Tall, Dark and Paranormal: 10 Thrilling Tales of Sexy Alpha Bad Boys

by Opal Carew

  “You can do this. Leo, look at me.” He compelled the boy to stare into his eyes. “I trust you, buddy. And Shea knew you could do this. That’s why she left you with me. I need you.”

  Leo looked at the wound in his leg, then back into his eyes.

  And with the trust of a six-year-old for his unworthy hero, Leo smiled and placed both hands on Gabriel’s leg.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  It wasn’t long before the Mercedes pulled into the entrance to an industrial complex near Reading Regional Airport.

  Shea felt every nerve in her body jumping. Her stomach knotted, her head pounding with tension. Only the voices were silent as she sat in the back seat next to Dario.

  Dario hadn’t spoken to her since they’d gotten into the car. He’d spared one look out the back window as they’d pulled away then had stared out the side window, ignoring her completely.

  She hadn’t been able to look back.

  Goddess, please let Gabriel be okay.

  Just the thought of what she’d done made her eyes burn and her stomach shrivel into a ball. A few days ago, Gabriel had asked her if she could shoot him if he told her to. She’d given him her answer a few minutes ago.

  Now she had to be strong for a little while longer and finish this.

  “So, are you ready to tell me how to break the curse or are you going to keep me in suspense?” Dario asked.

  They were the first words he’d spoken since they’d gotten in the car but there was no way she was answering his question.

  Instead she countered, “Your men killed my parents.”

  He didn’t flinch. “And your parents were…?”

  “Kyle and Celeste Tedaldi.”

  He nodded, and his gaze ran over her face, examining her features. “Your mother was a beautiful woman. They were all beautiful women. But they’ve been released now.”

  “No, unfortunately, they haven’t. They’re in here.” She tapped her temple. “You butchered them. Now they’re in limbo.”

  He nodded and something resembling pain crossed his expression. “That was never my intention. But their lives were an abomination, as is mine. The curse must end. My brother Remo enjoys this existence. He does not want to end the curse. I do.”

  His brothers? There were more? Goddess, help her. “Did you know about me?”

  “No.” He laughed, as if they weren’t mortal enemies. “I’m still amazed at your presence. How exactly did you come about?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. I only know that I’m here, and I’m supposed to break the curse.”

  “And you are going to do that…how?”

  Blood for blood. She didn’t say it out loud, but she knew what would have to happen.

  She couldn’t let her parents’ deaths be in vain.

  * * *

  Gabriel got a call from Quinn twenty minutes after he’d left to follow Dario and Shea.

  When he hung up, he turned to Matt and Leo. Matt had tossed his blood-soaked shirt into the back seat so Serena could wrap his wound. The blast had smashed through his shoulder with enough force to knock him to the ground, but the wound wasn’t Fatal.

  He held Leo in his arms. The boy was tired but he was starting to come around. He’d maintained a control Gabriel couldn’t have managed under the stress and didn’t seem to be suffering any adverse affects.

  “Where is she?” Serena asked.

  “At the airport.”

  “If he gets her on a plane, we’re screwed,” Matt said. “Let’s get a move on.”

  Fuck, no. Gabriel was going nowhere with his mother and Matt, who probably had a concussion in addition to the attonitum blast wound but wouldn’t let Leo heal him. Said the boy had already expended too much energy. And he probably had.

  Matt and Serena would be staying here. And Leo was coming with him.

  As if she’d read his mind, Serena helped Matt up and back to the front seat of his Chrysler.

  We’ll be fine, dear.” She reached up to kiss his cheek. “I’ll take Matt back to the compound. Come back to us.”

  “I will. Stay safe, Mom. I love you.”

  Her eyes filled with tears but she smiled. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”

  His gut burned as if he’d swallowed a vat of acid as he and Leo drove away in the Jeep. Their destination turned out to be a deserted-looking warehouse in an industrial park near the airport.

  Quinn, dressed only in a pair of baggy work pants he must have stolen, emerged from the shadows along the side of the building. Gabriel pulled up next to him and got out of the car, signaling Leo to follow.

