by Opal Carew
Only to open them when she felt a familiar presence.
Gabriel.
He stood in front of the pond, leaning against the split-rail fence, staring at her. She wanted to go to him, throw her arms around those broad shoulders and hug him to her, but wasn’t sure he’d let her. And she wouldn’t survive his rejection.
He looked calm enough, but her son could hide so much behind those dark eyes. At the moment, though, she was too glad to see him to wonder how he’d found her.
She loved him so much. “Do you want to hear my side?”
He sighed and moved toward her. “I think I’ve figured it out. You thought I’d be the one. The female.”
Goddess, bless him. “Yes. I believed if I could produce a child with the blood of the boschetta mixed with the blood of the Paganellis, the curse would be broken.”
He sat on the bench next to her and stared straight ahead. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
That was easy. “You loved Davis. I never wanted you to know you weren’t his son. Stupid, yes?”
He sighed, and she heard more of his anger slide away with the breath. “No, just ill-advised, given how Davis died.”
“Yes, it was. Davis had been my grigorio since he’d turned twenty-one. He kept me safe, kept me hidden, and he helped me get to Dario. Then, I wiped his memory of that night, and I never spoke of it again. Davis believed you were his. But he and I were never together until after I had been with Dario. When I knew I was pregnant, I seduced Davis.” She grimaced. “Not one of my better moments. But I did love Davis. You have to know that.”
Gabriel nodded. “What about Dario? Didn’t he know who you were? Why didn’t he recognize you?”
“He’d been away at school much of his life so we didn’t have much contact with one another in our village. I went to him as a prostitute, one of the many he’s had over the years.”
“So you’ve known where he’s been this entire time?”
“Yes, but I couldn’t let the grigori kill him, Gabriel. Not even after…” She couldn’t bring herself to say their names. Not now. “Dario is one of the keys to breaking the curse. I know it in my heart. I just don’t know how.”
“But you didn’t have a daughter. You had a son. Celeste had the girl. Why?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have any idea.”
Gabriel sighed, frustration in every molecule of air. “You know I love you, right?”
Her heart flipped as only a mother’s could when her child says those three little words. “Yes, and I love you with all my heart.”
“Dario will never be my father. I may have his genes, but he’s nothing to me.”
She nodded, aching for everything he’d lost, for all she’d put him through. “Davis was your father. He loved you more than his own life. You and Nino.”
An invisible weight seem to lift from his shoulders. “What do you want me to do about Dario?”
Grabbing his arm, she squeezed. “You can’t kill him, Gabriel. You can’t. And I don’t believe he’ll harm you.”
“No, but he’ll cut off your head and tear out your heart in a second.”
She shook her head. “I think…he’s as tired of this game as we are. Maybe he’ll be ready to talk.”
“Let’s hope.” Gabriel threaded his fingers through hers and squeezed. “But I’ll be ready just in case.”
And she knew if Dario harmed Quinn, Gabriel would try to kill him. She couldn’t let him do that.
But if Dario harmed Quinn, she would kill him herself.
* * *
Dario sat in the back of the BMW sedan, waiting for the driver of the van behind him to signal he was ready to go.
She would be waiting for him, had tracked him down to let him know where to meet. He felt an unlikely twinge of respect for the woman and had refrained from asking the question uppermost in his mind.
How?
He had a son. Gabriel had to be his son, they looked too much alike to be anything but blood relation. An emotion he couldn’t place burned in his chest. How the hell had she managed it? The boy looked to be in his mid-twenties, but after you’ve lived five-hundred years, you begin to lose perspective on age.
And he hadn’t lived like a monk. There had been women. Beautiful women he ordered from a menu like an expensive dinner and never saw again. There were always more, always different. There are many escort services in Florida if you know where to look.
She had to have slipped in one of those times.
Damn it, he should have been able to tell. His magic had never been powerful, which is why he needed their children, but somehow, he should have known.
He’d been so careful never to make a woman pregnant, not wanting to curse his child with the life he lived and the danger he faced.
Old anger welled in him now, drowning out other emotions. Anger against his own father who’d only had enough love for one son, but who’d used his others like pawns in a chess match.
Christo, the bastard, had brought on their father’s madness with his death. He was the only one their father had ever really loved.
Remo, the eldest, should have taken on this burden, but he’d already been doing his father’s work. With the strongest magic of them all, Remo had been given to the Mal as a child. Dario had seen him only occasionally growing up.
Parente had escaped into the priesthood, though how he’d fared there, with the level of magic he possessed, was a matter of debate whenever they’d crossed paths in the last couple hundred years. Which hadn’t been often.
And yet they had been close as children, he and Parente, closer than the others. They’d shared common goals and beliefs.
Dario sighed at how much those could change over the course of a few centuries. Parente still believed they could do good. Dario had no such illusions left.
The world in which they lived now was not so different from the world into which they’d been born five hundred years ago. Poverty, war, starvation, intolerance—they all remained. Only the gulf between the classes was more pronounced and the toys men used today to torture and kill were different. Shiny, new and no less effective.
