“You never
travel without my supervision. I thought that went without
saying!”

“I won’t do it
again.” She sniffed.

Gabe’s grip was
gentle as he pulled her hands away. His face was a mixture of anger
and concern. “What happened?” He was merciful enough to keep his
voice soft.

“You don’t want
to know.” She fingered her lip and winced.

“Oh, I really
do.”

She looked into
his eyes and swallowed. “Can I at least get dressed first?”

“Come on.” Gabe
stood from his spot and helped her up. Gathering up her clothes, he
chucked them at her face and walked towards the caravan. “I’ll get
some ice.”

She got dressed
slowly, not really wanting to face the wrath she knew she deserved.
Placing her foot on the ground, she hissed and grabbed at it. A
large gash had ripped her skin apart. She wondered what it was that
had done it and felt really bad for the person that was going to
find a bloody piece of glass or metal embedded in their carpet.

So much for
being subtle.

Loathing her
mistake, she limped towards the caravan and fumbled her way
inside.

“Sit.” Gabe
handed her a cold soda and pointed to the bed.

“My foot
is…”

Without a word,
he grabbed up a stool. Pushing her shoulder, he forced her to sit
then lifted her foot gently onto the stool. He grimaced at the ugly
wound and turned back to the sink.

“Start
talking.”

Gemma let
out a slow sigh. “I don’t know what happened. I could picture where
we’d been perfectly. Everything was crystal clear and then when I
arrived there were these men standing there. They weren’t there
last time, I don’t-”

“Where did you
go?”

“Chicago,
1926.”

“That far? You
haven’t even made it back to the 1940s yet.”

“I thought I
could do it! I don’t know what happened.”

Gabe handed her
packet of frozen peas. “Put that on your face.” Kneeling down, he
eyed her foot and poked at the wound. She drew in a breath and
jumped.

“Sorry kid, but
we need to clean this and bandage it up. You’re not going anywhere
until it’s fully healed… unless you have a brilliant alibi for
turning up looking like you’ve come from a boxing ring.”

“I had to fight
off six guys and then run from the law. I don’t think I did too
bad.”

Gabe closed his
eyes and shook his head.

“Okay, my guess
is you had the right place, but the wrong time. That’s probably why
those guys were there. Did you know the specific day?”

Gemma looked
down and shook her head.

“Idiot.” Gabe
wiped her wound clean.

Gemma held her
tongue. The easiest way to make these lectures go quicker was to
just stay quiet. She waited for Gabe to raise his voice and rip
into her, but he didn’t. He cleaned her foot in silence, being as
gentle as possible.

Unable to stand
this bizarre behavior, Gemma finally caved. “Are you… are you going
to tell me off?”

Gabe looked at
her sideways. “Do you want me to?”

“Well, no, but…
look can you just get on with it. This silence thing sucks.”

His smile was
crooked as he wrapped the bandage around her foot. “I take it
Penelope is a yeller.”

“She likes to
get things off her chest.”

Gabe tied the
bandage securely then rested his elbows on his knees and looked at
her. “I don’t need to tell you off. You knew you’d made a mistake
the second you crossed the line and you’re not going to do it
again.”

“No, I’m
not.”

Gabe shrugged
with a grin and stood to his feet.

“So, where’ve
you been the last few days?”

Gemma groaned
and fell back onto the bed. The next hour flew by as Gabe listened
to Gemma lament about shopping malls then meeting up with Courtney.
Gabe listened with amusement then sympathy.

“We’ll get him
back, kid. You just have to hang in there and do it right.”

“Then
everything will go back to the way it was?”

“That’s the
plan.” Gabe took a swig of his drink and looked at her. “Your eye’s
back to normal now. Let’s have a look at this foot.” He reached for
the bandage as Gemma checked her watch.

“Crap, I hope
it’s better. I need to get home.”

“Let me guess,
Penelope’s got something she wants to get off her chest.”

“I imagine
so.”

Gabe’s rich
laughter made Gemma grin and then it made her chuckle. By the time
Gabe had the bandage off her stomach was shaking with giggles. She
just hoped she could keep a straight face when she got home.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Ponte Vedra Beach,
Florida – 2011 AD

“You don’t just
leave without telling anybody!” Penelope slammed the utensil drawer
closed. “I thought you were simply buying a bottle of water and the
next thing I knew you’d disappeared!”

