by Lisa Kessler
Wrapping her arms around his waist, she clung to him. “Please don’t walk away.”
“I can’t stay.”
They held each other in silence until his hand gently lifted her chin. His lips caressed hers as another tear slid down her cheek. He broke the kiss and whispered, “You deserve better than all this, anyway. You shouldn’t have black eyes and scars. Let me go.”
A sob choked her throat. “This isn’t what I want.” She forced her arms to release him. Staring up into the green eyes that had started to steal her heart from that first afternoon when she walked into his office, she took a step back. Her heart ached in her chest, but she swallowed the hot ball of emotion. “Good-bye,” she whispered.
A muscle in his cheek clenched and he nodded before grabbing his duffel. He brushed a kiss to her temple. “I love you.”
He turned and walked to the door, picking up his coat on his way out. Tegan didn’t go to the window. She didn’t want to see if he looked up before he left, and she couldn’t bear to watch him drive away. She went into the bathroom and turned the shower back on. Safely in the steam and heat, Tegan rested her head against the cool tiles and wept.
…
Gabe glanced at the window as he tossed his duffel bag in the car. She wasn’t standing there. Probably for the best. This wasn’t going to be one of those chick flicks where their eyes met, and they ran in slow motion to embrace and live happily ever after.
He got in the Mustang and revved the engine. He hurt from the inside out. No rapid slayer healing this time. This wound might never heal. Slamming his hand against the steering wheel, he growled his frustration. For once, he’d been happy, no longer alone in his secret life.
The memory of Laura’s mutilated body polluted his mind, reminding him he didn’t deserve happiness. Jamming the clutch to the floor, he pulled out of the parking lot.
When Gabe pushed through the large oak door of his office, Martie shot up from her chair. “Gabe, you’re back.”
He nodded, pulling off his coat. “Yeah. Ready to get caught up on cases.” Once he had his coat hung up, he turned to find Martie staring at him. “What?”
“Are you all right? How did it go in San Diego?”
“Yeah.” He ground his teeth together, fighting back the emotions. “We got her demon. She’s safe. Case closed.”
“Okay.” Martie didn’t look convinced, but she had the good sense to keep it to herself. She pointed a blue fingernail toward the door. “Her car is still over in the long-term lot.”
He cursed his damned heart for sputtering at the thought of seeing Tegan again. There was no way he could see her. He’d never be strong enough to walk away a second time.
“Can you give her a call to arrange a time to pick it up?”
Martie quirked her lips to the side, then slowly nodded. “Sure. If that’s what you want.”
“Thanks.”
Gabe avoided more questions and settled into his chair, flipping through the case files that were piling up on his desk. Four surveillance cases, two missing persons, and one attorney requesting he locate a couple of witnesses. Great.
He opened one of the missing-persons files, skimming the details Martie had gathered, but he couldn’t focus. He kept hearing Tegan’s voice saying good-bye. Each echo stabbed him in the gut. He missed her already.
Chapter Twenty
“You sure you don’t want to go inside?”
Tegan took her keys from Martie and glanced at the refurbished church across the street. Gabe had left Tegan’s apartment over a week ago, and even though she worked from home, getting rides from her folks came with way too many questions. She’d put this visit off as long as she could.
“Yeah. It’s better this way.” She bit her lower lip to keep from asking about Gabe. “Thanks for everything.”
Martie nodded, sliding her fingers along the length of the envelope Tegan had insisted she take. A check for the parking fee. “No problem.”
“Drive carefully.” She waved at Tegan and then to her dad in his car before turning and walking back to the office. Although her stilettos had her perched on her toes, the girl didn’t miss a beat in her pencil skirt.
Martie vanished through the door, and Tegan sighed, then headed to her car.
Her dad’s window slid all the way down. “Just going to drive away without a word, eh?”
She wheeled on him, latching onto frustration, anything to keep from falling apart. “What am I supposed to say to him, Dad? I’m glad you saved me instead of your girlfriend so we could get together? Or maybe, glad Laura’s dead and we can live happily ever after?”
“Fine.” Her dad rolled his eyes. “Give up then. Drive away. Call yer mother when you get back so she doesn’t worry.”
