Gabriel's Mate (23 page)

Anger churned in him. He spun around and grabbed Yvette by the shoulders. “And you didn’t stop her?”

She shook off his hold and snarled at him. “I don’t make it a habit of jumping in front of cars driven by pissed-off females.”

He narrowed his eyes. He wouldn’t take any disrespect from his subordinates. “It’s your job to protect her.”

“I was OFF DUTY! Why didn’t you protect her? She must have had a reason to run out of here, so maybe you should look at yourself before you blame somebody else.” Yvette planted her fists at her hips and glared at him.

“You don’t like her.” It was all too clear to him.

“And why should I?” She let out a huff. “She gets attacked and turned, and everybody goes gaga over her, as if she’s someone special. And where does that leave me?”

Gabriel took a step back as the realization sunk in once more. Yvette had had designs on him. “By ‘everybody,’ you mean me, don’t you?”

“Forget it!” she spat and turned.

***

A viselike grip on her arm held her back. Yvette swallowed back the tears—she wouldn’t give Gabriel the satisfaction of admitting that he’d hurt her. All these years they’d worked together and she’d thought they’d gotten closer. Their relationship had evolved from a purely professional one to more of a friendship. She’d hoped that eventually Gabriel would let his guard down and come to her for more than just work and friendship. She’d given him enough signals to show her willingness to take things further.

She’d given him time to get used to the idea, and then Maya had shown up. And within days, Gabriel had turned into a horny, lusting man just like all the others. Only, he wasn’t lusting after her, he was lusting after Maya. What did Maya have that she didn’t?

“Take your hand off my arm or I’ll break it,” she warned him.

He must have heard the seriousness in her voice, because a moment later he let go. “I think a talk between you and me is long overdue.”

She turned to look at him. “There’s nothing to be said.” If he thought he could get her to confess her feelings, he’d be waiting till the Devil strapped on ice skates and skated in frozen over hell.

Was there pity in Gabriel’s gaze? No, she didn’t want pity.

“Yvette, I’ve never given you any reason to believe that I had any interest in you other than as a valued colleague and friend. I have no other feelings for you. If I ever gave you the impression that I did, I apologize.”

He apologized to her? That was rich! “You men are all the same. Nothing will ever change that, will it? A new woman shows up, and suddenly you start panting. Damn it, you don’t even know her!” She knew she was out of line talking to him like that, but at this point she didn’t care anymore. Let him fire her. Maybe it would be best for all of them.

“No, I don’t know her. But I love her.”

His words were like a stab to her chest with a sharp knife. She met his gaze, and there in his eyes she saw it. It was true. He loved her. No pretense, no bravado, just pure and simple honesty. Something in her shut down. If she’d had any hope left that one day there could be something between them, that his infatuation with Maya would fade, the sparkle in his eyes told her it would never happen. He’d found what he was looking for.

“She’s your mate?” Her voice cracked.

“If she’ll have me. Unfortunately she’s misinterpreted something and hates me right now.”

Yvette recalled the look she’d caught from Maya. “I don’t think hate is the right word. A woman who hates doesn’t cry, not like Maya did.” Tears had streamed down her face, pain so clearly etched into her features. “She wants you still.”

There was a glint of hope in Gabriel’s gaze now, and something inside Yvette shriveled. She wasn’t a bad person, just a misguided one. All these years she’d hoped for Gabriel to turn to her for more than just friendship, yet he was right: he’d never given her any reason to believe he was interested in her. She’d been the one imagining it. Because she’d been lonely. How pathetic was that?

She was better than that, stronger. “I’ll help you find her.”

“You will?” Gabriel took a step toward her and opened his arms in an awkward attempt to embrace her, emotion clearly overwhelming him.

Yvette pulled back. “No hugs.”

He dropped his arms and lowered his lids, looking embarrassed by his exuberance and her rejection, but at the same time relieved. “Thank you.”

“She’s headed south.”

Gabriel blinked. “Her apartment in Noe Valley. Let’s go.” He looked to the door than back at her. “Is that your dog?”

