Spell Bound (Darkly Enchanted) (9 page)

Air rasping in his throat, Gabriel drew in a huge breath. Then he cursed in three languages, one long dead, and slammed the door.

* * *

Hands trembling, Shea got Leo in the back seat, made sure he fastened his seatbelt then kissed his dark head before locking and closing the door.

Walking to the driver’s side, she made sure to check their surroundings, look for danger. Fear settled into her stomach, making her slightly nauseous.

In the car, her hands started to shake like leaves in a hurricane. It took four tries to get the key in the ignition and two twists for the car to start.

When the engine caught, she winced as the sound shattered the pre-dawn silence in this rundown neighborhood south of Penn Street. Potholes lined streets littered with trash. The air hung stale in mid-July, smelling like Leo’s sneakers when he wore them without socks.

Gods-damn son-of-a-bitch. That mother-fucking bastard.

Tears threatened to fall but she bit her tongue until they retreated. Couldn’t let Leo see them. Didn’t want to scare him more than he already was.

Damn, she’d been so stupid. But what the hell had she expected? That the man she’d watched drown in alcohol the past three nights would turn out to be their savior? What kind of imbecile was she?

How had she screwed up so badly? That
ceffo
knew what they looked like now. They’d have to leave Reading. Whoever had killed their parents and was looking for Leo was close. She could feel them, like a malevolent shadow creeping closer.

She would not let those fiends get Leo. But she was so tired of being alone, of being Leo’s sole protector. Icy talons of fear gripped her stomach.

What now?

Leo, bless him, sat in the back seat, staring out the window at the early morning shadows. How much of the conversation had he heard? Had he understood what that man had said?

That alcohol-soaked bastard was a disgrace to all
grigori
, men of unquestionable dignity. The asshole wasn’t supposed to turn them down.

They needed to get out the city. Needed to go far away. Needed—

Wait, deep breath. One thing at a time. First, they needed to get back to the apartment. Taking a deep breath, Shea put the car in gear then pulled a wide u-turn. Pink tinged the edges of the horizon. They’d go back to the apartment, get some sleep. Then she’d have to—

She slammed on the brakes as Mr. Brown stepped into the street half a block in front of them, a muscle-bound gorilla in worn jeans and a black T-shirt that stretched over his massive chest. He looked pissed off.

Join the club, buddy.

Why the hell had she been so attracted to him earlier tonight? Must have been the euphoria spell.

She’d either have to go around him or through him.
Grigori
had superior strength, which made them extremely hard to kill. Right now, she’d love to test that fact by introducing him to the bumper of her car. At sixty miles an hour.

“Thinks he’s Superman,” she muttered under her breath. “Arrogant
ceffo
.”

She slid a quick look over her shoulder at Leo, now staring out the front window. She really had to watch her language or the kid would be swearing like a sailor before his next birthday. If he were still alive.

No, none of that.

Her foot twitched on the gas pedal then she pushed it to the floor.

Mr. Brown just stood there, arms across his chest as if he played chicken with cars all the time. Maybe he did.

At the last second, she flipped the steering wheel to the left, feeling the car want to slide. She kept her foot on the gas and passed within inches of him. A hard grin pulled at the corners of her mouth. Her father hadn’t taught her how to drive their old Jeep through the forest for nothing.

In the rearview, she found Leo, his eyes so wide she could have drowned in them. Then she looked through the back window. Mr. Brown still stood in the middle of the street, hands now on his hips.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, he’s still in one piece.” Lucky bastard. “We don’t need him anyway.”

She didn’t add “because he’s an asshole who turned us away.” Leo probably knew understood exactly what had happened back there.

Glancing into the rearview again as she navigated out of this armpit of the city, she tried to gauge Leo’s response from his expression. It was like trying to scry in a muddy creek. Did he realize that she was all he had and, if she couldn’t protect him, he could end up like their parents or worse?

Okay, deep breath.

“Leo, you okay?”

He met her gaze in the rearview and nodded.

He was fine. For now.

But what about later?

* * *

Gabriel stood in the middle of the road for a good two minutes, staring after them.

The girl was gutsy. Terrified, but not wanting to show it. Willing to stand up to him, and, by the Gods, he could be a scary son-of-a-bitch.

The kid…
Vaffanculo
. The kid was so damn young.

What connection did they have to Celeste?

The sharp blast of a car horn tore through his thoughts and he sidestepped the cherry-red vintage Mustang bearing down on him, passing close enough for him to feel the engine’s heat.

Someone in the car shouted something foul in Spanish and a hand emerged from the window to give him the finger. Stupid kids.

With a wave of his hand, Gabriel directed a quick spell and a small stream of power at the car’s metal bumper, loosening the bolts that held it to the frame. That bumper would fall off in a couple of blocks. His affinity for metal wouldn’t have done a damn thing to a newer car with a fiberglass bumper. Guess it was his lucky night.

Then again, not really.

His concentration shot, he walked back to the deceptively dilapidated building that had been in his father’s family since the late 1800s. He closed the door behind him and set the state-of-the-art security system as well as binding the protection wards again. In the kitchen, he picked up the rotary phone hanging on the wall and dialed.

“Crimson Moon Productions. Please hold.”

He heard a click then silence. Thank the Gods, no Phil and no Muzak. The last time he’d called, some idiot had decided New Age elevator tunes were appropriate hold music.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end was husky with sleep and wariness. Good for her.

“Serena. It’s me.”

A soft sigh escaped the woman on the other end of the phone line. “Hello, sweetheart. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. Had some visitors tonight.”

She paused. “Nothing serious, I hope.”

“No. A young woman and a boy. Said Celeste sent them.”

She gasped. “Oh sweet Goddess. Who was she?”

“I don’t have any idea. But she knew what to say.”

“Describe her.”

He paused, taking time to choose his words. “Long, dark hair. Five-three. Had a kid with her. Said he was six. Didn’t get names.”

“But they mentioned Celeste?”

“Yeah.”

Serena fell silent and Gabriel knew what was coming. It’s what he should’ve done in the first place, if he wasn’t such a screwed-up ass.

“Do you think you could—”

“I’ll bring them up to you.”

He hesitated a split second too long to hang up and heard her say, “Gabriel?”

“Yeah?”

Another pause, this time on her end.

“Will you bring them? Will you come yourself?”

He heard the longing in those words and ruthlessly squashed the small flare of warmth it lit in him. He didn’t have time for it.

“Yeah, when I find them.”

He heard the smile in her voice. “Good. It’s been too long.”

“Goodbye, Serena.”

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”

He depressed the cut-off then lifted his finger to dial again.

* * *

Serena set the phone in the hook, letting one hand linger on the silver handset while the other clutched the iron key hanging from the leather thong around her neck.

Her heart pounded furiously, making it hard to breathe.

She’d last seen Celeste twenty-five years ago. A year after that, her best friend had disappeared off the face of the earth.

And a year ago, Celeste had died.

Serena vividly recalled the night she’d woken from sleep, screaming in agony, knowing Celeste was gone. The psychic tie that bound their
boschetta
was strong. A death among them felt like death for all.

Serena still missed her with a nagging ache.

Which made the appearance of this girl and her child such a mystery.

Why would they approach Gabriel with Celeste’s name as a calling card? Who was this girl and how had she known Celeste? Why did she have a
grigori
child and why had she specifically asked for Gabriel?

What had happened to Celeste?

Now there are only nine.

There had been thirteen at first, thirteen women with a sacred duty to the Etruscan Goddess Menrva to protect her most precious treasure. Today, the remaining nine were scattered around the world, living in fear for their lives, under assumed names. Or hiding in luxurious holes.