Page 43 of Terror at the Gates

Gabriel stuck his hand out, blocking Esther’s glass. “It’s bad luck to toast with water.”

“Well, I can’t have alcohol,” she said.

“Here.” He rose to his feet and ran into the kitchen for another glass. When he returned, he poured some of his cocktail into it for the toast.

“You and your superstitions,” Esther said.

“I’d rather be safe than sorry,” he said. “All right. ToLily!”

“To Lily,” said Esther.

I smiled as I raised my glass, clinking it against theirs, relieved that despite whatever they thought about my new job, they were still willing to celebrate with me.

We talked and laughed as we ate, and I found myself feeling an overwhelming amount of gratitude for these two people who had invited me into their home without question the moment I’d moved to Nineveh. I was even more thankful because their kindness had nothing to do with my name. Esther and Gabriel, they cared aboutme.

That was more than I could say for Zahariev.

After dinner, I helped Gabriel do the dishes and then got ready to leave.

“I’ll call you a cab,” he said as I gathered my things.

“I can walk,” I said.

“No can do, baby girl,” he said. “If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself, and Zahariev would also kill me, so there is that.”

I doubted that, mostly because my father would have Zahariev’s head before he could even give those orders, but I didn’t say that.

I hugged Esther and then placed both my hands on her stomach, whispering goodbye to Liam.

“Come back soon,” she said. “You are always welcome.”

“I will,” I said. “Thank you…for everything.”

“I’ll walk you down,” said Gabriel.

Esther followed us to the door. Halfway down the hall, I turned to wave goodbye. “I love you!”

“I love you too, my dear,” she said.

In the elevators, Gabriel and I stood on opposite sides. He slouched against the wall with his hands in his pocketslike he wasn’t able to hold himself up anymore.

“You made her day,” he said. “Thank you.”

I smiled. “I’m glad I finally—” I couldn’t finish my sentence without yawning. Like Gabriel, my exhaustion had finally caught up with me. “Got to visit.”

Gabriel chuckled. “I think we could both use some sleep.”

“You can say that again,” I muttered as the doors slid open.

Hopefully I was done with nightmares.

As we exited the building, the smell of rain slammed into us. I wrinkled my nose. Rain in Nineveh was different from rain in Hiram. In Hiram, because of all the greenery, it smelled earthy and clean. Here, it smelled faintly chemical. Suddenly, what Gabriel had said about Abram dying from something environmental didn’t seem so far-fetched.

Maybe the blade was just a coincidence.

Gabriel walked me to the waiting taxi and spoke to the driver, giving him my address.

“Don’t leave until she’s safely inside,” he said, slipping him a few more dollars. He opened the rear door, and I climbed in. “See you later, baby girl,” he said.