by Vivian Wood
“Despite the usual traffic conditions in the French Quarter, the Guardians can park anywhere they want,” Gabriel said archly.
That got Cassie’s attention.
“I thought no one was immune from New Orleans parking tickets,” she said. “They’re unavoidable, like death and taxes.”
Gabriel gave a wry smile.
“We have friends in every level of New Orleans government. I assure you, the service we provide the city more than makes up for a few parking tickets.”
She merely sighed as Gabriel navigated to a parking spot only a block from the Cathedral. As soon as he’d parked, Cassie seemed to make a point of getting out of the car before he could come around and open the door for her.
Gabriel looked to the skies, trying to summon patience. Of course fate would give him a modern, independent female for a mate, someone who wouldn’t just accept his will. Rubbing a hand over his face, Gabriel hurried to catch up with Cassie.
“Are we getting a snoball?” Gabriel asked, making a joke about a snow cone derivative that locals adored.
“I mean, you can,” Cassie said. “I’m going to see Madame Marquis.”
“Madame who?”
Cassie led him into Jackson Square. The park was surrounded by a twenty-foot-tall wrought iron fence, around which most of the vendors were congregated. Cassie approached a woman sitting in a camping chair, moving tarot cards around a small table draped in black satin. A massive banner hung on the fence behind her, proclaiming, “Madame Marquis — Fortunes $5/10 minutes”.
“Ah,” Gabriel said, trying to keep the disappointment from his face. From Cassie’s eye roll, he’d likely not accomplished it. To his credit, the Madame looked ridiculous; she was a sixty year old Caucasian woman decked out in full ‘gypsy’ costume, billowing scarves and skirts, a ring on each finger. She also wore a dubious-looking dark hairstyle that Gabriel was fairly certain must be a wig.
“Don’t offend her, she’s very emotional,” Cassie warned him before he could comment.
Gabriel couldn’t help but notice the way that the fortune teller shot to her feet when Cassie approached.
“Oracle!” the seer gasped, eyes darting around and landing on Gabriel. Her expression turned from shock to curiosity after a moment. “And a Guardian?”
“Yes, Madame,” Cassie said, stepping closer and offering a handshake. She flipped back her thick curtain of red hair. “Can we sit with you for a moment?”
“Of course, Oracle,” Madame said, thrusting two canvas chairs in their direction. “Sit, sit.”
“How did the cards work for you?” Cassie asked casually, ignoring the other woman’s obvious nervous excitement. To Gabriel, she explained, “I handle her cards, make them more accurate.”
“Wonderful, wonderful,” Madame said, licking her lips and settling into her chair. She gathered the colorful tarot cards splayed out across the table into a neat stack, flipping them facedown. Madame’s hand crept out to caress a huge crystal ball, her gaze flicking back and forth between the ball and Cassie, hungry.
“I need two things from you, Madame. In exchange, I can influence your cards again, and the seer’s ball if you want,” Cassie offered. As she spoke, she peeled off her right hand glove, staring at Madame as if challenging the woman to remark upon Cassie’s scars.
To Gabriel’s surprise, the other woman didn’t seem to notice them. Her excitement for Cassie’s gift was simply too great to be affected by Cassie’s looks. In that moment, he realized that when it came to Cassie’s scars, her anxiety over others’ reactions was much greater than the reality.
When Cassie took off her left glove, Madame’s eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed.
“Pere Mal will come,” Madame said, a little sadly. “He will know you’ve been here, I can’t do anything about that.”
“Of course not, I wouldn’t ask you to tell him such a big lie,” Cassie said, running her fingertips over the satin tablecloth. “You can tell him I was here, but I do want you to leave out my friend, here. Pere Mal will know that I’m with the Guardians soon enough, he doesn’t need your help.”
Cassie raised a questioning brow at Madame, who let out a pent-up breath.
“Yes, yes,” the seer said, pushing the cards toward Cassie. Cassie moved to pick them up, then stopped.
“There’s something else I need,” Cassie said.
