A Cold Day in Hell (The Hellcat Series) (5 page)

In the confines of her mind she spent the time first calming and reassuring Ciara and then calming the fretting cubs.  Slowly, one by one, she'd reintroduced and strengthened the bond between mother and cub, and then shown Ciara how to calm them herself.  One cub was particularly easy to upset and would set the whole lot off mewling and in turn worry
Ciara to the point that she didn't know what to do to help.  Gabi marked the cub, fearing it may have an underlying medical condition that needed treatment.  When she left the nursery pen, mother and all the cubs were calm and content, the little ones purring as they nursed.  Ciara gave her a slow blink of acknowledgment as she looked back. 

After that she spent some time working with a young male panther, another one she'd worked with previously.  He was a stunning example of the breed, large and muscular
, but way too full of himself.  There wasn't much she could do to help with his behaviour; he was a teenager, full of the joys of life and his own self-importance.  She advised the trainer to simply give him time to settle down; he wouldn't be any good for movie work for at least another couple of months. 

It was in the trainer
’s kitchen that she found her answer.  His two almost-adult daughters were in the kitchen when he made himself and Gabi coffee and pulled a chocolate cake out of a cupboard, homemade by his wife, who Gabi decided she had to get to know better once she tasted the cake.  The young women were excited about the prospect of a girls' night out that they had planned.  A night to party, talk nonsense about guys, and maybe take in a show.  Gabi realised it had been well over a year since she'd last had a night out with a bunch of female friends, and it would be the perfect excuse to get Trish alone.  She just needed to include a couple of Werewolf friends, and the guys wouldn't have any excuse to send bodyguards along.  The Werewolf women she was friendly with wouldn't hesitate to give them a bit of privacy if she asked them to.  

It took surprisingly little convincing to get Trish to come out with her for a girls' only night.  In fact, it was Kyle who appeared the most put out by the fact that they wanted to go without him.  Gabi rounded up three other Werewolf females to come along too.  She'd carefully hand-picked those she thought would be the best for Trish. Ones she knew would take the newer Werewolf under their wing without being patronising about it.  They would also take her cue to give them some privacy during the evening.

She'd been careful to keep everything but excitement from her mind when she told Julius of her plans for the following night.  He'd narrowed his eyes and searched her
face thoroughly before agreeing, on two conditions: that she did, indeed, take at least three other Werewolves with them, and that they went to one of his clubs.  It was that or have an additional retinue of bodyguards following their every step, so she reluctantly agreed.  She knew most of his staff would be too busy to pay much attention to her and Trish, and she knew just how far away she needed to be from them so that they couldn't overhear their conversation.

It was shaping up to being a great day
, she thought as she sipped her caramel latte and navigated the rush-hour traffic on her way to a photo shoot for a print advertising campaign.  The ad called for shots with lions, which just happened to be her favourite big cats to work with.  Julius had come to her place last night after he was finished with his normal evening business.  For the first time in weeks he'd allowed himself to drift into his daysleep well before sunrise, and had given Gabi a chance to catch up on some much-needed sleep as well.  She'd left him entwined in her sheets, barely resisting the urge to take a picture of him in the dim artificial lighting.  She'd had sun-blocking blinds installed throughout her house so that he didn't have to go back to his estate before sunrise.  Lying on his side, his face relaxed, looking more boyish and carefree than anyone else ever saw him, his one arm was wrapped around her pillow, as though trying to keep her scent close to him.  His muscular legs were entangled in the sheet, leaving his buttock and thigh exposed.  Delectable, she'd thought before forcing herself to leave the bedroom. 

She
waved at the two teams of Werewolf guards sitting in SUVs outside her gate. One team immediately started their vehicle and followed her. The other team simply waved back; they were there for Julius.  She'd been in such a good mood this morning that she even picked them up some coffees on her Starbucks stop-off.  If she hadn't spent hours yesterday cataloguing all the reasons for suspecting something was wrong, she'd have brushed it all off today, thinking the nagging voice in her head had it all wrong for once. 

