Tapestry of the Past (15 page)

Speaking of relaxing, that second level of tone to the alarm meant that
Kalesia
had opened the door without deactivating the system. Talk about your stupid risks. What she should have done was wake him at the first hint of strangers arriving. A grim smile twisted his mouth. He planned to let her know the full scope of his displeasure.

Soft feminine laughter drifted up the stairs. He shoved his legs in his jeans.

Right after he found out what was so damn funny.

* * * * *

Gabriel stopped just inside the kitchen and took in the scene in front of him.
Kalesia
, her thick terrycloth robe shaping her rear, was standing in front of the stainless steel stove expertly flipping pancakes. She chuckled at the fast back and forth verbal jabs between Barry and Sam. Wolf, as usual, sat apart, his cool gray eyes not missing a detail.

It was a cozy picture. Too damn cozy if you asked him.

Kalesia
turned, a full platter of pancakes in one hand and a dish of scrambled eggs in the other. Her robe gaped, showing the gentle curve of one breast. He wasn’t the only one to notice.

“
Kalesia
, go get dressed,” he bit out.

Startled, she looked up. She met his scowl and a slow, intimate smile curved her lips. Not looking away, she put both plates on the table. Gabriel couldn’t take his eyes off her as
Kalesia
sauntered up to him. One hand went to his chest, right over his pounding heart and the other slid behind his head. Right there in the kitchen, in front of God and three of the toughest men he knew, she tugged his head down and kissed him. Not a peck on the check. Not a good morning brush of mouth against mouth. But a curl your toes and rock your world, tongue twisting kiss that deliberately evoked memories of hot, humid nights and even hotter, sweaty sex.

It was the action of a woman stamping her claim.

Gabriel had never had a woman claim him before.

It woke a strange feeling in his chest. Gabriel brushed it aside, focusing on the woman in his arms. He cupped her bottom in his hands and hauled her up against his erect cock.

God, he just wanted to sink into her hot, wet pussy, ride her until they were both too tired to move.

A discreet cough jerked his head up.

Shit.

Gabriel let
Kalesia
slide down until her feet were on the floor. Hands shaping her waist, he stopped her from moving. No doubt they knew he was aroused but he’d be damned if he’d give them physical proof of that fact. He glared at the men.

They grinned back.

Kalesia
turned. “You’ll have to forgive him. Sometimes he’s a tad grumpy.” She winked and slipped out of his arms and out of the room before Gabriel could respond to the gentle taunt.

“You got it bad, man.” Wolf leaned back in his chair and took a sip of coffee, a speculative look in his eyes.

Gabriel rubbed a hand behind his neck, working the tight muscles. “That woman has turned my life so upside down that I don’t know if I’m coming or going.” He made a beeline for the coffee pot. He needed a strong dose of caffeine this morning. A snarling hiss and the swipe of a seven-clawed paw marked his passage. He glared at the black cat.

“Damn cat.” Hannibal jumped up onto Samuel Woods’ lap, his purr mocking Gabriel’s scowl.

Taking a long gulp of coffee, Gabriel studied three of the four men he could call friend and mean it.

Samuel Woods, whose blond hair and hazel eyes had caught the fancy of more than one woman, believed in paying his debts. He felt that he owed Gabriel for getting him out of some forgotten Middle Eastern hot spot. Sam blamed himself for the bullet Gabriel had taken in the thigh during the raid that freed him. Now Gabriel desperately needed Sam’s skill in electronic communications. There were, he knew, very few systems that Sam couldn’t and hadn’t hacked into.

Barry Williams, known to his friends as Badger for his nasty and tenacious disposition, had a knack for gathering tidbits of information. His looks were deceiving. Slight of build, Williams looked like he wouldn’t know how to duck a punch. He was a counterterrorism specialist and expert in several forms of hand-to-hand combat.

Gabriel scowled. This morning was the first time he’d ever seen Badger laughing and joking with anyone while managing to keep his mouth out of the sewer.

He and Wolf Devlin went back a long way. They’d been in Special Forces at the same time. Dark, lean and deadly, Wolf was a man who didn’t trust easily. There was an aura about him that made the more perceptive take care to avoid him. He owned an electronic engineering firm. He was also one of the Agency’s best troubleshooters.

