Prince of Shadows (5 page)

Bennett turned his head toward her. “And how is that?”

“You're not an ass,” she explained.

“And you don't look much like a pain in the arse, but so far, from what I've seen, you are.”

“Hmm…” She smiled, her pretty, straight teeth flashing against her rosy lips. “I think I'm going to like you.”

He arched his brow. “Because I insulted you?”

“Something like that.”

Definitely warped. He shook his head, leaning forward to look down the hall toward the room Valin and Aaron went into. No shots fired yet. That was a good sign.

“So what are you going to do now?” Annie asked, tipping her head forward into his line of sight.

He couldn't help but notice how her tank top dipped invitingly low as she did, revealing just the slightest swell of breast. He swallowed, leaning back against the wall. Valin could damn well take care of himself. Besides, there were much more interesting things for him to pay attention to. Like the woman beside him who was looking at him with—bless the fairer sex—a whole lot of interest in her golden-brown eyes.

“I don't know. Think your bother will go for lessons in exchange for room and board?” he asked with a charming smile. Hell, if he was charming enough, maybe he could get her to convince her brother to give back his knife and phone too. Man, that still buggered him.

Her brow creased, but then lifted. “You mean Jacob?” She laughed, a husky sound that ran down his spine and curled around to his cock. Christ, she had a great laugh. A bedroom laugh. And those were bang-me legs too. He could just see them wrapped around him as he pile drove her. “Maybe, but probably not.”

He shifted, turning so he was facing her as he leaned on his right shoulder. What he really wanted to do was box her in and press his throbbing cock into the soft mound that dipped down into her concave belly, but they did have an audience.

“Don't suppose you'd be willing to put me up.” He gave her his megawatt smile, keeping his voice low and seductive.

She gripped her bottom lip with her teeth, running her finger along the collar of her tank top. “Maybe…but I don't think it's a good idea.”

“You sure about that?”

She smiled, leaning in closer, but almost immediately drew back again. Out of the corner of his eye Bennett saw why. Keon had shifted, stepping into the middle of the hall, and he looked none too happy.

“Annie, don't you think you should go tell the others that you've been found?”

“Why should I do that?” Annie asked, folding her arms in a make-me gesture.

“Oh, come on, Annie. You know by now what happens when you slip your guards.”

Her mouth turned down in a distinct pout. Bennett found himself frowning too. Why did she need guards? Or was this a new development since her break-in to Haven last week? He supposed that made sense. She was the person of interest in the council's mind.

“More like prison guards,” she muttered, but then sighed, pushing off the wall. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Bennett. Hope to see you around,” she added with a twinkle in her eye.

Despite the fact that Keon still frowned at him, Bennett watched her sashay down the hall. Hard not to, since she did have a fine arse and seemed to be putting just a little bit of extra effort into making sure he watched it as well. The moment she rounded the corner it became impossible to ignore Keon any longer; the soldier's concern was smothering him like a damp blanket.

“What is it, mate?” Bennett shifted, trying to relieve the residual pressure in his pants. “You have to admit she's a looker.”

Keon grunted, but nodded in concurrence. “Just don't let Jacob catch you looking at her like that.”

“Jacob? Does he not realize that his little sister is a woman?”

“No, I think he gets that Annie's a woman. But I think that makes it worse.”

“Why?”

“Because she's not his sister…She's his daughter.”

Bennett cursed long and hard, his wanker shriveling long before he was done. “Cor blimey, I'm never getting my knife back, am I?”

***

What
the
heck
are
you
doing
here, other than freezing your butt off, that is?

“Good question,” Gabby muttered to herself as she shifted, trying to ease the tingling feelings in her legs from crouching too long on the roof of the downtown apartment building where she'd made a sport of staring at its overachieving high-rise neighbor across the way. She wasn't surprised to find that the penthouse windows had already been replaced, and she was sure if she made it inside there would be nothing left of the man she'd spent many an hour watching and wishing she dared get closer to. Her biological father didn't live there anymore. Which was a good thing, all things considered.

Four months ago the Paladin-turned-vampire, Roland, had his top-floor penthouse broken into by the then coven leader—and her own dear stepfather from hell—Christos. And though Christos had since died—yippee ki-yay, mothereffer—there was no way the former Paladin was going to risk his bond mate's life by staying, not after all he'd done to claim her.

You
mean
all
he
had
to
go
through
to
save
her
after
you
fucked
everything
up.

Gabby blew out a deep breath, her chest tightening around the empty ache inside it. Her involvement in Karissa's capture could not be denied, though it certainly hadn't been what Gabby wanted. But what she was and how she'd come to be was exactly the connection Christos and Ganelon had needed to track down Roland and his mate. The fact that Gabby had been further used to lure Karissa out into the open was another thing she would never live down, especially when it had led to the Paladin female's capture and eventual turning.

That betrayal, though done unwillingly, was just another mark against Gabby. It was also the biggest reason why, as much as she might want to, she hadn't tracked her father and Karissa down after they'd moved and done the whole
surprise, surprise—welcome to the family, Karissa; oh, and by the way, I'm your new stepdaughter
. Nope, not a smart idea when she didn't think her daddy had yet to wake up and smell the genetic coding in her genes. Not to mention Gabby's disaster factor. Gabby had figured out long ago that being associated with her was synonymous to inviting trouble. And the last intel Gabby had gotten from her recently deceased vampire spy suggested the new coven leader had no idea where Roland and his mate were. Keeping it that way was the best wedding present she could give them, especially after all the pain she'd given them first, which meant staying far, far away.

