Dark Mate (MATE series) (13 page)

“
Vonetta is not an
ordinary vampire, like you,” Gabriel said, staring straight at
Bryn. “She's a hybrid, half vampire, half succubus. And she
will drain Eva.”

He stood up to his full
height. “I need to find her.”

“
Sit down, Gabriel.”

“
No! I need to go to
her!”

Gabriel felt a hand on his arm
as Scott moved in to restrain him.

Scott tried to force Gabriel
down, but Gabriel wouldn't budge. Bryn had jumped up and was
speaking rapidly into her watch.

Gabriel caught a slight
movement at the corner of his eye. Without hesitation, Gabriel
whirled round and slammed his fists into Scott's jaw.

Scott reared back, and socked
him hard in the nose. Blood spurted down his face and Gabriel
roared. He picked up the table and smashed it over Scott's head.
Splinters rained down on the werebear's massive shoulders, but Scott
continued charging at him.

Gabriel leaped up and sunk his
fangs into Scott's shoulder. The Enforcer fought back, twisting
round to grab Gabriel by the collar.

Gabriel felt the silver cuffs
burn into his flesh, draining his powers, but he fought against the
pain.

If he had to kill them all to
get out, he would.

No one kept him from his Eva.

He glanced up and saw that
Bryn's gun was trained on him.

Gabriel moved even before he
heard the first shot.

The door slammed wide open as
Bryn squeezed off another shot. Gabriel jerked out of the way,
feeling the bullet nick his ear. There was two silver bullets in the
wall behind him.

“
Uncuff him.”

Scott and Bryn shouted in
protest, “Jett!”

The Head Enforcer strode into
the room, his expression grim. “Can you locate Eva Stone?”
he asked Gabriel point blank.

Gabriel met Jett's stern,
angry eyes and saw that the human was trying his best to reign in his
temper and his frustration. Time was running out. A human police
officer was held hostage by a dangerous rogue paranormal, and the
chances of her being found alive was diminishing as the seconds
ticked by.

“
Yes. She is my mate,”
Gabriel answered frankly.

“
You know Vonetta
Imotez?”

“
Yes.” Gabriel
closed his eyes briefly. “She was my betrothed, when...we were
both human.”

“
She's not human now,”
Jett said, his lips twisting. “But she sure has taken a lot of
humans and paranormals.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
She's been linked to a
series of murders in the city. The victims were all found naked and
completely drained in their beds. But they all died with a smile on
their faces. We knew a succubus was at work, a vampiric one.
Vonetta Imotez, or Madam Von as she's known to her clients, is at the
top of our list of suspects. But she's good at keeping herself
hidden. Real good.”

The news shook Gabriel to the
core. “It's my fault...” he whispered. “She did
what she had to do, to survive.”

Jett snorted. “Do you
really think that? I have demons, succubi, incubi, vampires, all
kinds of blood-sucking paranormals in my Enforcement Unit. They do
what they have to do to survive, but they don't kill. They take what
they need, no more. Vonetta takes what she
wants
. There's a
big difference.”

Jett turned and saw Bryn
glaring at him. “What?” he frowned.

“
You never briefed us
about your number one suspect.”

“
Only a small team of
elite Enforcers were given access to that list. Those are very
dangerous rogues, Bryn, and I don't want to run the risk of some
reckless rookies going after these dangerous elements on their own,”
Jett said quickly.

“
Reckless rookies,”
Bryn deadpanned, her eyes narrowing.

Jett wisely decided not to
respond. Instead, he turned to Gabriel and snapped, “Can you
mist my Enforcers to where Eva is?”

“
No.”

Jett raised a brow.

“
I go alone.”

“
We are not letting you
walk free, vampire,” Jett answered.

“
I have to go alone, if
Eva is to live. If Vonetta senses an ambush, she will kill Eva on
the spot. I won't risk Eva's life,” he said firmly.

“
Jett, don't believe
him. He's a lying, murdering rogue!” Scott rushed forward.
“He hurt my cousin's mate!”

Jett turned his appraising,
astute eyes on Gabriel. “Yes. You did take Levi's mate, and
hurt and humiliated her for shits and giggles. Perhaps I should have
let Levi kill you to avenge his mate, instead of sending Bryn in to
stop him...”

“
Let me save Eva. And I
will return. You have my word. Just let me save Eva, and Levi can
have my head.”

Jett exhaled a long breath,
and glanced at Scott.

As soon as Jett's eyes left
him, Gabriel made his move.

The silver cuffs slowed him
down and weakened him, but he was still incredibly fast. In a blink,
he had looped his cuffs around Bryn's neck, and was pressing her
against him. The silver burned against her neck, and she gasped, but
he didn't loosen his hold.

Jett and Scott had their guns
out. “Let her go, Gabriel,” Jett said, his voice flat.

Gabriel looked straight at
Jett. “Wouldn't you do anything to save her? You wouldn't let
her die, would you? If she got hurt because of you...”
Gabriel let his voice trail off. It gave him no pleasure to hurt the
feisty female vampire, who was struggling valiantly against him. But
she was no match for him. She was a young vampire, so the silver
would burn and weaken her far more than him. He knew that it must be
excruciating for her to have the silver against her bare skin, but
not once did she cry out.

Jett's gun was steady in his
hands, but Gabriel could tell that he was barely breathing.

“
I don't want to hurt
her, but I will if I have to,” Gabriel said to Jett in a low
voice. “I know you can't bear to see her hurt.” Gabriel
tightened his grip on Bryn and smiled, letting the human know that he
wouldn't hesitate to carry out his threat.

Gabriel could kill his
precious little vampire in a heartbeat.

“
How would you feel if
you saw her die?” Gabriel said, his eyes locked on Jett.

