Nope. Not even tempted to go there, and he never had been. His mind strayed to Rose and the bright flame of her made him smile. Every minute he spent with her set her apart from Satine, and their similarities lessened. Rose gave him something he'd never thought he would feel again. Something no one had ever thought to give him.
Hope. He rubbed his chest as the emptiness in him expanded. His demon prowled inside him, waiting for him to lose control.
Wrenching his brain back to the task at hand, he sorted through the scents and mindwaves of those in the building. Aside from the vampires, he counted a dozen lesser demons and no less than five weres. He couldn't tell what animal, but their energy signature flared down his skin, even from a distance.
He did another mental sweep, tensed just as the gun cocked at his forehead.
"Well, well, look at what the cat dragged in," came the soft drawl. "If it ain't Gabriel Caine. What're you doing? Don' you know the air ain't healthy here?"
Gabriel placed the voice, but didn't allow himself to relax. "Kellan. Cousin. How's it going?" Apparently it was family reunion weekend in Los Angeles.
"So far, so good."
"What are you doing here? Have you changed sides? 'Cause then I'd have to kick your ass."
"You could try," Kellan retorted. "I'm working a lead. You?"
"Came to see what we escaped from last night. These are no friends of mine." After a tense silence, Gabriel heard Kellan sigh and lower the gun, heard the whisper of metal against holster. He turned around, wary. It had been a good fifteen years since they’d seen each other.
The two men took stock of one another. Kellan had dark hair similar to his own, cut military short; but his eyes were the color of molten amber and his skin shaded toward burnished gold. He had the same build as all the Caines, big and tall.
Abruptly Kellan opened his arms and the two men did the backslap hug thing. "Let's move. The demons are starting to wake." He peered closer at his cousin. "You look terrible."
Gabriel grunted. "I thought the change had fixed all the wounds."
"Open wounds, yes. Bruises still show up. I'll bet your nose hurts."
"Shut up, Kel." He hesitated. "There's a were in here, being held against her will. She's pregnant. Any way we can rescue her?"
Kellan shook his head. "You do like to complicate things, don't you? Leave well enough alone, and let's get out of here."
"We need to do this. I promised." Uneasy, he looked around. “No guard? Unbelievable.”
"I took out the two J'aadts when I came in. I haven't seen or heard anyone else." Kellan sighed. "You're not going to back down on this, are you?"
"No. I'm not."
"Okay. I really don't like it, but lead on."
They headed down the back stairwell, Gabriel focusing only on the scent of the female Were. Two floors down into the earth he stopped and gestured to the hallway. He held up two fingers and motioned to the left side.
Kellan nodded.
Gabriel's hand went to his holster, only to realize he'd never replaced the gun they took from him. He hadn't replaced the holster, either. Mentally swearing, he gestured to Kellan, who readied his own gun.
Gabriel laid a light hand on the door handle and moved it gently. Locked. He raised his eyebrows at Kellan, who handed him the gun and pulled out two slim tools from his back pocket. Three seconds later, the lock clicked and they were in.
Gabriel handed Kellan the gun back and motioned him to go first. The room was quiet. Kellan went in silently, Gabriel following.
The air smelled sweet. Not perfume sweet, but drug-sweet. Gabriel frowned. The female was heavily pregnant. She lay still on the raised platform of stone at the back of the small room, not moving a muscle as the men stepped in. Kellan halted when he caught sight of a man snuggled up behind her, his face turned to the ceiling, snuffling with sleep. Both blondes, it was hard to tell where her hair ended and his began.
Kellan cocked the gun and the woman's eyes flew open. Gabriel put a finger to his lips and held out his hand to her even as Kellan put the gun close to the side of the man's head.
She took Gabriel's hand, moved to stand gracefully. She opened her mouth and her words barely made a sound, but Gabriel heard, "He's drugged himself." She stood naked and unashamed, sweeping her long blonde hair out of her eyes. "Let's get out of here."
He shrugged off his long leather coat and handed it to her while averting his eyes. She put it on, her mouth quirking in amusement. They left the room as silently as they entered it, Gabriel locking the door behind them.