Tegan went to her car. There was no reasoning with her father. He’d prodded her about the dragon and about Gabe the whole forty-five-minute drive to the lot. Her dad was too wrapped up in fairy tales to understand the problem.
Gabe had asked her to let him go. Seeing her face hurt Gabe now, and knowing she couldn’t be with him hurt her, so why prolong the agony for both of them with a visit?
A clean break was better.
She slid into the driver’s seat, and her left foot searched for the Mustang’s clutch pedal that didn’t exist in her own car. Her eyes welled with unexpected tears. Wiping her nose, Tegan started the engine and drove past her dad, past Gabe’s office, and back onto the freeway heading south.
…
Martie dropped a plain envelope on his desk. Gabe glanced up. “What’s this?”
“Tegan’s parking fee.”
He got up from his chair, ignoring the way his pulse jumped when he heard her name. “Is she here?”
“Nope. She left a few minutes ago.” Martie inspected her cuticle.
His chest tightened, and he cleared his throat. “I’m glad she’s all right.”
Martie shrugged. “She looked okay, I guess.”
The big door behind them swung open and sunlight shone around broad shoulders and silver hair. “Gabe?”
He dropped the envelope on his desk and came out to find Tegan’s father in front of Martie’s desk. “Maddock.” Gabe offered his hand, and Tegan’s father gave it a firm shake. “It’s good to see you.”
Maddock nodded, and the corner of his mouth pulled up a little. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks.” Gabe almost chuckled, the halfhearted smile feeling foreign on his lips. “Come on in.” He gestured to a chair in his office and leaned against the edge of his desk. “What can I do for you?”
Maddock sat, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair. He opened his hands. “I want to pay for all yer work. You saved my daughter. Tegan told me about the white dragon.”
Gabe rubbed his chest, wishing like hell his heart didn’t burn just hearing her name. “Then she must’ve told you that she stopped him from entering this world, not me.” He crossed his feet. “Saving the world is part of what I do, and she helped me. There’s no invoice to be paid.”
“Look, boy, I can see the demons have you twisted in a knot.” Maddock leaned forward in his chair, his tone softening. “And I realize you’ve lost people you loved, but Jesus, now yer goin’ to walk away from one? This makes no sense to an old man. Don’t you understand how precious love is? It isn’t tossed in yer path every day.”
Gabe took a deep breath and retreated behind his desk. He perched in his chair, pulling his hair back from his forehead. “Trust me. I know how precious love is. I get it.” He tilted forward, his forearms resting on the desk. “That’s why I’m walking away. She could have died, Maddock. I saved her once while someone else died. I love your daughter. Enough to walk away.”
“Pfft.” Maddock waved his large hand, shaking his head. “Don’t pretend yer being noble. It takes courage to love someone knowing you could lose them. You think yer the only one who’s afraid? It doesn’t have to be demons. Could be a bus, a train. Love is a risk.” He got up from the chair and
walked toward the door. He turned with a sparkle in his eye. “Yer a fighter. But those demons got yer number.”
Gabe stood up. “Tell me something… During Tegan’s party, I saw your home, your friends. Don’t you want that for your daughter? I’ll never be able to give her a house on a golf course or connections with bankers and politicians. She’d be bruised up and stained with demon blood if she stayed with me. Is that really what you want for her?”
“What I want doesn’t matter.” Maddock sighed and shook his head. “My Tegan carries a Welsh fire in her belly. She follows her own path, and there’s no talking her into another.”
Gabe nodded, well aware of Tegan’s hardheadedness, part of what made it impossible not to love her.
Maddock chuckled with a wisp of a grin. “I have never seen my daughter look as happy and alive as she did holdin’ yer hand.” He turned to leave. “You keep runnin’ and hidin’ from people who care about you, sure, you can kill all those demons on your own, but you’ll still be alone. They’ve already won this fight.”
Gabe opened his mouth to reply, but Maddock was out the door and down the steps.
The door drifted closed, and Martie glanced up from her computer. “How ’bout I grab us a couple burgers?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Another week had passed since she’d reclaimed her car. Two weeks since Gabe walked out. How much longer would she keep track of the days?
