“How long was I asleep?” she asked.
“Not long. How are you feeling?”
“Tired.”
“Then go back to sleep.”
Anna closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come, so she opened them again. “Have you ever been in love before?” she asked Gabriel.
She felt him tense beside her, then relax. “Once. With the vampire who turned me and Luke. Vivien was her name. She was amazing. The way she made me feel had me begging her to turn me. She was intoxicating; I couldn’t get enough of her. And I’m sure she felt the same about me.”
“So what went wrong?”
“She disappeared. We were together for nearly two years, then one evening she went out and never came back. I searched for her, but no trace could be found. I’ve no idea what happened to her, but I’m sure she didn’t leave me of her own free will.”
“What did you do?”
“When it became apparent that I was never going to find her, I tried to kill myself. I managed it in a variety of different ways, but I always came back to life. I asked Luke to help, but he refused. I found out that cutting your own head off is nearly impossible. If I had known about hunters back then, I would have paid them a visit and offered myself to them.”
Gabriel pulled Anna closer to him. He could feel the pain returning, but he was enjoying talking with her so he continued, doing his best to ignore it. He had never really talked with her alone before, except about work.
“Luke helped me through the worst of my despair, never leaving my side. Eventually I decided life was still worth living. I had planned on spending an eternity with Vivien and after she was gone, for a while, eternity felt like a very long time. That’s when I vowed never to fall in love again. I only ever chased after women I knew I should not be able to have. It became all about getting them then leaving them, nothing more.”
“So there is a reason for you being a complete bastard then.”
Gabriel looked at her. “You really think I’m a complete bastard?”
Anna gave the question some serious thought. “Actually, no.”
“I’m sorry for putting you through this. I really am.”
“I know.” She looked at him and saw him grimace. “The pain’s back, isn’t it?” When he nodded, she leaned forward and kissed him.
————————————-∞————————————-
When Luke returned home, he went straight to the security room. Gavin looked like he had not slept. Cassy had replaced Brian and Juliette would be replacing Gavin soon.
“We’ve been keeping a constant watch,” Gavin said. “So far, he has been controlling himself well.”
“I know,” Luke said. “She’s called me a couple of times.”
Gavin looked him up and down. “You look a lot better than you did when you left here.”
“JD made sure I was so exhausted that not sleeping wasn’t an option. I’m going to get changed then go to work. It’s going to be better for me than staying here.”
“Good idea. We’re all taking it in turn to watch the monitors. We won’t let anything happen to her.”
————————————-∞————————————-
Anna managed to call Luke a few times during the day. She was tired, as she wasn’t being allowed much sleep, but she was managing to eat.
That night Luke went to 14 again, despite the vow he had made to himself, and the next day was a repeat of the previous one.
Late the following evening, Luke was training with JD once more when his phone rang. Phones were usually banned from the arena, but JD made an exception in Luke’s case. Anna didn’t have much opportunity to talk to him, so he had to be able to answer whenever she called.
“It’s over,” she said. Two words had never sounded so good to Luke’s ears. “You can come home.”
“I’m on my way.”
JD smiled at Luke. “I take it you’re bailing out of the session.”
Luke nodded. “I need to be with Anna. Thank you for everything. You have really helped me.”
“Any time. And I do mean that. You have the potential to become quite good, if you’re interested in taking the training seriously.”
“Thank you, but no. It was a good distraction, nothing more.”
Anna was asleep by the time Luke got home so he went in search of his cousin. He found him in his room, lying awake on the bed.
“I thought you would be sleeping.”
“I want to, but I can’t. How are you?”
Luke shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve been better.”
“I am so sorr—” Gabriel started to say, but Luke held up his hand.
“It’s not your fault. But we do have to talk about what happens now. You’re in love with my girlfriend. This is a big problem.”
“It’s my problem, not yours. I know I’ll never be able to have her and I would never dream of doing anything to come between the two of you. Not willingly, anyway. If I thought for one minute that Anna had any feelings for me whatsoever I would leave. She is yours and always will be.”
“Can you cope, seeing her every day, seeing us together?”
“I’ll manage. And before you say it, no I am not going to ask if we can share her. She would never agree to that. The only reason she could bear being with me was that she pretended I was you.”
Luke smiled. He had been afraid that Gabriel’s love for Anna would cause a problem, but he believed what Gabriel was telling him. He wouldn’t let it become an issue. He would deal with his feelings on his own.
“Get some sleep,” Luke said then left him alone.
The following morning, most of the household were in the dining room when Luke walked in. Anna had slept peacefully through the night, only waking when he slipped into the bed beside her. She rolled over to put her arm around him, then dropped off again. She looked so serene when Luke awoke that he couldn’t bear to wake her.
Luke took a seat and poured himself some coffee.
“Anna still asleep?” Paul asked. Luke nodded.
Hearing movement behind him, he looked up and saw Gabriel entering the room.
Cassy grinned at him. “Have you had an enjoyable few days?”
Luke tensed. Gabriel was not going to take that comment well.
