Devil Takes His Innocent (3 page)

“
How long ago was this, Bobby?” A
small shrug was all the response she got. It was followed by his stomach
rumbling. “I’ve got a couple of burgers and fries out in the kitchen if you
want to share them with me?”

Interest brightened his eyes, but
still they held mistrust. She couldn’t blame him, if what he had said were
true. What kind of mother would leave her child out in the middle of nowhere?
She could have at least given Bobby a fighting chance by dropping him on his
father’s doorstep.

Instead of forcing him out of the
room, Gabby decided to move back toward the kitchen and eat her lunch. She left
the other burger and fries next to the only other stool in the hope that Bobby
would see her offer was a genuine one. After three bites, she sensed movement
behind her. She knew if Bobby wanted to attack her then that would have been
his perfect opportunity, but she had to show him the same level of trust she
hoped to build in him. She continued eating. The stool beside her scraped over
the wooden floor and there he was.

Before he was completely seated
he was scoffing down the burger. It broke her heart, watching this young child
devouring a meal many would take for granted. He had polished off both his
burger and fries before she was even halfway through her burger. She could see
him eyeing her fries, and no matter how hungry she was, she couldn’t deny this
child.

Pushing her fries toward him, she
warned, “Just don’t make yourself sick, okay?”

She received a nod, which was
probably all she was going to get from him at the moment. His mouth was too
full of her fries. Deciding they both needed a drink to wash down their meal,
Gabby moved to get off the stool. The simple movement had Bobby off his, and he
was backing away, his hands still trying to grab some fries.

“
It’s
okay, Bobby, I was just getting
us a drink. Would you like that?” Seeming to relax slightly, he moved back to
the stool as Gabby went to the fridge which still hadn’t been completely
stocked. She realized that the milk and juice were in her car. Grabbing the car
keys off the top of the fridge, she headed for the front door.

“
Where are you going?” Bobby asked
before whimpering, “Please don’t leave me.”

She moved straight to his side.
“Oh, honey, I’m not going to leave you, I promise. I just need to get the rest
of the food out of the car, including our drinks,” she cajoled, but still
didn’t touch him. “Do you want to help me?”

At his nod, she moved back toward
the door, confident that Bobby was behind her. In silence they carried the
remaining bags in. Each trip back out of the kitchen saw Bobby grabbing another
handful of fries, which were gone by the time they had reached the car. As soon
as her car was empty and they were back in the cabin, Gabby didn’t know whether
she wanted to laugh or cry. Bobby had taken it upon himself, in between fries,
to empty the shopping bags. To see his eyes light up at many of the products
had her wondering exactly how long he had been fending for himself. He began
rummaging through the cupboards, presumably looking for glasses for the juice
he held in one hand.

“
You won’t find anything in them.
I bring my picnic setup every time I come. It’s a lot cleaner that way,” she
informed him. “It’s in that box behind you, with the pots and pans.”

Immediately he had the box lid
off, and its contents scattered over the sink and cooker. Once he had what he
was looking for, he poured them both some juice before putting it away in the
fridge. His actions had her feeling hopeful. This boy wasn’t the same one who
only minutes earlier retreated from her in fear. The Bobby that now stood in
front of her offering her a drink appeared like any other boy of his age. Gone
was the stiff front, and in its place a more relaxed young man. It had her
questioning once again his mother’s actions, as well as making her more
determined to reunite him with his father. It was the least he deserved. But to
achieve this she needed a lot more information.

Chapter
Three

Once her drink was finished,
Gabby went around getting the cabin prepared to be lived in. She pulled the
sheets off the furniture, checked her gas bottles for cooking, and ensured that
the wood store was full. She already knew the electricity was turned on, so
that was one less problem to worry about. The only thing left was for her to
make her bed. It was usually the last thing she did before going to sleep. But
this trip she decided to make it earlier.

Bobby had followed her
everywhere, including into the bathroom as she put her toiletries away. She
took the opportunity to prove to him that she was to be trusted. After making
her own bed, she moved to the other bedroom and made up a bed for him. When she
returned to her bedroom, she picked up the duffel bag that sat in the corner
where she had found him. She was carrying it through to the spare room when
Bobby relieved her of it. She stopped in her tracks, watching to see what he
would do next. To her relief, he placed it into the room she had made up for
him and began to unpack.

Deciding to give him some space,
she headed back to the kitchen. She was in desperate need of a refreshing cup
of tea. As she sat contemplating what that poor boy had been through in his
short life, the subject of her thoughts reappeared.

“
Um, do you mind if I have another
juice?” he asked shyly.

“
Honey, help yourself to anything
you want, okay?” Her comment was answered with a nod. “Until we find your
father, think of this as your home.”

“
You mean you’ll help me?”

“
Of
course.
But
you do need to tell me everything.”

