“Ready to talk about what happened tonight, and what you remember of the attack?” Dante walked over to stand in front of the couch.
Isaac sat up, but pulled Naomi close. “There’s not much to tell. The attack happened fast. I didn’t realize he was behind me. I focused too much attention to the scent and the thought that he’d left.”
“Everyone sit down. If we need more chairs, I’ll go get some.” Neil glanced around the room. He didn’t expect it to happen. Some of them came here specifically as guards. They wouldn’t be staying, but they’d been watching Isaac and Naomi while Neil and Dante searched for the attackers.
Cael and Dante sat. The others moved around the house checking windows, looking in any place that might hide a person. In a way, Neil appreciated that extra eye. He didn’t know where to look. Not in this situation.
“I tracked the human through the house.” Isaac grimaced. “He’d come into the living room and the trail led into the kitchen. It smelled fresh. I thought if he still wandered around the back of the house, I’d catch him as he tried to leave. I believed that he’d left already, but I had no idea why he came into the house, or how he’d gotten in.”
“Through a window. He jimmied the lock. One of those that you didn’t wire, because of its small size and location near the back of the house in your fenced yard.” Dante gave Isaac a distinct glare.
“It will get wired along with the other windows on the second floor that aren’t connected to the system.” Isaac shook his head.
“How did you get hit?” Cael asked.
“From behind. The first thing that I knew, pain exploded in my head. I went down, dazed. He kicked me in the gut and then once in the head. While I teetered on the edge of consciousness, he said something, but the only word that I caught was leader. I have no idea what else he said or if he meant it as a threat against the Cim.” Isaac shook his head. “I should have gotten more than that.”
“We can all be taken off guard, especially in the confines of our home where we’re accustomed to being safe.” Dante nodded. “We’ll take it as a warning. We know there’s a Gobel involved in this somehow. He has to be after something, and we’ll catch him once we know what that is.”
“Yeah, but until that happens, none of us will be safe.” Isaac shook his head.
“That’s life. Now, get to the hospital for a checkup. They’ll be expecting you.” Dante slanted a hard look at Isaac as if he expected an argument.
Neil wouldn’t be surprised if Isaac argued either.
“As long as she comes with me. I’m not leaving her alone.” Isaac laced his fingers with Naomi’s.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Neil strolled out of the elevator and headed toward his car. Most of the other cars had left the parking lot. He’d worked after hours to get a few things done. Lately, doing all of the extra little things he’d done before hadn’t seemed as important as they once had.
Being with Naomi was key. Making sure she remained safe mattered more than anything else. Over the last few days, he’d noticed that regardless of if he did those things, or took Naomi home early, his bosses were pleased with his performance. That realization made him wonder why he hadn’t seen it before.
He drew out his keys and prepared to click the lock when the sound of steps on the concrete behind and to the side of him drew his attention. He cast a quick glance to the left where he’d heard one of the sounds. A shadow moved behind one of the pillars. At least, he thought he saw something go behind there.
Neil clenched his hand. He didn’t want to deal with a stupid mugger. They sometimes frequented the parking garages because they could get an isolated target easier.
At least, fists would work well enough with them to dissuade them from continuing the incident. Neil continued to his car, sure that the man or men would attack once he reached the vehicle or before. They wouldn’t want to let him slip inside and get away from them.
As Neil reached the bumper of his car, a man rushed from the front of it. On second glance, it wasn’t a man. The creature’s gray skin and sunken features gave its identity away. A corrupted Gobel. It didn’t waste energy with a glamor. It sprang forward and swung its clawed hand toward Neil’s face. Neil jumped back.
Gar-corp owned the parking garage. Only employees used it and most of those had left. Neil didn’t waste any time. He partially transitioned. His skin toughened and his nails became sharp claws. The change wouldn’t do his shoes much good, but it would help protect him from injury.