Gabriel trusted these men but it was easy to anticipate their reactions to being informed of
Kalesia’s
psychic visions. Especially Badger’s blunt comments.

He swung a chair around and straddled it, his arms crossed over the back. He met each man’s gaze, his own serious. “I need your expertise.”

“We figured that from your call.” Sam glanced at the other two men. “You know you’ve only to ask.”

Gabriel nodded his thanks. “
Kalesia
is here because someone is going to try to kill her.”

“Any leads on whom?” Wolf asked, cradling his mug of coffee between his large hands.

“No.”

“How’d you get involved?” Badger shoveled the last of his pancakes in his mouth and reached for more. “Goddamn, the lady can cook.”

Gabriel glanced over his shoulder to make sure
Kalesia
hadn’t returned. He’d much rather she wasn’t within hearing distance the next few minutes. “Harley sent her to me when she had a vision of her murder.”

Badger stopped chewing and stared at Gabriel. “You’re shitting me.”

Gabriel took a long pull of his coffee. “Nope. What’s more, she had another vision while here. Harley found the body. A hit man going by the name of John Crump.”

“You’re buying this fucking story?”

Gabriel sighed. “Not at first. And I admit I still have a few doubts whether or not someone is out to kill her. But I’m not a real big fan of coincidence and I’d have to be to totally dismiss her claim of visions.
Kalesia
had a vision of her murder and reported it. Within a week someone, pro enough not to leave obvious clues, breaks into her home. She has another vision and the body of a hit man is found.”

Badger poured syrup over the fresh stack of pancakes. “Look, Gabe. How do you know she isn’t playing you? Didn’t kill the man herself?” He stabbed the fork in Gabriel’s direction. “I mean, sure, she’s pretty and looks like she wouldn’t say boo to a gnat. But she’s fucking you, man. How can you be sure she isn’t fucking with your mind too?”

Gabriel reminded himself that Badger was his friend. Had been for years. The urge to smash his face didn’t fade. “Let’s get one thing very clear.” He spoke very softly. “You will treat her with respect. If you can’t, get the fuck out of my house now.” He flattened his palms on the table.

Wolf spoke up. “Take it easy. It’s a legitimate question.”

Gabriel faced Wolf. “
Kalesia
didn’t murder anyone.”

“How do you know?”

“My word isn’t good enough?”

“You know it is.” There was no room for doubt in the reply.

Something inside Gabriel relaxed. “I know because she was with me during the period Crump was murdered.” He held up a hand. “And before you ask, she spoke or contacted no one.”

“You really think she’s psychic?” Sam’s hazel eyes were curious.

“Let’s just say I’m open to the possibility.”

“And she believes someone wants to off her?”

“Yes.”

“What do you want us to do?”

Engrossed in outlining his strategy, nevertheless Gabriel wasn’t surprised when
Kalesia
placed a hand on his shoulder. He seemed to have developed a sixth sense, some weird kind of radar, where she was concerned. He looked up, sliding his arm around her waist.

“This a private conversation or can anyone join?”

Amusement lightened his mood at the amazed blink of eyes at
Kalesia’s
attire. This morning she’d chosen skin-tight jeans in a vivid shade of yellow. Her shirt was a loud pattern of turquoise and green. He noted with satisfaction that she’d once again wound her hair in a neat braid on top of her head.

The surge of possessiveness he felt about that silky length of fire surprised him. He didn’t want other men admiring it. Not even his friends. Hell, who was he kidding. Especially not his friends. He pulled her closer, choosing to ignore the other men’s open amusement at his blatant show of possession.

“We were just discussing how to go about tracing John Crump’s movements.”

“I need a place to spread out and to set up my laptop.” Sam stood. He tossed his jacket over his shoulder and snagged his hard-shelled computer case from beside his chair. Already, his hazel eyes had that familiar intent, focused expression Sam got when on a new case.

“Last room on the right. It has a fax and a dedicated line.” Gabriel planned to turn the bedroom into an office. When he got around to it.

“I’ll get started immediately.” Sam left the room with a swift, silent glide.

A crease formed between
Kalesia’s
brows. “Why do I get the feeling I’m going to seem as graceful as a flounder on a waxed floor compared to everyone else in this group?”

