There'll be Hell to Pay (Hellcat Series Book 6) (25 page)

“
I think that may depend on how desperate he becomes.” Julius
was thoughtful. “Tabari is the only Vampire of African blood that
any of us know of. The chances of Flora being successfully Turned
are so slim as to be non-existent. He would have to be insane to
try it.”

“
Well, I don’t think anyone could accuse that Vampire of full
sanity,” Gabi muttered.

“
I’d heard that Vampires start tae go a wee bit off after th’
first half millennium,” Fergus said. “It’s lookin’ like that’s
true.”

“
And beyond that, he’s developed strong emotional ties to a
young human girl. He may have started off taking care of her purely
because of her value as a tool to further his own ends, but I have
no doubt that he feels every bit as strongly about her as he
implied, perhaps more so. Having such overpowering emotions for one
person is a major shift in mindset. Even I didn’t cope well when I
first met Gabrielle,” Julius pointed out. Gabi didn’t like being
reminded of the time Julius had withdrawn from her, pushing her
away, refusing to see her. Alexander had been the one to explain
that Vampires over a certain age didn’t deal well with unfamiliar
emotions or major shifts in psychological viewpoints. Falling for
her had not been part of his game plan, though apparently seduction
had been. Hmm…she dragged her attention back to the
conversation.

The pilot’s
voice over the intercom woke Gabi from a fitful doze. They were
coming in to land. They were home.

And her mom was
home; she’d been due to land about an hour before they did. Gabi
dragged herself upright in the seat, her neck and back muscles
begging to know why she hadn’t retired to the far more comfortable
bed in the sleeping cabin. She rubbed her eyes and tried to finger
comb her hair into some semblance of control. Razor purred next to
her and then yawned hugely, stretching out his enormous paws and
arching his back before beginning to groom himself.

“
I should have taken you to the cabin,” Julius murmured, coming
into her line of sight, “but I didn’t want to wake you. You were
restless as it was.”

Gabi gave him a
half smile and put out her hands. He took them and pulled her
upright, bringing her body close to his and wrapping his arms
around her. She breathed in the masculine scent of him; there was
still an undertone of damp forest and blood. She growled very
softly as she pressed her fingers to the dark stain and the tear in
his shirt where the knife had entered his chest. She had already
checked the wound site twice since they boarded the plane, but she
felt the urge to check again, even though the second check had
revealed perfect, unblemished skin, without even a scar to mark the
spot.

“
I’m fine, you know that,” he said, but his voice was soft and
husky. He bent his head to kiss the tip of her nose. “You have
about five minutes to freshen up and grab some coffee; then we’ll
be heading in to land.” He stepped aside to give her room to move.
“I spoke to Kyle a short while ago. They’re at the airport. Evan
met them there, and they’re waiting for us to arrive before Evan
takes your mother home. She wants to see you.”

Gabi nodded
even as a tight knot twisted in her stomach. Her mom had sounded
cheerful and unfazed when they’d spoken on the phone. She wanted to
see her mom too, but she dreaded the inevitable conversation.
They’d only just managed to find some kind of common ground about
Gabi’s ongoing involvement in the supernatural world, and now
elements of that supernatural world had kidnapped and dragged her
halfway across the planet. There was a high likelihood that they’d
be back at the same impasse they’d been at for so many years. She
sighed as she traipsed down the aisle to the tiny on-board
bathroom; as long as her mother was safe, that was all that
counted. At least that was what she kept telling herself.

The plane came
to a stop inside the private hangar and the engine noise dulled to
a quiet hum. Gabi caught herself toying with the ring on her left
hand. Usually she wouldn’t have allowed herself the outward sign of
stress, but her only companions were Julius and Razor. They could
both sense her tension anyway.

The time zone
shift meant it was late afternoon in the City. Mac was still in
daysleep and Fergus had chosen to retire several hours ago.
Sicarius was still in his cabin, though she’d heard him use the
bathroom and seen Butch take food in to him. Butch had taken a
couple of hours to rest and was looking no worse for his ordeal.
Fucking resilient Werewolf. He was back in the co-pilot’s seat and
would help unload the two Vampires into waiting vans for the trip
back to the Estate and keep an eye on Sicarius, though Gabi wasn’t
expecting any trouble from the human. Julius hadn’t tried to talk
her stress levels down, but had been a quiet strength next to her
for the last few minutes.

