To Hell and Back (Hellcat Series Book 4) (18 page)

“
Not just yet, Lea,” he told her, sitting down beside her and
threading a hand into her tangled curls, tugging so her face lifted
to his.

“
Alex still doesn’t look very well,” she murmured,
uncomfortable under his searching gaze.

“
He needs more blood,” Julius said. “The Feeders are still
recovering after the needs of those who helped in the demon fight.
And no, you aren’t giving him any more,” he put in as he saw the
thought cross her face. “He’ll be fine until we can bring in an
extra Feeder; someone will find him one tonight.” He still hadn’t
stopped scrutinising her face, and it was making her
uneasy.

“
What?” she finally demanded, unable to bear the tension any
longer.

He leaned down and with exquisite tenderness kissed the side
of her mouth. “There were those who doubted my choice of Consort,”
he said, admitting something she’d already known to be true, but
which he’d never voiced. “But after what you did today, every one
of them will be silenced. No one else in the entire Clan could’ve
saved Alexander today, only you. The whole Clan is in your
debt.”

Now Gabi felt really uncomfortable. She pulled away from him a
little.

“
It wasn’t anything spectacular,” she said, shaking her head
and then hissing as the movement made her headache worse. “I
would’ve done the same for anyone in that predicament. Well, almost
anyone,” she amended.

Julius smiled, amused at her discomfort. “We’ll discuss it
later,” he said. “First this.” He slid his cool hand behind her
head, careful to avoid the lump, and pulled her in for a deep,
passionate kiss, his tongue already seeping blood from two small
wounds. The taste of his mouth and his blood chased away everything
else, and for a few short moments Gabi forgot every niggling worry
in her head.

When she came back to earth a couple of minutes later, the
pain in her arm and head had her fighting back a moan. Julius held
her against his chest, his arms tense, as his blood began the
painful healing process. It would be a few minutes before the pain
became more manageable, and then the recovery would begin. In the
meantime Gabi had no options but to grit her teeth and bear it. She
was now doubly glad he’d taken her upstairs rather than allow the
others to see her so vulnerable. They’d all seen her in pain
before, all of them had been in Dantè’s dungeon when she’d been
found tortured and bleeding out, but Alexander didn’t need to see
the pain of her recovery, and Gabi hated Athena to see her in any
state other than calm and collected.

When the pain finally lessened, she consciously calmed her
ragged breathing and uncurled herself from Julius’s embrace. He
helped her unwind the bloody bandages from her arm. The scent of
her blood had turned his eyes golden, but he showed no other signs
of his hunger. His control was remarkable, she thought for the
thousandth time. The bite marks were still raw and not completely
healed, but the bleeding had stopped, and Gabi knew that by
nightfall her arm would be functioning normally. Her headache was
gone, and the tennis ball on her scalp was more the size of a bad
mosquito bite. The myriad of other smaller nicks and bruises were
all but gone, and her energy levels were back to normal. She didn’t
even feel tired anymore. As Julius carried her to the shower,
somehow already shirtless, she was mentally tallying how much time
they had before their absence would seem suspicious.

As Gabi pulled the McLaren to a halt near the small but tidy
motel room Mac was staying at, she was still getting over the shock
of what she and Julius had walked in on when they returned to the
entertainment room. The last thing she’d expected to see was
Alexander taking blood from Athena. With Athena’s blessing,
apparently. Athena’s embarrassment had been immediate and intense,
pulling away with a gasp and turning scarlet when Alexander pulled
her back so that he could lick the small wounds on her neck to
hurry the healing process. Gabi gave her ten points for holding her
head high despite her discomposure as the two of them parted for
the second time. Julius seemed as shocked and incredulous as Gabi
felt, but Alexander, a smug little grin on his face, looked far
better than he had when Gabi and Julius had left half an hour
earlier. Luckily Kyle had arrived moments later with several boxes
of pizza and his usual air of nonchalance, and once the attention
shifted to the food, they were all able to pretend nothing untoward
had happened.

