To Hell and Back (Hellcat Series Book 4) (12 page)

Razor managed to tag along and stalked into the
restaurant at Gabi’s heels. Jorge, the maître d', was as welcoming
as always when he saw Gabi, fussing to take her coat and greeting
Julius politely.

“
You are looking very well, Miss Bradford, and it
is so nice to see you, Mr Edwards,” he said in perfect but heavily
accented English. When out in the public human eye, Julius used his
reclusive businessman alter ego Julian Edwards. “Mr Robson is here,
and your other guest, Mr Mac—oh my goodness.” His voice rose to a
squeal when he suddenly noticed Razor.

Gabi quickly put a hand on his arm to calm him. “It’s all
right. This is my cat, Razor,” she reassured the poor man. “I’m
training him for a film role, and he needs to get used to being
among lots of strange people. Don’t worry. I’ve cleared it with
Shawn,” she lied smoothly. Usually she was telling the dear man
lies about how she came by some injury or other, so the fabrication
slipped easily from her lips. Razor glared at the man with narrowed
eyes. “Did you say our other guests are here, Jorge?” she prodded,
trying to redirect the man’s attention.

“
Oh yes.” The short man shook himself, trying to
regain his composure. “At your usual table, of course.” As
extra-special guests, she and Julius generally managed to secure
the most isolated table in the restaurant. Set behind a decorative
screen and several large potted palms, it was the only private
table the restaurant had, and was reserved for special guests only.
“Come, I’ll take you through.” Jorge’s professionalism kicked in,
and he held his head high, pretending that escorting an extra-large
cat through the tables of diners wouldn’t be anything he didn’t do
on a nightly basis.

“
We’ll be fine, Jorge,” Gabi assured him. “We know the way.
You see to your other guests.” She patted his hand in thanks, and
the three of them wound their way through the other patrons, a few
of whom stared wide-eyed at the furry member of the trio. Luckily
most of the eyes were following Julius or Gabi. They made a
striking couple, drawing attention wherever they went together, yet
another reason to eat in private. If anyone looked as though they
would protest the presence of a cat in a restaurant, Gabi knew
Julius would sort the problem out before it became a problem.
Amazingly enough, they made it to the private alcove without Gabi
feeling the prickle of Julius’s power.

Kyle and Mac were seated at opposite sides of the table,
talking amiably, a beer in Kyle’s hand and a glass of soda
perspiring on the tablecloth in front of the older man. At their
arrival Mac stood, inclining his head to Julius respectfully, but
not moving to shake his hand or looking him in the eye. He did
indeed know Vampires, Gabi thought. She felt Julius’s agreement
through their mental connection.

“
Mr…Mac,” Gabi corrected herself, “you’ve met Kyle, I see, and
this is Julius.”

“
It is an honour to meet you, Master Julius,” Mac said, his
tone deferential, even slightly awed. His face was a mask of grave
respect, but his heart was racing.

Gabi was confused for a moment, and then it hit her. It was so
easy for her to forget the effect Julius had on others. She still
had no idea why his presence didn’t overwhelm her like it did
almost everyone else.

“
Please, just Julius, Mr Maclary,” Julius told him. “Take a
seat. We don’t stand on ceremony outside of formal
engagements.”

“
Thank you,” Mac said simply, “and please call me
Mac.”

Gabi was relieved to see the
first hint of his usual humour resurfacing. She took the initiative
and went around to Mac’s side of the table, leaving Julius the
chair next to Kyle. Mac immediately pulled back her chair for her
to sit, and Gabi noticed something she hadn’t when she met him
earlier; the movement of his right arm was stiff and unnatural, as
though his shoulder joint was partially immobile. He hid the
weakness well enough to pass casual assessment, but it was obvious
once he used the arm. Gabi wondered if this was the injury that
ended his Slayer career. He helped her sit without comment,
pretending he hadn’t noticed her shrewd appraisal. His heartbeat
had settled somewhat but then accelerated with a jolt. Razor had
stalked over to their side of the table and lifted himself up on
his hind legs, putting his paws on Gabi’s lap to peer at Mac with
intense concentration. Mac was frozen midway to retaking his
seat.

