Authors: Ciana Stone
Chapter Nine
I'm in love. With a Vampire. Damn, that sounds like the start of a romance novel. That makes me laugh. I never – not in a million years— would have dreamed that something like this could be real.
Vampires are real. It's freaking unbelievable. And they're not what we thought. Well, they are, in a way. Augustus says that some Vampires are not strong enough to endure a lot of direct sunlight. Something about a genetic thing and whether they're full blood or mixed race. Therefore, they are more nocturnal. I guess those are the Vampires who spawned the tales of the undead.
He's not bothered at all by the sun. Like today. He's mustering cattle. What a word. Mustering. I didn't have a clue what it was and couldn't Google it so I had him explain it to me.
There's a heck of a lot more to being a cowboy than I realized. I should have taken notes. Right now it's all a blur. I remember something about his horse being one of the best at drawing cattle. I think that means the horse is really good at making cows look at him and come toward him, but I could be wrong.
Augustus said he had two guys who were top-notch herd holders. What a term. According to him that means they're good a keeping the herd grouped or in control while a cutter works.
Cutter. Kind of a harsh word. I was scared that had something to do with knives, but he says a cutter is the one who focuses on a single cow that needs to be separated from the herd.
Apparently, he's a cutter.
I really need to make notes on all of this and get him to tell me more. It sure would help in the book I just started. Yeah, I couldn't resist. A Vampire cowboy.
A knock at the door had Layla getting up from the sofa. She'd spent the last two hours lost in writing. Augustus had provided her with a laptop and since he was often busy with The Seven business, she'd started a new tale.
She wasn't ready for him to know the contents of her new story since it was based upon the two of them, but she was addicted to it and spent all her free time writing. Layla was shocked at how easy she'd fallen into her new lifestyle. She hadn't been online for several weeks and didn't even miss it.
Considering that she'd been a Facebook and Twitter addict that was saying something. She'd once joked that it would be like getting off drugs to give up social media. Of course, the fact that he didn't have cable or internet made it easy to go cold turkey.
The only time she'd wanted to go online was two days after her rescue. She'd wakened feeling wonderful. Her body was fully healed and even her mind was at ease. Augustus had admitted that he had been feeding her his blood when she slept. She should have been angry, upset that he acted without her permission. But she felt too good, was too happy to be alive, whole, and filled with creative energy.
Still, she wanted to let her publicist and her family know that she was okay. He'd had someone loyal to him send a group email from an untraceable account saying that she was fine and not to worry. She hoped that was enough.
She opened the door to find Gabriel standing outside. The sight of him always brought a smile to her face. "Gabriel. What are you doing here?"
"Come with me." He took her hand.
"To where?"
"Just come with me."
"But Augustus might come home and –"
"He's mustering cattle. Now come on."
She let him pull her through the door and down the front steps. "Where are we going? Where's your car? How are we supposed—" Her sentence ended in a squeal as he lifted her into his arms, unfurled his wings, and ascended.
"Oh my god!" She clung to him, watching the ground move away from them. "Holy shit – uh sorry, but holy moly."
Gabriel laughed as she let out an excited yell. He executed a few dips and banks that had her squealing like a child in delight. When they landed outside the back porch of the guesthouse, she was flushed with excitement.
"That was the coolest thing
ever
."
He laughed and gave her shoulders a squeeze. "We'll do it again something."
"Oh I hope so. But…" She looked around. "Why did you bring me here?"
"There's something you need to see. Come on."
He took her hand and led her inside to the great room. Inside an oversized armoire was a flat screen television. She hadn't noticed it when she was there before, but then she hadn't spent but a few hours there. She and Augustus stayed at his house and she didn't accompany him when he met his peers.
In fact, she hadn't known Gabriel was still there. All of the other leaders had gone back to their own commands.
He found the remote, turned on the television and changed to CNN. "Okay, so?" She turned her eyes from the television where the newscaster was going on about stock prices to look at him.
"Just wait for it."
She took a seat and watched. Ten minutes into the broadcast, her mouth fell open in shock. Her publicist and her editor were on camera, along with an agent from the FBI. They were asking that anyone with knowledge of her whereabouts to come forward. The agent mentioned that an email had been received stating that she was alive, leading them to believe that further contact would be made, demanding a ransom.
Layla watched in amazement as they told how she was last seen getting into a limo after a successful book signing. Footage was inserted of her on the morning news show giving her glib comment about not objecting to being kidnapped by a drop-dead sexy cowboy who had paranormal abilities.
That was followed by speculation that perhaps her meant-to-be humorous comment had gotten her abducted. Or worse.
Layla looked up at Gabriel when the report ended. "I have to let them know I'm okay."
He didn't make a comment and for a moment she just sat there, chewing her bottom lip. Why hadn't she considered this before? What was wrong with her? Was she so caught up in the fantasy she was living with Augustus that she'd blinded herself to reality?
"I should have let them know. That was stupid. How could I have been so stupid? Of course they were going to be worried – or mad. Maybe at first they just thought I skipped town for – for whatever reason – couldn't handle the attention or – or …"
She jumped up. "I have to call my publicist. Where's the phone?"
Gabriel pointed in the direction of the phone and she crossed the room and picked it up. That's when she realized that she didn't know her publicist's number. It had been programmed into her cell phone.