They went out the way he’d gone in, through the window and over the balcony, the pregnant woman landing easily, the coat floating around her. Once down on the asphalt, Gabriel gestured to the window. "Not secured from last night. On purpose?"
Kellan shrugged. "Who knows how vampires think. Finally grew into your potential, yeah? You have any q's, let me know. I've learned a lot."
"I'm good. So far." Gabriel knew Kellan wasn't referring to the operation at Twisted.
"Gentlemen. Thank you." The woman hooked her arms through theirs, strode between them easily, almost as tall as they were, her bare feet seemingly no problem. "My name is Chandra Roush and my mate's name is Daniel, our Alpha. We owe you a great debt."
"You look healthy. You are well?"
"Yes. One of my pack mates is very ill, though."
"And you're not home yet. No offense." Gabriel kept his eyes peeled as they walked in the early morning light. "We could get you a taxi."
She smiled. "It is almost impossible to find taxis in L.A. May I have your names?"
"Gabriel and Kellan Caine at your service." Gabriel gave her a short bow.
"I'm with the Santa Monica Preserve Wolf Pack. You are demon?"
"Tribred," answered Gabriel absently. "Human, demon, fae. Several generations now."
"Ah, of course. Gideon and Maria Therese Caine. You are their offspring."
Gabriel and Kellan shared a glance. Shrugged. "Yeah. In a way."
Kellan cleared his throat. "Glad to help. Uh, where are we going, anyway?"
Chandra smiled again. "My mate will be here soon. I contacted him the moment I saw you."
They slowed as a black SUV pulled alongside them. Chandra stopped and turned to the car, longing and eagerness pulsing off her in waves. The passenger door burst open and she leaped to meet the dark man who wrapped her tightly in his arms.
The back door of the SUV opened and the two disappeared inside. Both doors slammed shut, and before the vehicle drove away, Gabriel's long leather coat flew out from the opened window.
Gabriel snagged the coat out of the air and slid it on before he lifted a hand to the disappearing SUV.
Kellan blew out a breath. "That was good. That was very good. Do you get to do stuff like that a lot?"
"Nah."
"Yeah. Me neither." They strode along in silence for a while. "What happened back there last night?"
Gabriel gave him a brief summary. "And then I dropped Rose off at Justin's house, I got antsy, and took off."
"You didn't know her well. Okay then."
"No, I— " Gabriel stopped in his tracks. "She's…hell. It's complicated. She's carrying a part of my soul," he confessed.
Kellan opened his eyes wide. "And you didn't take care of her? Oh man, you'd better come up with a good reason for ditching."
"This isn't high school." Gabriel turned the tables. "What were you doing there, anyway? Or have you changed that much in fifteen years?"
"I told you, I was following a lead. It didn't pan out, and wasn't part of what you guys are handling right now." He shook his head. "Not important in the scheme of things. Hey man, we really gonna walk?"
Gabriel grinned. "I'm thinking we run. You know where the office is?"
"Still on Third Street? Yeah. Let's go."
Running down the street, so fast human eyes couldn't track them, Kellan whooped and Gabriel grinned. It had been so long since he'd run just for the joy of it. No
rescue, no fleeing danger or cops or his own heart, just running for the sheer thrill of speed and the exhilaration of wind through his hair. And after their good deed of the morning, they deserved it. They really did.
I haven't done this...in far too long...
The streets flew by as they ran toward the Caine Investigations offices.
Gabriel and Kellan pulled up to Third Street and slowed to a walk, not even panting from the four mile effort.
"So, I heard you followed in my footsteps, running away from the family."
Gabriel shrugged, stuck his hands in his pockets. "In a fashion."
Kellan stopped, gripped Gabriel's shoulder. His eyes held regret. "I'm sorry, man. Sorry I didn't stick it out for you."
Gabriel looked out at the horizon and shrugged. "Shit happens." Kellan squeezed his shoulder and let his hand drop.
Gabriel walked through the mall in silence with Kellan, marveling at how comfortable they were together. It was as if no time had passed since they’d last seen each other.
“It’s this way.” Gabriel led the way up the stairs and inside to the offices.
