Redemption: The Evolution of Grace: A Nephilim Urban Fantasy (Grace Gamble Trilogy Book 1)

by Sabra Kay

  “Yeah, let's start a YouTube channel, Rachel. It'll be fun.”

  That at least got a giggle out of her as she waved goodbye to Ethan.

  “Yeah, let's do it! I've always wanted to be a Youtuber!” Sera shrieked.

  “No YouTube channel, sweetie. We're going to play for a while, and then you're getting ready for bed.”

  “No! I want to stay up late. Why can't I?”

  “Because, when you do, you wake up all cranky.” Rachel was not caving to this kid. I could respect that.

  Sera looked at me pleadingly, but there was no way in hell I wanted any part of that. I was already on her mom’s bad side.

  We played a round of Clue, one of my childhood favorites. It went a little over Sera's head, but she enjoyed it, and I had a sneaking suspicion Rachel didn't mind it, either. I was introduced to Sera's unicorn collection and all her stuffed toys and would be going home with enough artwork to paper my walls with.

  “Will you tuck me in, Grace?” She was snuggled up next to me on the couch, and Rachel had given the bedtime countdown order.

  I glanced at Rachel for approval, and she gave the nod. We were a go.

  Sera's room was fit for a princess, all done up in shades of soothing lavender and cream. There was a fancy canopy bed strung with fairy lights, a soft carpet, a mini-size vanity, shelves full of books and toys, a menagerie of stuffed animals, and a startling amount of tech, including a laptop, gaming console and flat-screen television. Damn, this kid has it made. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to go back to the academy. What kid in their right mind would want to trade in this girlie paradise for the sterile, drab dormitories I grew up in?

  Scratchy blankets, metal bunks, and weird, green wallpaper? No thanks.

  She invited me into her “story tent” and demanded I read Goodnight Moon to Rex Bunny and her family of unicorns. I complied and read aloud as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

  We sat for a bit after the story was done, and I struggled with a sudden urge to question her now that I had her alone. I wanted to know more about the attempted kidnapping, about the men who tried to take her, but I didn't want to bring up a traumatic memory, especially right before bed. I decided not to press her, and despite my normally short attention span and overall lack of patience for children, I found myself content to sit with her in the soft glow of the fairy lights as she grew sleepy.

  She turned her perfect little face up, and I was met with an expression of intelligence and of wisdom beyond her years.

  “Grace?”

  “What, Sera?”

  “Do you think more people will come to take me away?”

  I shook my head. “No, sweetie. I don't think so.” I thought about it for a moment. “And, if they did, we would stop them.”

  She nodded. “I hope that mean man doesn't come for me.”

  For a moment, I wondered if the little girl had read my mind.

  “Tell me more about the man who grabbed you, about the other men in the car. Did they say anything to you?”

  She shook her head. “No, they only talked to each other.”

  Sera snuggled in closer to me, and I stroked her hair. The feeling of protectiveness returned, and I vowed to myself then and there that I wouldn't let anything happen to her.

  I tucked her into her bed and stroked her forehead. Rachel's silhouette appeared in the doorway, indicating my time was up. I said goodnight to her and Rex Bunny and left the room.

  While I waited for Rachel to come back downstairs, I checked my messages. Harry wanted to know if I was okay, Chuck sent a goodnight text, and Darah had asked how Sera and Ethan were. I replied to each, and by the time I was done, Rachel was back in the kitchen, furiously buffing the water spots off the fancy granite countertops.

  I walked into the kitchen while she worked.

  She kept her eyes on her work as she spoke. “So hey, thanks for coming by. It was nice having you over for dinner. I know Ethan had a thing about you staying the night, but it's not necessary. I think it's fine for you to head home, now.”

  She looked up after that, her expression bland, but her gaze was direct and unwavering.

  “I told Ethan I would stay.” I met her gaze and held it.