She was
unbuckling her seatbelt when Butch opened the cockpit doorway and
made his way to the main door. He unsealed it and released the
stairs as Gabi gathered her jacket and Nex; she knew the rest of
her belongings would be transferred to a waiting car. Razor trotted
ahead of her, eager to be back on terra firma, and Julius followed
behind as she emerged into the stiflingly hot afternoon air.

Five other
private jets brooded quietly in their allotted positions in the
hangar, and a large, sectioned-off lounge area huddled at the far
side, away from the plane entrance. Her mother and Kyle would be
waiting for her there. Julius touched her arm as she paused at the
bottom of the stairs.

“
I’ll get the car and wait for you outside,” he said, his tone
giving nothing away.

“
No,” Gabi said after a short pause. “You need to meet her. She
needs to meet you. I’ve put this off for far too long.” In for a
penny…

“
Lea,” he turned her to face him, and she looked up into
sympathetic sapphire eyes, “you don’t need to do this now. It can
wait.”

“
No, it can’t.” She returned his gaze resolutely. “Besides,
Kyle might not be enough backup; I might need the extra
protection.” She forced her lips to curl into a smile, but she was
only half joking. She resisted the urge to take a deep breath,
threaded her fingers through his, and marched determinedly towards
the hangar lounge just as a dark van pulled up beside the plane and
Rory emerged from the driver’s seat.

Her mother was
seated in a lounge chair, with a steaming cup of coffee on the
table in front of her. She was dressed in fresh clothing, and her
hair and make-up were perfect as usual. Evan sat beside her, his
hand linked with hers, just as Gabi’s now threaded through
Julius’s. In stark contrast to her mother, Evan looked haggard, his
clothing rumpled, dark circles under his eyes and uneven stubble
marring his normally clean jawline. Kyle and Derek were in seats
across from them, both in dark pants, camo shirts and well-worn
boots, looking lean and dangerous. Gabi could see two men and a
woman outside the tinted windows of the lounge, clearly on sentry
duty. Derek spotted her first and gave a wave, deftly adjusting his
prosthesis so he could come to his feet. Kyle rose with a relieved
grin and her mother swivelled towards them.

“
Gabi,” her mother breathed, standing and letting go of Evan’s
hand. Her smile was bright and crinkled the corners of her eyes.
She held out her arms and hurried forward. Gabi let go of Julius
and handed him Nex just in time to catch her mother’s hug. Evan had
risen as well, but hung back, his eyes wary.

“
Are you really okay, Mom?” Gabi put her hands on her mother’s
upper arms, pulling back a little to peer into her mother’s face.
“I’m so sorry you got caught up in—”

“
Hsst, I’m fine, Gabrielle.” Her mother cut off her apology and
put her hands on either side of Gabi’s face. “I already told you
that on the phone. I’m absolutely fine. It was like an unexpected
holiday, really. I just wish I could’ve taken Evan with me. Who
would’ve known that Transylvania was such a beautiful
place?”

Whoa, Gabi was
momentarily stunned into silence. This was not at all what she’d
expected from her mother. Her mother patted her cheek.

“
Now I believe you have an introduction to make?” She peered
around Gabi to Julius’s tall frame standing quiet and
breathtakingly beautiful a few feet behind her. Gabi turned her
body to reveal all of Julius and heard the tiny intake of breath
from her mother. She wasn’t sure if the gasp was surprise or awe or
a combination of the two.

“
Mom, this is Julius. He is the Master Vampire of the City,”
she said formally, inwardly bracing herself.

Julius stepped
forward and held out his hand. Nex had vanished and she wondered
where he’d hidden the sword.

“
Mrs Harper,” he said, “it is a pleasure to meet you. I wish it
could’ve been under less stressful conditions. I hope your trip
back was comfortable.”

“
Oh, call me Vivian, please,” her mother responded, reaching
for his hand, but instead of shaking it, she pulled him closer for
a hug.

