Cross the Line: A Gabriella Cross Paranormal Romance Book 2 (10 page)

After Riggs left, Gabby got a call from Juliette saying that Michael wanted to see her at Steele Tower. Gabby had intended on going to see her father anyway, and informed Juliette that she would be there within the hour. She took a quick shower and armed herself in the white room before heading out. She didn’t usually leave the house with a small arsenal on her, but she was at war, and anything could happen out there. This time, however, she didn’t bring any vampire blood with her.

She got a text from Quip saying that Mick was taking over the watch, and her father’s condition was the same. Quip added that he would be at work later and to stop by if she got a chance.

Gabby drove Michael’s loaner to Steele Tower, all the while being trailed by a small army of not-so-discrete SUVs. Juliette was there to meet her in the garage, no doubt given a heads-up by the weres trailing her.

“How is my father?” said Gabby after getting out of her car.

“He is stable. Nothing has changed since you spoke to my brother.”

Juliette brushed by her without another word and headed for the elevator.

“Michael wishes to speak to you.”

“Then he will have to wait until I’ve seen my father.”

The doors closed, and Gabby punched in the floor to the infirmary. The receptionist directed her to room twenty-seven, and Gabby hurried down the long hall. Mick Gallagher came out of her father’s room looking as though he hadn’t slept in a day or two.

“Mick,” said Gabby, hugging him.

“Hello, Gabs. Your father will be glad to hear your voice, I believe. Even if he can’t speak back.”

Gabby noticed the gathering tears in his eyes and turned away for his sake. She had known Mick Gallagher all her life and had never seen the man cry. His tears caused the worry to knot in her stomach, and she gulped down a growing lump.

Her father was hooked up to a plethora of strange and also common devices. His care was a melding of ancient and modern medicine. There was an IV and an EKG machine, but there were also bones laid across his pristine blanket, and a green, glowing mud covering his bare chest. Luminescent runes were carved into the head and footboard of the bed; their glow gave her pause, for she did not want to negate any of the magical energy surrounding her father.

“He can still hear you from there, Gabs,” said Mick from behind her. “Whatever you say, he’ll hear you. Trust me.”

Gabby heard his footsteps moving down the hall and finally let her tears fall.

“Father, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I was so eager to impress you, but in the end I just screwed everything up. I swear to you—I will find a cure. I’ll find who did this to you and make them pay. Mark my words.”

She stood in his doorway, wanting nothing more than to be able to go into the room and touch him. But her gift had become a curse.

“I love you, Dad. I just got you back and I’m not going to lose you so soon. You just be strong, and give me time.”

Gabby saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Michael a few doors down, waiting for her.

She turned away and wiped at her eyes, taking a moment to pull herself together. She hadn’t worn any eyeshadow for this very reason. When she had settled, she walked down the hall to stand before Michael.

“How are you holding up?” Michael asked. His kind eyes held hers in their sympathetic gaze.

“I just got him back,” said Gabby, feeling herself slipping swiftly. “I just got him back and now he’s been taken away again.”

Michael wrapped his arms around her and held her close as she sobbed into his wide chest. She felt safe in his arms, and wanted nothing more than to stay there until all of this trouble had passed. His body heat wrapped around her and she felt a calm settle over her. When she pulled away, she found Michael smiling down on her.

“You must think me a fool,” said Gabby, wiping her eyes.

“Come on,” he said with a laugh and an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get a drink.”

Michael brought Gabby up to his penthouse where Victor had met his end. She couldn’t help but stare at the place on the floor where he had died by her hand.

“What would you like?” Michael asked as he headed to the wet bar, which was as well stocked as any bar that she had ever been to.

“Vodka.”

“Come on, give me a challenge at least.”

“Alright, vodka martini.”

“Now that’s more like it,” he said, rolling up his sleeves. “One vodka martini coming up.”

Gabby watched Michael work behind the bar. He moved with an animalistic grace that was enchanting. His muscled arms bulged against his tight sleeves as he shook her drink, and she couldn’t help but stare at his perfect ass while he turned and added an olive.

“If this isn’t the best vodka martini you’ve ever had, then it’s free.”

“Where did you learn to make drinks?”

Michael popped the top on a Sam Adams and raised the bottle. “First, a toast. To General Cross’s quick recovery.”

“To Dad,” said Gabby, clanging glasses. She took a drink and bit into the olive. “It’s delicious. Could you make me another?” she said, downing the rest in one gulp.

“Coming right up,’ said Michael.

“Well, you never answered my question.”

“I spent a year as a bartender in South Side.”

“South Side?”

“Born and bred,” Michael said proudly. “I wasn’t always a billionaire, you know. My father was a deadbeat, only showed up when he needed something. And my mother was bi-polar. She meant well, but she was nuts. She killed herself when I was seventeen. Juliette is the rock of the family. She kept me and my brother in line back in the day. Hell, she still does.”

“Yeah, she can be a real hard-ass,” said Gabby.

“True, but there’s a reason I put up with her shit.”

“What’s that?”

“She’s usually right,” said Michael before tipping back his bottle and emptying it.

“You think that she was right when she bitched me out like that yesterday?”

“What do you think?”

Gabby stared at him, but then realized that indeed, Juliette had been right. “Yeah, I guess she was. I’m just a giant fuck-up.”

“Come on now. She said nothing of the sort.”

“Yeah, well, I screwed up pretty good.”

Michael shrugged. “We all screw up. It is the only way to learn.”

Gabby accepted another drink and tossed it back without tasting it.

