Aside from an actual bodyguard, she had every security device known to man installed somewhere on the property. It was the ones not known to man that she was the most reassured by, though. Irene, the Senior Magus of the City, and one of the SMV Council representatives had personally laid a protective ward around the perimeter of Gabi’s house. Anyone trying to breach the house from the outside was given a very unpleasant zap of Magical energy. It was keyed to only allow a handful of people into her house without Gabi physically disarming the ward. To cancel the ward, Gabi needed to touch a charmed gemstone that had been set into a ring for her and recite a short mental incantation. The ward automatically re-established itself after an hour if she hadn’t done it herself and would render any intruder unconscious until she cancelled it again.
Apparently it had been thoroughly tested before she was allowed home. Kyle had thought it thoroughly amusing, as they’d tested it on everyone Byron could lay his hands on. Of course, Kyle was one of the few on the safe list, so he’d conveniently avoided experiencing the Magical kick in the teeth.
The renovations and security upgrades were a joint effort between Julius and Byron. Kyle adamantly insisted that he’d tried to temper the extreme security measures but that no one would listen to him. Gabi secretly figured that Kyle had had more than his share of input into the changes. She wasn’t at all surprised about Byron going off the deep end in trying to keep her safe, but Julius’s involvement surprised her. He’d never acted as though he thought she was unable to protect herself. In fact, in the few fights they’d faced together, he’d treated her as nothing less than an equal. It was one of the most attractive things about him.
When Kyle had told her that Julius, in consultation with Rose (Gabi’s housekeeper), had personally overseen the internal redecoration of the house, her heart had done a funny little flip-flop. She didn’t know exactly how much damage had been done, but she was sure it had been extensive. Demons weren’t known for their subtlety. Aside from the obvious fresh paint, new carpets and a slight difference in the shade of the new cupboard doors and floorboards, the inside looked as though nothing had happened. Everything was in its place, including her books and photos. The only sign of the attack was in some of her small, irreplaceable items. Some of her books had tears to the dust jackets, some photos had small rips and crumple marks (though the frames were new) and some small knick-knacks and curios from her time in Africa were damaged or gone. Julius had left a note on her mantle; it had read ‘I know how you feel about scars. As much as I would like to erase every one of them in your sanctuary, I thought you would prefer if I left a few untouched.’ Thoughts of the night Julius had traced some of the scars on her body with his cool fingertips had had her fighting back a blush.
Gabi glanced automatically around the garden as they climbed from the Mustang. It was now brightly lit with motion-sensor floodlights. She’d added a few extra pieces of security of her own into the garden, after a promise she’d made to herself while having a verbal stand-off with the completely insane, Demon-controlling Vampire and his minions in the middle of a garden filled with nothing useful in a fight. Kyle was the only person who knew about those additions.
She already planned to have most of the electronic security disconnected once the shock of her being attacked in her own home wore off. The one exception was the front security gate. She didn’t think it would be a good idea for unsuspecting humans to be able to get close enough to the house to hit Irene’s Magical Barrier. And Irene’s Magical Barrier was definitely staying. Of all the security in the house, that was the one thing that actually made her feel safe and allowed her to get to sleep at night.
The same couldn’t be said for the enormous tabby furball that sprang into her arms as she opened the front door. As usual, Razor ploughed into her with the weight and speed of a cannonball. Gabi’s bruised arm and shoulder gave a twinge of protest, but she gripped the monster-sized cat with her uninjured right arm and accepted the lovingly delivered face-rubbing he bestowed on her. Kyle stepped around the pair, carefully staying out of Razor’s claw range, and headed for the kitchen to switch on the coffee maker. Razor glared at him through narrowed eyes from Gabi’s shoulder. The gigantic cat did not approve of many people and Werewolves were the lowest form of life in his opinion.
“Are you happy to see us home early for a change?” Gabi crooned to the cat as she lugged him to the kitchen and deposited him on the counter.