  She set her jaw and moved to wiping down the front of the stainless-steel refrigerator. “I don't think you get it, Grace. I'm asking you to leave.” She paused to grab the spray cleaner, then looked back at me. “There's no reason for you to be here. Ethan's just being silly, and I think he wants us to be friends for some reason.” She grabbed a towel off the counter and started wiping vigorously. “But here's the thing. I don't want to be your friend. I get you two have history,” She frowned at a few stubborn fingerprints and intensified her efforts, “but I know who you are. The daughter of William Gamble. An alcoholic. An immature loser. I don't care if you tell Ethan I said that. You haven't been there for him. I don't care how close you were in high school. You didn’t show up when Sian died, and Ethan was alone with his grief and a five-year old without her Mother. I showed up. This is my house.”

  “Last time I checked, this was Ethan's house. And as far as you being there for him, well where were you when Sera was being abducted? Where were you on that one? How did they even get her in the car? Good thing she was able to defend herself because you sure couldn't.”

  I didn't care that I was being mean and petty. She was way the hell out of line.

  She gasped, mouth open, and for a moment, I wasn't sure if she was going to punch me in the throat or start crying.

  She did neither. “I would lay down my life for that little girl. I had no way to foresee that happening. There was nothing I could do to stop it. You weren't there, and you didn't see how it went down. What I do know is that I was sober and able to act quickly. Could you say the same thing about your last job? Yeah, I heard all about it. You got drunk and pretty much passed out, and people died, not that you'd remember that, right? So don't stand there and lecture me, Grace. Now go. I'm done wasting time talking to you.”

  She walked to the end of the counter and grabbed something, then set it down on the kitchen island in front of me. It was my flask.

  “What were you doing in my purse?”

  She shook her head. “I moved your purse, and it tipped over. This fell out along with your cigarettes. What, were you going to ‘help’ me keep an eye on Sera in between booze and smoke breaks? C'mon. You aren't fit to babysit a fish, let alone a child. Take your shit and get out.”

  “Fine, fuck you, Rachel. What, are you jealous or something? If your relationship with Ethan is so fragile that you can't have me around, then too bad. I'll go tonight, but you're going to be seeing a lot more of me. That's a promise.”

  She laughed. “I'm not holding my breath, Grace. See ya.”

  I grabbed my bag and stormed out the door. What a bitch. Once again, though, I was my own worst enemy. She'd probably have asked me to leave either way but finding my flask had not helped my case. I had no choice but to leave.

  I ducked into my vehicle, slammed the car door shut, and started the car. I looked up and could see the soft glow of the fairy lights in the window of Sera's room. I threw the car in reverse and backed down the drive. This was such bullshit. She would wake up in the morning and wonder where I was. What would Rachel tell her? That I just up and left? What the hell? No, this was not okay.

  I struggled for a moment, not sure what to do. Did I really want to battle Rachel all night? How far was she willing to take the argument? We were way too old for this high school nonsense, and the reality was that I had shit to do. My job. My job was the most important thing here. I was back at work now, and I would focus on that. I looked one more time at the house and drove off.

  ***

  I made it about ten miles down the road when my phone rang. It was Darah. I decided to pull over so I could talk to her. I was still fuming and had a nagging feeling in the pit of my gut that I'd made the wrong call. I could have been more diplomatic. I didn't need to atta
ck her. She was feeling threatened. I could have handled it differently. Most importantly, leaving was a bad idea. Just more running. She gave me an out, and I had taken it.

  “Darah, what's up?”

  “Hey, where are you?”

  I sighed. “On the road. Long story.”

  “Hey, so I had a rare night off with nothing to do and decided to do a little poking around. You got a minute?”

  “Yeah, I'm pulled over. I have time.”

  “I did a little digging into Sera and Sian's files.”

  “Yeah...”

  “First, I went into my standard access shit. I was a little surprised to find out that both Sera and Sian's files were inaccessible to me.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Completely locked. Like, I have access to almost every nephilim registered with the CDT except council and other high-ranking members. But there is no file on Sera at all, and Sian's is locked. So is yours, my friend. Gamble, do you know why they would be locked? I mean, you asked me to get into them for a reason, and you promised you'd spill it. So get spilling.”

