A Cat's Chance in Hell (25 page)

As the meeting wrapped up, the Vampires were the first to exit the building, leaving as a unit in a silent, fluid wave. Gabi said a quick goodbye to Byron and the other Elders, promising to look after herself and then headed for the far exit. Kyle finished up his conversation with Alistair and Douglas and caught up with her just as she opened the door. The cool night air was crisp and refreshing. Gabi had always loved night time, and tonight was the perfect evening for a run in the forest. She sighed as she realised the pack of Vampires was standing at her car, no relaxing run in the forest for her.

“
We need to talk,” Julius purred quietly, stepping out of the group as Gabi and Kyle approached the car.

Gabi eyed him a little warily. His voice sounded as though he was barely restraining his temper. “So talk,” she said flatly, “but make it quick, Wolf and I are starving.”

As if to prove her point her stomach grumbled loudly; she just barely held off the blush of embarrassment and gritted her teeth as stifled snorts and chuckles erupted from the group of Vampires. Some of the anger left Julius’s face but somehow he managed not to crack a smile himself.

“
So it would seem,” Julius agreed wryly. “We can talk after you and Kyle have had dinner. Shall we meet at your place again?”

Gabi’s embarrassment vanished instantly as annoyance surged through her. She definitely didn’t need a whole pack of them invading her cherished privacy.

“
No,” she growled, her tone brooking no argument. “Not my place.” And then a thought occurred to her. “But we can meet at your place. Wolf and I will grab some food from a drive-thru and then we can follow you to your domain.”

Julius looked like he was about to protest.

“
It would only be fair,” she said in an innocently practical voice, “for us to know where you live, since you know where I live!” She ended on a dangerous note, making it clear that she didn’t like them having knowledge of her private details.

Julius chewed the idea over for a few moments before glancing at Alexander, who also paused for a moment before slowly nodding. “Alright, but I do expect the two of you to keep the location to yourselves. What drive-thru do you want to stop at?”

Gabi and Kyle were making short work of a bag full of burgers and chips, washing them down with large sugared-laden, caffeinated energy drinks, when they drove up to the gates of the ‘Estate’, as Julius called it. They were in one of the most affluent suburbs of the City, the place where celebrities and eccentric billionaires bought houses, and they had already passed several vans emblazoned with the words ‘Security’ doing slow patrols of the area. Apparently they weren’t too concerned about the red mustang tucked between one of the 4x4 SUVs and Julius’s Aston Martin, and she noticed all the security personnel they passed give the SUV a quick nod.

“
Woah,” Kyle breathed in blatant admiration as they followed the SUV through the electronic gates and along the tree lined driveway, lit every few metres by lights made to look like brass lanterns. By the light of the waxing moon, they could make out a number of cottages and bungalows set into a large copse of trees to their left and a running track, tennis court and swimming pool on their right. Then the trees opened up ahead and they could see what could only be described as a mansion.

“
You didn’t tell me his place was this spectacular,” Kyle said, still awestruck.

They drove around to the rear of the main house and parked next to the SUV under an enclosed carport big enough for ten cars. To their right was garaging for at least another six cars.

“
You’re just easily impressed,” Gabi drawled at him, hiding her own surprise at the sheer size and grandeur of the place. “Besides, I never saw the place the last time I was here,” she continued as she climbed out the car. “I was taken in unconscious and brought out blind-folded,” she growled, throwing Julius a disgruntled look and slamming the car door shut.

Patrick, Nathan and Marcello took their leave, heading off towards a large single story building partly hidden behind a thick hedge after giving Julius short, respectful bows. Julius nodded at them and then moved toward a large, beautifully carved, wooden door, opening it and waiting for Gabi and Kyle to precede him into the house.

“
Welcome to my home,” he said simply, “Perhaps I can prove to be a better host this time,” he continued, giving Gabi an enigmatic smile.

