hellcat 05 - come hell or high water (16 page)

“Harrison,” she said with a genuine smile.  They hadn’t had time to speak the previous night, but she’d met him on several occasions previously, mostly at SMV meetings but also at some social functions.  The antithesis of his mate, he was one of the least openly aggressive Alphas in the City, and had a charm and charisma unusual in a dominant wolf.  Not that you could mistake him for anything other than an Alpha, the telltale aura that surrounded him was almost tangible.  “It’s good to see you.  I’m sorry it’s under such unpleasant circumstances.” 

His face turned serious.  “Yes.” His attention was immediately on the matter at hand.  “The Pack, Natalie and I would like to formally thank you for the aid you provided Adriana.  I know you were injured in the rescue.  We are in your debt.  You may call on us anytime.” 

Gabi closed the distance between them and laid her hand on his forearm.  His exceptionally large, dark brown wolf came forward as though drawn by her touch.  She respectfully did the mental equivalent of holding her hands out to him, exposing her character and intentions for his approval.  Her offer appeased him and he settled back down with a mental whuff.

“I accept your offer. I will call on you when I need to, I promise.”  A Werewolf Alpha’s acknowledgment of a debt owed was a meaningful gesture, not something to be shrugged off or cast aside.  And with life as it was, Gabi would probably need that assistance sooner rather than later. 

As his wolf retreated, Harrison’s smile was wry and little awestruck.  He shook his head slightly and turned to Kyle and Patrick. 

Introductions made and dominance once again established, Harrison sent the handful of Pack members who’d been hovering in the background out of the room and closed the door behind them.  Gabi was relieved that Natalie chose to keep herself busy elsewhere in the house.  Talk about opposites attracting.

Jade had pressed a mug of soup into Adriana’s hand and she took small sips with her hands wrapped around the steaming cup while the visitors found seats and settled in.

“They grabbed me outside the club,” Adriana confirmed Gabi’s hypothesis.  “They had silver knives and silver handcuffs.  I…it was just such a shock that I didn’t even really try to fight them off.”  Her eyes were fixed on the soup instead of the faces around her.  Casey—her black hair in loose tangles around her face and her dark, Goth make-up smudged from tears—rubbed her cheek softly across Adriana’s shoulder.

“You wouldn’t have stood a chance fighting them,” Gabi said gently.  “Not with silver.  You did the right thing.  Your wolf was acting on instinct, good instinct.”  The girl didn’t need to feel guilt on top of everything else. 

“There were five of them,” she continued.  “One woman and four men.  The woman seemed to be in charge. At least she was the one shouting orders.”

“Did you hear any names?  Did they call each other by name?” Kyle asked.

“The others referred to the woman as Lady Helsing.  Isn’t that the name of a fictional Vampire Hunter or something?”

“
Van
Helsing is the Vampire Hunter; in the legends it’s a man,” Gabi corrected.  “I guess this woman is trying to be the female equivalent.” 

“She was quite scary for a human,” Adriana said.  “I don’t think she’s much older than us, maybe late twenties, but she was covered in tattoos and dressed in the sort of leather outfit that makes Casey look like a Disney Princess.” She gave her friend a weak smile and raised one hand to stroke Casey’s face.  “She had piercings all over and carried knives with silver blades and a gun.  She had this…aura…the kind of aura you expect from a dominant wolf, but she was human.  And she smelled funny, somehow not right.”

“Not right?” Gabi asked.  “Can you be any more specific?” 

Adriana frowned, taking another sip of soup as she tried to put something intangible into words.  “Maybe…maybe like there was a hint of Vampire around her…” She let out a frustrated sigh.  “I don’t know how else to describe it.  Just different, other, a bit like you, I guess.” She suddenly looked at Gabi.  “Please don’t take that the wrong way.  I mean like the way you don’t smell exactly like a human, but don’t smell like any other supernatural either.”

“Hmm.” Gabi glanced over at Kyle.

He gave her a barely perceptible nod; it was something they would discuss later.

“What about the men?” Kyle prompted Adriana, moving the debriefing along.

“They…they’re hard to describe separately.” She grimaced.  “Once I realised what was happening, I tried to pay attention, to make as many mental notes as I could, but I was disoriented after they whacked me on the head during the abduction.  The men were bizarrely similar—shaved heads, tattoos, piercings, ripped shirts, cargo pants, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart if you put them in front of me right now.”