Gabriel watched the exchange with some fascination. For a woman who had supposedly lived in captivity for several years, Cassie was extremely socially adept. Growing up on the streets of London, Gabriel had known fishwives who’d have been jealous his pretty redheaded mate’s bargaining skills.
He scowled, thoughts thrown off track. Mate, that insidious word. He wasn’t supposed to be thinking that way. His bear rose a fraction, letting Gabriel know his displeasure at Gabriel’s refusal to take Cassie on the spot, mark her and claim her for their own.
“—need you to tell me how to find someone,” Cassie was saying when Gabriel fought his way back to the present conversation. “Someone who’s being kept, as I was.”
“Ohhhh,” Madame murmured, watching Cassie’s fingers dance across the tabletop. “Oracle, I do not know such things…”
Cassie seemed to consider that for a moment, then she made as if to rise.
“If you can’t help me—” Cassie started.
“No, no! Wait, wait,” the seer said, dropping her voice to a whisper. “I know who you might ask, Oracle. Only, do not leave.”
“I’m listening,” Cassie said, reaching out and picking up the tarot deck. She gave the cards a couple of soft strokes, then gave Madame Marquis a glance.
“There is a man, a very bad man,” Madame said, looking a little pale. “Ciprian Asangel. He is third rung on the Vampires’ social ladder, he will know something.”
“Interesting,” Cassie said. She closed her eyes and seemed to focus on the cards for a few moments. Opening her eyes again, she set the cards aside. “Tell me where to find him, and I will energize the crystal ball.”
Madame licked her lips again, regaining some of her color.
“You know the bar Bellocq?” the seer asked. “He runs the Kith portion, the bolt-hole in the booth furthest from the door.”
“I’ve been there,” Cassie said.
Gabriel was a little surprised to hear that, since Bellocq was something of a swanky hook-up bar. He’d never actually been inside, but he knew the place’s reputation well enough. Both the human and Kith portions sort of oozed wealth and sex, and some part of him hated the idea of Cassie spending time there.
He watched silently as Cassie reached out and did her mumbo jumbo on the crystal ball.
“Thank you, Oracle,” Madame said.
“Remember our bargain, okay?” Cassie said.
“Yes, yes,” the seer agreed, though her gaze jumped straight to Gabriel.
“A penny for your thoughts, Madame?” Gabriel asked.
Madame Marquis looked between Gabriel and Cassie for several moments, then slowly shook her head.
“I can read your cards, Guardian, but I can’t tell you the Oracle’s future.”
Gabriel frowned, ready to question her further, but Cassie jumped to her feet and interrupted, pulling on her gloves.
“Okay, we should be going. Don’t want to keep Madame from her customers,” Cassie said, giving Gabriel a meaningful look.
“Yes, yes. Thank you, Oracle,” Madame Marquis said, rising and giving Cassie another wide-eyed handshake.
Gabriel let Cassie tow him away by the hand, wondering what Cassie could possibly have to hide.
“Where am I going to get something to wear to Bellocq?” Cassie wondered aloud as she pulled him back toward the car. Gabriel ignored the warmth that filled his chest at her simple, innocent touch, turning his mind to her words.
“We have your suitcases. Well, we have a couple dozen suitcases, and some of them are presumably yours,” Gabriel said. “But you won’t need anything to wear to Bellocq, beca
use you aren’t going.”
Cassie stopped dead in her tracks, pushing his hand away, and glared at him.
“Is that right?” she asked, her tone flat.
“The Guardians will go. This is our job, Cass.”
“First of all,” Cassie said, raising a single finger to draw his attention. “Don’t Cass me.”
Gabriel had to hold back a wince at her angry tone.
“Second of all, you don’t tell me where I go or don’t go. One little kiss doesn’t give you dominion over me.”
Gabriel sighed.
“It’s not personal. We wouldn’t let Duverjay or Mere Marie go, either.”
Cassie snorted.
“I’d like to see you give Mere Marie orders. It’s pretty clear that she’s wearing the pants in that house.”
Gabriel puzzled over that for a moment, but Cassie continued.
“I’d also like to point out that you’re not getting in the friggin’ door of Bellocq without me. Maybe the human side, just because you’re all handsome, but the Kith side is tightly controlled.”