  “They’re in there.” Quinn pointed the building behind them. “What do you want to do?”

  He wanted Shea back, however he could get her. He wanted to be rid of the constant fear that ate at his guts for his loved ones. He wanted the damn curse broken.

  “Hell if I know.”

  Quinn’s jaw dropped a second before he emitted a short harsh bark of laughter. “Well, then I say we just walk in the front door and take back your woman.”

  Gabriel shot him a look. “You know, you’re not that funny.”

  Quinn smiled at him. “Yeah, but your girl thinks I’m cute.”

  Gabriel snorted as he felt the weight on his chest lighten just a little at Quinn’s banter. It helped pull him back from the brink of…what? Despair? No, there was no reason to despair. Not yet.

  “Leo.” He glanced down and saw resolve in Leo’s dark eyes. “Your knives are under the seat. Don’t leave my side unless I tell you to run, and you use those blades if you have to.”

  He waited until the little boy nodded. Christ, he hoped he didn’t need the kid, but he couldn’t take any chances. Not with Shea.

  Gabriel pulled open the sliding door to the warehouse without encountering a challenge and scanned the empty space with his eyes and senses.

  When he didn’t find anyone, they ran for the back where a solid steel door was set in the center of a brick wall.

  Quinn sighed. “I don’t like going in blind, Gabe.”

  Gabriel shook his head. “Me, either. But we don’t have a choice.”

  Leo’s small hand pushed at his waist, trying to move him. Gabriel allowed him to get by then watched as the kid pulled at a string around his neck and pulled Shea’s nail, in its shape as a key, from beneath his shirt. With the nail in his hand, he placed both palms on the door and closed his eyes.

  “I see four people with guns and I see that other guy,” Leo said. “The one who took Shea.”

  Jesus, this kid was a treasure. Gabriel would have given him a hug if he could have spared the time.

  “What about Shea, Leo? Where’s Shea?”

  It took him a few seconds but Gabriel knew exactly when he found her. Leo started pounding on the door and screaming.

  “No! Shea! No!”

  * * *

  Shea had prepared herself as best she could for this, but she still couldn’t stop the shakes. Her teeth chattered and her hands trembled so badly, she couldn’t hold them together.

  For the past few minutes, she and Dario had discussed the process of what was going to happen, what needed to be done, but her brain could only think about Leo and Gabriel.

  She wanted to hold her brother one more time. She hadn’t been able to say goodbye in all the mess. And she wanted one last kiss from Gabriel.

  She didn’t want to let a mad man stick a blade through her heart so he could mingle his life blood with hers.

  But here she stood, her mother’s athame in her hand. Ready to end this. For her parents’ sake. For the women. For Leo.

  “And you’re sure this will work?”

  Dario stared at her with an expression of childlike curiosity, looking so much like Gabriel, it was starting to give her the creeps.

  She forced her spine straighter and nodded. “Yes. It will.” It had to. “Are you afraid?”

  Dario chuckled, and the sound sent chills down her spine. “No. I’m not afraid of dying. Bu
t if this doesn’t work, I will heal when the knife is removed from my heart. You won’t, will you?”

  There was no way she wanted to think about that now. “It will work. And when the curse is broken and you stop your pursuit of my brother and the women, it’ll have been worth it.”

  Dario nodded, his expression considering. “You’re a brave girl. You would have been more than a match for my son, I believe.”

  Her lip quivered before she could stop it. He was torturing her, the bastard. Why? When everything he’d worked toward for centuries was about to happen?

  And it would happen. She truly believed this was the only way to break the curse.

  Blood for blood.

  Plus, the constant hum of the voices in her head were gone completely. She believed it meant she was doing the right thing. Of course, it also meant her mother had deserted her when she’d needed a good kick in the ass to forge ahead. Didn’t that figure?

  She looked straight into Dario’s eyes. “Just get it over with.”

  Goddess, please give me the strength. And let Gabriel understand.