Gabi knew her
eyes were bulging, but she couldn’t help it. Julius leaned down to
return her mother’s hug very gently, but his gaze caught hers. For
a brief second Gabi wondered if he was using Vamp mind control, but
quashed that thought, she could always sense when he used it.

“
I trust you are the one responsible for putting those rocks on
my daughter’s finger?” she asked, releasing Julius and stepping
back to look at Gabi with a wry lift to one eyebrow. Trust her
mother to notice the ring in five seconds flat.

“
I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Mom.” Gabi self-consciously
twisted the ring. “It’s not exactly what you think it
is.”

“
Well, it looks like some kind of intention to me.” Her
mother’s lips formed a thin line and her gaze fixed on Julius,
undaunted by his formidable presence. “I know your father isn’t
here to say the kind of things that need to be said, so
I
need to say them.” Gabi
tried to interrupt, but her mother held up a hand to silence her.
And she turned to Julius. “I know that my Gabrielle can take care
of herself; she doesn’t need a man in her life for that. If there’s
one thing I’ve learned in the last few years with Evan,” she held
out her hand to her husband, “it’s that being happy makes life
worth living. So I ask you, Julius, will you do everything in your
power to make my daughter happy?”

Gabi prayed to
every god listening that the City would experience its first
earthquake right about now. She didn’t dare look at Julius.

“
Vivian.” Julius’s voice was smooth and confident, and when
Gabi finally looked at him, his smile matched his voice. “I have
many responsibilities in life, but making Gabrielle happy makes me
happy, so there is no question that I will eagerly accept your
charge. And, as incredibly difficult as it is, I will also do my
very best to keep her safe.”

Her mother kept
her gaze locked with Julius’s for another moment before she nodded
slightly and the stern line of her mouth softened.

Razor chose
that moment to intervene, twining through her mother’s legs and
rubbing against her, looking for attention.

“
Oh my goodness, hello, Razor,” her mother said, reaching down
automatically to pat the huge cat’s head. “What are you doing
here?”

And just like
that, the tense spell was broken. Gabi released the breath she’d
been holding for far too long. Evan stepped forward, shaking hands
with Julius before pulling Gabi into a hug, relief and gratitude
evident in every nuance of his body language. Kyle loped to the
outer door of the lounge to relieve another Werewolf of a tray of
steaming coffees and a large box of pastries. In moments they were
all seated in an informal circle, chatting and eating like any
large dysfunctional family.

Out of the
corner of Gabi’s eye, she saw Kyle reach into his pocket for his
phone. He swiped the screen and held the phone to his ear, and his
face turned serious. She strained to hear what he said, and caught
the words “I’ll tell him” before he disconnected and returned the
phone to his pocket. He stood and allowed his easy grin to slide
into place. “Sorry to break up the party, but duty calls. Vivian,
let me get you and Evan home.” As her mother stood and began to
gather her things, Kyle stepped to Julius’s side and said quietly,
“Turn your phone on. Patrick is trying to reach you.”

CHAPTER
14

Julius put a
call through to Patrick while Gabi went to fetch the Aston Martin.
He was still on the phone when Gabi pulled up a few feet from the
hangar lounge exit. Julius had donned his full-length black duster
despite the heavy heat of the summer afternoon and a black cap,
treated with the same Savanna-perfected UV repellent as the coat,
and sunglasses. These items combined provided just enough
protection for him to get from the doorway into the similarly
protected car without so much as a mild sunburn. He flashed her a
smile as he shifted his body, getting comfortable in the passenger
seat, and disconnected the call.

“
We have visitors at the Estate,” he explained as she navigated
the car out of the airport and onto the motorway. “Nothing to get
alarmed about.”

“
Any word from Tabari?”

“
I think one of our visitors may be able to help us with that,”
he told her.

A familiar
dark-haired, curvy figure waited for them beside her dark
motorcycle outside the gates to the Estate. She was leaning against
the bike, her protective jacket hanging open to reveal a tiny black
crop top while a cigarette dangled precariously from her mouth. She
watched the car approach with narrowed eyes, taking the cigarette
from her lips and blowing a small puff of smoke into the air.