“Yes,” he said in a sarcastic tone. “I’m not sure what was the best part. Making love to a woman I adore, all the time knowing that she wished I was someone else, or hearing her scream out Luke’s name when I longed for her to say mine. But I think that was topped by the constant thought, at the back of my mind, that every time I touched her I was hurting my cousin.”
“There’s no need for sarcasm,” Cassy said.
“Oh I think there is every need.”
Luke relaxed. If Gabriel was being sarcastic it meant he was not going to react violently.
He changed the topic of conversation and the tension that had filled the room evaporated. A short while later, Anna turned up. She still looked exhausted and was dressed only in her dressing gown. Putting on more clothes had seemed like too much effort.
“You look like shit,” Paul said. “You should go back to bed.”
“I will after I have eaten. I wouldn’t have got up if my stomach hadn’t growled at me.”
“One of the joys of being human,” Helen said. “I am so glad I don’t get hungry anymore.”
Luke noticed Cassy smiling at Anna and tensed up once more. If she said anything to upset Anna, she would regret it.
“So Anna, is Gabriel really as good as he makes out?”
Anna dropped her spoon back into her bowl, making milk splash onto the table. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t talk about this.” She stood up and ran from the room. Luke ran after her.
Gabriel waited until he heard them reach the top of the stairs, then he casually walked around the table until he was standing next to Cassy.
He grabbed hold of her and, with one hand around her neck, lifted
her up. Brian jumped up. “Stay out of this,” Gabriel hissed at him.
Cassy was chocking as Gabriel walked over to the side of the room and slammed her into the wall. “If you ever speak about what happened over the last few days, I’ll rip your arm off and shove it down your throat. Understand?” He spoke quietly, but everyone in the room, except Paul, heard him. The vehemence in his voice made Helen shiver.
Cassy was still unable to breath, so she nodded. Gabriel released her and she sank to the floor, gasping for breath.
Gabriel glanced around the room, daring anyone to speak. “If anyone else has anything to say, I suggest you wait until I can no longer hear you.”
With that, he left.
“Well you can’t say living here isn’t fun,” Paul said in order to break the silence.
————————————-∞————————————-
Anna was in Luke’s arms and he couldn’t get her to stop crying. His t-shirt was wet, but he didn’t care.
“Talk to me Anna. What’s wrong? I can’t do anything to help you unless you tell me what the problem is.”
It took a while, but eventually Anna calmed down enough to speak. “I feel like I have betrayed you.”
Luke gently caressed the top of her head. “You haven’t. You did what you had to do to help Gabriel. That’s all.”
“But I enjoyed it.”
Luke laughed in relief. “Of course you did. I would never have even given you the option of going to him if I didn’t think you would enjoy it. He has had a long time to learn how to please a woman and he discovered that he enjoys sex much more when the woman does as well.”
Now wasn’t a good time to tease her, but he couldn’t resist. “Do you want me to get him to give me a few lessons?”
“No!” Anna exclaimed, shocked by the comment.
“I was joking. Though it might be beneficial to both of us if you let me know some of the things that he did that you liked.”
Anna pulled away from him. “I am not going to talk about this. Not now. Not ever.”
Luke took a stray strand of hair and put it behind her ear. “You need to get away from here,” he said. “Pack a bag and I’ll take you away for a few days. We’ll switch off our phones so we can’t be disturbed. It will just be the two of us, doing whatever you want to do. How does that sound?”
“Like heaven,” she said.
We will only use him as a last resort
Luke phoned his boss, saying that Anna was still sick and he was taking the day off to look after her. It was Friday, so that would give them three days together before they had to return to work.
Anna phoned Sarah to let her know she wouldn’t be going to work again that day and gave her instructions as to what needed to be done in her absence. Sarah assured her she would take care of everything.
The next afternoon, JD called Gabriel. “Do you know where Luke and Anna are? Do you have any way of getting hold of them? Neither are answering their phones.”
“No. Why?” It had to be something serious because JD sounded stressed.
“They have brought forward the date of my dad’s hearing to tomorrow and Luke volunteered to help me.”
Luke had told Gabriel about JD’s father being falsely accused, but had never mentioned helping him out.
“What was he going to do? Can I help out instead?”
JD explained and Gabriel grinned. “That sounds like fun. What time do you want me at your place?”
“I’ll pick you up at eight.” JD thanked him then hung up.
“What’s wrong?” Sarah asked when she saw the concerned look on his face.
“Anna and Luke are unreachable, but Gabriel has volunteered to help instead.”
“Don’t worry. You can trust him. He will only do what you ask him to do.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Though something tells me he’s going to get a kick out of this.”
“We will only use him as a last resort. We should have enough evidence to win this without him.”
“You hope. Any idea why they brought the date forward?”
“Officially, no. Unofficially I’ve been told it’s because the prosecution found out that Jonathon has been investigating the alleged victim. They asked for an earlier hearing date, stating that the sooner it’s over with the sooner she can put it behind her and get on with her life. My source at headquarters thinks the real reason is that they’re worried Jonathon will uncover something.”
