Secrets in the Shadows (13 page)

Gabriel’s disturbing gaze settled on Hannah. “And my mother would have enjoyed punishing you,” he said.

Unwilling to seem daunted by him—no matter how daunted she actually was—Hannah planted her fists on her hips. “What’s the matter? Don’t think you could take me yourself?”

Drake groaned softly, and Jules elbowed her, but though she knew it was dangerous to provoke these two, she also knew that with certain kinds of people, it was better not to show your fear. She thought she might have guessed right when she saw the hint of a smile briefly cross Gabriel’s face.

“Gabriel has a strange squeamishness about hurting mortals,” Camille explained.

Gabriel looked offended. “I’m not squeamish! It’s just that they break so easily there’s no fun in it.”

“I have no such problem myself,” Camille continued as though he hadn’t spoken.

Hannah nodded to acknowledge that she got the message loud and clear, and Camille turned her attention to Jules. “You must hate Ian a great deal to have ventured this far for revenge.”

Jules said nothing, but his face spoke for him.

“And he must hate you a great deal to defy me by seeking his own revenge.”

So, Ian’s attack had been an act of defiance? Hannah salted that little tidbit away for further examination later.

“Why should he hate you so bitterly?” Camille asked, an expression of polite inquiry on her face.

Jules visibly fought for calm, but the strain showed in his voice. “I suppose he’s blaming me for getting him hounded out of Philadelphia.”

A tiny frown furrowed Camille’s brow, then vanished. “So he tells me. And you hate him because …”

“He made me what I am,” Jules answered from behind gritted teeth.

Hannah cut a quick glance in his direction, then looked away. Admittedly, she didn’t know him very well, but she’d never gotten the impression he much minded being a vampire. Any fool could see there was more to it than that. And Camille was not a fool.

“I should think you would thank him for the honor he did you,” she said. Jules’s Adam’s apple bobbed, but he said nothing and Camille continued. “My mortals scratch and claw at each other for the privilege of my bite”

“Ian might have been eager to become a Killer. I wasn’t.” Jules’s fists were clenched at his sides, his knuckles white.

Gabriel raised a white-blond eyebrow. “Is that all?” he asked. “It should be water under the bridge, shouldn’t it? Sounds to me as if you haven’t earned your hate. You’ve gotten the best of both worlds. Ian gave you eternal life, and you are spared the distasteful need to kill thanks to—”

Camille hissed—just like a snake, Hannah thought—and Gabriel fell silent. His face took on a sullen cast, but his eyes still glittered with danger. Hannah was impressed that Jules was able to drag his eyes away from the menace that stood so close, but he turned his attention to Camille once more.

“Ian has earned my hatred,” he said, sounding calmer than he looked. “A great deal of that is … personal.”

“Oh, do share. I’m eager to hear what my fledgling was up to for the brief time he wasn’t tucked firmly under my wing.”

But Jules shook his head. “As I said, it’s personal.”

Gabriel made an ugly snorting sound. “Personal,” he mocked. “But we here in this room keep no secrets from one another.”

“Gabriel, behave,” Camille warned.

Gabriel whirled on her. “Why?” he cried, throwing up his hands. “Why shouldn’t the truth flow like wine?”

Camille stood up and Hannah shivered with a sudden chill. Jules and Drake must have felt it too, for both of them moved a little closer to her and, as if by some silent agreement, put themselves between her and the squabbling pair.

“We’ve discussed this,” Camille said, her voice low and soothing.

Discussed what? Hannah wondered. It was like they were talking in code, and she desperately wanted to break it. What was Camille trying to hide? And why did Gabriel not want to hide it?

Gabriel snorted. “We discussed nothing. You ordered. And this once, I don’t feel inclined to obey, not when the request comes from Daddy Dearest.”

From a good ten feet away, Camille swung her arm. Gabriel flew across the room, going ass-over-teakettle over the chair he’d once been leaning on. He landed with a thud and a grunt of pain, but quickly rose. The flush of his pale face made the scar on his cheek stand out like a white lighting bolt in contrast. He was breathing hard, showing his fangs though his posture was defensive as Camille stepped closer and he backed away.

“Why do you protect him?” Gabriel asked as he continued to back up, his body visibly tensed for another blow.