The cat’s purr dominated the room in answer to her question. This was apparently a signal to the other permanent resident of the house, as a small, pointed, black-masked face poked around the corner, and then the rest of the ferret came scampering into the kitchen to join them. Both of Gabi’s pets had been affected by the Demon attack. Gabi still woke up screaming in rage from recurring nightmares of finding Razor lying in the dirt of her azalea garden and bleeding from multiple stab wounds. One of Danté’s Vampires had exacted revenge on Razor for ripping the Vampire’s eye out in an effort to protect Gabi. She still hadn’t had a chance to thank Julius for saving his life.
Since the attack, Razor had taken up the role of house protector while Gabi was asleep. He refused to sleep for more than a few minutes at a time and prowled the house and her room restlessly as long as she was in bed. Gabi had amazing powers of mental communication with animals and had met very few that she couldn’t communicate with, but so far, not even she could get Razor to relax and trust the new security systems. She hoped his anxiety would subside with time, but it was worrying her. Slinky, the ferret, also wasn’t quite his normal easy-going, relaxed self. He’d become nervous of strangers and was disinclined to come out and interact with anyone besides Gabi, Rose and Kyle. If anyone else arrived, he simply disappeared until they’d gone. Razor batted at him good-naturedly as Kyle lifted the ferret onto the counter. It still amazed Gabi that the fearsome cat had adopted the small, playful ferret. As Gabi unwound the restrictive bandage from around her arm, Kyle set two steaming coffee cups on the counter and dug into a bag of cookies.
“That’s not supposed to come off yet,” he warned around a mouthful of choc-chip cookie.
Gabi shot him a withering glance. “It’s not bleeding anymore, and the bandage was just annoying. I’ll put on a Tegaderm dressing, I have a couple in the medical kit,” she said.
Kyle raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “It’ll bleed all over your sheets if you don’t,” he warned.
“Do you want to go and get one and put it on yourself?” she asked, exasperated.
“Nope. I trust you.” He grinned at her around another cookie. “And besides, you know if Rose finds blood on the sheets, she’s going to rat you out to Byron, so I’m sure you’ll do the clever thing.”
“Don’t you need to get back to HQ?” she asked him acidly.
Kyle flicked a look at his watch. “Yep, you’re right, I’d better get going.” He glugged the last half of his cup of coffee, grabbed another cookie, kissed Gabi on the cheek, deftly avoiding a swipe from Razor, and hurried out the door to his van, which he’d left in her driveway earlier.
Gabi slowly finished her coffee and nibbled on a cookie as she waited for the adrenalin high to gradually fade away in the calm quiet of the house. She got up and lit a few candles before heading for the bedroom. Tomorrow was Tuesday, and Rose would be in to clean and tidy up. She loved the other woman like a second mother, and Rose treated her like another daughter. Kyle was right, Rose would be in a panic if she found bloodstains on the sheets. Rose had seen the damaged house the day after the Demon hurricane had been through, and it had obviously shaken her. She was a part of the Community, as she came from a Shape-shifter bloodline, though she wasn’t a Shifter herself, so she knew what Gabi’s Hunter job entailed. She’d always been a bit of a worrier when it came to Gabi’s injuries, but Gabi knew from Kyle that she’d taken the house invasion rather badly, and Gabi really didn’t want to alarm her any more than necessary.
She gave a wry sigh as she pulled down the medical k
it. Why was it that everyone around her seemed more affected by the whole affair than she was? She just wanted to get on with life as it had been before. Only Kyle was making the effort to treat her the same way he always had, but she knew it was an effort. Sometimes it sucked to be loved. Of course, the most disappointing of the bunch was Julius. She still had no idea what to make of his new attitude towards her. Or how long it was going to last. She pulled a face as she positioned the transparent dressing over the stitched tooth mark; the bruising was worse than the bite. She bit her lip as she applied pressure to settle the dressing and then peeled off the backing. She moved her arm experimentally. It was painful, but she had almost full flexibility in her elbow. A plate of good food, a glass of good red wine and a hot bath and she’d be as right as the proverbial rain.
