When A Gargoyle Flies (Gargoyles Book 3) (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Chris slapped his forehead and muttered the word over and over.  He was such an asshole.  But when she admitted he was her first, he panicked.  He’d known she was new to kissing and oral, perhaps he should have realized she was new to everything.  If only he’d seen the signs.  He knew from the tidbits Ric threw out that Annis was not considered a normal gargoyle, and that other gargoyles looked down on her.  Perhaps he should have known this extended to sex as well.

Now, he’d stolen her virginity and managed to hurt her feelings.  Why couldn’t he have just controlled himself?  She was far from the first woman he’d seen naked, but he had less control with her than he did when he lost his virginity over twenty years ago.

Why couldn’t he have seen how young and innocent she was?  Fuck, he really was just a dirty old man.

He should go out there and apologize.  Tell her he was sorry for seducing her and taking her virginity.  Tell her she needed to find someone better for her than him – not a miserable cop at least ten years her senior with commitment issues.  He grimaced as he thought of Mara and pushed her image away.

Perhaps one of the other gargoyles would want to mate Annis.  But even as he thought of Annis in another male’s arms, his body tightened in anger.

No, he didn’t want her to be with anyone else.  But he didn’t want her, did he?  Surely he wasn’t imagining a future where they could be together?

Why not, asked an inner voice.

“No,” he said aloud.  “It would not work.  I’m a terrible husband.”

But as the thought of Annis’ naked, angelic form came to mind he couldn’t bear anyone else being allowed to touch her.

Fuck.  He was screwed.  What was he supposed to do?

Well, whatever he was going to do, he ought to make amends with Annis.  She deserved more than his treatment of her.  Remembering how she cringed when he tried to comfort her already bothered him.  He didn’t want her looking at him like that.  He wanted her smiling, teasing, her huge round eyes gazing at him in adoration…  Yep, he really was a selfish asshole.

Chris pulled on his jeans.  Well selfish asshole or not, he needed to make amends.  He was in the process of steeling himself while wishing fervently that the motel had a minibar that he heard scuffling outside his window.

Maybe Annis was coming back to the room.  There was banging and some muffled shouts, and for a second he thought he heard Annis shouting his name.

Adrenaline coursed through him as he grabbed his gun and flung the door open.  As his eyes struggled to adjust to the unnaturally darkened parking lot, he heard yells and Annis whimpering.  Large hard bodies converged on him, and he actually managed to pick out a target.

“Freeze, police,” he yelled.

They didn’t freeze, and he made out Annis struggling under one of the men.  Rage poured through him, and he shot at the man holding her.

“Ah, fuck!” he howled.

The next moment, pain radiated through the back of his head, and he slumped to the ground.  Chris blinked woozily.  He was vaguely aware of a large boot pressing against his hand and kicking his weapon away, but he couldn’t seem to do anything about it.

“Fucker got me!” wailed the same voice from before.

“Annis,” Chris groaned.

Her whimpers had stopped, and he worried about what that meant.

“This thing looks like a female,” said a different voice.  It’s got tits!”

“Leave her alone,” mumbled Chris who was embarrassed to realize he was drooling but couldn’t do anything to stop himself.

“It was supposed to be a male,” said a third voice ponderously.

“Didn’t know there was supposed to be a human, too,” said the second voice.  “What do we do with him?”

Chris heard the click of a gun.  “Finish him off,” said the injured, grating first voice with just a bit of relish.  “Oh, god, I think I’m bleeding to death!”

“No,” snapped one of the others, Chris wasn’t sure which – they were starting to blend into one.  “Let’s just take him with us.  We can always get rid of him later.”

That was the last he heard before he blacked out.  His last thought was of Annis.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“I hope Annis is okay,” said Andrew staring at his half-eaten tiramisu.

Maggie shrugged.  “She’ll be fine.  She’s with Chief Tight Pants, isn’t she?”

He let out a little growl, and Maggie grinned while rubbing her foot up and down his leg under the table.  The diamond ring glittered on her finger, and she made sure that she waved her hand around enough so that everyone in the restaurant saw.

