Page 15 of The Huntress (The Blood of Legends #1)

Chapter Fifteen

DISINTEGRATING LIFE

G abriel listened to her, but her words didn’t alarm him. He understood what Callie was thinking, so he didn’t take her words to heart.

She was infiltrating the suckblood community, knowing she would become a vampire like him. Her priorities would have to shift, but for now, she needed a reason to remain with him, one her partner would understand. She was walking a fine line between both worlds, yet she had no choice but to crossover. The how and when were the unknown factors. He needed her to become his sooner—his throbbing erection wouldn’t abide. He ached to hold her, to inhale her scent, to claim her, both body and soul.

There’d been only one time in his history when he’d been this tempted.

Abigail.

He hadn’t thought about her in years, and now three times in two days. The dull ache in his chest was less intrusive, as if he needn’t mourn her loss anymore. As if, at last, he was free of the guilt. She hadn’t chosen him then, preferring to lose her life than be with him. Her rejection had scarred his soul, dropped him in a morass of misery that made his violent conversion pale in comparison.

Yet here, on this day, he had spoken the Rite of Adsumo over a woman, one whose honor and internal fire made him breathless. She’d chosen him—repeatedly—having decided he was worthy, and defended him to his brother.

His bold, fearless Callie was worth the centuries of loneliness he’d endured. Despite her blood demanding he save her, he might’ve claimed her anyway.

Could he afford to grant her a few days to think this over when it was a done deal in his mind? He sighed, vaulting in the air to trail her police vehicle. He swerved and manipulated the air currents to maintain a steady speed.

She would have the illusion of freedom—it was all he could offer her.

When he was younger, he might have held her captive, convincing her to stay after vigorous bouts of sex and copious amounts of pheromones. With Callie, he wanted her to choose him of her own free will. Once he had that, her heart would follow.

His breath caught at the idea of love.

So elusive yet yearned for, and across his long life, he’d experienced many forms of it.

Never had he wanted a woman with this intensity. Should he question it as she did?

She climbed out of the car as soon as Mike pulled up outside an apartment building.

Gabriel shrouded himself to hide from her. She mustn’t know he guarded her, not wanting her to misread his actions as a lack of trust. His warning had fallen on deaf ears. She hadn’t heard the whispered comments in the hall. Many planned to sample her blood, and along with feedings, came lust. The thought of someone other than him, feeding on her, touching her, fired fury through him. He trembled trying to contain it.

This reaction, as intense and breathtaking as it was, shouldn’t occur, not this soon. She had the right to ask for time. The madness of his emotions didn’t mean he had to leave her unprotected.

She trudged up the stairs, exhaustion dragging her feet. Locking her door behind her, as if that could keep out a vamp, she threw back a glass of scotch, peeled off her clothes, and slid between the sheets. He caught the curve of her breast and the indent of her waist before shifting shadows beneath her window drew his focus.

“You’re being an idiot.” Leo appeared beside him, staring out her balcony window.

Gabriel closed his eyes before tilting his head to look at him. “How did you know I’d be here?”

Leo pursed his lips, his eyebrow arched. “I am all-knowing?” He chuckled. “I read Callie’s intentions when she left Val.”

“She’s not taking the Rite seriously.”

“What do you expect? She’s trained to distrust instant love or lust? She’s expecting her future husband to woo her or, at least, date her.” Leo shook his head, a smile lingering. “Start with flowers, specialized daggers for her arsenal, maybe the finest bottle of scotch?”

“Buy her love?” Gabriel didn’t like that idea. Although, the possibility of her smile when she received something from him made him consider Leo’s advice.

Leo sighed as if Gabriel tested his patience. “It keeps you in her thoughts. Have you learned nothing about women?”

Gabriel grunted. “When I have an urge, I see to it.”

“You caveman.” Leo chuckled as he flicked his fingers and broke the necks of the vamps landing on her balcony. “We don’t upskill them as well as we should.”

Gabriel grunted. “They don’t fear the ancients either.”

Leo gestured to the couch behind him. “Her dad’s leather chair is quite comfortable.” He dissolved into a fine mist and passed through the glass.

With a sweeping glance at the horizon and the streets below, Gabriel ambled into her room to ensure she slept well. His phone vibrated. Leo had texted him Callie’s number. He smiled, choosing to slide down a wall until his backside hit the carpet.

He’d guard her from here, and should she awaken, for whatever reason, he could shroud himself. Was this crossing a boundary, intruding on her personal space? Yes, without a doubt, but he couldn’t see an alternative short of using witchcraft.

He’d have to consult with someone since his past attempts at charms had backfired. This was the safer option, and sleepless days lay ahead for him.

