Kel swiveled to follow his line of vision and smiled deviously. A cute little blonde was at the counter, obviously ordering something to go. She was smiling and laughing at the young man behind the counter. Glancing back at Raife, she could see that his eyes were glued to the woman.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
Raife jerked and fixed his amber eyes on her. “Sheridan,” he said in warning, “don’t.” His mouth snapped shut when Kel stuck her fingers in her mouth and gave a piercing whistle.
Everyone in the deli turned to look, including the little blonde. Kel waved at the woman, motioning her over.
Raife sighed in resignation.
“Raife?” The little blonde’s voice was sweet, Kel thought. Her face was sweet, with large blue eyes. She was just…sweet.
“Katya. What are you doing in this part of the city? Does your uncle know you’re here?” There was censure in his voice and Kel raised a brow. This was a side of her partner that she’d never seen.
Kel kicked out one of the empty chairs toward the woman. “Sit, Katya. Tell us what’s up.”
Katya shot her a look, sizing her up. That surprised Kel, too. The woman already considered Raife hers and was measuring Kel to determine if she was competition. Did all the Arcane obsess about mating? Her delicate nostrils flared, and her sweet little smile returned. She must have come to the decision that Kel was no threat.
Raife’s little Katya seemed all sweet and innocent, but Kel had no doubt the woman would have jumped her in a heartbeat if she’d been after Raife.
Katya gracefully lowered herself into the chair. “Yes, Uncle Leif is aware I am here. I’m here to speak to a client. What happened to you, Raife?” Her voice was soft as she leaned forward to touch the dark bruise on his cheek. Raife jerked back out of her reach. The little blonde seemed hurt.
“It’s nothing,” he muttered, staring down at his food.
“I kicked his ass,” Kel said glibly as she smiled at the blonde, who flashed her a dangerous look. She was definitely Sanguen but there was a scent of something else there, too. Interesting. “And I’ll do it again if you think he needs it.”
She smiled again. “You must be his partner.”
Kel jammed some salty chips into her mouth with a nod. A sense of unease suddenly descended on her, like the temperature in the room had dropped a couple of degrees. She scanned the busy deli to determine its source. She had good instincts and hers were screaming at her right now. The multitude of conversations going on around her sharpened, the volume increasing. It felt like a swarm of bees was buzzing in her ears and she shook her head.
“What’s going on?”
Raife had sat forward, his eyes alert as they did a quick scan of the place. He shifted his body closer to the little blonde.
“I’m not sure,” Kel muttered as she glanced around again. The feeling surged in her and she felt ice solidify down her spine. A strong sense of despair swamped her and she felt sick.
“Kel?” Raife said with increased alarm as his hand wrapped around the blonde’s arm.
“I’m not sure.” Kel panted. “It feels – oh!” Kel doubled over as pain sliced through her stomach. Gabe! Gabe was in trouble…hurt. She knew it with a surety that she didn’t dare question. On the heels of that certainty came the knowledge that she could shimmer right to him. Her body strained to do just that.
Sweat trickling down her forehead, she shot another panicked glance around the deli. “It’s Gabe. He’s in trouble. I have to go.”
“Hell.” Raife glanced around. “You can’t just disappear. This is as public as it gets.”
Katya watched their exchange silently and then suddenly let out an unearthly screech. Raife started as his hand tightened around her arm. He shot a look at her and looked around her for the source of her disturbance.
When all eyes were on her, Katya stood and pointed out the window excitedly. “It’s Brad Pitt. Oh my God. Brad Pitt.” As one, all eyes followed her direction, searching for the star.
Raife rolled his eyes, one hand going to his chest, but when he turned around Kel was gone.
TRACE RAINIER WHISTLED through his teeth. “A spontaneous bonding? I didn’t know the elders allowed it anymore, ever since that damn disease struck our race.”
Gabe shook his head. Trace was his closest friend and House marshal to the Rainier House. He was a second son and still stood the chance to become doyen unless his elder brother, who currently held the position, bonded. His friend was as dedicated to his House as his brother but broke out in a sweat at the thought of becoming doyen.
Trace had agreed to meet him outside a school just beyond the Rainier House complex. Some of the House children attended and Trace was keeping a close eye on them since the disappearances of the others a few months ago.