As the door of her car lifted to allow her out, Mac was
already locking up the door to his room, so she stayed with the
car. While this wasn’t exactly a bad area of the City, she was
still a little apprehensive about leaving the McLaren unattended.
It was already drawing unwanted attention.

“
Nice wheels,” Mac drawled as he sauntered over. He had a
small backpack slung over one shoulder and was dressed back in his
faded denims and scuffed boots but had put on a fresh black
T-shirt. It showed off a build contradictory to his age; it was
obvious that he put effort into keeping in shape. He gave the car
an appreciative inspection as he approached. “I’ve never seen one
of these up close and personal. Angeli Morte has expensive
taste.”

Gabi smiled. “Actually she has a Consort with expensive taste
and the income to back it up,” she countered with a tilt of her
eyebrow. “Get in, and I’ll show you what she can do.”

Mac had to share the passenger seat with Razor, as the sports
car only had two seats. She hadn’t had time to go home yet, so
Razor was still along for the ride. Mac didn’t seem to mind, but
Gabi was sure his legs had to be numb by the time they arrived at
SMV HQ.

Their first stop was Byron’s office. Gabi had explained to Mac
on the drive over that Byron’s involvement with the SMV was kept on
a need-to-know basis, but Gabi already knew that Mac was adept at
keeping secrets. Byron’s secretary waved them straight through;
Gabi had called earlier, and the older man was expecting them. He
rose as they entered and gave Gabi a customary hug and peck on the
cheek.

“
Byron, this is Joshua Maclary,” she told him, taking in his
appearance critically as she stepped back to introduce Mac. Byron
wasn’t looking overly tired, but the worry on his face was clear.
“Mac, this is my very close friend Byron, also co-founder of the
SMV.”

The two men shook hands politely, no posturing or pissing
contest, just the cordial meeting of two strangers.

“
It’s very nice to meet you, Mr Maclary. I’m sorry it’s under
such strained circumstances,” Byron said, indicating to Gabi and
Mac to take seats while he returned to his chair behind the large,
paper-strewn desk.

“
Please call me Mac,” the other man said predictably. “It’s an
honour to meet you. I’ve followed the development of your
organisation with great interest over the years. You may not know
this, but your model is being replicated in several other cities
around the globe. Not the size and scope of yours, of course, but
the same principle and modus operandi.”

Byron looked startled, and Gabi’s interest was piqued. She’d
always assumed other cities had found similar ways of dealing with
their supernatural population, but hadn’t thought of the group her
father and Byron founded as one that others might base themselves
on.

“
I would be fascinated to hear more,” Byron told him, “but I
believe there is some haste to our current situation, and right now
that must sadly take precedence. I’ve arranged to take you straight
down to the morgue.” He turned to Gabi then. “Another body was
brought in this morning. I think it may well be the missing person
Mr—Mac is looking for.”

Byron led the way, the scent of death and antiseptic chemicals
mixing in the air as he pushed a door open and waited for Gabi and
Mac to precede him inside. Gabi couldn’t help the slight wrinkling
of her nose; she doubted she’d ever get used to the scent of death.
There was no one else in the pair of adjoining rooms. An office
desk and credenza, with several chairs in one room, were walled off
by a large pane of glass from the larger second room. Double steel
doors separated the dead from the living, and kept the bodies cool
until they could be disposed of safely and secretly. Byron quickly
checked something on a board in a Perspex holder next to the steel
doors before pushing through them. Inside, he checked the
clipboards on a row of gurneys positioned side by side against one
wall; each held a sheet-covered body. Finding the one he was
looking for, he pulled the gurney out of the row and rolled it into
the bright light of the medical examination area. Déjà vu, Gabi
thought darkly.

Mac had pulled the backpack off his shoulder. Rummaging in the
bag, he withdrew a file and flipped it open to reveal a photo atop
a stack of paperwork. The picture was one of a girl looking over
her shoulder at whoever was taking the photo. She had a carefree
smile that hinted at mischief. She couldn’t have been much older
than twenty. Joining them to look at the picture, Byron nodded
sadly and then went to peel back the crisp, white sheet from the
face of the body on the gurney. It was the same girl, now lifeless,
staring, never to smile again. The waste of this girl’s life
stabbed at Gabi, made her angry, and a cold fire jumped to life in
her chest.