Yvette turned. On the threshold, the dog who’d been following her for the last few blocks sat waiting patiently. Before him, it had been a different dog.  And before that, a cat. “I have no idea why every damn cat and dog in this town keeps following me. It’s like I’ve turned into some goddamn dog whisperer or something.” She motioned to the dog. “Shoo!” She didn’t even like animals.

 “I think he likes you.”

She sniffed and was about to retort when a whiff of something entirely disagreeable caught in her nostrils. Within a blink of an eye, she swiveled and looked up at the stairs, where a woman she’d never seen before stood. “What the hell is a witch doing in Samson’s house?”

***

Maya put the Audi in park and switched off the ignition. As she stepped out of the car and into the night, she took in her surroundings. Never before had she been so aware of her senses. At the end of the residential street, a neighbor walked his little white Westie. When she concentrated, she could hear the clutter of dishes in a kitchen nearby. The news blared from a TV in a house across the street.

She’d never noticed these noises before and had always thought of Paulette’s neighborhood as eerily quiet. It wasn’t—not anymore anyway. With her enhanced senses, she could hear that life was happening inside the little houses dotted along the hill. From her vantage point, she could see the ocean or could have seen it if it weren’t for the fog hanging out at the beach.

Midtown Terrace was a middle-class neighborhood, the houses all built in the late 50s, their floor plans all essentially the same with a few variations. Paulette’s house was no different: three bedrooms and one bathroom over a two-car garage. A small yard out the back. Maya had spent many an evening here with Paulette and their friend Barbara, drinking, eating, joking, and ultimately bitching about the horrible dates they’d had. Just like all girlfriends did.

Maya hesitated as she approached the front door, stopping at the foot of the terrazzo steps. Would she look any different to Paulette? When Maya hugged her, would she crush her with her superior strength just like she’d smashed the little night table in Samson’s house? Maybe it was best not to hug her. Safer for Paulette.

She lifted her foot and set it on the first step. There was a chill in the night air, but Maya didn’t feel cold. Her vampire body seemed to protect itself from the cold despite the fact she’d forgotten to don a jacket. And in June in San Francisco you needed a jacket—a thick one. Clearly, there were some advantages to being a vampire. Maybe one day she’d truly accept that and make the best of it.

Would Paulette freak if she found out what she was now? Would she even believe it? They had always played pranks on each other. It was their way of showing friendship, and so Paulette would think that she was joking. She’d then have to prove what she was. And she’d have to do it without frightening her best friend.

She didn’t want to frighten anybody.

Maya took a deep breath to give herself the courage to walk up the steps and face her friend. Something stung her nostrils. Her stomach flipped. She’d only ever had that same feeling of disgust when she’d tried to drink the bottled human blood. A thought raced through her mind, one she didn’t want to acknowledge.

Her heart pounded as she ran up the stairs and reached for the doorbell. But she didn’t ring it. She didn’t have to—the front door was ajar.

Even though the neighborhood was a safe and quiet one, nobody ever left their door open. Nobody. Certainly not Paulette.

She pushed the door fully open. A bout of nausea overwhelmed her as she inhaled.

“Oh God, no,” she whispered to herself.

The scent stinging her nostrils and assaulting her sensitive stomach grew more intense as she stepped into the house. The lights were on in the living room, but it was empty.

Maya’s vocal cords clamped up. She was unable to call out to her friend, because deep down she already knew it wouldn’t make a difference. The house was quiet. There wasn’t a single sound except for the dripping faucet in the bathroom.

Her soft-soled shoes made barely a sound as she slid down the corridor to the bedrooms like a thief. The light drifting into the hallway came from underneath a bedroom door. Paulette’s bedroom.

Maya steeled herself against what she already knew she would find and turned the knob. She pushed the door open, finding it uncharacteristically heavy. It creaked, but she barely heard the sound because the scene in the bedroom made her heart drum so loud it drowned out any sound.

The bed was a pool of blood—dried, but still fresh enough for her stomach to turn. Had she had any contents in it, she would have lost them now, but it appeared vampires couldn’t throw up. Even though she wanted to, needed to, to curb the nausea.

The sheets were tangled as if there’d been a struggle. Paulette hadn’t died easily, but Maya knew she was dead, even though there was no body. She raised her eyes to the wall behind the bed and hugged her arms around her torso.

