Come Hell or High Water (Hellcat Series Book 5)

by Sharon Hannaford

  Though the vast majority of Werewolves in the City belonged to one of the five, no wait, with Kyle’s that made six, Packs, that didn’t mean they all lived together or near each other. Once a Werewolf was over the worst of the initial shock of living with Lycanthropy, they were encouraged to reintegrate with society and their communities. Albeit with more caution, and in many instances in a new community, rather than one that might notice the changes in them. The City’s Alphas expected them to be productive members of the population and, together with people like Julius, Byron and the Magi Council, got them into jobs wherever possible. The only time the whole Pack came together was at full moon and for special occasions during the year.

  Previously pack members had been restricted to living within certain boundaries in the City, in order to keep the peace, but with the recent formation of the Werewolf Alliance, the living restrictions had been loosened, and some wolves had chosen to move to new areas and even mingle with wolves from other Packs.

  The Unholy Trio had been some of the first to move. They had been firm friends for years, but Adriana was from the small Red Shadow Pack while Casey and Jade were from the larger Black River Pack, so they’d always been forced to live in different parts of the City. The moment they heard they could live wherever they liked, they’d gone out to find a larger apartment that all three of them would fit into. Gabi hadn’t been to the new place yet.

  The building was old and tired looking, but must have once been a showcase apartment block. The elevator still worked, but hearing the loud clanking it made on its way down, Gabi, Alexander, Fergus and a Werewolf guard chose the stairs. The smell in the stairwell was one step away from nauseating, but Gabi didn’t fancy being stuck in an elevator for hours. Fortunately for their noses, the Trio’s apartment was only on the third floor.

  The door to the apartment stood open and Gabi could already hear Jade’s upset voice as they cleared the stairwell. She automatically sent out her supernatural ESP to check for danger; all she sensed was four Werewolves in the apartment and no other supernaturals except the ones surrounding her. The apartment was long outdated, but spacious and clean. Kyle was hugging a sobbing Jade and Trish was holding Casey’s hands as they all sat on a large, ugly, green sofa.

  Fergus and the Werewolf guard took up protective positions near the door as Gabi helped Kyle and Trish calm the two girls. Alexander hung back, distraught women weren’t his forte. A pot of filter coffee and a tin of biscuits later, Gabi and Kyle exchanged a look. A look that said the girls weren’t overplaying Adriana’s disappearance; something had happened to her, something sinister.

  ********************

  Caspian had had plenty of practice slipping unnoticed inside the Estate that he did it without a second thought or concern. He followed his usual routine of striding through the communal areas as though he was on some kind of mission. As long as he appeared to be doing something, no one questioned him. He just had to be careful to avoid those who knew him, like Fergus and Nathan. Fergus was often near the manor house, and Caspian didn’t fancy having to explain his presence to the Scotsman. He was under no illusions as far as Fergus was concerned; if his continued existence had been up to the Scotsman, he would now be a pile of ash. But he had intimate knowledge of Vampire law, and Julius’s idea of morals, and he knew that as long as he did as he was told, he was safe. Once his plans came to fruition, however, he would need to hide himself very well indeed. Until such time as he was strong enough to challenge Julius. Ah, he’d waited so long, and now victory was so close he could taste it. Just one little piece of information, and then everything would fall into place. He just knew it. As long as he had enough patience. Have patience, he had to remind himself constantly. It would all work out if he was able to bide his time until exactly the right moment.

  He surreptitiously scanned the area. Usually he would find a convenient Werewolf to control, the subservient ones that Julius employed as cleaning staff were almost too easy to control and use their eyes and ears to spy on those inside, but they were never able to get close enough to the important areas of the house. He hadn’t been able to glean anything useful in his previous three visits.

  Throwing caution to the wind, Caspian pulled up the collar of his coat to conceal his features as much as possible and took the back pathways, working his way towards the rear of the large building. One side of the house was bordered by a thick copse of newly planted birch trees and he used these to hide his approach. His best hope was to get close enough to be able to hear a conversation through a window. An open window would be even better. An idea hit him; if a Werewolf couldn’t be his ears and eyes, at least they could make themselves useful by opening a couple of windows.