“Like I said,
I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I bumped into Courtney and she asked
if I wanted to go get a slushy, so I did.”

Gemma had
formulated her story on the way home. She had snuck in the door
with the vain hope that her mother was working and she could deal
with the drama in the morning. Unfortunately the second she had
opened the front door her mother had been bustling over the tiles
with an irate demand that she come immediately to the kitchen.

“I still can’t
believe you actually had one of those things. Do you have any idea
how bad they are for you? Don’t let your father know you’ve been
slurping that poison. You can’t afford to eat trash; it affects
your performance across the line, you know that already!”

“If it’s any
consolation, I didn’t enjoy it.” Gemma shoved her hands in her
pockets as she watched her mother prepare dinner with military
precision. As a little girl, Gemma used to find her annoyance
amusing, but that’s because it was never directed at her. This year
had been a little different.

Although,
Gabe’s laughter
was
still
running through her head. She squashed a smile as she watched her
mother attack a head of lettuce.

“I shouldn’t
have let you take your bike to the mall. I’m tempted to take your
keys!”

“What? Mom, no!
Please, don’t take the bike. I won’t let my cell phone battery die
again. I’ll be more careful. You’ll be able to reach me next
time.”

Her mother
stopped chopping to sear her with a narrow gaze. The silence that
followed was a good sign. Her mother did have a tendency for rash
statements when she was annoyed. If she didn’t follow through with
any more comments, it usually meant she wasn’t going to act on
it.

Gemma breathed
a sigh of relief as her mother resumed chopping. She opened her
mouth to excuse herself, but realized this wasn’t over.

“And who is
this Courtney girl anyway? I was assuming after the Harrison fiasco
had finished things would have gone back to the way they were.”

Gemma’s smile
disappeared at the sound of her boyfriend’s name. She hated the way
her mother uttered it with such disdain. The familiar burst of
irritation that seemed to accompany every discussion with her
mother exploded in her belly. “So you don’t want me to have any
friends now? You were over the moon when I first started hanging
out with Courtney.”

“That’s before
I knew she was just a cover so you could spend time with that
Granger boy.”

“
Yeah,
well he’s not a problem anymore, is he?!” Gemma threw as much venom
into her expression as she could.

“Don’t take
that tone with me.” The sharp point of her mother’s knife nearly
touched Gemma’s nose.

“What tone am I
supposed to take? How am I supposed to react when everything I
enjoy doesn’t fit in with your perfect plans? What do you want me
to say?”

Penelope
shrugged. “Tell me you trust me.”

All Gemma could
do was stare at her mother for one silent beat too long. Swallowing
the lump in her throat, she turned and left the kitchen.

Taking the
stairs two at a time, she made a quiet retreat to her bedroom.
Hopefully everyone would forget she was there and she could spend
the evening going over Gabe’s latest tips. The need to get her
boyfriend back was becoming narcotic… and her mother was only
fueling the addiction.

Trust her?
Seriously?

Gemma huffed. A
soft shuffle caught her attention as she rounded the corner.
Jumping back out of sight, she snuck another peek and watched her
father stride towards his study with purpose. She wasn’t sure why
she felt the need to be inconspicuous. Maybe it was something about
his gait or the tense set of his shoulders. Pausing outside his
office door, he touched the handle then glanced behind him. Sucking
in her breath, Gemma ducked out of view and waited for the click of
the door. A few moments later she peered around the corner and
found the hallway empty.

At first she
couldn’t pinpoint what it was about her father’s entry to his
office that bothered her so much. He went to his office all the
time and he often looked tense with work things. It wasn’t until
three o’clock the next morning that Gemma sat up in bed and
blurted, “Why did he look over his shoulder?”

Slumping back
onto her pillow, she kicked her legs free of the sheets and toyed
with the ends of her hair. Gazing up at the ceiling, she recaptured
the scene and there it was again.

Who glances
over their shoulder to check if the coast is clear when entering
their own office?

“Someone who
doesn’t want anyone to know what’s in there.”

She bit her
cheek. She hadn’t been into her father’s office for a while now. As
children they were never allowed in there without him. As teenagers
they didn’t really care about going in there at all. But things
were changing. If her father was hiding something, she needed to
know about it and if Gabe had anything to do with it, she
definitely would.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ponte Vedra Beach,
Florida – 2011 AD