  I sat in my seat, flabbergasted. I didn’t know, but somehow, I wasn't surprised.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and breathed in deeply, then exhaled. “Okay, so I swore to Ethan I wouldn't say anything.”

  “About what?”

  “Someone tried to kidnap Sera. I mean, it was more than one person... well, cambion, according to Rachael. They pulled her into a car. They didn't get away with her, but Ethan is freaked.”

  “Why the hell would he not report it to us? To the regular police, at least? We should look for the cambion who did this. They'll try again, maybe her, maybe another neph kid. This is serious shit. I don't get it!”

  I tried to calm her down. “I know, I know. I'm telling you now. So, you weren't able to get into their files?”

  “No. Well, yeah. I did manage to hack into Sian's stuff. Did you know she had fertility treatments? That she conceived Sera through in vitro?

  I gasped, “No.”

  “Yeah, and there's more, but I feel like we need to discuss it in person.”

  “Let's get together tomorrow.”

  “Early, though. Hey, what are you doing now?”

  I slammed my head back against the headrest. “I'm on my way back from Ethan's. I was supposed to stay the night. He's out of town and wanted me there to help keep an eye on things, but Rachael kicked me out.”

  “Wait, what?” Darah laughed. A hearty laugh, no less.

  “What the hell's so funny about that?”

  “You let that snooty bitch run you off? Seriously?”

  “Well, yeah. Trust me, Dare. It wasn't worth the fight.”

  She laughed, “Yeah, you're probably right. Oh, hey. Speaking of Rachael. Did you know she used to work for your Dad?”

  “Nope.” That tugged at me. That meant she had worked in his lab.

  “Yeah.” She let me sit with that revelation for a moment. “I’m gonna let you go. Maybe you should go back. I'm telling you, if the cambions targeted her for any reason, they'll be back.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  Truth be told, the idea of confronting Rachael after the flask incident terrified me.

  I hung up, set my phone in the center console and sat for a moment. Something in my gut felt off. I wondered what else Darah found.

  The sound of a car rushing past snapped me out of my drifting thoughts. The taillights faded in my rearview, and that feeling, that feeling of being on high alert, of alarms going off, gripped me. I hadn’t seen the car as it drove by, but I was willing to bet it was a black sedan.

  I bit my lip, battling with my intuition versus my ego, and after a couple of minutes, I started the car and whipped around, gunning the engine and straining my eyes to see if the taillights would materialize. They had maybe a three-minute lead on me, but I saw nothing. Maybe they weren't going to Ethan's. Maybe they were just some random car driving down the road. Maybe they'd already turned off onto another road, and I was speeding back to his house for nothing.

  Maybe…

  I was back to the house in minutes. I killed my headlights as I pulled into the driveway, and sure enough, a black SUV was parked diagonally behind Rachel's car. I closed my car door as quietly as I could, drew my gun, and headed to the side door that opened into the kitchen. I crept up the steps of the deck and peered into the kitchen through the window. Rachel stood at the island across from a tall, heavily muscled man with a crew cut. They looked to be arguing. I quickly opened the door and stepped into the house.

  ***

  I clicked the door closed behind me, startling Rachel, who swung around, leveling a pistol at me, then just as quickly pointing it back down at the floor. Jesus, she wasn't playing.

  “Fuck!” She hissed, then turned back to the guard.

  Seeing her there with a gun, a gun she was clearly comfortable with, shed new light on her. She wasn't just a nanny or a friend. She was in command and ready to rock and roll.

  “Sorry, Rachel, I had a bad feeling. What's going on?”

  “This is Jared, one of the guards. Tell her what happened.” She gestured at me in a way that suggested she had no time or patience to explain the situation, instead delegating it to him.

  “We were out walking the perimeter, I saw movement, Glenn went to investigate and there was a scuffle. I heard him call out, but then nothing. I searched, radioed Max and Lani, but there was no answer back. I have no idea what's going on, but it's not good. We need to get out of here. Rachel, you should go up and get the kid, don't bother packing a bag. Let's just go. I'm parked right out front.”

