A Cat's Chance in Hell (18 page)

Irene went over the conversations Gabi had had with the other Vampires, and tried to build a clearer picture of Julius from their point of view. Of course, it could all have been an act, but it seemed unlikely they could have pulled it all together on the one night they would happen to catch Gabi without a Crew.

It was after midday when they broke for lunch. Gabi immediately headed for the bathroom, and quickly swallowed some painkillers, before heading back to enjoy Meryl’s splendid lunch spread. She and Athena stayed out of each other’s way, and after lunch, at Byron’s insistence, Kyle drove her to the hospital to get Ian’s opinion of her injuries.

Chapter 9

Ian concurred with Julius’s doctor and sent Gabi straight to radiology for x-rays. Gabi had tried to shoo Kyle from the room before Ian examined her but he stubbornly sat in a chair and refused to budge. Gabi knew he was glaring holes in her when he saw the size of the dark purple and black marks on her ribs and the stitched bite wound, but she pointedly ignored him. Ian double checked Gabi’s shoulder joint and the stitches, and did a full examination of her eyes while they waited for the results of the x-rays. Her eyesight seemed perfectly normal, and the x-ray results confirmed that she had a fractured collarbone and three fractured ribs, but nothing needed resetting, so Ian prescribed strapping and rest. Ian declared her officially off duty for two weeks, and when she grumbled loudly over that he simply raised an eyebrow and reached for the phone. Gabi knew he would call Byron and tell him to take her off the roster for four weeks, so she snatched the phone away quicker than Ian’s human eyesight could track.

“
Alright, two weeks!” she capitulated grumpily, “but don’t expect me to like it.” She plonked the phone back in its cradle a little harder than was strictly necessary.

Ian bit back a smile and wrote out a prescription for more pain meds.

“
Kyle, Rose and Byron will all be keeping an eye on you, so don’t make me book you off longer,” he warned. “Keep your arm in that sling, and get Rose to help with the strapping on your ribs, she’s done it before.”

“
Can I do some normal work, at least?” she demanded. “I do need to make a living somehow.”

Ian and Kyle both snorted at her last comment. She knew it was because she was independently wealthy enough to never have to work another day in her life; they both knew it was her inability to sit still that was more of a problem.

“
Yes, you can do some normal work, but nothing handling large animals. Consulting only, nothing hands on, and someone else will have to drive you to appointments,” Ian said, closing any loopholes quickly.

He was beginning to know her too well, she thought, resisting the urge to stick out her tongue at him, and instead fished a lollipop out of a jar on his desk and snatched up the prescription. She went around to the other side of Ian’s desk and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making sure to leave some sticky lollipop residue behind.

“
Thanks, Brother Fusspants,” she teased him impishly before stalking out the door.

Kyle gave him a sympathetic grin and raised him a quick mock salute before following after her, Ian’s wry “Good luck” drifting after him.

Gabi was alone in the house, catching up on e-mails when Byron called later that afternoon. He reported that the Council had decided to do further investigation before making a decision. They specifically wanted to substantiate Julius’s claims regarding the Dark Mage, Mariska. If they could find information that Mariska was indeed a Dark Mage, and had gone renegade, they would agree to the meeting with Julius. Meanwhile, Byron had a few ideas of where and how the meeting could be set up. He couldn’t tell Gabi how long it would be before they heard back from the Record-keeper of the Magi High Council, but thought it may take a few days.

Gabi chafed at the delay; instinctively knowing that Julius was not going to be pleased about it, but she also knew that the Council was right to be cautious. At least they hadn’t flat out refused the meeting. She was also pretty sure that Julius was not going to talk to her over the phone about the matter and would insist on their planned meeting, but she wasn’t going to tell Byron that yet. The less he had to worry about the better, and if she told him now he would probably flat out refuse to let her go. Gabi worked on the principle of ‘it was easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission’, not that she made a habit of asking for either, but the basic principle was there. She rang off from Byron after he assured her he would keep her updated on any developments. Then she pulled out the small, white card Julius had tucked in with her swords and called the number hand-written on it. There was no answer and no message; the call simply went straight to a beep prompt. This threw Gabi for a moment, but she recovered quickly enough; what else would you expect when calling a Vampire?