“And you happen to know the secret password?” Gabriel asked, cocking his head.
“I know the bouncers, which is better.”
“And exactly how do you know them?”
“None of your business. Remember my first point?” Cassie asked, seeming to lose what little patience she had left.
“Okay, well how have you been drinking at Bellocq and kept prisoner at the same time?” Gabriel challenged, crossing his arms.
“Pere Mal needs to show off all his assets. He does a lot of favor trading, and he needs to let people know just what he’s packing. I’m one of the biggest assets he has, or had. He took me out a few times a month to show me off.”
“And why didn’t you just escape? Climb out a window or something?”
Something in Cassie’s expression hardened.
“I did, the second time he took me out. I slipped out of a VIP room and ran back to my parents.”
“And he kidnapped you again, under your parents’ noses?” Gabriel asked, bewildered. Surely a witch as strong as Cassie had come from two powerful magicians, strong enough to protect their child from harm.
Cassie gave a cold laugh, tossing her hair back. She pushed up one of her sleeves, showing Gabriel hundreds of intricate white scars at her wrists and inner elbow.
“Who do you think sold me to him in the first place? Worse, actually. They sold me before I could access my full powers. They thought I was weak, so they sold me to a vampire in the Gray Market. Before I was the Oracle, I was a blood slave.”
Ice wrapped around Gabriel’s heart, freezing him solid inside. His fists clenched at the very thought. Some blood donors were well treated and lived long lives, but the shadier Vampire entrepreneurs let clients use enslaved donors up in a few short years before turning them out onto the streets to live short, pathetic lives, their strength and intellect gone.
“How old were you?” he asked, barely getting the words out through his clenched jaw.
“Fifteen.” Cassie pushed her sleeve back down and gave Gabriel a hard look. “If you keep looking at me like that, that fucking pity, I will punch you right in your pretty face.”
“It’s just… a lot to process. I’m trying not to lose my temper,” Gabriel admitted.
Cassie sneered at him, an angry blush mottling her pale cheeks.
“Well, I’m so sorry your so-called mate is used goods. Fate must think she’s funny, pairing me with Mr. Perfect. It’s not like I had any choice in what happened,” she said, her teeth bared.
“Cass,” Gabriel groaned. She made to turn away, and he grabbed her to haul her up against her body. “Look at me. I would never, ever think that. And I’m not perfect, far from it.”
Cassie looked up at him, stiff in his arms, her big gray eyes luminous with unshed tears.
“Let me go,” she whispered, her gaze locked with his.
“Not until you listen,” he said, leaning down to brush his lips over hers. Her scent overran him, spicy-sweet cinnamon; the press of her stomach and chest to his made his cock twitch with renewed interest.
Cassie stared up at him, uncertainty ruling her expression. Gabriel gave her a slow, deep kiss, releasing her lips with reluctance.
“Your past means nothing to me. Tell me you believe me,” Gabriel said, keeping his demand soft.
Cassie bit her lip and nodded, bringing her hands up to his chest to gently push him away. When she’d put a few inches between them, she drew in a deep breath.
“I’m not a delicate flower, Gabriel.”
He couldn’t help but love the sound of his name on her lips.
“You’re stronger than most, I would guess.”
“Yes,” she said, adjusting the sleeves of her blouse again. “And I’m going to Bellocq with you. I understand that you’re not ready for a mate. I might not be, either. But you’re going to have to accept my help to find the other girls.”
After a long moment, Gabriel could only nod.
“Alright,” he said, reaching out and taking her hand again. When she didn’t resist his touch, he pulled her to his side and walked her back to the car, knowing full well that he’d just agreed to something very difficult indeed. “We can’t go tonight, anyhow. It’s the new moon, so none of the Vampires are out and about. They’re off doing whatever secret things they do together in their little covens.”
“Guess we’ll have to find a way to pass the time,” Cassie said, pursing her lips. “Do you play chess, by chance?”
He suppressed a groan at her blatant teasing. It seemed that Gabriel Thorne would be spending a great deal of time with the unforgettable, gorgeous Cassandra Chase whether he wanted to or not.