“
This has got to end,” she vowed, her voice almost a snarl.
“We will put a stop to this.”

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

It was less than an hour before dawn when Caspian used the
secret tunnel to re-enter the castle. Most other Vampires would be
heading back to their quarters, and the night staff would be
preparing to hand over duties to the day shift, so it was the
perfect time to slip inside unnoticed. He knew now that he wasn’t
the only one with knowledge of the secret tunnel system of the
castle. He’d never bothered to fully explore the pathways but, once
he’d accidentally stumbled across one of them, had explored just
enough to find two different exits from the castle in case he
needed them one day. That day had come sooner than expected, but he
was grateful he’d had the good fortune and presence of mind to
utilise them.

He was hoping that the furore over Julius’s trial and Helene’s
betrayal, and her death before execution, had now had enough time
to die down. He’d stayed away as long as he could, but he
desperately wanted to find out if anyone suspected her death wasn’t
what it appeared to be, or if anyone knew of the conspiracy between
the two of them. Everyone at Court believed Helene had betrayed the
Princeps, but she’d betrayed him worst of all, gone against their
agreement and tried to kill the Dhampir instead of
Julius.

Gabrielle. His Dhampir. He’d created her. Rage filled him
again, as it had so many times in the past few months. Every time
he thought of Julius and the power he now wielded. While hiding in
one of the secret passages and looking through a peephole cleverly
disguised by a painting, he’d seen Julius control and turn back an
entire regiment of Vampire soldiers. None of the Vampire soldiers
had been able to speak about Julius’s group escaping after lockdown
had occurred. Caspian had stayed just long enough to find out the
reason for the lockdown. Once he heard of Santiago’s demise, he
knew that Julius and Gabrielle had something to do with it. He
hadn’t waited around to see what was made of Helene’s accelerated
meeting with her maker; he could only hope they’d think she found a
way to take her own life.

He’d planned to stay away for an extended period of time. Give
everyone a chance to forget about him. He’d planned to bide his
time, for years if necessary, before coming back to claim what was
rightfully his. But he simply couldn’t stay away from her. The pull
to be near her, make her submit to his will, to taste her blood was
far too strong for him to ignore. It ate at him night after night;
he was like a man slowly starving to death. There was only one cure
for his hunger. He had to be near her again.

There was just the small problem of his treason against his
new ‘Sire’. Even in his mind he spat the word. Rage flared anew at
Helene for putting him in the position of being beholden to the one
man he hated most in the world. He’d hated Julius first because
Simone had been in lust with him, hated him because, right up until
Julius killed her, she had still lusted after him and would’ve
forsaken all other lovers for Julius. Then Julius had been made a
Master, the youngest ever, because he’d gained the power over
Vampires from Simone. Even the Princeps themselves were scared of
Julius. There was no single Vampire who could stand against him, no
other Master who could take him without a vast army at his back.
And then fate dealt Caspian the most vicious of blows. Gabrielle in
Julius’s clutches, in lust with him too. He wouldn’t allow it to
happen again. He wouldn’t be usurped by Julius again. He would find
a way to even the score.

But first he needed to know if it was safe to be seen at
Court.

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

Julius ended the call, hoping Gabi would do as he’d suggested.
She’d been livid, truly furious. He could hear it in her voice.
Whoever was responsible for killing supernaturals in the City and
attacking Alexander wasn’t going to escape her wrath for long. But
even over the phone, he could tell she was tired; in fact, their
telepathic bond had grown so strong that he could feel her
weariness even though she was physically on the other side of the
City. She needed rest, but telling her to rest would’ve just been
counterproductive. He was learning more about her every day, but
one of the things he’d learnt early on was that she hated doing
what she was told. So instead he’d pointed out that Razor hadn’t
been home for a decent meal in over twenty-four hours.