Gabby watched as Bobby’s
shoulders stiffened. After several seconds they slumped, followed by him once
again nodding. He disappeared into the kitchen before returning with his juice
and plonking himself down on the sofa beside her. She waited. This was a big
step she was asking him to take in trusting her. She didn’t want to destroy
what little he had already developed by rushing him.

Looking over at him, her heart
went out to him. At such a young age, he seemed to have the weight of the world
upon his small shoulders. She could see his downturned eyes moving. His gaze
seemed to be darting in her direction before once again falling upon the glass
in his hand. Taking a sip, he let out a heavy sigh before he began his strange
story.

“
A couple of weeks ago, just
before my ninth birthday, something weird happened to me. I felt pain all over,
but nobody was near me. My eyes did funny things before everything went black.
When I woke up, my mum was looking at me,
kinda
scared. I didn’t understand it ’cos I’ve always been scared of her.” Bobby
paused, took another sip of his drink and put it on the table before
continuing. “She was never nice to me, always hitting me, but she was my mum. I
still loved her. I blacked out again two days later, only this time mum told me
what happened. She said I turned into a mountain lion.”

Gabby would have laughed at this
point had Bobby not sounded so serious. She decided that dumping him was
probably the best that woman could have done for her son if she was going to
fill his head with such delusions. Instead of laughing or asking the many
questions she wanted to, she remained quiet, allowing Bobby to continue.

“
She told me that all sorts of
shifters lived in the U.S. She said that they hid from those who would want to
experiment on them. She grew up around them. That’s how she met my dad, but she
was hoping that I wouldn’t be like them. Anyway, I didn’t believe her until the
pain came again. I was at school in the locker room. Only this time I didn’t
blackout. I saw with my own eyes what I had become. It’s a good thing nobody
was around. When I got home and told mum what had happened, she told me to pack
my clothes. She drove me here, told me to get out of the car. When I did, she
locked the car doors. Through the small gap in the open window, she told me to
find my dad. Then she just drove off. She left me.”
Finally,
the tears that Bobby had been holding at bay, fell.

Gabby could only hold her arms
open, offering this young boy the comfort he deserved. Thankfully, he didn’t
hesitate. He curled himself up into her side and allowed her to rock him
gently. She pulled him close to her body, held him tightly, and cooed
nonsensical words.

She had heard many crazy things
from patients, including the existence of shape shifters and vampires.
All of which she had previously dismissed.
But now that
those stories were coming from Bobby, she couldn’t bring herself to do that. He
believed in every word he spoke, of that she had no doubt. The question was
,
was what he said plausible? The answer came when he fell
asleep. Still in her arms, his body began to sprout golden hair, similar color
to that on his head. Sharpened claws dug into her where his hands lay and, if
she was hearing correctly, Bobby was purring.

To her, it didn’t matter what
Bobby was. He needed her help, and she planned on giving it to him. He was a
sweet boy who deserved some happiness in his life. She had to wonder though, if
his father even knew he existed. The way he spoke suggested that he had never
met him, though she suspected his mother told him the man’s name. She would get
that name from Bobby when he awoke, and she would then check the man out before
she allowed Bobby to go anywhere near him.

She had experienced the more
negative aspect of coming into a parent’s life late. She was just lucky that
she was already an adult when she had met Jeffrey. She didn’t have to live with
them. Bobby was another matter. If his father showed any signs of being
anything like Jeffrey, or Bobby’s mother, she wasn’t sure she would be able to
allow the meeting to take place. Her need to protect this young boy was
overwhelming, yet it felt right. She would do everything within her power to
ensure that he was safe and happy.

****

“
Mr. Torments, I’m from the
florist downstairs. I’m ringing to give you an update on the flowers you sent
to a Miss Winters.”

Devil sat forward, eager to hear
what the woman was about to say. He had already sent a bunch of flowers to
Gabriella’s home in apology, only for them to be returned. The delivery man
informed him that the woman at the house claimed there was no such person
living there. He decided to try her work instead.

“
I’m sorry, sir, but the flowers
have once again been returned.”

He was no longer feeling guilty
about spanking the innocent Gabriella Winters. When he had first discovered
that he was Gabriella’s first experience with a male, he wished he had done it
differently.
Including introducing her to a spanking more
gently.
His reaction surprised him. Never in all of his long life had he
second-guessed his actions with a woman. Not even when he lost his own
virginity. But something about Gabriella had him wanting to be a better man for
her. Now he wanted to reintroduce her to his hand. He was trying to apologize,
and it would seem she was intent on avoiding his genuine sentiments.

“
What was the excuse this time?
You can’t tell me she doesn’t work at the hospital.”

“
No, sir, it seems she’s on
leave.”

“
For
how long?”

“
They refused to say, sir. I’m
sorry.”

“
Fuck!” he yelled, throwing the
phone across the room. He gained little satisfaction when it shattered into
tiny pieces.