“You once asked me why I do it. Remember, when you were posing as Melinda Stark? You asked me why I fight global corporations and try to save forests.”

“You said that you did it because someone had to.”

“Correct, but that is only a half-truth.”

Gabby was intrigued. “Then why do you do it?”

“When I was thirteen years old my sister got me into this summer camp a few hours out of the city. I had never been out of the city before, and I must admit that I thought it was a real drag at first. But we were right next to a lake and surrounded by a huge state park, so there were all kinds of activities.” He laughed. “I was a little asshole back then, always getting into trouble and doing stupid shit to impress my friends.

“Well, one night me and my buddy got it into our heads to have a little fire. We had these girls that we were trying to impress, so we thought that sneaking into the forest and making a little fire would show them just how manly we were. We had learned how to make a fire in camp, but I wasn’t about all that settler shit. I grabbed a can of gasoline out of the storage shed, and my friend and I built a huge bonfire right there in the middle of the forest. Now this was in the summer of eighty-four, and there had been a terrible dry spell that lasted for weeks. As you might have guessed, the little fire we made got out of control. It quickly turned into a forest fire.”

Michael’s far-away glance was haunted by regret. Gabby recognized that look, for she felt the same.

“Long story short, I burned down nearly two thousand acres of state forest. That is the reason that I do what I do. It is my atonement.”

“Did you get caught?”

Michael laughed. “Of course. The girls we were trying to impress ratted us out. I received three years in juvy.”

“Jesus, that’s terrible.”

“What, burning down a forest or three years in juvy?”

“Both,” said Gabby.

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t want to change any of it. It might have been the biggest fuck-up of my life, but I think it saved me. The guilt of the forest fire taught me responsibility, and three years with Chicago’s worst hell-raisers taught me how to fight.”

“Are you trying to say that one day, I’ll be glad that this happened?”

“Precisely. Unless you never learn anything from it, which would be a shame.”

Gabby doubted that she would ever be glad that her father had been shot because of her. But she understood that there was a lesson there to be learned.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You were just trying to help, after all,” said Michael.

“Thanks. But I’ll feel a lot better when my father is cured.”

“We’re working on it. Trust me, Gabby. We’ll find a cure.”

“And what should I do? Just sit around and wait?”

“Trust me. That is all I ask.”

“I do trust you, but Victor’s maker has done this for a reason. She is trying to lure me to her.”

“She? How did you know that she was a woman?”

“Victor told me,” Gabby lied.

Michael studied her eyes, and she thought that she saw a hint of suspicion.

“Has she tried to contact you?”

“No, she hasn’t. But I think she will.”

“If she does, you must let me know immediately.”

“Of course,” said Gabby. She finished her third martini and joined Michael for lunch on the balcony overlooking the city. The day was mild for October, and the sun shone brightly, but Gabby thought of nothing but her father, who was even now fighting for his life.

Gabby left Steele Tower and drove over to the beauty salon where Quip worked. The Inner Goddess was always busy, and today was no exception. Quip waved her over when she arrived. He finished up sweeping the hair from his latest customer and patted the pink seat.

“Have a seat, babe. How’s your father doing?”

“Not good, not bad. It’s like he’s in suspended animation. How are you doing?” Gabby asked, feeling bad that she had put her friend in serious danger. He’d almost been plucked from the van and eaten up by a vampire because of her.

“Fine, so stop thinkin’ what you’s thinkin’. Not everything is your damn fault.”

“What happened to my father is my fault.”

“Mmm hmm,” said Quip, feigning a yawn. “You done feeling sorry for yourself? Cause that shit’s getting real old, real quick.”

“Fuck you.”

“That’s more like it,” said Quip, yanking Gabby’s hair back to brush it.

“You’re such a bitch.”

“You’re damned right I am.”

Quip washed, dried, and brushed her hair before giving it a trim. They talked about what had happened at the warehouse, and though Gabby tried to hide it, Quip knew that there was something that she wasn’t telling him. He kept probing, and finally she spilled the beans.

“Victor’s maker has come to me in my dreams. She beckons me. Says that if I want my father cured I must go to her.”

“Have you told Michael about this?”

“No, and neither will you. Understand?”

Quip gave her a look in the mirror that said “bitch, please.”

“This is important, Quip. You’ve got to promise me that you won’t say anything.”

“You trying to insult me? Shit. Of course I won’t say anything. But you would be wise to tell him.”

“I got the distinct impression that I am to go alone.”

“There’s a shocker. Shit, Gabby, what you think this is, a movie? You can’t be going after an ancient vampire all by yourself.”

“Why not? I am a nullifier, after all.”

“You’s a
new
nullifier who hasn’t even begun to master her powers. While she’s an ancient damned vampire. You don’t want to underestimate those blood suckers.”

“I was hoping to get some support from you.”

“Babe, I am supporting you. I’m telling you what you needs to hear. Don’t go off after this vamp alone. You heard?”

Gabby got out of the chair before Quip was done with her. “You sound just like Michael.”

“Why, did Michael give you good advice as well?”

Gabby scoffed, tossed fifty dollars on the chair, and headed for the door.

“Gabby…”

She ignored him and walked out of the place and headed for her car.

“Gabby! Hold the hell on!”

“What?” said Gabby, turning to face him.

Quip put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed softly. “I’m your friend, babe, and you know I got your back. But you can’t go after this bitch by yourself. You hear me? You plan on doing something stupid, you give me a call. I’m with you, babe. You can’t go this alone.”

“Alright, Quip. I’m sorry,” said Gabby, giving him a hug and getting in her car.

“You call me.”

“I will. I promise,” Gabby lied.