5
Cassie slicked on a final coat of gleaming ruby red lipstick and admired herself in her compact mirror. Her thick winged eyeliner was flawless, her orange-red locks piled in a tousled updo, a thin gold circlet resting on her head. That was the funny thing about Kith clubs, the thing Cassie loved most: you could leave all conventional dress behind and truly dress to impress, regardless of what might be appropriate for a normal human club.
She wasn’t entirely thrilled with the Vampires who ran Bellocq, mostly because their monthly disappearances during the new moon had stuck her in the Manor with Gabriel for four days straight. Neither Cassie nor Gabriel were patient to begin with, it seemed, but the lustful tension blooming between them was becoming unbearable.
Even now, with Aeric sitting between her and her would-be mate, Cassie could smell nothing but Gabriel. She could smell his skin under his clothes, each time he shifted in his seat in the car. The fact that she knew that it was Gabriel’s skin, specifically his skin, was more off-putting than Cassie could possibly express.
And tonight, they would have to talk, touch, and work as a team. How the hell was that going to happen?
The Oracle stirred within Cassie, perhaps reacting to her ill ease. She took a deep breath and tried to think positive thoughts, sending positive vibes to the Oracle. The last thing Cassie needed right now was to go all possessed and flame-eyed, then start spewing cryptic prophecies about how the car’s occupants were going to suffer and die. When the Oracle spoke, the revelations were rarely comforting and joyful.
Cassie sighed and looked out the window as Duverjay pulled the SUV around Lee Circle in New Orleans’ Central Business District, checking out the elegant white column in the center of the roundabout. Robert E. Lee stood there, looking out over the highway. He wasn’t one of Cassie’s favorite people, but he did make a memorable monument.
“That’s it, there on the right,” Cassie said, pointing out a squat olive green building.
“Not much to look at,” Rhys rumbled from the front passenger seat. He nudged the Guardians’ butler, their driver for the evening. “Let us out over here, Duverjay.”
Duverjay pulled over, waiting for Cassie and the Guardians to get out in front of the Hotel Modern, something of a chic
hot spot in its own right. It was ten thirty, just the right hour to find plenty of New Orleans social activity. At the moment a number of people were sitting on a patio at the hotel’s front entrance, sipping drinks and chatting; a full third of them stopped and stared as Cassie, Gabriel, Rhys, and Aeric exited the SUV.
Cassie smoothed her hands down her backless gold Aidan Mattox gown. The floor-length dress fit like a glove, clinging to all the right places, the intricate gold beading shimmering in the moonlight. The beading spread out from her waist in a sunburst pattern, flattering her figure beyond belief. She looked like a flame-haired Venus rising from the sea, three model-handsome men in tuxedoes following her every step.
No wonder people were staring. Cassie kept the amusement from her face, sweeping past the hotel patrons. Gabriel was right behind her, and Cassie knew he was getting at least as much attention as she was, if not more. His Burberry tux fit so well that Cassie could barely bring herself to glance in his direction, too afraid she’d actually start to drool.
Gabriel was built, that was for certain. His ass in that tux was a crime against humanity.
“Where’s the entrance to the club?”
Cassie shot the man in question a look as he cut into her lascivious train of thought.
“This way, through the courtyard,” she said, turning a corner and leading them into a huge candlelit seating area. Aside from candles, the only light was from dim bulbs strung overhead, leaving plenty of room for the sultry New Orleans moon to make the courtyard romantic.
Cassie skirted the tables filled with laughing, happy twenty-somethings and stopped a dozen paces from where two armed, suited guards stood. Above them hung a simply-lettered sign that read bellocq — a craft cocktail bar.
“Here we are,” Cassie announced, stepping up to the guards and giving them a nod. “Gentlemen.”
“Miss Chase,” both of them replied at once, dipping their heads reverently and pulling the double doors open to let her in.
“That was suspiciously easy,” Aeric rumbled.
“Those were just the human guards,” Cassie said, rolling her eyes. “They don’t even know what I am, just that I’m a VIP.”