“Hmm," Justin mused. "That might work."
"If we think we can take the vampires out by ourselves, do we even need the weres?" Finished with his bagel, Kellan reached a long hand out and snagged a cake doughnut with white icing and multi-colored sprinkles.
"The vampires have a couple more captives. I know I'd demand to be a part of any rescue attempt if it were, say, you guys being held. We can't keep them from joining in. And frankly, the help is welcome." Justin wiped his fingers on a paper napkin.
A knocking at their main entrance had them looking at one another.
"Danny and his gang, already? I haven’t digested yet."
"Don't snarl, Kellan. Let them in - and be nice." Justin raised his eyebrows warningly. Kellan snorted and left the conference room.
Gabriel leaned toward Justin. "What do you expect to gain from this?"
Justin shrugged. "I'm tired of being the only weirdos on the block watching out for our little corner of the world. Is there something wrong with having allies?"
Danny, Sig and Favor came into the room. Danny held himself with quiet confidence as Sig and Favor flanked him. While Gabriel knew they didn't carry guns, he also knew they had weapons much nastier than any gun.
He pushed the box of doughnuts to where they settled, their backs to the windows. "Kellan brought doughnuts."
Danny shook his head, passing the box to Sig. "There's been more demon activity lately. Signs that maybe there’s more than one portal being opened to the Chaos Plane."
"Damn Kendall Sorbis."
"He's branched out from being merely the Sorcerer to the Stars, The Guru of Hollywood, or whatever you want to call him. He's definitely crossed a line. We’ve also got the confirmation that he’s been working with the vampire Satine." Danny sighed. "We're looking for him, but he's gone underground."
Gabriel frowned. "Why would he be opening portals? What's his purpose?" He shifted uneasily.
"Demons, full blooded demons, thrive in chaos," Justin said, his eyes thoughtful. "Any number of creatures out there would love to see Earth drop into chaos." He looked to Danny. "How does this have anything to do with Twisted, Vlad or Satine?"
"We believe Sorbis has been working with both vampires, perhaps independently of each other. I'm telling you now, because we can't keep order in the city by ourselves." Danny steepled his fingers, looking at the three Caines slowly in turn. "I have heard mostly good things about you. And, of course, I owe you a debt beyond measure."
"Your mate continues to be healthy?"
Danny smiled. "Her unborn are fine."
"We've heard little about the were clans in general. You have kept yourselves well hidden," Justin replied.
"For good reason. We as a people have been hunted in the past. Finally our pack had found a measure of peace, until our lupa was captured." Sig bowed his head.
Danny’s golden eyes grew sober. "Chandra tells me our other quickening females are in danger. We will do what we must to bring them out of that place."
Kellan stirred, drawing their attention. "What can a vampire do to a were that will keep her captive?"
Danny turned toward him. "Silver. They are bound with silver. We need your help."
Gabriel studied Danny, brushed his public mind briefly. Felt the man's grief, his fear, touched lightly on the rage that ran deep. He leaned forward and captured Danny's gaze.
"How do you guys feel about explosives?"
Rose paced the length of the small apartment for the umpteenth time. Her headache had receded and she felt strong, but the apartment plus the lack of Gabriel was getting on her nerves.
Maggie looked up, exasperated. "I'm working as fast as I can, Rose. Chill."
"Sorry." Rose smiled, gesturing. "You know, I think I'll take a walk. This is a good neighborhood, right?" Not that it would stop her if it weren't.
"Yeah, go ahead. We're almost out of milk. There's a small grocery on the corner if you turn right at the end of the street. Do you mind?"
"No. That's fine. I just—I’m sorry, but I don't have any money." Rose shoved her hands into her pockets, stifling any embarrassment. She didn’t even want to think how much Gabriel had spent on her the previous day. “I’ve got to get a job.”
"
I'm
sorry." Maggie jumped up and rummaged in her purse. "Here's a twenty, keep the change. And right now, you have a job. We'll figure something out for the long term, I promise."
Rose took the money without a blush. "It all depends on how this ends, right? I mean, I might not make it out alive."
Maggie's eyes sharpened. "Are you worried?"
She shrugged. "I went from a being a drug addict to being dead to being something out of a Laurel K. Hamilton novel. What's to worry about? I won't be long, I promise. Twenty minutes, max. I just – I need some air."
"No problem. Take your time."
Rose flashed a grin. "Back soon." She made her escape.
The day had followed through on the promise of dawn. Clear and sunny, the air had a bite of heat to it that made Rose stretch like a cat before heading down the stairs to the street.
This was living. The streets here were wide and clean, the tang of the ocean lived in every breath she took. Still, the habits of a lifetime stuck with her. She checked out the street both ways before setting a foot on the sidewalk. No dark cars. No ex-lovers hanging around. No otherworldly beasty wanting her for a snack either as far as she could tell.
Rose walked slowly, savoring her solitude. For the first time since she met up with Gabriel Caine, she was alone with time to think.