“Have you told your elders yet?” Trace asked.
Gabe sighed. “Not yet. It’s complicated.” Complicated was a very mild word that didn’t adequately define his and Kel’s situation. “She’s a crossbreed.”
“Complicated, hell.” Trace pressed a look to his friend. “It’s impossible. No offense, but the Ferrars are as puritanical as you can get. What are you going to do?”
He hadn’t decided yet. His commitment to his people had been the single most driving force in his life. Until Kel. What
was
he going to do? All he knew was what he wasn’t going to do and that was let Kel go. There were just a few details to work out; like where they would live and whether or not he was still a member of the Ferrar House. He didn’t want to think about that probability. Would the elders move for an interdict banning him from the House over allowing a crossbreed in? Everything seemed to be secondary to finding the maniac killing these young girls but eventually he would have to face the seemingly insurmountable problems. What then?
“Exactly,” Trace responded when Gabe didn’t answer.
“There’s not much of a choice,” Gabe bit out. Even if he wanted to leave her he couldn’t. It was her blood and hers alone he craved. And he’d tried. He’d tried to drink from another but his stomach rebelled at the thought. Was that another characteristic of biological bonding?
“Well, hell man, you know we’d accept both you and your bloodmate into our House.” And they would. The Rainiers were not even remotely as stringent with the rules as the Ferrars were. They allowed their mixed blood to remain as a part of the House.
Gabe’s smile was tight. “Thanks. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that. Besides, even if the elders allow the bond, my mate may not want to be a part of the House. I’m not even sure she’s very enthusiastic about being my mate.” He rolled his shoulders beneath the helpless fury that swamped him when he thought of what Kel must have endured those couple of years. “She was of the Ferrar House as a child but was sent to a Triumvirate home.”
Trace shot him a look. Obviously his friend was aware of what went on in the homes. “Just be patient, man,” Trace said carefully. “We get some of those kids.”
Gabe tensed, debating on revealing more. “She has nightmares about that time, I think. She won’t share with me.”
“No offense, Gabe, but why should she?” Gabe sent him a dark look but Trace only shook his head. “Just because you’ve shared blood? Really. It takes our girls years to handle what happened to them in those hellholes. Years. Don’t be surprised she doesn’t want to share the lowest points of her life with you, especially if she’s gotten past it and wants to leave it behind.”
Gabe closed his eyes with a growl. “She’s not past it. I can feel it. I can feel all of it, but can’t do anything about it. She won’t let me in.”
Trace studied him for a long moment and shook his head. “No. Thank. You. I’m so glad Dex has the responsibility of the next generation because I wouldn’t touch the bonding thing with a ten-foot pole. I’ll keep my blooding options open and my own veins closed.”
They stood there for long moments in companionable silence, watching the kids play outside for recess. A warm breeze ruffled the children’s hair as they rushed over and around the playground equipment. A petite little girl with long dark hair caught his eyes. Would a child of theirs have dark hair? Perhaps a little girl with those dark liquid eyes. He would love to hold Kel’s little body against him and feel their child grow beneath the soft flesh of her belly. Would they ever get to a point where that was possible?
“So, I know you didn’t come down this way to watch kids play. What’s the word on the case?”
Gabe blinked himself back to the present. “It doesn’t look good. We had another girl, same age group, same mixed race, show up in a local park. She’d been nearly completely drained of blood. I want to get permission to speak with the parents again.”
Trace drew a deep breath in. “I don’t know, man. Those people have gone through enough. Unless you have something good to offer, like hope, I don’t know that it would be worth it. What new info do you think you’ll find out?”
“To tell you frankly, Trace, we’re grasping. It’s been nearly a week since the last and the clock is ticking. His last grab was less than a month before that. His time is shrinking between each girl and I think he’s going to snatch another soon. Our only lead is MIA. To make matters worse I think the bastard is from my own House.” Gabe ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
“Sorry, man. I don’t think Dex or the elders will go for it and I don’t know that I blame them. Still, keep me up on anything new. Once you catch this bastard and I can relax a little, I’d like to come up and meet your woman.”