Kel looked around at the empty reception area. "Huh. Grey on white. Gregor must have done the decor."
"You know damn well Justin didn't. He's probably back in here." Gabriel walked into Justin's office. "Hey. Hi Maggie." He eyed her jeans and an old Rolling Stones tee shirt with approval. “Where’s Rose?” He looked around in anticipation. He needed her energy, that clean, pure, feel-good that he got whenever he touched her.
Maggie had been looking at the monitor over Justin's shoulder. She looked up, and her eyes frosted over. "Gabriel. What the hell are you doing here? Do you realize Rose could have died from the vampire bite?"
"Magdalena. Cool it." Justin stood, put himself between her and Gabriel.
Gabriel's smile dissolved and his gut clenched. "Where is she? She was fine when I left. I just – I had to get away, be alone.” Guilt twisted his stomach. He should have stayed. He couldn’t have stayed.
Kellan threw him a glance. “Too many people?”
“Yeah.” He faced Justin. “Look. I tried. I got her out of there, back to your place. She cleaned up. Satine didn’t have her long enough for any sort of true blood bite. I swear she was fine. I had to go. Ten minutes after I left, I checked in mentally with her.” His face twisted. “She had the barrier up, the one I taught her. I assumed she was fine. How could I have known?” His excuses disgusted him. He should have known. She was his responsibility, and once again he’d screwed up.
“If you followed the family pattern, you’ve spent most of the last ten years alone.” Kellan stepped forward. “It’s hard to reintegrate.”
“Kellan. My God. Talk about coming out of the woodwork.” Justin slapped his cousin on the back and they grinned at each other.
Maggie sighed heavily. "Not another Caine."
“You need to cut Gabe some slack, Justin.”
"Only because Rose is holding her own,” Justin said, frowning at Gabriel. “We're here doing some research.”
Gabriel’s voice got softer. “Just tell me where she is. I need to see her.” Kellan was right. He wasn’t used to this many people. He struggled to keep his breathing steady and his temper even.
Justin lifted an eyebrow. “All in due time. When you’ve got yourself under control.”
“I hated that saying when your dad said it. I still hate that saying,” Kellan said.
Gabriel paced to prevent panic, his thoughts in a whirl. “The two weren’t together long enough for the bite to have gone deep, or gotten infected or anything. A normal person would have a nasty scar but would otherwise be all right. She should be all right. I don’t understand how it could have gone so wrong.” Except he was the champion of things going wrong, wasn’t he? Everything he’d ever touched had gone wrong. He never should have forgotten that.
Maggie spoke up. "That’s the thing, though, isn’t it? Rose is a Soul Chalice, not a normal person. She called me. Justin and I took her to Doc Cavanaugh. She'll be all right, the bite’s not the big worry.”
Gabriel’s heart dropped. She had a part of his soul. “What’s the big worry?” His panic growing, he grabbed for Justin, shook him hard. Justin closed his hands around Gabriel’s forearms with a grip like iron. “Is she dying? She’s really dying, isn’t she? Tell me.” If she’s dying, then he was as good as dead, too.
A gray light flared from Justin’s hands to Gabriel’s arms. Gabriel jerked from the shock, but dug in his fingers as desperation and need spread through him. “Your faerie jolts aren’t going to stop me. Tell me where she is.” Gabriel backed his brother up against the desk. His hands moved to Justin’s throat before sanity prevailed and he went for the collarbone instead.
Justin went still beneath his hands. “Let me go, Gabriel. This isn’t going to solve anything.”
“You want me to beat the location out of you?” Gabriel’s demon stretched inside him. The need to change throbbed through his body. If he could just get to Rose, he’d be fine. He just needed to get to her. He shook Justin again. “Tell me. Now.”
Maggie cried out. “Gabriel, please. There's a tattoo on Rose that's—well, we can't figure out what it is. Let Justin go. Come here, and I’ll show you the photos." Maggie hovered. “Please let Justin go. Don’t make me use magic on you.”
“It’s not you, Gabriel. It’s the demon. You need Rose, don’t you? You need to touch your soul. To soothe the demon.”