Neil swung a clawed hand at the Gobel. The sound of shoes on the pavement drew his attention. He moved, not wanting to let anyone sneak up behind him. From the corner of his eye. He saw two more Gobel coming at him.
Fuck, they’d planned this attack. They came as a pack. A very rare occurrence. Even if Gobel worked together, they seldom attacked together.
The Gobel hissed out a laugh and stayed out of reach of Neil’s arcing fist. Frustration tightened Neil’s jaw. He didn’t think they would fight fair.
They tried to surround him. Neil knew he couldn’t let that happen. They’d go for his back. He tried to slip out of the circle of Gobel. They blocked his path. Since he couldn’t get out, he had to get rid of one of his opponents to turn the odds more in his favor.
He spun and kicked out. His foot struck the knee of the beast in back of him. It went down screaming. He whirled to face the other two, expecting them to be coming at him already, but they stood staring at him.
Neil didn’t know what drew the stunned gaze. Perhaps most people didn’t fight back. At this moment, it didn’t matter. Two against one would pose some difficulty when they had claws as he did. He’d get hurt, but if pain ripped through him, they would feel it, as well.
The two Gobel ran at him at the same time. He didn’t see any signal, but couldn’t worry about it. He had to go on the offensive. He swung at one of the men, hoping to buy some time to deal with the second. The Gobel jumped back. With that one at least on the defensive, Neil’s attention turned to the second in time for him to lift an arm in defense against the clawed hand swiping at his face. He managed to block the blow, his arm striking the Gobel’s wrist.
He heard a step, before a claw struck his shoulder. A moment too late, he realized he shouldn’t have lost sight of the others. He hissed as the air stung the open wounds. Neil kicked out, hoping to land another strike to the knee.
His shoe hit the Gobel’s thigh, drawing a growl from the gray-skinned beast. The other Gobel came at him. Neil swung. His fist connected with the creature’s chin. It stumbled and hit the car.
Neil leapt for him, intending to take advantage of the unbalance. He grabbed it by the back of the neck. His claws sank into the skin. He intended to hold on even if the thing started struggling. Neil slammed its head against the hood of the car twice. With a slight exhale of relief, he whirled to face the last remaining creature.
Movement caught his eyes as he spun. He tried to bring his hand up, but he didn’t get it high enough in time. The blow landed against his cheek. He stumbled, but managed not to go down. As he dragged in a breath, he desperately tried to regain his senses and focus.
Before he could, a foot slashed up and caught him in the stomach. The air rushed out of him. H struggled to draw in more. The Gobel’s foot flashed out again, knocking him off his feet. Neil landed on his side.
Neil heard a yell, but it sounded far away. It did help that he knew someone came to help him.
“Too bad. I’d planned to leave this message in your blood.” The Gobel flipped Neil onto his back.
The Gobel dug his claws into Neil’s shoulder. Neil saw the creature glance up, probably judging the time he had to deliver his message.
“Tell your leader we’re coming for him. We’ll keep coming until you leave the area. We are many. You can’t stop us.” The Gobel pulled him to a sitting position before tossing him back again. It took off.
Neil drew in a few slow breaths, not believing that it ran away. It had
an easy kill, even with the approaching men. He knew someone ran toward him. The thud of their footsteps on the concrete reached him. And the warning made no sense to him. The Gobel had said tell his leader.
He gulped in air and tried to push into a sitting positon. Pain slashed through his stomach and his head pounded. Fuck.
He would feel this for days, even after he could transform. He collapsed back onto the concrete, unable to manage to rise up any more. He didn’t think he’d be able to change into his Gargoyle form for a while.
Plus, with the kicks and the clawing the Gobel did, he knew he’d have to go to the hospital anyway. Sometimes they tipped their damn claws in poison. He’d be observed for that alone for a night.
“Be still, Neil.” Garry Simon slid to a stop beside him. Garry worked in the building as one of the security guards. “Fuck. Where did these assholes come from? Damn, that’s bleeding.”