Since they had become a couple, there hadn’t been a lot of time to relax and enjoy each other’s company.  The last two months had been spent traveling the world and obtaining the gargoyles, arranging for their transport and return to the mansion.  While they were alone for a lot of their journey, they were too busy really to enjoy themselves.  Even his marriage proposal had been spur of the moment in the back of a jeep while they were bumping their way down a trail in the Amazon.  Although, fun loving, unstoppable Maggie wouldn’t have had it any other way.

When they were home, they were surrounded by quarrelsome gargoyles and in danger of being swallowed by the mountainous paperwork left over from his uncle’s estate.  Apart from a legacy to Gustave, Andrew was the professor’s only heir, and he was still discovering just how big the estate was.  He inherited a large amount of money, but much of the professor’s assets were being sold off to ensure that amount stayed large enough to fund their trips around the world and cover the amenities needed by the gargoyles.  Not that they cost much.  They preferred to hunt for their own food, but the dip in wildlife would soon be noticed, so they were being encouraged to eat pre-slaughtered meat they got from the store.

Andrew didn’t mind about giving up the money, or that he now spent his days traversing the globe in search of legendary monsters.  He was happy as long as he had Maggie.  He just wished they had a little more alone time – hence the insistence on a romantic night out at La Luna, the town’s Italian and only romantic restaurant.  They had candles and low lighting, and it was the best they were going to get for a while.

They had returned earlier than expected that evening, and decided to make use of their free time – quickly, before someone gave them something else to do.  Dinner was over too soon, and before they even had a chance to blink, they were being handed their coats on the way out while bantering over what kind of wedding they wanted.

“I’m just saying that most of our circle of friends can’t attend a day wedding,” she chatted happily.

Andrew raised an eyebrow.  “So you immediately got midnight wedding in a graveyard from that?”

Maggie beamed.  “Everyone will wear black, and we could have a horse drawn carriage with black horses.  Remember The Addams Family movies – the one where Uncle Fester gets married?”

“Vaguely.”

“Well, Fester’s wedding – something just like that would be great.  Except I won’t be wearing white.”

Andrew chuckled.  “Let me guess; you'd rather wear something pink and fluffy?”

Maggie held her hands to her chest.  “How did you know?” she teased.

As they stepped out into the street, Maggie groaned.  “Speaking of pink and fluffy,” she muttered.

Her cousin Martha approached with a tall, snooty looking man at least fifteen years her senior.  His arm was clamped around her waist and when he saw Maggie he sneered.

Martha looked a little sheepish.  “Hello, you two.”

Maggie glared at the man.  “What’s he doing here?”

“We’re on a date,” said Martha quietly.

Maggie snorted, and the man’s lips tightened.  “Shouldn’t you be hovering over a bubbling cauldron, you pathetic little crone?” he hissed.

Andrew opened his mouth to object, but Maggie got there first.  She was more than happy and adamant about fighting her own battles.

“Shouldn’t you be humping your secretary, you small dicked, big headed, turd breathed snob?”

Fury lanced through his eyes, and his face turned tomato red.  He looked like he was about to go for Maggie’s throat when Martha stepped between them.  “Please, Phillip, wait for me inside.”

“Yours was better,” Andrew murmured to Maggie as Phillip turned on his heel and with what could only be expressed as a flounce went into the restaurant.

Martha pursed her lips.  “Please don’t be rude.”

Maggie all but exploded.  “I can’t believe you’re dating him again.  He cheated on you, and he treats you like an object.”

“Everyone makes mistakes,” Martha said uncertainly.  “He’s… he’s a good guy.”

“No, he’s not,” insisted Maggie.

“He’s got a good job, a nice family, his own house, a decent circle of friends – he’s just… well, he’s just a normal guy!” snapped Martha.  “Okay?  We can’t all run around town doing whatever we want, and acting like a… a… hippy!”  It was probably the worst insult she could think of.  “It’s normal to want to find a decent guy, get married, and settle down.  I’m just doing what’s normal.”

Maggie looked at her almost piteously.  “There was a time when you didn’t care about that kind of thing.”