“He already has,” Sarah said.
“Yes, but they don’t know that yet.”
————————————-∞————————————-
“What’s he doing here?” Jonathon asked the moment he spotted Gabriel. JD, Sarah and Gabriel had arrived a while before the others and were waiting outside the room the hearing was to take place in.
“He’s here to help. If this doesn’t go well and I don’t think we can win, Gabriel will win it for us.”
“May I ask how?”
JD smiled at his brother. “You’ll see.” He hadn’t told anyone what he had planned, other than Sarah, Luke and Gabriel. If his father found out, he would object, so he was making sure he didn’t.
“Hello Katie,” Gabriel said. “You’re looking good.”
Jonathon glared at him, but said nothing. Katie ignored him and went into the room, closely followed by her husband.
Everyone from Sanctuary 14 was there, as a show of support for Shawn. Jane had even brought her boyfriend from Sanctuary 5.
JD put his hand on his father’s arm, just before he entered the room. “There are a lot of people in there. Don’t make eye contact with anyone. Just go straight to your seat. Most of the hunters from Sanctuary 3 have turned up, as well as hunters from a lot of other Sanctuaries. Every Sanctuary has sent a representative and nearly all of the trainers and leaders are present.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Shawn said.
“Actually it is. Nearly all of them have come up to me to let me know they are here to support you. They don’t believe you are guilty. Also, everyone knows proper procedure hasn’t been followed and they want to know why.”
The room for the hearing was packed when JD, Sarah, Gabriel and Shawn walked in. JD had purposely timed their arrival so as many people as possible would see Gabriel with them. Whispers started as soon as they entered the room. The hunter society was a close community so nearly everyone recognised every member. Gabriel was a stranger and therefore not a hunter.
The right side of the front row had been set aside for the defence. Jonathon, Katie and Linda were already there and Sarah took Gabriel to join them. The others had found chairs at the back. Jonathon was holding his mother’s hand. This was not going to be pleasant for her. JD and his father went to the table in front of them.
JD glanced to his left. Sandra, Shawn’s accuser, looked calm and composed as she quietly whispered to the man beside her. JD knew who he was. Mark Bradshaw, Sandra’s father and member of the hunter’s council.
Jonathon’s investigation had revealed the relationship between the alleged victim and the council. It explained why the process seemed to be bias against Shawn.
A door at the front of the room opened and all talking stopped. The remaining council members entered and took their seats. They would be the judges in this hearing and, based on the way most of them looked at his father, JD assumed they had already decided he was guilty.
The only one who didn’t look at Shawn as they passed by was an elderly lady, who sat at one end. She refused to look at anyone. Her name was Daphne and she was the source of all of the information that JD had been secretly given, without which he wouldn’t have been able to mount any defence at all.
She didn’t look over at him as she adjusted her glasses. She would do nothing to indicate that she was on his side.
The middle aged man seated in the middle of the council rapped his knuckles on the table to gain everyone’s attention.
“I am Damon Slone and will be in charge of this hearing. We all know why we are here. But before we begin, JD, who is that man that you have brought with you. He is obviously not a hunter.”
“Witness for the defence, sir,” JD replied.
Mark jumped to his feet. “I wasn’t told anything about there being a witness for the defence.”
“I’m sorry,” JD said, sounding anything but. “I didn’t realise I was supposed to follow proper procedure. As I’ve received no information at all in regard to the prosecution’s case against my father, despite my numerous requests, I assumed that I didn’t have to provide any information either.”
JD blocked out the murmuring that started in the spectators’ area and concentrated on the council members. Some looked concerned. They either weren’t aware that proper procedure hadn’t been followed or they had hoped that nobody would bring it up.
“I was told that you had been provided with everything the prosecution has,” Damon said. He looked at a blonde haired woman a few seats down, but she was looking away.
“Then you have been lied to.”
Damon frowned. “In that case, I’ll allow him to testify. And there will be an investigation as to what happened.” Mark scowled at him, but took his seat.
“The defence has the choice of going first,” Damon continued, “or second. JD, which would you prefer?”
“Second.” He wanted them to present their case in full before he pulled the rug from under them. If he wanted to prove that it was all a set-up, he had to give Sandra the chance to tell her story first.
“Mark, call your first witness,” Damon said.
“I call Shawn Albery.” Most people were surprised by this, but JD wasn’t. It was the clever thing to do. Make his father tell his version of events, then Sandra could make sure whatever story she told fit with the provable facts that Shawn had stated. He would have done the same thing in Mark’s position.
Shawn looked at his son, who nodded his head. “Just tell the truth,” he said quietly.
Shawn took the witness chair and waited for the interrogation to begin.
Mark stood up and slowly walked up to Shawn. “Tell me Shawn, you don’t mind if I call you Shawn do you?” Shawn indicated that he didn’t and Mark continued. “Have you ever cheated on your wife?”
Greater Vampires Page 23