Peter slid into the front seat, a grim look on his face. Dario felt tension move up his spine like a snake.
“Have you found Kelsey?”
Peter shook his head and Dario had to restrain himself from physically striking the terrified man. He would find Kelsey himself. Later.
“We need to leave for the rendezvous, sir.”
“Yes. Let’s get this over with.”
* * *
“Matt, you have to go faster.”
Shea cringed as soon as the words left her mouth, because it was the third time she’d said it. It wasn’t helping anyone’s stress levels, certainly not her own.
“We’ll get there.”
Even though Matt answered with the same calm tone as the last two times, she could tell he wanted her to shut up. Only his strong will kept him from yelling at her.
She slid a glance at Leo, who gave her a tiny attempt at a smile. It nearly broke her heart.
Goddess, please give me the strength to do this.
If she couldn’t go through with her plan, her brother would never live in peace. And the women she’d been born to release from their curse might never know freedom.
They were headed back to the city. Matt had called Gabriel under the pretense of making sure he didn’t want backup and Gabriel had told him he was following Serena to City Park and that he didn’t need a fucking babysitter. And to make sure Shea and Leo stayed far, far away.
Yeah, right. Shea clutched her backpack tighter. She couldn’t forget to take it with her. She didn’t think she would, but with her state of mind, she just might. She needed—rather, believed she needed—its contents.
And she’d already made sure Menrva’s nail hung around Leo’s neck.
“We’re here.” Matt’s drawl broke into her thoughts. “It’s show time, kid.”
* * *
Dar
io instructed Peter to park the Mercedes on Constitution Street behind the band shell. Drivers used the street to cut through the park but there were no other cars in the vicinity.
He saw two people sitting on a bench facing the stage. Serena and his son. The word sounded foreign.
Behind the Mercedes, the white van holding the versipellis pulled to a stop.
He took a deep breath, anticipation making his heart race. Soon. This would soon be over. After he convinced Serena that his plan for their release would work, this miserable existence would end.
* * *
Gabriel stiffened and turned to watch the brown Mercedes park at the curb, followed by a windowless white van.
Dario. The man who’d fathered him was here. He felt absolutely no emotion at the thought.
He was going to get rid of this bastard once and for all. Whatever it took.
Standing, he watched Dario leave the Mercedes along with two other men. Another man got out of the passenger side of the van.
Which probably meant there were another two men inside the van, at least. Not great odds, but not impossible. Not with his mother’s power combined with his.
They could get out of this without losing anyone but first he had to get Quinn out of the van.
Dario motioned the two men to stay at the tree line near the cars as he continued to advance.
“I didn’t know you would be here, son.”
His mind screaming at the word coming from this man’s lips, he managed to rein in his anger. He wouldn’t give the bastard the satisfaction.
“Where’s Quinn?”
“In the van. Restrained but unharmed. I thought we could sit and talk for a few minutes first.”
Gabriel had nothing to say to the man. Nothing at all. He only wanted to fight, to hit something, feel bones break, anything to get rid of this building sense of foreboding.
He had to think, had to be ready for whatever came next.
* * *
“Damn it,” Shea cursed, breaking her own rule about swearing.
As soon as they’d turned off Eleventh Street and into the park, Shea had seen Serena, Gabriel and another man standing in middle of the seating area in front of a large stage.
“We’re too late. Matt—”
“Sit tight,” Matt said as he slammed the car into park. “Don’t go—”
Shea had the door open before Matt brought the car to a complete stop. She had to get to Dario, had to make him see she was the one he wanted, not Serena.
“Dario Paganelli,” she called.
The little group turned to stare at her, as did the three men standing guard at the rear of the seating area. They reached under their coats and withdrew guns the size of small bazookas.
“No, don’t shoot!” she said. “I need to talk to Dario.”
“Shea, get back to the car.” Gabriel practically growled the words, his face a tight mask of tension.
She ignored him, concentrating on the man who…oh, Goddess, he looked so much like Gabriel.
“Dario, I’m the one you want. Not Serena. I’m the one. You want to break the curse. You need me. You agree to let everyone here leave and I’ll go with you.”
Again, silence.
She refused to fail. Stepping closer, she raised her arms to show she had no weapons in her hands.
Dario stared at her, seemingly unmoved by what she’d said. “And what would I need with you?”
“I’m the answer. I’m the one you need to break the curse.”
She watched Dario’s expression tighten as she drew closer, close enough for him to see her eyes. Close enough for her to feel Gabriel’s anxiety like a force field around him.
Finally Dario’s eyes widened. “What are you?”
“I’m the key.” She had to make him see, had to make him believe. “Can’t you tell?”
She held out her hand but, at that moment, a shot rang out. Not a normal gunshot, but a blast from an attonitum, like the one she had stuffed in the back of her shorts. She hadn’t known Dario’s people had the specialized weapons.
She screamed, but she was too late. Her heart stopped in her chest when she heard Leo cry out Matt’s name. In her peripheral vision, she saw Matt fall to the ground, a spreading bloodstain on his shoulder.