  He had one main objective, and he needed information to achieve that objective. However, if he was ever presented with the opportunity to get close enough to that bitch of a Dhampir who should by all rights be his, he wouldn’t hesitate to strike this time. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought that if he got even a little taste of her, maybe it would be enough. Enough to push his power level up a notch, enough to break free of his cursed fealty to a Sire he abhorred. And then…then he would find what he was looking for, and nothing would be able to stand against him.

  He chose a position near a window on the lower level, leaning against the slender trunk of a tree and settling in, as still as only a Vampire can be. He began searching for the familiar core of energy that denoted a Werewolf, opening his senses, fine-tuning his spear of power. So entirely consumed by his mission that he didn’t sense the presence of one of his own until a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

  Caspian spun wildly, lashing out, only to have his fists gripped by stronger hands.

  “Now, what have we here?” the other Vampire asked in a lazy drawl. He was a grizzled-looking man, his lips set in a hard line and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Caspian recognised him as the recently Turned Vampire who had wormed his way into the inner sanctum in just a few short weeks. He was so recently Turned he shouldn’t be out of the first stage yet. But here he was, calm and in control and so silent he’d managed to get the jump on Caspian.

  Caspian pulled back from the newer Vampire, throwing every ounce of strength behind the movement, ripping away from the man’s grip, but only just.

  “I’m doing a perimeter check,” he told the man with a snort of disdain. “Nathan asked me to do him a favour. What are you doing here?”

  The other man simply turned his mouth up in a facsimile of a smile. His fangs were prominent.

  “I’m just enjoying a walk in the fine evening air,” he said mildly. “I’ll be sure to let Nathan know you are on duty.”

  Caspian forcibly stopped the tic in his neck that threatened to betray his charade. Instead he too bared his fangs in the pretence of a smile.

  “Oh, please do,” he replied, “but please move along. This area is out of bounds to those not invited inside.”

  The other Vampire’s smile was almost genuine this time. “Of course,” he told Caspian, “after you.” His gaze was knowing as he held out his hand courteously to indicate that Caspian should precede him from the trees. Caspian had no choice but to stride from his place of concealment, knowing he needed to leave the Estate as quickly as possible before the new Vampire had time to alert others to his presence.

  ********************

  “She was most likely taken from work,” Gabi told Patrick on her return to the Estate a couple of hours later.

  The Werewolf pursed his lips, his expression serious. “The bar on Seventeenth?” he checked.

  “Yeah, that’s the one,” she confirmed. “She clocked out just after three a.m., but didn’t make it to her car. Jade found it the next day in the staff parking and checked it over, she has the spare key. It was still in running condition, just barely, but there was no reason for her to have found alternative transport. The bar manager confirmed she left alone, and she told him she was going straight home. Her phone is off the grid, but Trish tr
aced her last few calls and messages and there was nothing unusual in them, nothing that would arouse suspicion, no new contacts or unsolicited emails. Nothing. She’s just gone.” Gabi’s fist slammed down onto the desk, not hard enough to break anything, just an outlet for her frustration.

  “We’ll find her,” Patrick said, absolute confidence in his voice. “Whatever has happened, wherever she is, we’ll find her, I promise.” He would do everything he could to find her friend, not just because he too was a Werewolf, and not just because she was Gabi’s friend, but because he was that kind of guy.

  “Kyle is informing the rest of the Alphas,” she told him. “They’ll divide up the city and begin a search. It will probably be best to liaise with him on where the best places would be for us to help out. Trish is combing security-camera footage, but if you have any juniors with good eyes and keen attention to details, send them her way. There’s a lot of video feed to go through.”

  Patrick’s eyes went distant and Gabi could see the wheels in his mind spinning already. “I have two that will fit the bill perfectly,” he assured her after some thought. “They’ll report to Trish in an hour. I’ll coordinate the rest and make sure you, Trish, Alexander and Kyle are kept in the loop. You’ll do the same for me?”

  “Of course,” Gabi agreed. “If nothing major comes up, we’ll meet up just before dawn to run through what has and hasn’t been covered and discuss a further plan of action.”