“Anything you can remember will help.” Patrick spoke quietly, his voice calm and soothing.  “Smells, voices, even the smallest thing may help us make a connection eventually.”

“They didn’t wear deodorant like most humans.” She wrinkled her nose.  “They obviously hadn’t showered for a couple of days.  They handled knives like they were extensions of their bodies, but they avoided taking out the guns.  They all carried guns, though,” she said, looking at Gabi.  “That’s unusual, right?  You can’t get permits for handguns in the City, can you?”

“No, you’re right,” Gabi said.  “And that is an angle to investigate.  There must be some noise on the street about guys with guns.” 

Patrick and Kyle murmured agreement.

Adriana pursed her lips in thought.  “They also all moved in a similar way; it’s as though they’ve all had the same kind of physical training, but I didn’t see anything to pinpoint a specific martial art or anything I would recognise. They just moved very easily, freely, almost like dancers, very aware of their bodies and how they functioned.  Not nearly as clumsy and heavy footed as most humans.  Their voices were unremarkable, not that they spoke much.  Oh, and they all wore trainers, it just struck me as odd.  Really high-tech-looking shoes, nothing I recognised, though.”

“What about their tattoos? Can you remember any of them specifically?” Kyle asked.

“They all had so many it was hard to focus on any in particular, but I could probably describe a couple of them well enough for Jade to sketch them.”  She tipped her head to rest on her tall friend’s shoulder. 

“That would be very helpful,” Patrick told her.  “Work on that as soon as you feel up to it and get someone to email us the images.”

“Okay, what about locations?” Gabi said.  “Was the church the only place they kept you?”

Adriana nodded.  “In the van they handcuffed me with normal handcuffs, but threatened to put the silver ones on me if I tried anything, so…so I just did what they said.  It was terribly hard to keep my wolf calm; that took a lot of my attention and made it hard to concentrate on other things.” 

Jade ran her long fingers, trembling just a little, through Adriana’s blonde curls, soothing both of them.  Gabi added another whisper of calm to Adriana’s wolf. 

“When I saw the cage with the cameras set up, I tried to run. I knew if I didn’t escape, they’d see me change.  Full moon is so close.  I wouldn’t be able to keep her back forever.”  A single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek, and she dashed it away.  “So I broke the cuffs and made a break for it.  But the woman was so fast.  Or maybe I was so confused that it just seemed like she was so fast.”  She shook her head as though trying to clear some of the memories.  “They used the silver knives after that.  It was all I could do not to change.  When I became aware of myself again, I was in the cage.”

“I think that’s enough for now,” Harrison said, putting himself between the girls and Gabi’s group. 

Gabi wanted to argue, but she knew he was right.  Adriana needed rest and time to heal.  She nodded and rose; the rest followed her example.

“Wait,” Adriana called.  “There’s one more thing.  They barely spoke to me once I was in the cage, but in the van they spoke about two other people.  I assumed they were male; one they called Dark Stalker and the other they referred to as the Lieutenant.  They didn’t say enough to get any idea of how they fit into the group, but I got the impression that Dark Stalker and Lady Helsing were equals, and they all sounded a little scared of the Lieutenant.  I’m sorry I don’t know more than that.” 

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” Gabi skirted around Harrison, laying her good hand on Adriana’s arm.  “We are so glad to have got you back; that’s what matters right now.  You heal and get well, leave the rest up to us.  We’ll find them and make sure they never hurt anyone again.  I swear it.”

********************

Someone rapped softly at the door to their apartments.  Julius sent a thread of power outward, assessing.  He sighed inwardly and silently gave Kimberley the hand signal to change to Gabi’s façade.  She moved from the table where she and Derek had been playing a complicated game of cards that Julius didn’t know the rules to, and retreated to the bedroom; it took her a few moments to completely assume Gabi’s personae. 

Derek lifted an eyebrow questioningly and Julius shook his head; their visitor was no physical threat. The other man settled back into his chair as Julius reached for the door handle.

“Amelia,” Julius greeted the pretty blonde woman waiting outside, and then he did a double take.  He’d known Amelia for decades, but he’d never seen her dressed like this, or with the aura of happiness that surrounded her so thoroughly as to be almost palpable.