“
Oh, Mac, meet Razor,” Gabi said with a grin. “My
cat.”

“
Uh, I’ve never owned a cat,’ he said in a rumble as he
settled carefully into his chair, “but isn’t that a bit big to be a
pet cat?”

“
It’s all right,” Kyle stage-whispered across the table, “we
all pretend like we think she’s sane.” Razor turned his head to
glare at Kyle, and a low mock growl issued from him. “Just try not
to piss him off.” Kyle grinned as he refrained from taking his own
advice.

“
I’ll try not to piss either of them off,” Mac drawled,
keeping his movements slow and steady.

Gabi rolled her eyes. “He’s not that bad. He hasn’t taken a
piece out of anyone for days. Get him a chair, Wolf, and he might
let you keep your fingers tonight.”

Kyle grumbled about being servant to a cat but got up to fetch
a chair from a small stack of spares in a corner near
them.

“
Don’t worry,” she told Mac.
“They have a long-standing enmity. Raz doesn’t hate
everybody.”

Kyle snorted in disbelief as he positioned a chair next to
Gabi at the table.

Further conversation was forestalled by the arrival of a
waitress. A pretty young thing with a bright smile, fresh make-up
and a handful of menus. Gabi had hoped they’d gotten over the sight
of Julius in the restaurant by now, but the girls never failed to
primp and preen before rushing to serve them. She’d even heard a
fight going on one night as she went to the ladies’ room, over
which one of them got the table. Jorge had had to step in and give
the table to the only male waiter on duty.

They took their menus, and Julius requested a bottle of wine,
something French and unpronounceable to Gabi. The girl had been so
fixated on Julius she’d barely noticed the huge cat sitting on a
chair at the table like it was perfectly normal. Perhaps the tiny
brush of power in the air had something to do with it. Gabi glanced
sharply at Julius and saw his jaw muscle tic as he suppressed a
grin. It amused him to try to use his power without her noticing;
so far he didn’t seem able to get it right.

They all silently perused their menus until the waitress
arrived back in a breathless rush with the wine. She poured for
Julius and Gabi and then took their meal orders. Julius placed an
order for food out of habit now, knowing that between Kyle and Gabi
they’d finish his portion as well. With the number of times they
came here for dinner, it would raise questions if he never ordered
food. It was easier to use the small deception than to continually
alter human memories.

Gabi moved her chair slightly to be able to look at Mac
without straining her neck. Despite the tense set to his shoulders,
he appeared at ease in his surroundings. He’d swapped his well-worn
jeans for a newer looking pair of beige corduroys and his previous
checked shirt for another checked shirt, this one in shades of blue
and grey. A brown leather jacket hung from the back of his chair,
apparently Jorge hadn’t managed to pry it away from him, and his
brown leather boots had had an obvious clean and polish.

Gabi grinned. “You clean up okay, Mac,” she teased.

He returned her grin wryly and opened his mouth to respond;
then his eyes flicked to Julius, and his grin dimmed, what he’d
been about to say dying on his lips.

“
Thank you, ma’am,” he said with an odd formality.

Gabi sighed. “You can be yourself here, Mac,” she said,
catching and holding his gaze. “I won’t let anyone eat you, I
promise.”

“
She’s right,” Kyle chimed in. “No one’s ever been eaten on
her watch.”

Gabi pulled a face at him, balling up a chunk of a dinner roll
from the basket in the centre of the table to throw at
him.

He caught it and stuffed it into his mouth. “Hmm, can you
butter the next piece? Thanks.”

“
Please excuse the children, Mr Maclary.” Julius sighed like a
long-suffering parent. “But Gabrielle is right. There’s no need to
censor your words; I’m not that easy to insult.” He lifted his
glass and breathed in the bouquet of the wine, a hint of a smile
tugging at his lips as he continued. “And truly, she wouldn’t let
me eat you.”

A startled huff, almost a guffaw left the older man, and much
of the rigid tension of his shoulders eased.