“Yeah, well, I grew up, and while Phillip may not be perfect, he’s perfect enough.  So butt out.”

Martha was about to do her own flounce when she froze and stared at a point just past Andrew’s head.  “Oh my god…”

Maggie and Andrew looked around but didn’t see anything, although they had insider knowledge of what Martha might have seen.

“Did you see that?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“No,” replied Andrew honestly.

“Monsters in the sky,” she murmured, looking incredibly shaken.

Maggie grasped her shoulder in alarm.  “Martha, are you okay?  Maybe we should take you home.  We’ll definitely tell Phillip what’s happening.”  Maggie winked at Andrew.

Martha shook her head and seemed to snap out of it.  “No, it was probably nothing.  Probably just my imagination.”  Although that seemed to scare her more.

“I ah… I have to…”  Without another word to them she went into the restaurant, slightly pale and muttering ‘monsters in the sky’.

Maggie gave him a worried look but whether it was for the potential gargoyle flying around or for her cousin he wasn’t sure.  So he did something he knew would cheer her up.  He clasped one of her hands, squeezed it and suggested they take a late night stroll through the graveyard.

It was one of her favorite things.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Chris?”

Soft lips pressed against his shoulder.

“Chris?”

He groaned and tried to shrug the kisser away.  She giggled and hauled herself over his body, straddling him.

“Time to wake up,” she cooed.

“Five more minutes,” Chris grumbled.

Her soft form settled against his, her chest pressing into his and her face nuzzling his shoulder.  “Time to wake up.”

“Five more minutes with you.”

He could feel Annis smiling into his shoulder, and her wings ruffled lightly.  “We have all the time in the world…”

Chris groaned awake as his dream filtered away.  Every inch of him was in pain.  His eyes flickered and instead of meeting the sight of Annis curling on top of him – which was indeed a long shot – or Bob slobbering on him or even just his bedroom ceiling, he saw trees.

He blinked a few times, hoping the unexpected images would go away.  They didn’t.  Slowly and carefully, Chris raised himself to a sitting position.  He was wearing only his jeans and seemed to have obtained numerous new bruises somewhere on his journey to… wherever he now was.

For a second he wondered if he was under a massive hangover – something he hadn’t suffered since Mara died.  Since then, he barely touched alcohol.

The events of the previous night rushed to him, and he let out a bark of anger.  “Annis!”

Ignoring his aches and pains, he jumped to his feet and was thoroughly relieved to find Annis just a few feet away from him.  Daylight still filtered through the trees, so she was in her stone state, but at least she was safe.  She was curled into a ball, and he thanked heavens her body was still whole.  Whoever had taken them could easily have smashed her apart while stone, if that had been their intention, but they hadn’t, so he had to believe they were needed alive… for the time being.

Chris kneeled next to the huddled statue and patted her in relief.  “We’re okay,” he said to himself.

The sun was low in the sky; nighttime was near, and he would be glad of Annis’ company and input on just what the hell was happening.

He looked around, but as far as his eyes could make out, they were in a fairly dense forest.  Chris had to guess that this was about Annis.  Back in his day, Chris had been a pretty decent detective in Portland, but he doubted he had made such an insidious enemy that they would wait three years after he retired, abduct him and dump him half-naked in some woods with a stone gargoyle.

No, this was about her.  But even as he thought it, the words of the mercenaries lingered.  It was supposed to be a male.  They were right – it was.  It was supposed to be Gracchus with him.

Chris grunted as a shot of unease spread through him.  His wrists and ankles ached and were sore with well-defined bruises.  Rope, he thought sourly.

The gargoyles, although technically still a secret, were not without enemies.  There was Blackthorne and his Council, who wanted to obtain the gargoyles for their own devices.  They were responsible for creating Twenty-Six.  There was always the possibility that they might try and abduct more gargoyles for testing.  The thought of Annis locked in a lab infuriated him, and he paced to try and keep his anger down while attempting to get a little bit of feeling back in his feet.

Then there was always Ophelia.  He had not met the female gargoyle, nor had Annis to his knowledge, but he heard plenty about her from Kylie.  She was considered an enemy of the clan, and might want to kill them.  Although, would she use humans to do so?  He doubted it from what he knew, but he wouldn’t rule her out.