“
Let her go,” Jett
repeated through gritted teeth.

“
Uncuff me. Let me save
Eva.”

Jett's eyes never left
Gabriel. He turned his head slightly to issue the order to Scott,
“Release him.”

“
But...”

Jett's voice was very quiet,
but his command was clear. “Now.”

Scott holstered his gun with a
scowl, and stalked angrily towards Gabriel. Bryn had gone very
still, but Gabriel wasn't taking any chances. He would only let her
go when his cuffs fell away from his wrists.

Once Scott unlocked his silver
cuffs, Gabriel gave Jett a curt nod. “You kept your word,
human. I'll keep mine. I will return.”

Jett snarled and lunged
forward to grab Bryn.

Gabriel released her into
Jett's arms and misted away.

Gabriel sped through the city,
reaching for Eva with his mind. He could sense her, feel her pain,
anger and confusion, and feel every hammering beat of her heart. She
was so near. He just had to connect with her mind and her heart...

Eva, where are you?

He could almost reach her.

I will find you, Eva!

Then he saw her face.

Just for an instant. He saw
her wide gray eyes and her pale, quivering face. Her braid had come
undone, her red hair loose and wild around her. Her lips were
moving, as though she was trying to say something, to speak to him
across that vast distance.

There was just the briefest
flicker of fear before everything went blank again.

He had sensed her, connected
with her, but just as quickly, she had closed her mind and her heart
and blocked him, as if she didn't want him to find her. Why wouldn't
she want to be found? She had to know that Vonetta would kill her.
She was afraid, but her fear wasn't for herself. She feared for him,
for his life.

Eva was trying to protect him
by blocking him.

The realization smashed into
him like a wrecking ball. His concentration slipped and he half
materialized in the middle of the highway, right in the path of a
blaring eighteen wheeler. He pulled back into mist just in time and
the truck roared away.

Eva cared for him.

“
I can't be with you,
Gabriel.”

No, no, she was wrong. She
could be with him. He would make it right. He would make everything
right, for her, for them.

Gabriel turned his thoughts
forcefully to Vonetta. He had tasted her blood. He would be able to
reach her.

As soon as he focused on
Vonetta, he heard a derisive laughter in his head.

Come to me, Gabriel.

I'm waiting for you.

Eva felt her cheek pressing
against a cold surface. She blinked hard to focus her blurry vision.
Every muscle in her body protested as she tried to push herself up.
As she became aware of her surroundings, she realized that she was
lying on a tabletop. In a panic, she scrambled off the polished
black marble top and backed into the wall.

Hyperventilating, Eva pressed
her back against the wall and squinted in the dim, flickering light.
There was a long dining table in the middle of the room, and she saw
two golden goblets and a thick red candle on the table. The candle
flame danced wildly even though the air was completely still. It
threw its eerie red light across the room, creating shadows and
scuttling figures. Eva's eyes darted to and fro, trying to follow
every movement, real or imaginary. But there was no one in the room
with her. It looked like she was alone, at least for now.

The scent of blood hung heavy
in the air and the black walls seemed to close in on her, making it
difficult to breathe.

With her back still against
the wall, she scanned the room quickly, trying to find a door or a
window. But the entire room was made up of an endless expanse of
black walls. There was no door, no exit, no visible means of escape.

Her fingers scrabbled
desperately around her wrist, and she felt a long, ridged scar
encircling her wrist.

With a gasp, she jerked her
hand up, wincing as she examined the scar on her wrist. It looked
like someone had slit her wrist just recently and her wound had been
roughly and forcibly seared shut.

Cradling her shaking hand
close to her body, she stared at the long marble table. The table
legs looked like they were fashioned out of pure gold. Golden claws
glinted at the end of the table legs, and the black marble top had
streaks of red running across the entire surface. The sinewy red
lines seemed to thrum and throb, like hundreds of veins.

Warily, Eva inched towards the
table and peered into the goblets. One was empty, but one was filled
with a deep red liquid.

Eva reeled back, and stared at
the badly healed scar on her wrist in horror. Making a small,
strangled sound at the back of her throat, she backed away from the
table.

“
What is this?”
she whispered. “What do you want?” The echo of her
whisper carried around the cavernous room, mocking her, taunting her.

Was she supposed to drink her
own blood?

Was this some sort of sick
joke, some perverted entertainment?

Eva walked slowly round the
table, glaring at the shadows and the silent, black walls. “Show
yourself,” she hissed. “Come out and face me, Vonetta!
What is this place? Why have you taken me here?”

Eva held her breath and
waited. All she heard was her own thunderous heartbeat.

Slowly, Eva ran her hands
along the wall, feeling her way around the room. There had to be a
door hidden somewhere. She just had to find it. If she couldn't see
it, perhaps she could feel it. She just needed to feel the tiniest
crack or unevenness in the wall. There had to be an opening.

She scanned the high, dark
ceiling and the polished tiles on the floor. How did she get here?
And more importantly, how would she get out?

Eva aimed a kick at the wall
and scowled. A couple more kicks and punches were launched against
the wall, but she made not a dent. Eva rubbed her knuckles and
huffed. Panting, she blinked at the blood red flame and the
illuminated goblet in front of it.

On a whim, on instinct, she
snatched up the goblet and hurled the contents over the flame.

There was a loud whoosh as the
flame flared up, sizzling and crackling. Tongues of fire snaked out
to devour every drop of the spilled blood. The flames swirled and
spiraled across the table, consuming the blood in a frenzy. The
blood seemed to be feeding the fire, letting it burn brighter,
higher, hotter, until the whole tabletop was covered with leaping
flames. Shadows danced and writhed in the middle of the flames, as
the dark flames reached out for Eva with greedy, grasping fingers.