  Rachel kept her gun pointed at the floor but waved me on with her eyes. “Grace, go grab Sera, make sure she has Rex and a blanket to keep her warm. We have a spot to go to that's safe. Hurry!”

  I nodded numbly, my chest pounding. I turned and headed for the stairway just as the front door exploded open.

  Both Rachel and Jared turned, guns drawn. Standing in the foyer was Lani, covered in blood which oozed from a deep cut across her forehead. Her chest was heaving, and she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Jared lowered his gun and rushed forward to her aid.

  I froze where I stood, closer to the front door than Rachel, who seemed unsure of whether she should stand down or not. The correct answer would have been no.

  As soon as Jared was in arms reach of Lani, she lurched forward as if rushing into his arms, but a man standing behind her with a gun in his hand was what had propelled her forward. Jared caught her and two bullets to the head at the same time.

  A yelp involuntarily flew out of my mouth as I watched Jared go down as Lani finally let out a gurgling scream before the assailant shot her in the back of the head as well. I froze. The man turned toward me, laughed, and raised his gun. The sound that burst from the weapon was deafening, and my body went rigid in anticipation of the impact.

  My eyes squeezed shut. But nothing happened.

  I opened my eyes, and the man was sprawled on the floor in a half-sitting position, propped up by the large potted plant near the front door. With my jaw hanging open, I watched Rachel rush to the man, kicking him to make sure he was really down before rushing to Lani and Jared.

  She looked at me over her shoulder and screamed, “Go, get her now.”

  I gulped, nodded, and took the steps two at a time.

  Halfway up, I heard her shrill scream. It was too late, someone had her. My knees went weak but I managed to keep going, rushing headlong to her room on the off chance she was still there. Her light was on, bedding scattered in piles on the floor, and Rex bunny face down on her pillow. I heard thumping, scratching, and muffled screams coming from down the hall.

  I cleared the hallway as fast as I could, but it seemed to take forever just to go the twenty or so feet to the door. My chest was heaving, my throat tight, causing my breath to come in short, rasping bursts.

  I flew through the door and quickly scanned the ro
om. Empty. I sailed over the bed through the open French doors, and there she was. Sera, struggling against the man who held her. No, not a man. A cambion. Blaine's bastard half-breed. That fucking slimy demon stood right in front of me, grinning while his prize pounded her little fists against him, howling in terror, eyes wide, searching for help.

  Her eyes met mine, and her struggle intensified. He was armed but made no move against me. Instead, he winked at me and turned toward the stairs that led to the driveway.

  “Grace! She screamed, reaching out for me.

  For a split second, I felt something like an electric shock sweep over me, stopping me in my tracks. Gregory felt it, too. His eyes widened, then he tossed his head back and laughed.

  I lunged forward, fearless, with raging hatred coursing through my veins. His laughter intensified, and I saw his eyes shift to the left of me, with not enough time for me to do anything other than brace for impact.

  I flew through the air, crashing through the patio table and tumbling over the lounger, landing on my stomach. The gun flew out of my hand and skittered across the deck. My entire left side was on fire, and the impact from landing on the chair had knocked the wind out of me.

  I looked up to find the man who had tackled me down looming over me, his gun leveled at my head.

  “You want me to do it, boss?”

  “No. Not her. Anyone else, but not her.”

  I couldn't see his face, but I heard Sera's sobs. I felt helpless but also shocked by what he had just said. The assailant stepped away from me and ran towards Blaine, clearly disappointed and just as shocked as I was.

  For about two seconds, I lay there, not sure how to proceed.

  I couldn't just do nothing. I sprang up as fast as I could and rushed toward Gregory Blaine and his monster thug. What would I do? I didn't know, but I couldn't just let her go.

  Once again, I stumbled from impact. This time it was Rachael shoving me out of the way.

  I pointed at the stairs, and she rushed forward, raising her gun, yelling, “stop!”

  The cambion was halfway down the outside stairs with Sera. He looked up at Rachel, then looked at her gun, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. I turned to grab my gun from the floor, but another massive thug blocked my way. His gun was raised, not at me, but at Rachael. She turned, but not quick enough. He pulled the trigger, and she went down.