They shook hands and Gabe shimmered back to Incog. His meeting with Trace had gone much faster than he’d anticipated and he knew Kel would still be having lunch with that Drachon. They were friends. He sensed affection for the Drachon in her. It grated, rousing the new beast that seethed beneath his skin where she was involved, but he had to accept it. He could almost hear that sexy voice of hers telling him as much in that blunt way she had.
Gabe pulled out the chair to his borrowed desk, adjacent to Kel’s, and opened the file to look through it with unseeing eyes. Everything about her was sexy from her belly-baring shirts to that cute little very untraditional diamond stud in her nose. Propping his elbows on the desktop he steepled his fingers as a small smile curled his lips.
She was an unending source of contradictions. She acted as though she wasn’t affected by the things she saw but she volunteered her free time at a local center for unwanted crossbreeds. Outside the bedroom she was cool and sarcastic but at night her hot little body could ignite him, turning him to ashes with little effort.
“Marshal?”
Gabe straightened and frowned at the young woman standing over him fidgeting with a piece of paper. “What?” He answered a bit harsher than he intended.
“It’s a message for Agent Sheridan. I was just going to leave it on her desk but…” The woman motioned to the desk and that small smile threatened again. There were piles of folders and papers thrown haphazardly all over the surface. Empty paper coffee cups were stacked in a precarious pyramid off to one side. If the woman left the message, Kel might never find it in that mess.
“I’ll take it for her, thank you.” Gabe managed to sound a bit more pleasant and the woman blushed before scampering off. With a shake of his head he opened the folded paper, scanned the words, and cursed. With a glance at his watch he reached down to grab his jacket.
The note from Kel’s contact said the blood dealer would be making an exchange in less than twenty minutes. The address didn’t look familiar to him but he didn’t have time to call Kel. This might be the only opportunity they had to get their hands on the bastard. Once there, he knew he could make the bastard talk. Of that he had no doubt.
Gabe had the cab driver drop him off a good two blocks up from the location the message indicated and he carefully walked in closer. He didn’t want to alert the dealer to his approach and ruin his chances of catching him. The sun was high in the sky but this particular part of town was cast in shadow from the towering apartment buildings. It was the perfect drop. Centrone knew he and Kel were looking for him and probably assumed they wouldn’t suspect he’d make a drop in full sunlight.
Listening carefully, he ran his gaze up the sides of the building. Clothing hung on lines stretched between them and each flutter attracted his attention. He wanted this over, wanted to fulfill his innate obligation to his House and its people by eliminating the threat that lived among them. Once done he could work on this thing between him and Kel. He wanted this case removed from their equation so they could focus on them and what the future held.
In the short time he’d known her she’d become such an integral part of him, from her sharp sarcasm to those little soft sounds she breathed into his ear when he moved inside her. She was nothing he’d ever wanted and yet everything he would ever need. Just thinking of her woke his body, and he felt that familiar tightening in his groin. She was such a dangerous distraction.
Gabe was so caught up in his thoughts of her he never saw them coming.
The sharp smell of vinegar assaulted his nose just moments before they attacked. He didn’t even have time to pull his blades before they were on him. They were strong and fast. Obviously using Guardian blood. They surrounded him, simultaneously jabbing at him with the knives clutched in their fists and then shimmering out of reach. His entire body felt on fire from the painful burn of knives sinking into his stomach and sides and back. He went down on one knee. One of his blades skidded across the concrete as he tried to pull it out.
Then she was there. Her scent was sweet in the fog of the acrid vinegar smell of the attacking Sanguen. With one hand clutching at his abdomen, he blinked against the blur of his eyesight and tried to get a clear image of her. She slowly leaned down and picked up his blade, rose to her feet, and lifted her head. Gone was the liquid brown of her eyes. In their place was the inky blackness that promised death.
She shimmered next to him where the Sanguen had converged on him. It had happened so quickly he wasn’t even sure how many there were. He’d been too eager, too careless. In one smooth move she buried the blade in the stomach of a Sanguen that leered at her with a bloodied knife clenched in one fist. The force of her movement lifted him up off his feet, effectively wiping the smirk off his face. Blood sprayed from the attacker’s mouth on her face but she didn’t even blink as she flicked him off the length of the blade.