“Hello, Julius.” Amelia smiled.  Instead of her usual dress code of fully formal, complete with layered make-up and ostentatious jewellery, she was dressed in slacks and a cashmere jersey, her face was make-up free and her hair hung loose in soft waves down her back.  Not a single item of jewellery appeared anywhere on her person.  “Are you going to close your mouth and invite me in?” Her smile turned wry.

“Oh, yes, of course.” Julius recovered, stepping back from the door.  “I just wasn’t expecting to see you.  Please join us.”

“May I bring in a guest?” She held her hand out towards the corridor and a smaller hand found hers.  A young girl sidled up alongside her, coyly keeping her head bowed.  She was wearing a yellow dress with cornflower blue daisies sprinkled across it.  Julius recognised her immediately and a wash of emotions flooded him.  For a moment he couldn’t speak and could only hold out his hand in silent welcome as the two brushed past him into the suite. 

The tiny dark-haired girl was the one Santiago had flaunted at the Princeps’ Ball the last time Julius had been here.  She was the girl who had incited Gabi to murder a Princep.  This tiny scrap of a child now brought home so many feelings that he felt off balance.  Understanding for Gabi and her inability to walk away and leave a child in the hands of a monster. Pride that she’d done something about it, even in the face of dreadful consequences if she’d been found out.  Guilt that he himself hadn’t done something about it.  Guilt that the whole Vampire race had allowed a person like Santiago to continue doing what he’d done.  Sadness that the girl had had both her childhood and her adulthood ripped away so very cruelly.  Right now she was still a child, obviously beginning to blossom under Amelia’s doting care, but in time she’d tire of being treated like a child. It would be a difficult path to walk.

“We really were hoping to see Lady Gabrielle,” Amelia told him as he escorted them to the sitting room. 

Recovering a little, Julius introduced Amelia to Derek, who smiled politely but stared with furrowed brows at the small girl.  Julius could see the penny drop into place in his mind when his breath hissed inward and his eyes widened.  It was one thing to hear the sordid details of a paedophile, but it was another to be faced with one of his victims.  Julius had told them the basics of the events leading up to Gabi’s possible trial, as well as a little about Amelia and how she’d offered to care for the girls.  He was relieved that she’d managed to gain some kind of custody over them.  The airheaded, man-hungry Amelia had been a thorn in his side every time he visited the Princep Court, openly pursuing his attentions, as she did with every eligible male Vampire who visited. He’d always suspected that beneath her charmingly vapid façade a genuine and caring personality resided.  The two of them would never have worked out, but he had always hoped she’d eventually find someone who made her happy.  It seemed his wish had been fulfilled, just not as either of them had anticipated. 

“Abby would love to meet her. She’s heard so much about her.”  Amelia’s eyes told him that Abby would like to thank Gabi, but they all knew better than to say those words aloud.

“Of course,” Julius said gently.  “I’m sure she’d love to meet Abby. She was just resting, but she’ll be…”  He broke off as the bedroom door opened.

“Amelia,” Kimberley said as she strode out, with exactly the right mix of politeness and wariness.  Julius had warned her that Gabi hadn’t taken well to Amelia flirting with him.  “Oh, and who is this?”  She paused in surprise when she noticed the girl clinging to Amelia’s hand. 

Amelia brought the girl’s hand to her face and kissed it tenderly, pulling her forward a little in Kimberley’s direction. 

The girl lifted her eyes to Kimberley and smiled shyly.  “My name is Abigail, but Amelia calls me Abby.  I like Abby.” 

Kimberley’s eyes flashed briefly to Julius, who sent her a tiny nod of encouragement, acknowledging what she suspected. A moment later she was in front of the girl, crouching to be at the girl’s level.

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Abby.  I like Abby too, it’s a beautiful name.” When she smiled, it was warm and open, and the girl’s answering smile was beatific.

********************

When Gabi returned to the manor house, Razor was waiting indignantly at the front door.  He was sorely put out that she’d gone without him again.  He directed a low growl at Patrick, his eyes narrowed warningly, and the hair down his back and tail rose to make him look even bigger than usual. 

“Handle that monster, Gabs,” Kyle grumbled, coming through the door behind her and Patrick.  Razor immediately switched his annoyed gaze to Kyle.  Luckily she came bearing gifts, they’d stopped at a drive-thru on the way home to fuel up on burgers, fries and soft drinks. Gabi had made sure to order an extra burger for just this scenario.