  She took a deep breath as she handed him the blade.

  * * *

  Gabriel pushed Leo away from the door so hard the kid fell to the floor. He didn’t have time to apologize. Laying his hands on the solid steel, he shoved with every ounce of physical strength and arus he possessed and felt the metal give beneath his hands.

  Not enough. The door remained closed.

  He growled, a guttural sound of frustration that echoed the roar in his head. He had to get in there. Shea was in there with Dario, and he had to get her out. Nothing else mattered.

  He continued to push, but the steel wouldn’t budge.

  Damn it, he refused to fail her. It just wasn’t an option.

  He threw everything he had at the door, and still couldn’t get it to move.

  And then, just when he was about to start wailing on it in sheer frustration, he felt Leo step up beside him and place his hands on the metal next to his.

  Adrenaline surged as they blasted the door away from the frame, knocking out two of Dario’s guards in the process.

  They rushed into the room—and found Dario sinking a knife into Shea’s chest.

  Leo screamed, a high-pitched wail, drawing Dario’s gaze as he pulled the knife from Shea’s body. And Shea crumpled to the ground.

  Quinn jumped the two remaining guards as Leo ran for Shea.

  Gabriel tackled Dario with a roar.

  They hit the floor and rolled. Dario managed to escape from Gabriel’s hold and come up to his feet, but Gabriel didn’t give him time to get set in a fighting stance. He swung out with a roundhouse that caught Dario in the kidneys and made him stagger back a few steps.

  Dario shook it off and landed an uppercut to Gabriel’s jaw that made his ears ring and followed with a jab to his eye.

  Gabriel felt a snarl twist his mouth as they traded blow for blow with equal skill.

  But where Dario was cold and calculating, Gabriel fought with a dark fury. He wanted to flay the man’s skin from his body, make his blood run in rivers.

  He wanted him to die.

  Gabriel landed blow after blow and absorbed just as many, his fury giving him strength and insulating him from pain.

  Blinking sweat and blood from his eyes, he waited for an opening, for the moment Dario would think he had him. He stumbled back slightly, faking a weakness he didn’t feel and baring his teeth when Dario took the bait and followed him.

  Dario stepped closer, expecting Gabriel to back away. But Gabriel stepped in, wrapped his foot around Dario’s ankle and pushed, letting them both fall to the ground. Dario tried to twist into the fall, but Gabriel got his hands on Dario’s neck and held him down.

  Without a second thought, he grabbed Dario’s chin in one hand and the back of his head with the other and twisted his head until he heard bones crack and felt Dario go limp.

  The sickening sound didn’t stop him from throwing Dario into the far wall, where he made a crater in the cinderblock.

  “Gabriel!”

  Leo called his name, distracting him from going after Dario and ripping the man’s head off. The boy knelt next to Shea, who stared at him with tears in her eyes. He rushed to her side, dread sinking into his stomach at the amount of blood pumping from the wound in her chest.

  “You should have let him finish.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Now it’s all for nothing.”

  Shutting off his brain, Gabriel lifted her into his arms as Dario’s men groaned next to their fallen leader. Quinn held them at bay with a fierce stance and a menacing growl.

  “Don’t leave me, Shea.” Gabriel heard tears in his voice and wasn’t surprised to realize his face was wet as he ran for the door he’d kicked in only minutes ago, Leo close on his heels. “Just hold on until we can fix you. Please.”

  Instead, she slumped against him, her breathing shallow and faint.

  By the time they left the building, Quinn had run ahead, shifted back to human form and had the Jeep idling at the door. Leo climbed in the back seat and Gabriel followed, holding Shea. Quinn peeled out before he had the door closed.

  She was almost gone. He could feel the life leaking out of her with each beat of her heart.

  He looked into Leo’s eyes.

  The little boy’s hands shook as he laid them on his sister’s bleeding chest.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Shea awoke with the knowledge that she was still alive.

  She knew because her chest ached…and the voices were back, whispering, taunting.

  Failure.