Neil swallowed and his heart began pounding again. Inability to clot was one of the signs of the Gobel used poison. Fuck. That’s the last thing he needed. He’d hoped since the Gobel said he’d planned to kill him that he hadn’t bothered with it. The toxin didn’t take affect soon enough to be of any help in the fight.
“I’ve called Dante. The Cim are both out of town at that meeting. They won’t be back until tonight.” Phoenix Gray skidded to a stop beside them. “I’ve also contacted Parker as well as an ambulance.”
“Good. Parker might be able to help us with this.” Garry didn’t look up at Phoenix.
Parker was a police officer. Although they’d use a hospital the Gargoyle ran, they didn’t control everything. Human doctors and nurses worked there, as well as the EMT’s that would take him. With that in mind, they had to take precautions.
“Don’t give them the video footage.” Neil grabbed Garry’s arm.
“We saw enough to know that they can’t have it based on what these two look like. The tapes and bodies will be gone before the authorities arrive.” Garry patted Neil’s shoulder. “Dante’s coming. He’ll have a few questions.”
Neil nodded, trying to remain focused in spite of the fog growing in his mind. He wanted to get this out. He didn’t know what the drug would do to his mind. They had to know what that Gobel had said, even though parts of it confused him.
Neil turned his head when the sound of running reached him again. He watched as Dante’s stride ate up the distance between them. Dante stopped near him and knelt.
“Well, damn, Neil, you managed to take two out of the three. Are you sure you don’t want to work for me?” Dante’s tone carried a lightness that didn’t mask the concern in his eyes.
“I think I’ll stick with my present career for the moment.” Neil pushed the words out. “They targeted us, Dante.”
“We know. They were waiting in the parking garage,” Dante said as if to reassure him.
“No, they targeted the Gargoyle. The one who ran away said tell your leader that we’re coming for him and that they are many. He said that they would keep coming, and we couldn’t stop them. That it would go on until we left the area.” Neil tried to sit up. “The Gobel said he’d planned to paint the warning on the wall in blood, but he ran out of time.”
Dante frowned. “That corrupt Gobel’s not from around here. He’s also probably lying about how many are with them. There aren’t that many Gobel around at all, much less those that become corrupt. We’ll be prepared for them, Neil. Good job, and don’t believe that about planning to paint it in the blood. They lie and try to make themselves look tougher than they are.”
Neil nodded and relaxed now that he’d relayed what he knew. This wouldn’t be a pleasant few days. He hoped Isaac kept Naomi close to him. He didn’t want her facing this type of danger.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Neil sat up on the couch and reached for his laptop. He groaned. Damn, even after a day and managing to shift last night, he hurt.
“I told you not to reach for that. I’ll get it for you.” Naomi sighed and stood. She picked up the laptop and put it in his lap.
He growled at her. “I told you I don’t need you serving me. I’m a little sore, but other than that I’m all right.”
“Yeah, I was there when they released you, and when your boss told you that you didn’t have to do anything over the next few days except heal. The doctor said you were only supposed to move whenever you had to. You’re lucky Isaac told me to give you your computer. I intended to hide it.” She narrowed her eyes on him.
She’d taken care of him since they’d returned from the hospital. While he enjoyed the attention, he didn’t need her trying to baby him. Minor aches and pains plagued him, and he had a few bruises. The doctor hadn’t ordered bed rest. With every passing moment, he took another step closer to proving that to her. The pain running through his body stopped him. He wouldn’t be averse to her doing all the work. Convincing her to do that would be impossible though.
“Considering where my mind has been wandering, I’m not that hurt.” He gave her an encouraging smile.
“According to my brother, there are few times that a male won’t think of sex.” She raised a brow at him. “I’m pretty sure you’d have to hurt more than you are to stop the thoughts of sex.”
He held back a grin. She was right about that. Especially when she sat across from him wearing a bright pink, silky, sleeveless top and tight, black jeans. She’d pulled her hair back from her face and she wore a ribbon with a silver bangle attached at her wrist.