“
This is Gabrielle Bradford,” she said in her most professional voice. “I have some news from the Council. Call me,” she added her mobile number, though she figured he probably had it already, and hung up.

She rubbed her eyes wearily and wondered if she’d have enough time for a catnap before she heard back from Julius. There were still a couple of hours until full dark, so she decided to take the chance. She tucked her mobile into her sling, snagged Razor off the sleeper couch in the corner of the office, and went to catch up on some sleep.

An annoying buzz woke her. It was the phone vibrating on the table next to her bed. She glanced at the clock; it was a little after six pm. Probably Kyle checking up on her she thought testily. She picked up the mobile; the message icon flashed merrily on the screen, an exact counter-point to her cranky mood. She hit the ‘read text’ button, and was surprised to find the message was from an unknown number. It read; “Gabrielle, thank you for your quick response. I would like to discuss in person. Name your favourite restaurant. I will book for 9pm. One person each as discussed. Julius.”

She sighed; she’d known he would find a way to force a meeting. She should have waited until tomorrow to call him, at least she would’ve been able to have an early night tonight. She knew the perfect restaurant though, so she immediately sent a message back. “Olivella. Old Mill Rd. Make it 8:30.”

Her mood immediately lightened as she pictured a huge, rare rump steak with a mountain of chips and a bottle of good Italian Red. Olivella belonged to a Shifter who was a friend of hers; they made the best steaks in the City, had an eminently noteworthy wine list, and their chocolate mousse was positively ambrosial. It had the added bonus of being in a largely residential area, so Gabi would easily be able to monitor any extra Vampire presences, and if push came to shove, Shawn would be in his office in the back, so she had extra back-up without Julius knowing it.

Her mobile chimed again. “Agreed” was the short reply.

She made a call to Kyle and was pleasantly surprised when he didn’t even bother trying to talk her out of it. He just asked what time he needed to pick her up and hung-up. Gabi wondered idly if he had female company; he was rarely so accommodating and so brief on the phone. She figured she would quiz him about it later, though after the way she had teased him about the last one he probably wouldn’t come clean anyway.

It was eight thirty on the dot when Kyle stopped her car a few blocks from the restaurant; Gabi had refused to drive in the van this time and had once again tossed him the keys to her car. He waited quietly while she scanned the area, casting her senses out to feel for the ominous, vibrating spots that indicated Vampire presences. There were just two; Julius radiating like a miniature supernova, and another fairly strong presence quite close to him. When she was sure it was just the two of them, she nodded to Kyle to drive on to the restaurant. They parked the car and Gabi checked the area again. The Vampires were already in the restaurant and there were no signs of any others nearby.

As she stepped out into the slight drizzle and grimaced up at the starless sky she wondered if they would be eating or drinking tonight – human food that was. She only knew the common folk lore that stated they survived purely on human blood, and she was intensely curious to find out the truth. She and Kyle made a quick dash for the welcome shelter of the doorway, being careful to keep to human speed. The maitre d’ quickly came forward to open the door and welcome them into the fragrant warmth of the cosy but chic little restaurant.

“
Ah, Miss Bradford,” the maitre d’ greeted her enthusiastically. “It’s wonderful to see you this evening. And Mr Robson, it’s been too long since we last saw you.” The short, swarthy man helped Gabi out of her leather jacket, clucking when he saw her arm in a sling. “What this time Miss Bradford?” he asked with a slightly exasperated tone. “Not an out-of-control lion again, I hope.”

Gabi grinned, remembering the last time she came in bashed up and blamed it on a rogue lion. It hadn’t been a huge lie; there wasn’t that much difference between a rogue Werewolf and a rogue lion. At least her job as an animal trainer made it easy to come up with excuses for injuries.

“
No, Jorge, not a lion this time,” she said, quickly wracking her brain for a new excuse. “Just a frisky thoroughbred stallion, managed to pop my shoulder out of joint, nothing too serious,” she explained, trying to keep her thoughts about Julius in the proper compartment in her mind as an image of him prowling his office popped into her head.