Later, sated after a dish of Rose’s amazing beef stroganoff and several glasses of Aussie Merlot, Gabi lazed in a steaming hot bath. She realised that she missed being able to take the time for small luxuries like this. Between her animal behaviour work, her movie work and the Hunter shifts, she’d had very little time to spend on herself in the past two years. Maybe it was time to start taking a few nights off each week. The SMV had two new Hunters that they’d fast-tracked through the training programme with the Danté threat. They were doing really well and had proved themselves more than capable in the final battle against Danté’s Clan and Demon army. Thinking about what she could be doing if she took a couple of nights off brought her back to the enigma that was Julius.
Even Alexander hadn’t been able to tell her what was going on with his Sire. Alexander had been Julius’s friend for nearly two centuries and his second-in-command since Julius took on the role of Master of the City. Gabi and Alexander hadn’t started out on the same page. He was convinced there was no way she could actually live up to the legend of Angeli Morte, the Vampire equivalent of the boogie monster. After fighting a couple of battles alongside her, his attitude towards her had changed to one of tolerated comrade-in-arms. But once she revealed the truth of her heritage and he and Julius realised that she was, in fact, a living, breathing Dhampir, his camaraderie had become laced with an undertone of awe and respect. Not that it stopped him from teasing her mercilessly every chance he got.
Alexander, or Lex Boy, as she liked to call him when he was annoying her, told her that older Vampires didn’t handle emotional change or distress very well. Even though Danté had been utterly insane, Julius still had to come to terms with killing his own brother. Added to that, Alexander insisted, Julius’s feelings for her were strong enough to affect him as well, and watching her almost die in his arms had seriously disturbed the Master Vampire’s state of mind. Alexander had advised her to give him time and space and let him come to her when he was ready. But Gabi’s patience was running out fast. She didn’t like Julius’s distant attitude towards her. He could love or hate her, but she couldn’t handle his utter detachment.
She slept restlessly, waking every time she rolled onto her bruised elbow and shoulder. Aware of Razor restively pacing the house, she repeatedly called him back to the bed and tried to get him to settle. When she did sleep, she found herself endlessly running to try and catch a shadowy figure that remained inexorably out of reach.
She got up early, feeling stiff and bleary eyed. She cleaned and refilled the coffee maker and pulled on a long-sleeved robe before Rose arrived. If she was careful about her arm, she could avoid worrying the older woman and also avoid the distressed phone call from Byron and the visit to Ian’s consulting rooms to have the wound checked. Minutes later, Rose let herself in and bustled into the kitchen. Gabi gave her a quick hug, grabbed a cup of coffee, and headed to her office.
She’d barely sat down and turned on her computer when her mobile rang. She considered ignoring it; it really was too early for anyone to be calling with good news, but then she noticed the caller ID. It said Russell. Russbear, as she called him, was her assistant animal trainer whenever she had work on movie sets. It wasn’t that she actually needed the help of the friendly, ginger-haired Shapeshifter when handling the stunt animals; he was more of a prop for Gabi to appear less remarkable, as well as her minder in certain ways. Her abilities with animals went far beyond simply understanding animal nature, she could actually control their emotions and, to an extent, their behaviour. What she really needed was someone to tell her when she was overstepping the boundaries of human belief and drawing too much attention to herself. Russell was actually very good with animals, as good as anyone without her unique abilities could be, so he pulled his weight in that regard as well. It was very unusual for him to call her, though; they generally met on set on the day they were needed there.
Intrigued, she answered the call.
“Gabi.”
She could clearly hear the anxiety mixed with sudden relief in his voice. “Russ, what’s wrong?” she asked, already knowing she wasn’t going to like his answer.
“It’s Derek,” he replied.
“Derek?” she repeated, confused.
A picture of the tall, dark and criminally handsome stuntman popped into her mind, but she couldn’t think why Russell would be calling about him. Derek was a ‘norm’, a full human, and only a passing acquaintance of Russell’s. They only met on movie sets where the three of them happened to work together. Gabi had been struggling for months to keep the man at arm’s length. He’d been open about his attraction to her, but she had a strict ‘no-norms’ policy when it came to dating. It was just too damn complicated. But it hadn’t been easy to resist the man’s easy charm, honed athlete’s body and sexy, silver-grey eyes.