Gabby closed her eyes, remembering the intensity of emotions in that mine four months ago. The pure despair that her father had been going through when he'd made the earth-shattering decision to turn Karissa in order to save her life. He hadn't known at the time if what he was doing was right or wrong, but he had known that he loved her so much he would give anything for her. What would it be like to have someone who would move heaven and earth itself for you? The answer to that was something Gabby doubted she'd ever know, especially given the limited amount of time she had left.

Speaking
of
time, you really need to get off your frozen duff.

With a groan, she stood, shrugging off the memories as she turned and ran for the backside of the building. The edge came up fast, barely time to gain enough speed, but she managed, thrusting off the lip and arm-wheeling it to the next building across the way. She landed with a thump and a grunt, her hands digging down in the filthy coating of smog, dirt, and whatever else sealed the rubber roofing.

Damn, when had she become a complete wuss? There was a time when she could jump double the distance with no effort.

Standing, she brushed her hands together, ignoring the prickly cry of nerve endings as she headed toward the fire escape at the back of building. Each step brought with it more stinging needles running from her toes up her legs, and her fingers weren't far behind in their Popsicle status.

She scowled, annoyed. It was a cool evening, but still, she should have been better off than this. Yeah, it didn't help that she'd run out of her room without grabbing her hoodie, so the fact she was shaking down to her toes right now was her fault. Though, if she were honest, she could admit that even with a down jacket she probably would still be shaking. And she could put the blame for that, at least, firmly on Valin's shoulders.

Five minutes with the man and here she was, crashing. It was worse than any of the withdrawals she'd experienced after a feeding. Only this time she hadn't even fed, though she almost had. No, she'd almost taken. And not just his blood. He'd offered to let her feed from him, and the desire to do so had been so overpowering, so blatantly arousing, that she could still feel the throbbing pulse not just in her fangs, but in regions of her body that had laid dormant since she'd been turned. Seventy-nine years was a hell of a long dry spell on desire.

As
if
you
could
actually
go
through
with
it
if
he
took
you
up
on
the
offer.

Very true. Sex was for power and power alone. She had no desire to give any man, even one like Valin, power over her again. And if he knew that she was the cause of his ultimate pain?

Gabby rubbed her arms, glancing over her shoulder as if expecting to find him standing there, knife in hand. Obviously he didn't suspect how she was connected to the night his wife and child had died or else he would have used that knife on her rather than himself. If she were lucky he'd never find out. Which meant after she'd gotten her meal, if he wasn't gone yet, she'd have to find a way to drive him away too.

“First, dinner,” she told herself firmly, putting her foot down on the fire escape. She was going to need all the sustenance she could get if she hoped to set even half the things her screwed-up heritage had caused to rights.

***

“Still not back yet?” Annie asked from the open doorway.

Valin sighed, heaving himself upright on Gabby's cot. The desire to try and track Gabby down was making him jumpy, so to combat that he'd decided to lie down. Waiting was the best thing he could do right now.

Don't chase a spooked horse. And that's what he'd done, spooked her. Whether it had simply been the offer of his blood or whether it was all the other crap between them that had scared the bejeezus out of her, Valin wasn't sure. Probably both. God knew he understood; he was scared shitless too. Losing Angeline and their unborn child had about killed him; what if he couldn't fix whatever it was that was making Gabby sick? What if she died on him too?

Not
going
to
happen.

“Don't worry. She'll come back. She always does,” Annie said, coming completely into the room.

“Yeah? When?”

Annie shrugged. “When she's ready.”

“Fucking spectacular.”

Annie smiled and moved over to the desk, hiking her butt onto it. And yeah, way to make him feel even shorter. Whoever had named her Annie must not have been thinking very far into the future. Tall genes did not grow on trees, unless it was the family sort. Surely her parents could have guessed that she might eventually hit cloud levels and given her a name that didn't bring to mind scrappy little orphans in red dresses.

“So, how did you and Gabby first meet?” she asked.

Valin narrowed his eyes. He'd gotten the impression from their little encounter outside Haven last week that Annie already knew about him. He'd made the assumption—okay, he'd hoped—that was because of Gabby; it seemed he may have been wrong. “Gabby didn't tell you?”

She rolled her eyes. “Gabby isn't too big on the sharing thing. What she does excel at is stomping around and putting her nose in other people's business.”

“And you're her best pupil.”

“I strive for A's across the board.”

Valin decided to not say what was on his mind. Besides, he wasn't exactly expunged of guilt on either subject himself, though he liked to think he pulled off the stomping bit with more style and grace.

Yeah, sure you do, Valin. Except maybe when you're tackling women in hallways.

“So…” Annie drew the word out, tapping the metal desk with her short-trimmed nails. “Wanna tell me why Gabby was running from you?”

Not really, no. But then again, Annie did seem to have a real familiarity with Gabby. She certainly seemed comfortable in Gabby's room and to be able to imitate the same cocked-hip attitude stance so well, she must spend a fair amount of time around her too. Even if she didn't have any real answers, maybe the girl at least had a theory as to what the heck had happened to Gabby.

“How long have you known Gabby?”

“A little over two months.” Annie shrugged. “But she's only been staying here the last few weeks or so.”

“Why?”

“I don't know. I think she just loves torturing us.”

“Torturing you?”

“Yeah, she helps my dad out with the training. She has a real love of the whip.” She snapped her hand out and back in front of her. “Whipcha!”

“So she's been spending more time here in order to train you guys.”

“We were a pretty sorry lot. At least when it came to properly utilizing our other sides.” She quoted the air with the word “other.” “And we've had a lot more recruits since she showed up.”