“I pictured you riding me.” He decided to be blunt.
She rolled her eyes. “You are ambitious. There is no way that we’d get that far. You’ve got two big bruises on your abdomen. One of which extends down onto your pelvis. If you think that I could begin to ride you without pain entering into it, you’re out of your mind.”
“Hey, a guy can dream.” He smiled. “Come sit beside me. I missed you last night and want to feel this sweet body against me.”
“I missed you. Damn, it scared me when Isaac told me we had to go to the hospital because you were hurt. I never expected to have to leave you there. I’d begun to think you guys were too tough to be hurt by anything.” She bit her lip before getting up and crossing the short distance between them. With more care than he thought necessary, she slipped onto the couch beside him.
“I’ve got it on good authority that facing three on one would leave anyone in bad shape. The good thing that came out of it is that we learned a few things about the Gobel behind this.” Neil slid an arm around her. He clenched his jaw to keep from moaning at the pain. He didn’t want to give her any more reason to coddle him.
She leaned her head against him. He enjoyed the contact. With her nestled close to him, he savored the intimacy. He didn’t want to give it up.
His stomach growled. She stiffened and pulled away. He saw her glance toward the clock. It was lunchtime. Although he’d planned on getting a little work done today, he couldn’t concentrate and had slept earlier.
“It’s lunchtime. I’ll get you something to eat.” She patted his leg and walked toward the kitchen.
“I’m coming with you.” He wanted to be with her. Not for her protection. With his body banged up, he doubted he could outfight much of anything.
“You’d be more comfortable in here. It won’t take me long.” She stopped and looked back at him.
“Yeah, I won’t be comfortable for a day or two.” He lifted a shoulder in a shrug and winced. The statement was truer than he’d like. The Gargoyle fast healing wouldn’t stop that. “I can deal with a little discomfort if I’m close to you.”
She stopped and looked back at him. “That’s sweet. Since you’re in here, why don’t you tell me what you discovered from this attack? From what I can tell from the assaults, everything seems random.”
Neil eased down into one of the kitchen chairs. He waited a little while before he tried to speak. Pain shot through his body. Especially his stomach and pelvis. Much as he might hope and dream about making
love with her today, that pain ruled it out.
“Not random. They’re meant to scare us. But not you, me, and Isaac. I’m talking about the Gargoyle as a group. I’d bet someone planned the Appari attacks. If I had to guess, I’d say the Gobel behind the other attacks on us arranged them.” Neil watched as she pulled food out of the refrigerator.
He tilted his head and studied the ingredients she laid out on the counter. A bowl held chicken marinating in some reddish sauce. She pulled out the steamer and started some rice. Next, she heated up a pan and put on the chicken. While that cooked, she put together a salad. She checked the chicken before turning back to him.
“Why would a Gobel attack the Gargoyle? There are a lot of them here.” She tilted her head.
“It’s not from this area. It’s the reason they wouldn’t know facts about the size, strength, and leaders.” Neil smiled. They might not know much more than that, but it did give them some information. He didn’t doubt that they’d learn more. Corrupt Gobel could be extremely focused. There would be more attacks
* * * *
Naomi strolled along beside Isaac. The sun streamed down, warming her with a gentle caress. The wind brushed over her, cooling enough to make it a great time to have lunch outside. The sound of laughter rang in the air along with the occasional splash.
They strolled alongside the fence bordering a huge pool. Glints of light reflected from the water and sent blades of light across her eyes. A dip in the cool water of the pool sounded great.
They strolled down the sidewalk toward the café that offered refreshments to the pool’s visitors, as well as those who used the gym that sat behind the café. A small park area, which was little more than a grassy area and some park equipment near the trees at one end of the large block. The running and bike trails that wound around the community offered more to the community’s residents.
Capturing Their Flame [Stone Passions 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 18