“Uh, yeah,” Russ said. “You remember my friend Jenny, the make-up artist who covered up your burn mark on that last movie we did?”
“Yes,” Gabi said a little impatiently.
“Well, she called me to say that Derek hasn’t shown up for work for over a week,” he continued.
“Is he sick or injured?” Gabi asked, wondering why it felt like a load of cement had been tipped into her stomach.
“Word in the Community is that he’s been infected.”
“WHAT?” She jumped to her feet so quickly that Razor leapt up from his nearby spot in the sun, fur on end, teeth bared, growling warningly.
Chapter 3
“Derek, let me in,” Gabi called when her fist pounding on the door didn’t elicit a response. She knew he was home. If the evidence of his truck in the driveway wasn’t enough, she could clearly scent him. The presence of another vehicle on the curb disturbed her. It was a small red Toyota, the sort of car a woman would drive. If he had a woman in the house with him, things could get ugly really fast because the Community was right. His normal masculine scent was now heavily cloaked in the distinct tang of Werewolf.
“Derek!” she shouted again. “Let me in, or I’m gonna break in.” Finally, she heard slow, heavy footsteps coming towards the door, then a dull thud, like a body slumping against a wall.
“Gabi.” His hoarse voice cracked on her name. “Gabi, you need to leave. I…” He took a ragged breath, like a man exhausted. “I can’t explain right now, but you have to trust me. You need to go.”
Gabi tried to keep the frustration from overwhelming her patience. “Derek, open the door,” she said in a commanding voice. “I can help you. I know what’s going on, and I can help you.”
“I’m sick, Gabi. You can’t come in here. It’s not safe,” a note of pleading in his voice now, “please just go. I’ll call you when I’m better.”
“It’s not going to get better, Derek,” she said softly, “not without help. You need to let me in. I promise you I can help. You have to trust me. I understand what’s happening to you.”
A half sob issued from the other side of the door. “How can you possibly understand?” he demanded raggedly. “No one can understand. No one can help. And…” He dragged in a breath. “I’ve done something terrible. Something unforgivable. No one can help me now.”
Ice drenched Gabi’s vei
ns as she realised she might be too late to rescue the woman. Either way, she had to get inside.
“Derek,” she repeated, struggling to keep her voice calm when it felt like she’d just mainlined adrenalin. “You remember how many times I’ve been injured? You remember suspecting that my injuries weren’t always caused by animals? You’ve asked me about it more than once. I know you’ve thought things weren’t quite right. Your instincts weren’t wrong, Derek. Those injuries weren’t caused by animals.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “I have another job, a job that involves things that would send most humans screaming. I’m trained to deal with those things. I. Can. Help.” She said the last three words with absolute conviction.
“You know what’s happening to me?” he whispered.
“Yes, I know exactly what’s happening to you,” she replied in a soft voice.
“You can really help?” There was a tiny thread of hope in his voice.
“Let me in, Derek. We can’t talk about this with me outside where other people can overhear us.” She was getting to the point where she was going to smash his door in to get inside, but she didn’t want to draw the attention of the neighbours if she could help it. There was a sound of movement, and the lock clicked. She breathed in deeply, preparing herself, then opened the door and slipped inside.
The house was in semi-darkness, all the curtains pulled tightly shut. The smell was overwhelming to her sensitive nose. Sweat, blood, fear and the overpowering odour of uncontrolled Werewolf mixed into a potent miasma. Derek was slumped on the floor next to the door, dishevelled, unkempt, barely recognisable. His usually luscious chocolate-brown hair was tangled and dirty. Days-old stubble covered his handsome face, and he wore a bloodstained T-shirt and torn jogging pants over his muscular frame. But it was his eyes that caught and held her attention. Liquid mercury eyes filled with horror, pain, fear and despair. She resisted the urge to go to him, hug him, comfort him, tell him it would be okay. That was a really bad idea with a newly infected Werewolf, and there was still the woman somewhere in the house.
All Hell Breaks Loose (The Hellcat Series) Page 3