  She opened her eyes and stared at a plain white ceiling.

  She tried to move but couldn’t, her hands caught in some type of vise, and one strong, warm band anchored her to the bed.

  Panicking, she drew in a deep breath and caught his scent.

  “Gabriel.”

  Her scratchy throat felt like it was lined with hay, her voice barely audible, but Gabriel’s head snapped up from where he’d been resting it on her lap. He had both of her hands in one of his and his other arm wrapped around her waist. It couldn’t have been a comfortable position, but his gaze was sharp and alert when he met hers. Assessing.

  She couldn’t hold his gaze for long.

  One big hand reached out to feel her forehead then ran the length of her hair, as if petting her. “How do you feel?”

  She wanted to curl into him, but that weight on her shoulders was back. Heavier now. She’d failed them all.

  “Thirsty,” was the first thing that popped into her head.

  He reached for the pitcher on the bedside table, poured water into a glass then held it to her lips for a few sips.

  When he withdrew the glass, she moved a few body parts experimentally and found nothing hurt. Even the ache in her chest was fading.

  She looked down and found she was naked under the clean white sheet. She appeared to be fine. Only the faintest hint of a scar where Dario had stuck the knife in her chest. She remembered exactly how it felt, the coldness, the sheer agony.

  “You let Leo heal me.” She reached for the t-shirt at the foot of the bed and pulled it on, for the first time uncomfortable in her nudity. The huge shirt covered her to her kneed and smelled like him. “Is he alright?”

  Gabriel watched her every move like a hawk. “He’s fine, asleep in the next room.”

  She moved to slide her legs over the side of the bed. Before her feet touched the floor, he slid his arms under her and lifted her against his chest.

  Because it was exactly where she wanted to be, and where she didn’t deserve to be, she shook her head. “I can walk.”

  “Shut up, Shea.”

  Her breath caught at the frustration in his tone. She felt his disappointment in the tightness of his broad shoulders as he carried her through the Spartan bedroom into the hall and to the doorway of the next room.

  He pushed open the door with his foot…and, in the dim glow of a night l
ight, she saw Matt sprawled in a chair by the bed where Leo was curled in a ball.

  Tears sprang to her eyes as she returned Matt’s lazy grin.

  “You’re okay,” she whispered. “They shot you. I saw them shoot you.”

  He ran a hand through his mussed hair. “Yeah, well, believe it or not, I’m damn hard to kill.” He looked at Leo with a mixture of bemused devotion and confusion. “The kid’s had a busy day. Only fell asleep about a half hour ago. I told him you’d be here when he woke up. Glad you’re not going to make me a liar.”

  It all sounded so normal. Too normal. Everything back to the way it was.

  Nothing had changed.

  She started to shake, tried to control it, but knew Gabriel felt it as his arms tightened around her. But he didn’t say anything.

  “The kid’s fine, Shea.” Matt nodded toward the wall dividing the bedrooms. “Get some more rest. You need it. We’ll talk later.”

  Her gaze went to Leo, curled in the bed, his little face peaceful in sleep. In his clenched hand he held the nail she’d give him. Menrva’s Nail. Had it kept him safe somehow?

  She felt a bone-deep shudder move through her body, and Gabriel turned and walked out of the room without another word.

  Burrowing close to his chest, she soaked in his warmth, that damn cold ache wanting to consume her.

  When he reached her bed, she fought the urge to cling as he set her down and pulled the sheet and blanket over her.

  “Where are we?” she asked, not wanting him to leave.

  “A friend’s house in the city. He’s out of town.”

  “And…and Dario?”

  Gabriel’s jaw flexed, emotion darkening his eyes as he eased onto the bed to sit beside her. “I left him there. I was too worried about you. There was so much blood, too much blood. You nearly died in my arms.”

  “I’m sorry.” The tears she’d been trying to hold back leaked out now. “I failed.”

  She looked up as Gabriel framed her face with his hands and forced her to look into his eyes. She saw anger and anguish. Those emotions made her heart stutter in her chest.