* * * * *

Tears streamed down
Kalesia’s
cheeks. Gasping with laughter, she held one hand to her side. “Stop,” she pleaded. She wiped beneath her eyes with her fingers. “Did you,” she twisted so that she faced Gabriel, on the sofa beside her, “did you really—” She went into gales of laughter again. Gabriel waited with stoic patience for her to regain control. It had been like this since they’d all gathered for supper.

Damn. What was the reason he wanted Sam here again? At the moment, it escaped him.

“Did you really pose as a eunuch in a sheik’s harem?” It was clear she was choking back laughter. “I was under the impression eunuchs had gone the way of top hats and dodos. You know, extinct.”

“So was I until the sheik found me in his third and youngest, wife’s bedchamber.”

Sam started chuckling.

A dull heat climbed his neck as Gabriel realized how that sounded. “It wasn’t like that,
dammit
,” he growled, a reluctant smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I was trying to hide hotshot here.” He leveled a ferocious frown at the unrepentant Sam. “I should have left you there. See how amusing you’d have found it when the sheik discovered you under his bed! Tell her the rest. Tell her how you were as weak as a kitten when we ducked into the sheltered courtyard to escape a patrol.” Sam had been beaten half to death and starved. Gabriel had to carry him from the prison after breaking him out.

Sam held up on hand and placed the other over his heart. “Honest to God’s truth. Gabriel only went into her room to save me. Why, you should have seen his face when he came across the lovely lady in her bath. Didn’t even peek once.”

“Shut up.”

“I was just telling her the full story.”

“Well, stop.”

“Ignore him. I want to hear the story.”
Kalesia
shot Gabriel a significant look. “The full story.”

Gabriel gave in to the inevitable. No one was going to listen to his protests anyway. He settled her more firmly against his side and leaned back. Might as well be comfortable. He had the sneaking suspicion it was going to be a long night.

Over an hour later, Gabriel groaned silently. Son of a bitch. He hated it when he was right. All three men, egged on by
Kalesia’s
eager questions, damn near came to blows to see who could tell the most outlandish tale. It might have been amusing if most of them hadn’t been about him.

To think he’d worried his friends might embarrass or insult
Kalesia
. No, he shouldn’t have worried about that at all. Instead, he should have worried about how to keep
Kalesia
from corrupting his friends beyond recovery.

Gabriel’s attention snapped back when he heard Badger saying, “And then this REMF told Gabriel—”

“What’s a REMF?”

Gabriel slapped his palms over
Kalesia’s
ears before Badger could answer. He shot his friend a glare that shut the man’s mouth with a snap. “Don’t. Don’t even think about it,” he advised.

Kalesia
pulled free. She looked from one man to the other. “I want to know what a REMF is.”

Badger held his hands in the air. “Hey, don’t look at me. I want to live to see morning.” He grinned, obviously enjoying her frustration.

Kalesia
turned to Wolf.

“Uh-uh. Not me. I’ve seen Gabe fight.”

“Well, what about you?” she asked Sam. “What excuse are you going to use?”

“Me? I’m a peace-loving guy. I don’t like the sight of blood. Especially my own.”

Kalesia
snorted. Before he could stop her, she grabbed his wrist and removed his arm from around her shoulders. She stood and surveyed the group of men. One toe began to tap. “Are you really going to let Gabriel intimidate you all like this?” As one, they nodded.

“Men,” she sniffed. “My Siamese, Tia, has more backbone than any one of you. You,” she pointed at Gabriel as he gained his feet, disturbing said Siamese curled on his leg in the process, “you can stay here with your buddies. Male bonding and all that. I,” she informed him, “am going to bed.”

He watched the sway of
Kalesia’s
hips until she was out of sight.

Wolf let out a long, low whistle. “A temper to go with that red hair. Got your hands full with that one.” Tia, crackle-blue eyes glaring, jumped onto Wolf’s lap. She turned around twice then curled into a ball, her nails out just enough to make it clear she was not going to tolerate her bed getting up and walking away again.

“A witch with an attitude. She’d run me ragged if I let her.” Gabriel smiled, a predatory showing of his teeth. “Fortunately, I find that I have an aptitude for witch-taming.” Gabriel started up the stairs, the sweet fire of anticipation tightening his gut.