“My son, don’t make me—”

“Why should you do anything Eli asks?”

He flew through the air again, this time all the way across the room and out the door. As he lay on the floor, looking stunned, the door slammed shut.

Silence, fraught with tension, fell on the room. Camille stared at the door through which she had thrown her son. Jules and Drake both stood with open mouths, too stunned to mask their expressions.

Hannah’s impression of Eli hadn’t been so great to start with, but this just put the cherry on the sundae. Still, she felt bad for Drake and Jules, who so obviously looked up to their Founder. Or used to, at least.

Eventually, Camille’s posture relaxed, and she sighed. “He’s gone,” she said, turning back to them. The corners of her mouth were tight with displeasure. “Your presence in Baltimore is having an unpleasant influence on my dear son.”

“Your son by Eli,” Drake said, as if he couldn’t possibly have heard right.

Camille fixed him with an arctic stare. “Perhaps you now understand our non-interference pact. A pact that you and your friends may well destroy.

“I want you out of my city. All of you. If you cause any more trouble before you go, I will give you to Gabriel and allow him to take out his anger with Eli on you.”

She turned her gaze to Hannah. “My son might be … sentimental enough to make a quick meal of you, but you can be sure your friends will not be so lucky.”

Hannah suspected her face was about the color of Gabriel’s hair right now. “Okay, I think we got the message.”

“We were just leaving anyway,” Drake said, flashing Jules a quelling look when it seemed he might argue.

“Yeah,” Hannah said, “this is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to die here.” No one seemed to think that was funny, and Hannah couldn’t blame them. Jules gave her a withering glare, and she grinned feebly. “Sorry. I make jokes when I’m nervous. I’m all for leaving, but what if Gabriel’s waiting for us? He doesn’t seem too keen on this whole non-interference thing you’ve got going.”

Camille’s eyes glittered dangerously. “He would not dare defy me.”

Hannah refrained from pointing out that he just had. Somehow, she didn’t think Camille would appreciate the reminder.

God, would she ever be glad to get home! And she promised herself that once she did, she would never, ever get involved with vampire hunting again!

Jules cautiously entered his hotel room, making Hannah wait in the hall while he confirmed there were no intruders. Like he could do anything about it if Ian or Gabriel were hiding out here! He got the distinct impression she was humoring him by letting him go in first. What he wouldn’t do to be alone for just a little while! But Hannah gave him about twenty seconds before she decided the coast was clear and came in. Cheerful as ever—though he thought he saw a hint of strain around the corners of her eyes—she sat cross-legged on one of the beds while he opened one of his suitcases on the other.

“So,” she said, “what do you think the story is with Eli and this Camille chick? I’m guessing they still have a bit of a thing for each other.”

He grunted irritably as he jerked open a drawer with unnecessary force. He shouldn’t be so surprised that Eli had secrets. Hell, everyone knew he had secrets. But no doubt about it, this particular one left a bad taste in Jules’s mouth. How could Eli have taken someone so vastly, obviously evil into his bed? How could a viper like Gabriel actually be his son?

“Vamps can’t have kids, right?” Hannah asked.

Jules paused in the act of folding a sweater and frowned. “Right.”

“Which means they had Gabe when they were still mortal. Whenever that was.”

Of course. Jules was surprised at how relieved he felt by the realization. “I suspect Camille had a somewhat more appealing personality when she was mortal.”

Hannah raised her eyebrows. “Does going vamp really change someone that much? I mean, I knew Gray before and after. He’s changed some, but I’d say he’s still basically the same person underneath.”

Jules shook his head. “It’s not that you necessarily change that much. It’s just that you lose a lot of your inhibitions. So, if deep down inside you’re a real selfish bastard, but you’ve been hiding it because that’s not an acceptable way to behave, then you become a real selfish bastard of a vampire.”

She grinned at him. “So if you’re a mortal with a short fuse, but you keep it under control to be polite, you become a vamp with a temper problem?”

He didn’t dignify that with an answer.

Undaunted, Hannah stuck out her lip and looked lost in thought. “Hmm. I wonder what I’d be like as a vamp.”

Jules pretended to give that some serious thought, then nodded sagely. “I doubt you’d change a bit, since you have no inhibitions that I’ve been able to detect.”