She suddenly noticed his eyes had turned pitch black, the gold halo barely visible, and suppressed a nervous shiver.

“
Alexander,” Julius called to the other Vampire who was divesting himself of his jacket and a short sword, “will you show our guests to the bar area while I tell Gregory we’re here. I will join you shortly.”

Before Gabi could blink he was gone.

Wordlessly, and with a long-suffering expression on his face, Alexander led them through the impressive entrance hall, past the sweeping marble staircase, down a wide corridor hung with stunning paintings, and into a large open-air entertainment area, complete with fully-stocked bar, pool tables and several comfy looking sofas. Large glass panels slid back on two sides to completely open the room to a beautifully manicured garden sporting a hot tub and a barbeque grill.

Gabi snorted in amusement. “Really, a barbeque, in a house full of Vampires? You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

Alexander looked up from pouring himself a bourbon from behind the bar. “Oh, is that what that thing is,” he replied indifferently. “I guess the builder wasn’t expecting to have Vampires buy the place.” He placed a bottle of red wine, two wine glasses and a beer on the bar counter, added some ice to his own glass and sprawled gracefully on one of the large sofas.

Gabi walked back in from the garden and took the glass of wine Kyle offered her. Kyle seemed content to grab his beer and collapse on another of the couches, but Gabi couldn’t find it in her to settle down, something was eating at her, keeping her tension high. It seemed that Julius was taking a long time informing his clan member they were here.

Alexander and Kyle started talking strategy; Alex was grilling Kyle about fighting Demons. She sipped her wine, savouring the taste, Lord and Lady it was an amazing wine. She thought idly about setting up the pool table, but the thought started her shoulder aching and she decided against it. She was just about to slip out of the room and go exploring when Julius swept into the room.

“
My apologies for the delay,” he said, not explaining himself further. He quickly checked that they all had something to drink before pouring himself a glass of wine.

Gabi found herself marvelling at the change in him. It took her a few seconds to pinpoint the differences. Mainly, it was his eyes; they were back to being the deep sapphire pools rimmed in gold, but some of the tension was also gone from the muscles in his face and jaw, and there seemed to be a healthier colour to him. He had taken off the leather coat and the sweater and was in dress pants and a muscle hugging, black, long-sleeved V-neck shirt. It wasn’t until she watched him open his mouth to take a sip of his wine and she noticed the length of his canines that it all suddenly made sense. Her breath caught in her chest as she realised he must have just fed. Her mind raced. She turned away from him quickly before he could see the expression on her face; revulsion and horror warring with her natural, ruthless practicality.

She knew how they lived; she knew what they had to do in order to survive, but her natural human instincts wanted to shy away from the idea. As thoughts roared through her brain at the speed of a bullet train, she wondered if perhaps he drank bagged blood, that would make it a little easier for her to deal with. The thought of him drinking from a real, live person left her shuddering, but the thought of him drinking from a real, live, beautiful, warm, female person sent a completely different spike of emotion through her.

Was that actually a jab of jealousy? That last thought brought her up short, and catapulted her back into the reality of the moment. She knew he was watching her, his unnervingly beautiful eyes boring into the side of her face that he could see. She suddenly wished her hair was loose so she could hide her face from him for a few moments longer while she gathered her scattered wits.

No one had spoken, Kyle and Alexander had broken off from their discussion of various types of Demons when they heard Gabi’s intake of breath. It was as though they were all waiting for the bomb to go off. Kyle obviously hadn’t come to the same conclusion she had, he didn’t look revolted or angry, just confused by the sudden tension in the air and ready for anything. She took a deep calming breath, wincing slightly as her ribs complained, and braced herself to face him.

She was saved from saying anything as a stockily built, dark-haired man bustled in. He had two trays in his hands; one was piled high with a variety of mouth-wateringly decadent chocolates, the other with a variety of savoury snacks. Though her Vamp sense told Gabi this was a fairly old Vampire, he appeared to be somewhat nervous of her and Kyle. While he deposited the trays on a low table in the centre of the sofas and bowed respectfully to Julius and Alex, he kept a wary eye on the two of them, as though they were large, unpredictable dogs.