It was only mid-afternoon when she packed up from her photo shoot, which had proved surprisingly
hassle free, and drove home.  She had more than enough time for a couple of hours of sleep before she'd arranged to pick Trish and the other girls up.  Ah, a night to have fun and let her hair down.  What could possibly go wrong?

CHAPTER 3

The girls were all buzzing, and the car was full of excited chatter and teasing.  The other three Werewolf girls were in the back seat, ragging each other mercilessly.  They were all young, around Trish's age.  Two of them had been friends for a couple of years as they were both from the large, influential Blackriver Pack.  The third was from one of the smaller Packs and was by far the youngest member of that group.  Up until recently there'd been little contact between the various Packs, but recent events meant that the Alphas had finally started to get over themselves and no longer strictly forbade contact with each other.  Young Adriana had quickly sought out some friends her own age and the 'Unholy Trinity' had been formed.  Trish was not quite as outgoing as the other three, but Gabi knew the contact and company would be good for her.  And she was laughing along in the passenger seat at the outrageous insults being thrown around behind them. 

They'd all dressed up for the night out, even Gabi.  Short skirts, low-cut tops and high heels were the order of the night.  Gabi's shirt covered more than the other girls', as she had a sword to hide down her spine.  She was also wearing knee-high boots instead of strappy heels, affording her another four short swords: two matching butterfly swords tucked in each.  Also armed with a stash of small bills, she felt ready for just about anything a night club could throw at them. 

By some mischievous twist of fate, there happened to be a male strip show at Flamingo's tonight.  Usually a 'gentlemen's' club, tonight was for 'Girls and Gays' the advertising blurb had cheekily stated.  The thought gave Gabi a twinge of sadness.  If Marcello was still alive, she'd have brought him along tonight; he would've loved every second.  But Julius's Clan member and long-time friend had been a casualty in the war against Jason.  He'd died the True Death right in front of her.  The thought still brought an ache to her chest.  Marcello had been a good friend; his locket lay on her dressing table, a daily reminder of the consequences of evil being allowed to exist in the world.

"Hellcat… earth to Hellcat," sing-songed Jade, a tall, willowy girl with luminous lilac eyes and platinum blonde hair, cut short and gelled into spikes.  While not classically beautiful, she could've graced any catwalk in the country if she'd been so inclined.  "You just drove past the club." 

Gabi grinned, returning to the present. "We have VIP parking tonight, girls," she declared, "along with VIP seats and VIP treatment." 

The back row shrieked and giggled.

"Oh, what it is to be the main squeeze of the Master of the City."  Casey sighed breathlessly, fanning herself dramatically.

"And have you
seen
the man?" Adriana demanded.  "That is one hot piece of—"

Gabi cleared her throat pointedly, and that sent the trio off into renewed spasms of laughter.  Gabi glanced sideways at Trish as she eased into a parking space at the rear of the inner City building.  The other woman's face was a mixture of amusement and outright shock.

"You get used to them," Gabi advised her with a smile.  "They'll get worse after a couple of drinks, though, so brace yourself." 

They all hopped out of the SUV into the brightly lit car park, and the trio linked arms, quickly pulling Trish into their midst.  They knew better with Gabi, but that didn't stop them from continuing to tease her.  It was an odd assortment with
Jade sticking out as the tallest by far.  Adriana, the shortest, was blonde and pretty, bordering on cute, and could've easily pulled off a cheerleader costume and pom-poms.  Casey was undoubtedly the most beautiful of the group, but disguised her looks with garish Goth make-up, dyed black hair and Goth-chick chic outfits.  Most men were too intimidated by the get-up to notice the naughty but sweet-natured girl under the facade. 