"Where's my phone?"
"Pardon?"
"When I left the signing and got in that limo I had a shoulder bag with me. My phone and Kindle were in it. Where is it?"
"I don't know."
"Well who does?"
"Augustus."
She considered it for a few moments. "Can you take me to him?"
"I suppose we could find him."
"Then let's go."
"Layla, it might be better if I took you back to his house and you waited for him—"
"No. I want to see him now."
"Okay, it's your funeral."
"Oh,
puleeze
he's not going to kill me because I want to let people know I'm not dead."
"But he might pull my feathers out."
Layla laughed. "Yeah, right. Come on. Please?"
After a melodramatic sigh, Gabriel grinned. "Well, it will rankle him seeing me show up with you in my arms. You want to change first?"
She looked down at the loose cotton sundress she wore. She didn't have a lot of choices. When she'd packed for the signing events, she'd chosen skirts and blouses. This was just a comfortable old dress she'd tossed into her luggage for wearing while she was relaxing at the hotel.
"No, I'm good."
"Okay then, let's do it."
With that, he picked her up and took to the air. Layla marveled at the experience. This really was like a dream, flying over the countryside in the arms of an Angel to find the man she loved. A Vampire. Talk about fact being stranger than fiction.
It took them a bit to locate the herd and when they did, Gabriel circled it several times, allowing Layla the chance to watch what was going on.
She forgot all about soaring above the earth. Watching the cowboys work was fascinating. Four cowboys moved in concert, two on each side of the herd, keeping what looked like several hundred cows grouped and moving in the same direction.
One lone cowboy cut his horse into the herd. Layla gasped as he entered the teaming mass of animals, skillfully weaving his way with and through them. He apparently was focused on a cow whose head was mostly white. Within minutes, he and his horse had caused that one cow to move from the middle of the herd to the edge.
The cowboy drove the cow away from the herd that was steadying moving. Finally, he turned his horse and started back toward the herd.
"Why'd he do that?"
Gabriel leaned a little closer, speaking in her ear. "They cut out the cows that aren't being sent to market."
"Oh. Wow, that was something. Does Augustus have many cowboys that can do that?"
"Most of them can. Some better than others."
"Well that one made it look hot." She felt the flush rise on her face. "Sorry, it's just − well damn, that guy's like sex in a saddle if you know what I mean."
"I'm sure Augustus will be happy to hear that." He started his descent and she twisted in his arms to look at him.
"You can't tell him, Gabriel."
"Why not?"
"Because – because I don't want him thinking I'm lusting after one of his—oh shit."
Gabriel laughed as the subject of their discussion looked up. Augustus reined his horse to a halt and waited for Gabriel to land. "Why're you here?"
Layla gave Gabriel a little pinch on the side as he released her. "You're bad."
"Bad? Have you seen my wings?"
She laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then turned to Augustus. "That was amazing."
"What?"
"The way you made that cow go from the middle of the herd to the edge. I've never seen anything like it. It was—"
"Sex in a saddle." Gabriel said and then laughed when she cut him a look. "Okay, delivery complete. You want me to stay and take her back?"
Augustus took off his hat and smoothed his hair back. "I'll get her home."
"All righty then. I'm outta here. And I do mean out. I'm headed back to California."
"Safe journey, my friend." August reached out and clasped Gabriel's arm just below the elbow and Gabriel followed suit.
It was an unusual but somehow fitting act between the two of them, Layla thought. After all, they were an odd friendship. A Vampire and an Angel.
Gabriel unfurled his wings and rose. Within moments, he'd disappeared into the clouds. Layla turned her attention to Augustus. "I'm really sorry to bother you but –"
"Sex in a saddle?"
Layla had no doubt that her cheeks were probably beet red if the intensity of the flush she felt was any indication. But she wasn't going to deny what she'd said. "Yeah, so?"
"And just who is this sex in a saddle you're referring to?"
"Well damn, Augustus, I guess it was you since that's who we were watching."
He smiled. "I can live with that."
She shook her head. "So even Vampires have male egos that like to be stoked?"
"We have more than egos that like to be stroked."
This time the heat didn't head to her face. She felt it suffuse her entire body. Saints and sinners, if he didn't have the ability to turn her on.
"You're bad."
"I can be."
"Okay, before this gets out of hand, I need something from you."
"What?"
"My cell phone."
"Why?"
"Gabriel took me to the guest house. There was a newscast. My family, my publicist, everyone thinks I'm either dead or being held hostage somewhere. The email you had sent is being looked at like some indication that I'm a prisoner and they're just waiting for a ransom demand. I have to let them know I'm okay."
"Not from your cell phone."
"Why?"
"GPS."
"Oh!" She hadn't considered that. Then, what difference did it really make if anyone knew where she was. She wasn't in danger, being held hostage or anything like that.
"We are days away from signing a treaty with humans, Layla. I can't let anything, not even you, interfere with that. Just give it seventy-two hours and then I will return your phone. Please."
She hated to think about her family worrying about her, but the treaty was something huge. It would change the world.
"So, if you sign the treaty, everyone will be told about you?"
"Yes, there will be a press conference. World governments are mobilizing their military to be on standby, in the off chance that there is trouble."
"Do you think there will be?"
"I don't know. Humans are predictable in some ways and completely unpredictable in others."