Save Gabriel. How the hell was she supposed to do that? And she'd sworn to kill Satine, her long-dead cousin, yet another thing to add to the 'how the hell' column.
Not to mention, the demon on her belly would most likely kill her. That was a pretty big glitch in her happy-ever-after plans.
"Fix it? How the hell am I supposed to fix it?"
She'd just about reached the store when her instincts sharpened. She looked up and saw a couple of men standing next to a motorcycle, watching her, and she knew – she just
knew
they weren't human. Fear shot through her and she bolted the other way, ignoring the shouts behind her.
The bike roared a challenge. Panic had her dashing into the small health food store. She fled through the store, out the back and into a courtyard filled with folks having their morning coffee.
Rose bumped into a table, grimaced as hot coffee splashed on her new tee shirt. "Sorry." She edged around the table and fled, ignoring the insults the couple hurled at her retreating back.
She found an opening between two buildings and sped down it. Barely wide enough for her, she drew a breath of relief when it opened out into another courtyard, this one empty.
She stood, panting, trying to calm her wildly beating heart, and listened hard. The motorcycle hadn't gone—she could hear its throaty rumble somewhere to her right. Try though she might, she couldn't hear any footsteps. Damn. Which way?
An alley led to the street to her left. A shopkeeper had just opened his back door, which would take her to the street to her right. He looked kindly, so she ran that way and passed him before he could finish his "good morning".
She didn't see him stick his cane out, didn't see his hand come down to push her to the ground, but her instincts had her diving for the doorway into a somersault and back on her feet, the nice man now cursing at her back. She ran through the darkened shop, sparing a quick glance behind her.
She ran right into a wall of flesh.
Rose's head jerked up as his hands closed about her arms and lifted her to his face. He was a big demon, his skin the faded color of dying grass, his eyes a snapping black with blue flares.
Rage filled her, smothering any fear. A wild energy crackled through her. Flame licked along her skin, causing the demon holding her to yelp and drop her hastily. She moved all the way down, rolling in a backwards somersault to come up on her feet again, an ability she hadn't been aware of before.
It was different from changing into the demon. This was an understanding from deep inside what to do with the energy, with the flame. She knew now how to shape it, how to throw it, so she did, tossing a hastily formed ball of fire at the demon in front of her. It spattered against his broad chest and the flames stuck, licked at its clothes. Surprised, his bellowing reaction shook the building.
She threw another fireball at him but missed, catching stacks of paper on fire. Rose knew fire, breathed it, lived it, became it until she felt herself breaking into pieces of flame, each one holding strength and destruction until the full horror of what she could do fell upon her and she came back to herself, shuddering, flames still licking at her palms. A bucket of water dumped on her from behind.
Shocked at the cold and wet, enraged, Rose put her burning hands out against her damp tee shirt and kicked out behind her, catching the fat proprietor right in the balls.
He groaned and fell to his knees just as his front door opened. Rose faced the newcomers with her hands fisted and her eyes filled with fire.
The blond walked with a feline grace that had Rose narrowing her eyes. His signature energy brushed up against hers, like rubbing velvet the wrong way. A were. She remembered the sensation from the club. Two more weres stood at his back. She struggled to find the flame inside her, but the water had effectively dowsed her ability.
"Well now, my sweet, sweet Rose Walters," said the newcomer, his voice a combination of amusement and respect. "Let's go for a ride, shall we?"
"Why should I go with you?" Rose coughed. Her throat felt like fire and tasted of smoke.
He raised his eyebrows. "You'd rather stay here, with these two?" Flames crackled behind him.
He had a point. Rose lifted her chin, ignoring the water dripping off her hair. "What's your name?"
"Chazz." He stepped forward, offered her his handkerchief. "Wipe yourself down. I don't want you dripping all over me as we go."
She took the handkerchief, wiped herself off as well as she could, wringing the water out of her hair. She dug into her jeans pocket, pulled out a band and tied her hair back. "Satisfied?"
"Not yet," he said with a leer, openly eyeing her damp shirt, her nipples poking through her bra. "But at least you're not dripping. Come with me."
Furiously discarding option after option, she nodded, her face carefully blank. "After you."
"Oh no," he said. "After you."
“Very well.” As she passed the burning papers by the door, she made a gesture and the fire went out, returned to her with a brief shock through her palm. Fire once again was hers, the water now vapor on her body. Oh. So
that's
how it worked.
Chazz prodded her, and she realized she'd come to a standstill. "Get moving."
Rose obliged, her feet carrying her to the other two men in the doorway. They took her, one on each arm, and walked into the hot sunshine.
The sun brought fire back to her and she flamed. The weres holding her yelped and dropped her. Without hesitation, Rose took off down the street, a streak of flame in the morning sun. Did they think she was
stupid
? She reached out to Gabriel as she ran.
Hey. Whatcha doin’? Got time to come to my rescue?