“
Troubles?”
Viper asked as he closed his
laptop and stood up from behind his desk.

Devil went on to explain to Viper
what had happened.

“
Why are you wasting your time on
her? Come out to the club tonight and find yourself a nice bit of fluff. That’s
guaranteed to take your mind off of her.”

Logically he knew what Viper had
said made sense, but still something within him wouldn’t allow him to even
consider it. Not until he had made amends with Gabriella and ensured that she
was all right.

“
Not tonight, Viper,” he said to
his brother’s retreating back.

“
Wow, she must have been
something. Maybe I should try her out when you find her,” Viper said, laughing
as he exited the office.

It was a good thing Viper was no
longer in the
room,
otherwise he would have questioned
Devil’s reaction to his last statement. They would be questions that Devil
didn’t have the answers to. He had never reacted to anyone the way he was with
Gabriella. He gave little of himself and his time to anyone outside of his
family.
A family that included only his three brothers and
adopted sister, Jewel.
Yet here he was, spending
every
minute thinking
about Gabriella Winters. It just wasn’t healthy.

Maybe Viper was right. He
probably just needed to get laid. Decisively, Devil stood. He headed out of his
office and pressed the button to call the private lift. It led up to the
private quarters he shared with his brothers on the top floors of the hotel.
Each of them had a floor to themselves, though Devil had to concede it was
unnecessary. If any of them wished to entertain a female, they also had a hotel
room permanently booked in each of their names. Outside of the cleaning crew,
and their sister, no woman had entered their private quarters.

Chaos was the only one that had
no hotel room reserved. He had a mate instead.
A mate that he
hadn’t claimed.
According to Chaos, she was still too young. They each
had a theory of who she may be, but none of them pushed their brother for the
truth. When the time was right, Chaos would claim his mate, and Devil was
positive he would win the bet he had going with Viper and Judge.

He had often wondered to himself
what it would be like to have a mate. Chaos, though he had yet to claim her,
knew where his future lay. It hadn’t quite been ten years since Chaos had
discovered who his mate was. Up until then, the four of them had all but given
up on finding the one soul that complimented each of them. Now Devil wondered
if his own soul mate was out there somewhere. To find her would mean he would
no longer need to rely on others for their blood. Whether a mate was human or
vampire, once the claiming took place she would be all Devil needed to survive.

Shaking off his whimsical
thoughts, Devil threw some fresh clothes on and headed back down to the lobby.
He then needed to take another lift down to the underground nightclub housed in
the hotel. It was there that he went in search of Viper. He didn’t doubt that
Viper had already scoped out the prey and decided which woman he had plans of
bedding that night.

As soon as his gaze fell on
Viper, Devil conceded that his brother hadn’t let him down. He had two women on
his arms, walking toward the VIP area. Taking a shortcut, Devil beat the three of
them up the stairs and sat at the table reserved for the owners. He would have
laughed at the surprise in his brother’s eyes, had he not been trying to play
it cool.

“
I’m glad you could join us,
Devil,” Viper said once he had reached the table. “Ladies, let me introduce you
to my brother Devil. Devil, this is—”

That was where Devil switched
off. Unlike Viper, he had no interest in names of the woman he was planning on
bedding. It was a piece of information that didn’t need to take up residence in
his brain. To him they were all “babe.” It saved complications. It was yet
another mistake he had made with Gabriella. He had asked her name, which was
something he never did.

Standing, Devil forced his mind
back to the woman in front of him. She was tall, brunette, and scrawny. The
total opposite of what he was usually attracted to.
Completely
different from Gabriella.
This girl’s makeup was pasted on thick and
heavy, and she smelled like she had already had a fair bit to drink. She was
already rubbing herself against him like a cat. It made his skin crawl. This
wasn’t a woman he was going to take up to his hotel room. His cock wouldn’t
allow it. If anything she had made him
shrink
impossibly further.

He couldn’t hold back the sigh of
relief when the women heard a song they wanted to dance to. He had no idea how
long they had all sat together at the table, but it felt like a lifetime to
him. His only joyous moments were when he was thinking about Gabriella. Then
his mind would return to the nightclub, and his discomfort would begin all over
again.

“
I’m out of here,” he said,
standing from the table. “That girl does nothing for me.”

“
Still thinking about her, aren’t
you?” Viper asked, knowing Devil too well.

Devil was already walking away,
but he hadn’t missed the comment. He had no need to acknowledge his brother’s
question, because Viper would have known the truth. His thoughts were still
with Gabriella, and for the life of him, he couldn’t understand why.

“
Hello, my friend,” Chaos said,
falling into step beside him as Devil stepped from the lift. Chaos was still in
his chef’s uniform, suggesting he had just clocked off from the kitchen. “
You going
home alone? That’s not like you.”