“
Gabrielle, Kyle,” Julius inclined his head to them politely, “this is Gregory. He is my steward here at the Estate and takes care of all the day-to-day details of the place. If you can’t reach me for any reason, you can always contact Gregory and he will more than likely know how to contact me.” He paused and turned to Gregory. “Gregory, this is Gabrielle Bradford and Kyle Robson. I want you to show them every respect while they are at the Estate. They are under my direct protection, and I need all of our staff to understand and respect that.”

There seemed to be a lot more said than the relatively simple words he had spoken, as Gregory dipped his head sombrely and spoke as though he were taking a vow, “Yes, Sire. I understand, Sire. The staff shall be informed.” He raised his eyes back to Julius, studiously ignoring Gabi and Kyle. “Is there anything else before I escort the young lady home, Sire?”

Chapter 13

With that last question, Gabi knew she’d been right earlier. The woman Gregory was talking about must have been the donor for Julius’s ‘dinner’. While Gabi may have initially felt fear or revulsion when she realised what he’d been up to, now there was no horror, no distaste, only annoyance, and another unfamiliar emotion she hoped against hope wasn’t jealousy. She decided that this issue would have to wait until they’d cleared up a few others.

“
No, thank you,” he said addressing Gregory’s questions, “you can take her home now. We’ll be fine.”

Gregory departed in a hurry, clearly pleased to be leaving the room.

Alexander let out an amused chuckle. “Poor Gregory,” he chortled, “You really are unkind to him Julius.”

“
I am?” Julius asked mildly, “In what way?” He moved to join them, leaning back against one of the pool tables facing the other men but positioning himself where he could still see Gabi’s face. She knew that to humans it would appear she had a very good poker face, but it was more than possible that he noticed every tiny twitch of muscle, every tightening of her jaw, every change in the dilation of her pupils, her breathing and her heart beat. She schooled herself not to betray any of her internal disquiet.

“
You just brought the big, scary bogey monster and her Werewolf sidekick into his domain, and told him they are to be protected at all costs.” Alexander stopped chuckling long enough to take a sip of his bourbon. “He’s going to walk out and kiss the sun one of these days, and then where will you be?”

“
He wouldn’t dare.” Julius disagreed shortly.

“
Hey,” Kyle said in an injured tone, “since when did I become the sidekick?”

“
Since your name isn’t Angeli Morte” answered Alexander sardonically.

“
True.” Kyle conceded. “To Hellcat,” he raised his beer in her direction, “bogey monster to Vampires everywhere.”

“
Hellcat,” Alexander repeated, “I like that. It suits her better than ‘Angeli Morte. To Hellcat.” He toasted as well, raising his glass and downing the rest of his whiskey.

“
Drunken idiots,” Gabi muttered, picking up a handful of chocolate truffles and throwing them at Kyle.

He caught most of them and shoved them in his mouth, munching cheerfully before washing them down with beer.

“
Ugh!” Gabi pulled a revolted face at him.

“
I have a question,” Gabi declared, looking pensively at Julius.

“
Only one?”

“
For now,” she replied. “Will you answer me honestly?”

“
As honestly as I can.”

“
Who is your informant in the Society?”

“
Ah,” he said, apparently taken quite by surprise by the sudden change in subject. He paused, deliberating his answer. “I’m afraid I will have to get your assurance that punitive action won’t be taken against them before I divulge that information.”

“
We can’t allow the people close to us to betray our trust in them without some kind of disciplinary action. What if that same person is also supplying information to other sources? Like Danté for instance?”

“
I understand your viewpoint, but I’m afraid I’m not telling you anything unless I know they won’t be harmed.” Julius was unmoving.