Scrawled in blood was a message, and it was meant for her.

It’s your fault, Maya.

A sound finally left her throat, but it amounted to nothing more than a helpless gurgle. Her friend had died because of her. He’d done it. She knew it. The man who’d attacked her: he’d killed her friend to cover his tracks.

All because Maya had told Paulette about him, even though she didn’t remember doing so. Paulette had to have known about him for him to attack her. Maybe she’d even known his name and what he looked like. It had cost her her life.

She felt numb all over her body. It was all her fault. She should have taken care of her friend. She should have known he’d come after her. Why hadn’t she thought about it? Why?

The door fell shut behind her and made her spin around with vampire speed.

A scream left her throat.

Paulette!

She hung there, on the back of the door, her limp body bloodied, her pajamas shredded by claws. No heartbeat—Maya would have heard it from where she stood. She was gone. Long gone.

Twenty-one

“I couldn’t reach Thomas,” Yvette said as she flipped her cell phone shut and looked at Gabriel, who was driving while dialing a number on his own cell phone.

Gabriel listened to the recording on the other line and cursed. “Zane’s not answering either.”

“We’re almost there,” Yvette tried to calm him.

He gave her a sideways glance. At least now that the air had been cleared between them, Yvette was a hundred percent behind him. And he needed all the help he could get. Maya was out there on her own—and so was the rogue. The bastard would find her and Gabriel would lose her forever. He couldn’t allow it. He needed to protect her.

“Zane. Maya’s gone. Search for her. This is first priority.” Gabriel flipped the cell shut.

Moments later, he pulled up in front of Maya’s apartment and jumped out of the car. He ran up the stairs, Yvette close behind him.

The door was locked, but Gabriel didn’t care. With barely any effort, he kicked against the lock, and the wood splintered. He jerked the door open and ran upstairs.

At Maya’s apartment, he did the same thing—if she was there, she wouldn’t respond to a polite knock anyway. She was too pissed at him. For now, he didn’t care. All he needed was to get her back to the house where she would be safe. Then he’d explain things to her.

How could she have possibly thought he was getting head from the witch? Sure, the situation had looked a little odd, but had she only waited, she would have realized that there was nothing sexual about any of it. The witch had merely examined him like a doctor would a patient and then tried a little herbal concoction on him to test how the damn thing reacted.

Of course, the useless piece of flesh hadn’t reacted to anything at all until—Gabriel stopped in his tracks and let the realization sink in. His additional piece of flesh had stirred the moment Maya had entered the room. And when she’d run out on him, it had faltered again and shrunken back to its original state. The witch had given him an odd look, now that he thought of it, but he’d been too panicked about Maya’s misinterpretation of the situation to give it much consideration until now. Now he was wondering if—

“Are we going in?” Yvette asked behind him.

Gabriel pushed aside his thoughts about the deformity and stepped inside the apartment. He sniffed, trying to ascertain if Maya had been here. His gaze swept through the place. It still looked the way they’d left it only two nights earlier. Nothing had changed. And there was no fresh scent of Maya. She hadn’t been here.

“Where else would she go?” Gabriel asked and ran his hands through his hair.

Yvette opened her mouth, but then her cell phone rang. She picked it up. “Thomas? Did you get my message?”

Gabriel could hear Thomas’ reply.
“Yes, the GPS on Samson’s Audi shows me she’s in my area. Wait … She’s moving. Heading northwest.”

“Where to?” Gabriel ground out.

Yvette lifted her hand and listened to Thomas. “Where—”

“I heard him. I think she’s going to Parnassus.”

“Parnassus?” Yvette asked.

“The hospital.”

“Meet us there,” Yvette ordered and flipped the phone shut.

“Call Amaury. I’m calling Ricky.” Gabriel rushed out the door and back down to the car. As he jumped in, the call to Ricky connected.

“Maya’s left the house.”

“Shit, what happened?” Ricky’s concerned voice reached his ear.

“She’s on her way to the hospital, probably to see her friends there. We need to find her and bring her back before the rogue gets her. Meet us there.”