Jorge tsked as he hung up their jackets in the coat room. “You really must be more careful, Miss Bradford, perhaps you need to stick to little kitties and puppies, they’re much safer to deal with,” he fussed.

Kyle barked out a laugh. “You’ve obviously never met Gabi’s cat if you think they’re safer,” he muttered darkly.

Jorge shook his head, as though knowing his concerns wouldn’t change this young lady’s mind. “Your friends are here already; let me take you to the table. Shall I let Shawn know you are here? I’m sure he would love to see you,” Jorge babbled on merrily as he led them through the candlelight tables to a private alcove on the far side of the restaurant.

“
No, that’s alright Jorge,” Gabi said quickly. “I’ll pop in and see him in his office once I’ve greeted my guests.” She didn’t want to expose her little advantage too early.

Julius rose lithely as she came around the edge of the partition which had been used to create a small private alcove. She watched his eyes skim her body, taking in her black hipster dress pants and deep maroon blouse as well as the black silk scarf she’d converted into a sling. He seemed to study her unbound hair a little longer than strictly necessary, she wondered if he could make out the hilt of her sword nestled into the nape of her neck. She pasted a cool, businesslike expression on her face as she acknowledged him.

“
Gabrielle,” he greeted in a low, smooth purr. “Thank you for meeting us this evening.” He turned slightly to indicate his companion sitting at the table. “This is Alexander. One of my most trusted friends.”

The other Vampire had a barely concealed scowl on his face. He had a much slighter build than Julius and Kyle, with mussy, pale blonde hair and a face straight off the cover of a Mills and Boon romance. The image was so strong Gabi had to gulp back a disbelieving giggle, covering it with a discreet throat clearing and moving aside to introduce Kyle. She nodded a greeting to the disgruntled looking Alexander.

“
Hey Jules,” she said cheerily. “This is Kyle, as I’m sure you are already aware. Kyle this is Julius.”

They nodded warily at each other; no one reached to shake hands, and Alexander’s face grew more surly by the second. Gabi sighed, lamenting the fact that males of all species felt the need to size each other up. She took the lead and sat down in the seat opposite Julius, leaving Kyle to take the one across from Alexander.

There was an open bottle of Chianti standing on the table, and before she could reach for it Julius was holding it above her glass, a questioning tilt to his eyebrow.

“
Can I pour you a glass?” he asked politely.

She glanced around the table. There was a half full glass of red in front of Julius’s seat and Alexander had his hand around a short glass which smelled like it held bourbon.

“
I trust it’s a decent bottle?” she challenged.

“
One of the best, according to the maitre d’,” he answered smoothly, pouring before she could think of another smart ass comment. He offered Kyle, who declined in favour of waiting for a beer.

Julius settled into his seat just as a young female waiter appeared to take orders. She seemed flustered as she looked around the small group. As Gabi looked around the table she realised why. Kyle had the kind of face and physique that drew attention from women (and men) wherever he went, and tonight he was possibly the least attractive man at the table. With Alexander doing his best James Dean bad boy impersonation, and Julius exuding dark, brooding predator, Gabi could almost pity the girl, but she was having her own problems trying to keep her traitorous mind on the business at hand. Alexander brusquely ordered a refill of bourbon and Kyle ordered a beer and two platters of antipasto for himself and Gabi. Julius asked for another bottle of wine, and neither of the vampires ordered any food, Gabi noted with interest. The flushed girl left to collect the drinks, and Gabi reached for her wine glass, savouring the first sip slowly. Julius’s eyes tracked her every movement.

“
How are your injuries?” he asked Gabi.

“
Fine,” she answered flatly, trying to ignore Kyle’s annoyed frown. At least he was holding his tongue; she had warned him if he couldn’t be polite to keep quiet, obviously he was finding it difficult to be polite. Perhaps that was Alexander’s problem too; the hunky blonde Vampire had yet to say a word to anyone at the table.