  Patrick nodded and left her alone in the office.

  ********************

  Gabi hadn’t bitten her nails since she was twelve. Nothing had stopped her before the age of twelve, not punishment, not her mother’s nagging, not bitter concoctions, nothing. Until she’d decided for herself it was time to stop. One day she looked down at them and decided it looked ugly, so she stopped that day. Just like that. Not that she wasn’t tempted on a regular basis; even nearly two decades later, the temptation still existed. Maybe it was the childish version of an addiction, something that once you’d gained a taste for would remain with you for the rest of your life. She’d already caught herself three times in the last hour. As if being stuck at the Estate while one of her friends was missing wasn’t bad enough, she hadn’t heard from Julius yet and doubted she would for several more hours. It was a long flight to the Princep Court.

  After replying to several emails and cancelling appointments and meetings set up for the next few days, she’d caved and taken one of Ian’s sleeping tablets just after sunrise. There had been no promising leads on Adriana’s location despite every available Werewolf in the City and a posse of vampires out looking for her. Patrick called the front-liners in for rest and refreshment, and ordered Gabi to do the same.

  When she woke at midday, nothing had changed. There were no leads on Adriana’s whereabouts, no demands had been made by her captors. It was as much a mystery as when Gabi received Casey’s call the previous night. If she’d had even the vaguest idea of where to start looking, she’d have been out there herself, but it was the proverbial needle in a haystack, and they couldn’t even be sure if she was still in the City. She’d tried to contact Athena, in the hopes of using a Magi Tracker to find her friend, but Athena’s phone had gone directly to a message saying that she would be unavailable until six p.m. That was hours away; the lack of progress was driving her stir-crazy. Razor attempted to calm her by rubbing his head against her leg until she gave in and sat down to stroke him. At least it was a distraction from the desire to chew on her nails.

  She was just contemplating throwing a computer tablet at the wall to see what happened to it when she heard pounding footsteps out in the corridor. As she rose, Kyle threw the door open, his face excited.

  “We’ve got a lead on Adriana. I think she’s still alive.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Gabi punched the address into her on-board GPS as she waited impatiently for the door to the underground garage to lift. The address was strange and disturbing on a number of levels. It was for a church on the edge of a relatively new, low-cost housing area to the east of the City. It had taken a couple of hours to pull a rescue squad together, just long enough for the Vampires to rise from their daysleeps.

  Kyle had gone to collect weapons and medical supplies from one of Byron’s storage lockers, but was now also on his way to the location. Fergus was in Gabi’s passenger seat, Razor in the back seat, and a carful of Vampire backup was a few minutes behind them. Alexander didn’t bother trying to stop her, they all knew the risks and were aware of the potential for attack at any moment, but when a friend’s life was at stake, nothing would stand in Gabi’s way. Tomorrow night was full moon, and there was a strong possibility that Adriana wouldn’t be able to keep her form tonight, especially if she was stressed. They needed to get Adriana out of there fast.

  “What else dae ye know, lass?” Fergus rumbled beside her.

  Gabi pulled a face in the dark interior of the car. “Not much,” she said. “They’d moved the search into the outer limits of the City, into some of the more outlying suburbs, and one of the Werewolves picked up a scent trail. They’re staking the place out, but there’s been no movement in or out. So far they’ve only found Adriana’s scent and some human ones. Whoever is behind this seems to be experienced at hiding their true nature.”

  Fergus grunted and turned his attention to checking the blade of his falchion; it was a wicked-looking weapon.

  Gabi navigated the speeding BMW through the dimly lit streets, flinging the car around corners, blitzing red lights and stop signs. She left more than one irate motorist shouting rude words at her, but they were the least of her worries.

  She brought the car to a stop down a tree-lined farm road more than a kilometre from their destination. The plan was to rendezvous here with the Vampire and Werewolf forces before moving in, but Gabi and Fergus would be doing a quick reconnaissance of their own before the rest arrived. She left her door open long enough for Razor to jump out, he was already wearing the leather armour Savannah had designed especially for him, and the three of them jumped a rural fence and moved in silent unison across a field dotted with half-asleep cows, towards the rear of the church. They kept to the shadows of the larger headstones as they passed through the small, decaying cemetery adjoining the run-down church building. A pair of somewhat dilapidated cottages hugged the stone fence separating the dead from the living. The place had obviously been long abandoned and now the setting for the kidnapping made more sense.