Trish fitted right in by being as completely different as the rest of them.  She'd pinned up her stunning brunette locks on one side, and the rest tumbled down her back, almost the exact same rich chocolate shade as Derek's.  She was average height and definitely pretty; Gabi thought some might call her beautiful.  She'd had a softer, more feminine figure a few weeks ago, but the Lycanthropy virus was stripping every extra ounce of body fat from her, and reshaping her body into a leaner, more toned and muscled version of
itself.  Trish version two-point-Werewolf.  She absolutely loved the changes, but Gabi thought she'd looked wonderful before.  The softness of her figure had embodied the softness of her nature.  Not that she was any kind of wilting violet or pushover.  She had a backbone of titanium and was amazing at coping with the horrible things life had thrown her way, but she hadn't allowed those things to harden her or to dampen her spirit.  Gabi liked and respected that about her. 

A Vampire that Gabi knew only vaguely was on bouncer duty at the door.  He quickly ushered them past the line of ticket holders and hopefuls already forming a queue halfway around the block.  They earned a few scowls and jeers, but the Unholy Trinity blew them kisses and swept inside, dragging Trish along in their wake.  Gabi paused, automatically looking back and running a quick, studied eye over the gathered crowd and out into the nearby shadows, before following them in.

The club was crowded, noisy and filled with odours, some pleasant, some not.  The music wasn't playing quite as loudly as it would if there were less Vampires and Werewolves present.  For that Gabi was grateful; her senses had always been better than the average norm's, but lately they were even more heightened, to the point that overly loud music was almost physically painful.  A scantily clad usherette was showing the other girls to their table near the stage and taking their drinks order.  Gabi followed more slowly.  She hadn't been into this club before, and habit made her map the layout with a quick, practiced eye. 
Doors, windows, fire escapes, tables, chairs, bars and kitchens.  As well as staff.  She knew the one barman at the busier bar counter to her left; Ben was a Werewolf who'd been with them on a patrol once and had had his leg broken by a speeding car. 

She nodded a greeting to him as he noted her in the crowd.  She sent out her Vamp-sense to scan the room as well.  Something just wasn't sitting right in her mind tonight.  Something was tugging on the little warning bell that lurked in the back recesses of her mind.  She'd learned to listen to that warning bell; it was just a pity it couldn't be more specific about the threat.  Her Vamp-sense had always been good, best at identifying Vampires within a half-mile radius of her, but also enough to pick out the other
supernaturals, if not their exact race or power level sometimes.  It was always harder when there were so many of them close by, and recent events had also taught her that danger didn't always come from the obvious sources. 

Nothing stood out.  There were half a dozen Werewolves in the back parts of the club; they would be part of the night's entertainment.  You didn't get much better than a Werewolf's body; the humans would have a hard time keeping up.  There were several Vampires, Gabi could pick them out with ease, but they were all within sight of each other.  If one didn't belong, the others would've raised the alarm.  A few Magi and some Shape-shifters were in the crowd, but none of them seemed threatening. 

Gabi mentally shook herself, she wouldn't let the warning spoil her evening, not just yet at least.  If something was going to go down, she'd be ready when it happened.  She joined Trish at the table; the other three were on the open dance floor, attracting loads of attention.  It seemed the event hadn't only attracted girls and gays.  A whiskey on the rocks was just starting to sweat onto its raunchy coaster, and a large, fully-laden platter of antipasto dominated the centre of the table.  It smelled divine.  Gabi sat and snagged the whiskey.  The other girls drank stuff mixed with other stuff that just diluted the taste of any alcohol; it didn't make any sense to her.  She drew in a long appreciative sniff.  It was Irish and a good vintage.  She took a long, slow sip.  A comfortable, familiar burn coursed down her throat and into her stomach.

"How's the wolf?" she asked Trish, reaching for a tiny sausage off the plate.  

Trish gave her a quick smile.  "She's calm," she replied.  "I was a little worried about all the stimulation and excitement around here, but I think I'm all under control."