Thirdly, there was always an unknown perpetrator.  The gargoyles were attempting to keep a low profile, but that was no guarantee that no one else knew.  It would only take someone to blab to the wrong person, and that was that.  Who knew how someone would react to their presence, and what they might want with the gargoyles.  He had a bad feeling he was about to find out.

Daylight quickly petered away, and before he knew it, the sun was set, and Annis stirred.  Chris dropped to his knees, watching in awe as her stony skin quickly warmed to her normal pink.  She stretched on the ground and let out a small, purring growl.

She gazed up at him for a few seconds before she remembered what happened.  “What’s going on?”

She tried to scramble to her feet and managed to trip on her wings, sending her sprawling back to the ground and into his arms.

“It’s okay,” he said soothingly.

“Is it?” she whispered, her huge eyes searching his.

“It will be,” he said with more confidence than he felt.

Annis settled back onto her haunches and let go of him.  “I remember these men coming into the van.  I tried to fight them; I tried to call for you, but there was too many.  They shot me with something.”

Her claws traced a mark on her stomach; the fabric of her dress was ripped to reveal a puckered wound.  Chris peered at it.

“Looks like you were shot with a tranq dart.”

“After that, I do not remember anything.”

“I heard something, so I came out.  I think I managed to shoot one, but I’m not sure.  They knocked me out.”  He rubbed the back of his head but thought better of it as pain lanced through him.

Annis peered at his head in worry.  “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” he said staunchly, but he couldn’t stop the wince.

“You are not fine.”  Annis shuffled around behind him and held his head.  Her voice was faint.  “You are bleeding.”

“Can’t do anything about it now.”

“Where are we?”

“Damned if I know.”

Annis stiffened behind him.  “I hear something.”

Chris listened and a second later so did he – a vehicle approaching.

They both scrambled to their feet, Chris leaning a little too heavily on Annis for his liking.

“Stay behind me,” he ordered gruffly.

“Why?” she asked guilelessly.

“So I can protect you.”

“But who will protect you?”

He didn’t have time to answer.  A jeep approached, surprisingly managing to maneuver between the tight knit of trees.  Chris stepped in front of Annis.  Whether she liked it or not, whether she thought she needed it and whether she thought he was capable or not – he was damn well going to try and protect her.

A couple of heavily muscled men about his age hopped out.  They were decked out in black fatigues, aviator glasses – despite the dark of the night, slicked back hair, both chewing gun and both armed to the teeth.  Currently, they were aiming guns at him, or rather, aiming through him at Annis.

A moment later, the jeep listed heavily as a heavyset, middle-aged man, lumbered out.  He still maintained some toned muscle mass in his arms, but his stomach was a telltale sign that he had been living a little too well over the past few years.

He stopped next to the men in black and slowly lit a cigar.  He could feel Annis trembling slightly behind him, could hear the swish of her wings and the flicker as her tail moved.

Chris eyeballed the older man, waiting for him to talk.  The man eyeballed him right back.  They were locked in a staring contest for a while until the older man couldn’t stand out any longer.

“I’m Carlton Hunter,” he said.

The name rang a few bells.  He’d been in the news recently for buying and transporting endangered animals.  Hunter by name; Hunter by nature.  Although, his birth name was Carlton Debicki.

Chris said nothing; although he didn’t fail to grasp that being kidnapped by a notorious hunter who once boasted he had killed more animals than the American Beef Association was not a good thing.

Carlton tried to sneak a look at Annis, and Chris had an urge to growl.  The man pointed a pudgy finger at Chris.  “I now know who you are, but I don’t know her.”

“You stay away from her,” threatened Chris.

The two black-clad men smirked, and Chris had to admit that even to him it sounded feeble.

“She’s the reason we’re here.  C’mon out, honey.”

Chris tried to corral her into staying behind him, but although she was scared, Annis was not cowering.

“What do you want with me?” she asked in dulcet yet clear tones.

Carlton smiled coldly.  “To hunt you.”