“
Well then, I guess, considering she’s on my side of the
table, I’ll take my chances,” Mac stated, with his first genuine
amusement of the night.

By the end of the main course, it was apparent
that neither of the two bodies at HQ was Mac’s missing person; he
was searching for a female Werewolf. But it was also apparent that
the exsanguination cases in the City were not isolated instances.
Mac knew of at least two cases of other Werewolves turning up dead
from blood loss, each in separate towns but both less than two
hours’ drive from the City. His local Master had lost two of his
Clan in the past two weeks, one of whom had been accounted for and
the other not yet found. While the missing Vampire wasn’t Mac’s
case, by the basic description and the state of the body, Mac was
fairly confident that the body at HQ would be that of the Vampire
not yet accounted for. She’d been a short, strawberry blonde and a
Vampire for less than fifteen years.

Gabi absent-mindedly fed Razor
a final chunk of rare steak off her fork as she considered the
facts. The four of them were now more certain than ever that
something sinister was going on, but only Julius seemed to have any
formulated suspicions, and he wasn’t sharing just yet.

“
I’m waiting for an associate
to ‘rise’,” was all he’d tell them. “Once I’ve confirmed the
possibility of my assumptions, I’ll share. For now they’re just a
far-fetched theory.”

“
So what led you to believe that your missing person is here?”
Kyle asked Mac. Gabi was chagrined she hadn’t even thought to ask
that question.

“
There was a witness to the abduction,” Mac said. “A sex
worker arriving at her post for the night saw my victim being
pulled into a dark van. Luckily the lady in question has a
suspicious mind and a photographic memory. The licence plate
belongs to a rental van. From a car rental agency here in the City.
It was rented just over two weeks ago. Unfortunately the employee
at the agency wouldn’t give me any other information over the
phone. I made the trip to see what I can get out of him face to
face.”

They paused in
their conversation as the waitress arrived to clear plates and take
dessert orders. Gabi didn’t need to see a menu to know what she’d
be having as her final course of the evening. Shawn’s chocolate
mousse was the food of the gods as far as Gabi was concerned. She
sat back, savouring the wine, relieved that both Kyle and Julius
seemed to be in agreement with her about Mac’s character. Any
reticence to impart information had fallen away as the evening wore
on, though Gabi noticed that Mac was very careful as to how much he
asked, sticking to the concerns at hand rather than asking
generalised questions. He was still treading warily.

Dessert arrived, with another bright smile and a blush as the
waitress set a cheese platter down in front of Julius. Gabi noticed
his face go tight as her hair fell away from one side of her neck,
exposing a throbbing carotid artery just inches from his mouth.
Damn, he was obviously hungry. She wondered when last he’d fed.
Julius swallowed, releasing a breath as the waitress finally
left.

“
Good bouquet,” he quipped, noticing Gabi’s concern. The gold
rings around the sapphire in his eyes were more prominent than
normal, but he smirked at her with mischief glinting in his gaze.
They were both still coming to terms with his need for blood
donors; who he was and wasn’t allowed to feed from had become a
standing joke throughout the Clan.

As she turned her attention to
the large, fluted wine glass filled with dark chocolate pudding and
topped with cherries and curls of white chocolate in front of her,
she temporarily shoved her worry over Julius’s feeding schedule to
the back of her mind and dug in. Before she had a second spoonful
in her mouth, Kyle’s phone rang. Gabi knew before he even answered
that it would be bad news. Nothing good ever came from a phone call
just as she was about to eat chocolate mousse.

One look at Kyle’s face confirmed Gabi’s
assumption.

“
What?” she demanded as Kyle disconnected and began to stand.
By Julius’s expression, he’d heard the other side of the
conversation and didn’t like the news one bit.

“
We’ll join you,” he said, pushing away from the table,
several large bills already left under the cheese
platter.

“
Demons,” Kyle said shortly.

Gabi glanced down mournfully at her barely touched dessert and
realised it was missing. She looked around in confusion and then
saw Mac also standing, ready to go with his jacket over his arm.
With a conspiratorial grin, he peeled the jacket back an inch to
show the glass of pudding hidden beneath it.