Justin’s words penetrated the green haze over Gabriel’s vision. He released his brother, aghast at what he’d done. “You’re right. I need Rose. And I've seen the spiral. It's not a tattoo," Gabriel said. "It's a demon spiral." He swung away from Justin and moved to the window.
"What the hell is a demon spiral?" Kellan’s voice came to him as he pressed his hot forehead to the cooler glass. “How do you even know about demon spirals?”
"I’ve seen it before. Once. It's a containment. Think of it as a way for a demon to possess a person."
"The girl you killed. She had one of these things, too?" Justin’s voice had taken on a thread of sympathy.
"Marianne. Yeah."
"That sucks," remarked Kellan.
"Holy hell." Justin sounded tired.
"Since Rose is a Soul Chalice, her opposite is a Soul Stealer." Maggie recited the facts as though she were reading a grocery list. "But Doc Cavanaugh wasn't sure about the demon, or what role it's playing."
Gabriel closed his eyes against despair. "The demon is the same one who possessed Marianne. And Satine is a Soul Stealer. Now that just makes my day." Nothing in his life made any sense. To have spent ten years away, and yet come back to the very thing he ran from?
"Do you think the demon's stalking you?"
"I think it's a pretty large coincidence, that demon on that woman." Gabriel turned to face them. "Just my luck. Justin, please. Tell me where she is."
"She’s in a private hospital in West L.A. She had a blood transfusion and is getting saline because she’s dehydrated. You need to know that while she’s fine now, according to the doc, the more she uses her borrowed demon powers, the more addicted she could get to them."
Which would be bad. Gabriel shook. Need for Rose pulsed through him. Was it more than just keeping his demon quiet? "I honestly thought I was doing the right thing by leaving." He looked toward Kellan and saw a wordless understanding there. “But leaving, running away didn’t give me what I wanted or needed,” he said. The realization broke over him. “I left the family for the same reasons. I left to keep you safe, and because I was ashamed.”
“It’s time to get over it, Gabriel. Let it go.”
Justin sighed. “Before I take you to her, let's put it together. What have we got?"
"We've got young Rose holding a part of Gabriel’s soul and turning into a fire demon, which may kill her even as her Soul Chalice powers come online. And Vlad, who controls Satine,” Kellan mused.
Gabriel rubbed his neck, anxious
to get moving. “Then there's Satine, the Soul Stealer who has the rest of my soul and who wants me on her team, forever more.”
“We’ve got you, Gabriel, who has no soul and whose demon is struggling to break free. We need to get you back to Rose. And we have a vamp nest that needs to be wiped clean." Justin raised his eyebrows when Gabriel frowned. “Did I forget something?”
"Yeah. I found out last night that Rose and Satine are cousins. Five years apart. Rose was there the night a vampire took a willing Satine. I guess I'm the weakest link." As usual.
"And on the positive side, we've got Kellan, Justin, Gabriel and myself." Maggie looked at the men. "Plus, Rose is a Soul Chalice and she's with us. There's some research to do there. Gentlemen, it sounds like there's a job for everyone."
"Wipe out Twisted." Gabriel looked from brother to cousin, searching for their agreement. "Take out Vlad and then Satine. Great. Can we go see Rose now, please?"
Another voice came from the doorway. "You can take out the club. Leave Satine to me."
As one, they turned to look at Rose who stood, pale but determined, swaying in the doorway. Gabriel’s stomach dropped even as his hands itched to touch her.
Chapter Ten
“I’m fine,” Rose said in response to the clamor. She held out her hand to Gabriel, grabbed on and let him help her to a chair. Rose sighed in relief. It had felt like forever since he’d touched her. She kept her hand glued to his.
"You look terrible," Maggie said. “Remind me to take you clothes shopping.”
Rose brushed at the black jeans and gray sweatshirt. “Hey, I’m lucky I’m not in a hospital gown.”
Justin leaned over to take her free hand and squeezed it gently. "We were going to come get you when you woke up. Why didn't you wait?"
Rose leaned back with a sigh. "Nice to see you, too." She turned to Kellan. "Who're you?"
"Kellan Caine, cousin. At your service."
She smiled. "Good to meet you."
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