For that little pearl of wisdom, she gave him the finger.

“Shouldn’t you be packing?” he asked, glancing at the bedside clock. “We’ve only got forty-five minutes before Drake gets here.”

They were all going to have to ride in the car Drake had rented. When they’d checked on Hannah’s car, they’d discovered it had been towed. No doubt that would cause her some major headaches, but they didn’t dare hang around to straighten things out.

She laughed. “I barely unpacked, remember? So anyway, we never did finish our conversation about what happened between you and Ian.”

Jules rolled his eyes. “For God’s sake, Hannah. Give it a rest. I can’t even hear myself think with you around.” If she’d just shut up for a few minutes, maybe he’d be able to digest the evening’s unpleasant revelations.

“Hey, I’m just helping you think out loud is all.”

He stuffed a shirt carelessly into his suitcase, too irritated to worry about wrinkles. “Do I have to kiss you again to get you to be quiet?”

Idiot! Why did he have to go and say a thing like that? He leaned his hands on the edges of the suitcase, staring sightlessly at the contents. He didn’t want to know what expression Hannah was wearing just now. The springs on her bed squeaked as she moved.

“Is that why you kissed me the first time?” she asked. Her voice was oddly subdued. She barely sounded like herself.

Reluctantly, he turned to face her. A frown puckered her forehead, and he thought he detected a shadow of hurt in her eyes. But surely she couldn’t have taken that kiss seriously! She was a mature adult, she knew that stress could make people do stupid things.

“Well it does seem like the only time you don’t talk is when your mouth is otherwise occupied,” he said. He fought against the vision of Hannah’s overactive mouth occupied with something other than kissing. But it was a stubborn, tempting vision.

She grinned at him, and the hint of hurt left her eyes. “I have to admit, I like your way of shutting me up better than some of the other ways guys have tried.”

He cocked his head. “Like what?”

“Like the guy who thought slapping me around would teach me a lesson.”

He winced in sympathy even as he felt his temper stirring once more. He hated bullies. Always had, though he supposed he’d been blind where Ian was concerned. He’d never realized someone could be physically weak and still be the worst kind of bully.

“Oh, don’t feel too sorry for me,” Hannah said, her grin reappearing. “Remember, I know karate. And judo. And tae kwon do. And I firmly believe giving is better than receiving. I literally kicked him out on his ass.”

He shifted awkwardly, sympathy still hovering in the forefront. However, he and Hannah were enough alike that he knew she wouldn’t appreciate the sympathy. So … “I guess you tend to bring out the worst in people. I know I’ve wanted to strangle you at least ten times since last night.”

She grabbed a pillow from her bed and hurled it at him. He ducked easily, laughing. She reached for another pillow, then stopped, shaking her head.

“Damn, you’re good,” she said.

He blinked. “Huh?”

“I’ve never met anyone as good at changing the subject as you are. First, you change the subject away from Ian by mentioning the kiss, then you change the subject away from the kiss by insulting me. And I just go right along for the ride.”

Jules groaned. “You know, Gray always says how stubborn Carolyn is, but I bet you could give her a run for her money.”

Hannah made a haughty face. “Carolyn’s stubborn. I’m persistent. And you’re trying to change the subject again.”

A knock on the door saved Jules from having to answer. He glanced at the clock, but they still had more than a half hour before Drake was supposed to show up. A brief psychic survey confirmed that a vampire lurked in the hallway outside.

“Drake?” he called out as he neared the door. Sensing his alarm, Hannah grabbed for her gun.

“No,” a voice said from the other side of the door. Gabriel’s voice.

Jules looked around frantically, but there was no other way out of this room. Hannah moved up beside him, her gun pointed at the door, her face pale with renewed fear.

“I haven’t come to hurt you,” Gabriel said, drawing twin snorts of laughter.

“That’s very reassuring,” Jules said. He reached out to lock the deadbolt. Not that it would do much good. “What do you want?”

“Just to talk. I thought you might want to hear the rest. What my mother wouldn’t allow me to say.”

The idea that there might be more sat uneasily in his stomach, but Jules told himself only a fool would believe anything Gabriel said right now. Of course, if Gabriel was even close to as powerful as Eli, there would be nothing Jules could do to stop the bastard from killing him. And Hannah.