He kept his gaze on her, finding her soft breathing and her steady heartbeat as she slept peaceful.

A whisper of sound whipped his attention to the balcony. He vaulted to his feet, blurring as he ran. Launching with his arm extended, he caught the vamp by the neck and leaped through the opened sliding door.

“Which part of the Rite did you not understand?” Fury strangled his throat and his fangs extended, dimpling his bottom lip. He dug his nails into the man’s throat, fighting his instincts to kill.

The male vamp wheezed-laughed, wrapping his fingers around the grip Gabriel had on his throat. “My part is done.”

He snapped the man’s neck and released him to tumble hundreds of feet to the road below. Casting a glance at the sprawled body, he shot back, bursting through the door and into her room to find a female vamp leaning over Callie.

He yanked her away, tightening his hold on her shirt so she wouldn’t slam into the wall. He spun the vamp, pinning her to his chest with a forearm around her throat. “I’m tempted to kill you, and rid our stronghold of your stupidity.” He kept his voice below a whisper, at a level only vampires could hear.

Whispering an incantation, one of the few he knew well, prevented her from misting. He extended his nails until they were as sharp as daggers. Muttering a command, they glowed orange.

He sliced her chest. She screamed, but he muffled it with a hand across her mouth. Hot blood dampened her T-shirt and saturated his senses with the bitter aroma.

“Find Leo and ask him to heal you from my melios , or you will scar.”

She gasped, writhing within his arms. He released her, and she staggered.

Tension trembled his body and tightened every muscle. “Return here and I will kill you, weakling.”

Gabriel trailed her to the sliding door, watching as she vaulted down to her accomplice. He closed the door and settled into the leather chair. He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling as he calmed his ragged breathing. It had been a long time since he’d battled and enjoyed the adrenaline spicing his blood

After the fourth attempt, he risked it and wove an incantation at her doors and windows. If it backfired, anything could happen at any time. He hoped they weren’t here when it did.

Callie stretched, sighing at how well she’d slept. With Val no longer at death’s door, the constant worry had evaporated. She should’ve lost sleep over her odd day and looming decision for or against Gabe, but she hadn’t.

A shimmer, nothing defined, caught her attention—but she dismissed it as sleep in her eyes. Her instincts weren’t warning her and besides, she didn’t want to deal with anything before coffee.

Throwing her feet off the bed, she padded naked to the kitchen. She shivered, as a cool breeze disturbed the air around her. Pausing in a pool of sunlight, she allowed its warmth to engulf her. Singing under her breath and shaking her hips, she started a pot of coffee.

In passing, she ran her fingers over the back of Dad’s chair as if to say morning, before disappearing into her bathroom. Stepping under the hot spray, thoughts of the day ahead merged with her open case on Carter. Not wanting her lack of progress to dampen her mood, she hurried through her ablutions.

With towels wrapped around her body and hair, she poured a coffee, then curled into the chair.

A familiar cologne teased her nostrils, like Gabe was here with her. She buried her nose in the leather and inhaled, then jerked back. Why did her chair smell like him?

I hope they have you in heaven. His words replayed in her mind. She sighed, sinking deeper into the leather.

As compliments went, it was one of the best she’d heard. Most men tossed out how they’d love for her to handcuff them or asked if she was as good in bed as she was with her gun. Those men were hardened or petty criminals. Not dating material.

She shifted her backside, loving how her body hummed when she thought of Gabe. Shaking her head, she hoped it would dispel the dazzling effect he had on her. This attraction made no sense, and her body’s reactions were silly.

Her smartwatch buzzed and she smiled at Mike’s message. He was on his way to pick her up and had ordered new uniforms for her. The package would arrive later that day.

Donning jeans, a T-shirt, boots, and a corduroy jacket, she braided her hair, and stashed as much of her arsenal on her person as her outfit would allow. Clambering down the stairs two at a time, she left her apartment building.

A shimmer in her peripheral vision tightened her hold on the balustrade. She would almost say she wasn’t alone.

“Hello?” She stared at the corner of the landing, holding her breath even as she pulled a poison-tipped blade from her boot.

The hairs on the back of her neck rippled, and she smothered a shiver. Never let them know you feel, you bleed, and you’re alone. Dad’s words had her snorting and sheathing her dagger in her boot.

“Are you coming?” Mike peered up the stairwell. “I’m double parked, and if I get a ticket, it’s coming out of your pay.”

Throwing one last glance behind her, she trailed him to the police vehicle.

As soon as she slid into the passenger seat and buckled in, he handed her a coffee. “Ready for today?”

She shrugged. “I feel under armed.”

His grin was wicked. “You can spend the day finishing your reports.”