  If only the rest of it did too. The three of them were hunched down behind the stone fence only a stone’s throw from the church building itself, and Gabi had opened up her Vamp sense to the whole area. With the advent of her consuming blood from Julius, her ability to sense supernaturals had strengthened substantially. Where before she’d been able to sense anything within around a hundred metres of herself, now her senses picked up anything within half a kilometre. And where before she could just about be sure what race they belonged to, now she could tell exactly what they were, how strong they were and even in some cases what gender they were. She could clearly sense Adriana inside the building, and a tiny portion of the concern tightening her chest eased; she could only sense living supernaturals. What made her more anxious, however, was the lack of other supernaturals in the vicinity. The two werewolves watching the place were in position a short distance down the street from the church, in a car with darkened windows, but Gabi couldn’t sense another supernatural in the entire area.

  She gave a low, frustrated growl and indicated with a flick of her head to Fergus to follow her back to the rendezvous point. Whatever was waiting for them either wasn’t a supernatural army or had Magi help in concealing themselves. There was also the very real possibility someone had opened a portal to the Etherworld, and she couldn’t sense anything because the demons hadn’t crossed through yet. Another disturbing thought crossed her mind, it was only a few months ago that demons had turned a small army of humans into Ghouls, and the army had been let loose on
Gabi and her team. She hadn’t been able to sense the Ghouls before they attacked; they were essentially still human, after all. A shiver crawled up her spine at the memory.

  Back at the car she made a quick call to fill Alexander in as she pulled a pair of flame-throwers from the secret compartment in the back of the BMW; since the Ghoul episode she never attended a fight without them. She ended the call to Alexander just as Kyle’s van pulled up with its lights off. Gabi was relieved to see that he’d come alone; it was easier for both of them if Trish wasn’t around. They both spent too much time watching out for her. She knew it wouldn’t have been easy to keep her friend away tonight and wondered what trick Kyle had used to get her to stay somewhere safe.

  “Trish is manning the Alliance’s central communications centre,” Kyle told her, correctly reading her thoughts. “We’ve fast-tracked the system since Byron’s announcement; it seemed the best idea. She’s keeping tabs on police monitors and media outlets. Doug is with her.”

  Gabi lifted her eyebrows at the mention of the SMV Hunter Shape-shifter, he hadn’t been quite the same since being shot in the chest a while ago, but she hadn’t envisioned him as a sidelines person. Mind you, he’d be a major asset in the Werewolves’ new set-up, he was quick-witted and organised, and had been a Hunter for nearly eight years.

  “We also have extra manpower on call and Ian is on night shift at the hospital just in case,” Kyle finished and Gabi blew out a breath, happy they had some behind-the-scenes backup in place. It was a genuine relief.

  She tossed him one of the flame-throwers as three other vehicles turned onto the lane. Kyle lifted an eyebrow, but knew her well enough not to require any further explanation.

  The vehicles pulled up and Vampires and Werewolves spilled out, strapping on weapons in efficient silence. Gabi recognised some of the Werewolves; Ross and Rory had been SMV staff, and Butch had helped out on a couple of dangerous missions. Matt was one of the longer standing SMV Hunters, another two she didn’t know, but their scent identified them as Red Shadow Pack, Adriana’s Pack members. Harrison, the Red Shadow Alpha, was also in the mingle, along with another Werewolf Hunter who was so new to the scene that Gabi didn’t know his name. From one of Julius’s cars spilled Tabari, a Werewolf Gabi had seen once or twice, and Mac. She did a double take at the sight of her friend. It was a shock to see him here, but also still strange to see him move like a Vampire. Dressed in black from head to toe, with weapons strapped to his legs and waist, he looked very different to the grizzled man with a sly sense of humour Gabi had come to love in such a short space of time.