“Peter, stand down at once.” Dario paid no attention to Matt, kept his gaze focused on hers. “What kind of a trick is this?”
She wanted so badly to see if Matt was okay, but she couldn’t fail at this. Not now. “It’s no trick. I know how to end the curse.”
He cocked his head as if considering his options, but she knew he wouldn’t pass up this opportunity. “And what assurances do I have that they,” he pointed in Gabriel’s direction, “won’t come after us? Though your one grigorio is injured, I know the boy has power and my son…my son is strong, as well.”
His son? Oh, Gabriel, I’m so sorry. “I can assure that they won’t come after us.”
“Truly?”
“Yes.”
* * *
Adrenaline pulsing through his veins like magic, Gabriel knew he wouldn’t want to live if anything happened to her.
“Shea!” He yelled, not bothering to contain the fear in his voice. “Don’t do this.”
“Son, I think she’s already made up her mind.” Dario never took his gaze from hers. “But what makes you think I won’t kill the men and take the boy anyway?”
Her chin tilted up just a fraction. She wasn’t kidding when she said, “Because I’ll kill myself if you do. And your life will continue.”
Dario raised an eyebrow. “Then I guess we’d better leave. Peter, let’s go.” He waved a hand toward the car.
“Shea.” Gabriel could barely get the word out around the knot in this throat. She would not leave with Dario, not if he had to kill every man between here and her to do it. As he made the slightest move toward Dario, the man who’d shot Matt trained the attonitum toward the other grigorio again.
No, not at Matt, at Leo, kneeling by his side in the grass under a huge old oak.
“Gabriel. Don’t.” Shea turned to him. He could see fear in her eyes, but it wasn’t fear for herself. It was for him and Leo and Matt. “This is for the best. Don’t follow. Please.”
“No! Damn it, Shea, this isn’t the way.” It couldn’t be.
She only shook her head, removed her attonitum from the holster on her back and trained it on him. He heard the blast of power a millisecond before the pain in his leg nearly blinded him, it was so intense. He heard Serena cry out and then nothing.
He struggled out of unconsciousness through sheer force of will, long enough to see Dario and his men pull Shea into the sedan and toss Quinn out the back of the van as it pulled away.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart.” Serena was at his side, talking through her tears and tying a tourniquet around his thigh. “It’s going to be okay. Just let me check Quinn then we’ll follow Shea.”
Serena moved away as Matt walked unsteadily to his side and flopped onto the ground next to him. “I didn’t have a clue. Shit, I should’ve known she’d pull something like this.”
Gabriel grabbed Matt’s shirt and pulled him closer. “He’s gonna kill her. We’ve got to find her.”
“Gabriel.” Quinn appeared at his side and dropped to his knees beside him. “She shot you. She fucking shot you.”
“Quinn.”
“Goddamn, Gabe, there’s a lot of blood.”
Quinn pressed his hands against the wound, shooting agony up his spine. But Gabriel knew it would take more than pressure. She’d hit the artery. She hadn’t meant to. It’d been a lucky shot. Or unlucky, in his case. He was going to bleed out if he didn’t get help soon.
“Quinn.”
“Shut up, Gabe. I’ve gotta do something about this. We gotta get you to a—”
“Quinn, don’t lose her.”
Quinn’s startled blue eyes met his, and his mouth dropped open.
“No way—”
“Qu
inn, if you don’t follow, we won’t know where he’s taking her.”
“No.” Quinn’s emphatic denial made him push harder on the wound and Gabriel groaned. “You can’t ask me to leave you. Serena can’t take care of both of you. You’ll die and there’s no way—”
“Quinn. Please.”
“Fuck!” The profanity sounded close to a growl. Then Quinn pulled the belt off his jeans and threw it at Gabriel. “If you die, I’ll follow you to Aitás and kill you again myself.”
Serena knelt by his side, placing a hand on Quinn’s arm. “Go. We’ll be okay.”
Wrapping the belt around the upper part of his thigh, Gabriel cinched it as tight as he could. And could still feel the blood seeping out of him.
Quinn stood in jerky motions. “You better fucking be alive when I fucking get back.”
Gabriel glanced up, saw Leo looking down at him from the car window. “I’ll be fine.”
Quinn followed his gaze and shook his head, breathing heavily through his mouth. He sighed then shifted so fast it had to be worse agony than Gabriel’s bullet wound.
The wolf took off without a glance back.
“Leo.” Darkness had started to seep around the outer limits of his vision, but he knew he couldn’t lose consciousness. He’d die if he did. “I need you down here, buddy.”
He heard the car door open, and Leo fell on his knees by his side. “Shea shot you.”
“Yeah, but she had a good reason.” At least, she’d thought she had. “Listen. You’re gonna have to help me now. You’re all I’ve got. Then we’re gonna go get Shea.”
The boy’s eyes began to fill. “What if I can’t do it? What if I can’t help myself like before.”
Serena placed her arm around the boy’s shoulders and squeezed him tight to her side. “I’ll be here to help you, Leo. I’m not a healer, but I can guide you. Everything will be fine.”