She groaned into the coffee cup. As much as she hated paperwork, she agreed he was wise to suggest it. She didn’t want to leave the precinct today.

The elephant in the vehicle expanded until she couldn’t breathe by the time Mike pulled into the parking lot.

She leaped out of the car, tossed the empty coffee cup, and trailed him up the steps.

“Mike, wait.” She stopped, gripping the railing, the cold metal pressing into her palm. “You have nothing to say? Nothing more about Val and…Gabe?” Flipping her braid off her shoulder, she drew in a deep breath. “You’ve had time to think over my circumstances and you bombard me with your opinion on everything else. Why are you silent now?”

He laughed, skipping down the steps to loom over her. “He wants you, and since he’s a suckblood, my girl, I don’t see you wheedling your way out of this.”

He nudged his head at the double doors. She grumbled, trudging forward.

“With Val on the dark side, it’s a matter of time before you cross over.” He pinched his lips. “What’s bothering me is whether I will follow.”

“Devereaux, Captain wants to see you.” Martinez, the officer behind the desk, gestured to his counter. “What do you want me to do with these?”

Roses, lilies, and orchids filled the room with their pungent fragrances.

“Did someone die?” She stroked a finger across a white petal.

“Die?” He slammed the cards down on the counter. “I had to read each one to make sure they’re all for you. Just say yes to the poor man, for pity’s sake.”

Her breath caught, and her fingers trembled as she swept up the cards. She shuffled through them, her heart leaping with excitement and joy. Bouncing on her toes, she grinned at Mike, needing to share this with someone.

“Well, what do they say?” Gathering a few vases, Mike nudged her hip with his.

She followed suit, grabbing a few bouquets. “Sweet one-liners and an invitation to dinner tonight.”

Clouds rolled out before her, and she felt as if she floated through the precinct to her desk. Her thoughts swirled around his scrawled words.

Thinking of you.

Wish you were here with me.

Dinner tonight?

The messages weren’t intimate, and she was grateful for that, not wanting Martinez or anyone else on the force to read anything personalized. A few fellow officers placed the remainder of her flowers around her desk and on Mike’s. He grumbled but didn’t move them.

“Devereaux.” Captain Metcalfe hovered in her doorway. She flicked her finger, and Callie bolted across the open plan. “Close the door.”

Ice drenched her from her neck to the base of her spine. To close the door meant her captain had something private to discuss. This was it. She was about to lose her job.

“I just spoke to the mayor.” Metcalfe stared out of her window, hiding her expressions from Callie. “He wants me to employ…non-humans to the force, then he mentioned you by name.”

She gasped, tightening her fingers gripping the chair. “What? Why?” One name came to mind…Carter. He must have spoken of her to the mayor. The ass sure was determined to make her his spy.

“They need a liaison between vampires and us, said he saw you at the ball talking to one.” Metcalfe spun and leveled on her an I-told-you-so expression.

Fuck. Callie clenched her jaw, fighting the curse words burning her tongue. She nodded when Metcalf waited for her response.

“Good. I need frequent reports on your progress. No doubt the mayor will ask often.” She tilted her pointed chin at the door. “And Devereaux, keep this between us.”

“But Mike—?” Keeping secrets from one’s partner who was also a detective was damn hard.

Metcalfe sighed. “Very well, you can include him but no one else.”

Dazed, Callie ambled back to her desk, ignoring Mike’s arched brow. She’d tell him when they were alone. She slid into her chair, staring at her closed laptop. Beside it, a light flickered on her phone—a text awaited her attention.

Her heart leaped, then sank into the pit of her stomach. She drew in a deep breath and responded to Gabe’s dinner invitation. She needed to talk to him about her new duties. Hiding it from him didn’t sit well, especially if she chose to believe in this Rite nonsense.

“Devereaux.” Martinez’s bellow filled the open plan and everyone paused to look at him. “We have a problem. Several walk-ins claim to have performed crimes and have asked for you by name.”

“What?” She scowled. What the hell had happened to people?

Martinez shrugged. “Where do you want them?”

“Them? How many?” She threw out a hand. “Never mind, one at a time in the interview room.”

Mike grabbed his jacket and tugged it on, trailing her into the sterile room with a metal table and four plastic chairs.

She held the door open for him, ignoring the man handcuffed to the table. A shimmer and Gabe’s cologne brushed past her.

She stilled, narrowed on the mirage, and smothered a gasp. How long had Gabe been following her?

She spun on a heel and stepped out of the room, closing the door on Mike’s frown. Had Gabe been in her apartment? Seen her naked?

She squeaked, stamping her feet as she tried to contain a scream. Fuck, she’d kill him.