Sweat rolled down Tegan’s back as she worked through another kata. The controlled movements weren’t helping her find her peace anymore. Nothing helped.
She stared into her own eyes in the mirrored wall, her hands flat and strong as she sliced through the air. Her loud kiai echoed in the empty dojo. Pressing her fist to her other palm, she bowed.
Tegan straightened and loosened the knot on her obi. Her black belt slid free, and she hung it on the hook by the stairs, opening the front of her gi. The cool night air caressed her wet skin. Her black camisole stuck to her body, exposing the scar on her collarbone and the burn below her left shoulder, right over her heart. She slid the white karate pants off and stood in her black bike shorts, staring at the mirror.
Her elbow and her calf were still red from the demon bites, but unlike the scar on her collarbone, she carried no shame or fear in these wounds. These were well-earned scars. They marked her as a fighter. A survivor instead of a victim.
The only casualty lingered in her heart. Her gaze in the mirror strayed from her reflection to the spot on the back wall where she’d made love to Gabe for the first time. That spot used to derail her thoughts and make her heart skip a beat. Now it only hurt.
She rolled her eyes. Memories were not going to force her out of her dojo. Time was supposed to heal wounds. Maybe someday they’d be happy memories. His voice whispered through her mind, Let me go.
Maybe not.
With her gi in hand, Tegan set the alarm and jogged up the stairs. She woke up her laptop and clicked “shuffle” on her iTunes playlist. Dropping the gi over the back of a chair, she went to the sink for a sponge. The countertop already sparkled, so tonight she started on the cabinets.
Since Gabe left, her apartment had never been cleaner.
Next up, she tackled her fridge, pulling out shelves to clean, when a blues guitar wailed from her laptop speakers. Her hips swayed with the now-familiar beat.
Holding the sponge in front of her mouth like a microphone, Tegan sang out with Buddy Guy. “You damn right I got the blues… I can’t win, ’cause I don’t have a thing to lose…”
When the song ended, she walked to the laptop and stopped the music. An unexpected smile crept onto her face. She did have the blues, but that didn’t mean she was on house arrest. She tossed the sponge in the sink and headed for the shower. Tonight she was going out.
She’d told Gabe once that when the danger was over she would keep living. No more working seven days a week, no more hiding. Life was too short not to dance.
She came out of the bathroom in a purple knit dress with spaghetti straps, paired with her ballet flats. The dress hugged her body and flared a little at the hips. Perfect for dancing. She even treated herself to a little makeup for the first time since the night she and Gabe went to the Eden Club. Satisfied with her reflection, she stepped out to get her purse.
Something rattled at the kitchen window. Tegan rushed to her bed, sliding the knife out from under her mattress. Eyes wide, she made her way to the window.
To find Lago fluttering outside.
Tegan set the knife on the counter and opened the window. “You scared the crap out of me.”
Lago hopped onto the sill and landed on the floor. “Sorry.”
She leaned against the counter. “Why are you here?”
“Because Gabe asked me to—” He covered his mouth, coughed, and started again. “I came to see how you are.” His large eyes traveled up her body. “You look pretty.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “I’m on my way out.”
“Where?”
“Dancing.” Tegan crossed her arms. “But that’s not really any of your business. What are you doing here?”
“Have you heard from the witch?” Lago cast a wistful gaze at her clean fridge.
Tegan sighed and dropped her purse on the counter. “You need a snack?” He grinned, exposing his jagged teeth. Somehow on Lago, it seemed cute instead of dangerous. Tegan pulled open the fridge. “Will a banana work?”
He nodded, and she passed him a piece of the fruit. He licked his lips and took a bite without peeling it. “The witch is missing.”
“Good. Maybe she moved to another continent.” Tegan leaned against the cabinets. “I haven’t seen her.”
“I listened for Gabe with the demons, and no one has seen her in two days.” He took another bite. “You should watch out for that one.”
“Is that what Gabe sent you to tell me?” Saying his name hurt. “Tell him I’m fine, and if he has something to tell me in the future he should man up and tell me himself.”
Lago finished the banana and wiped his mouth on his arm. “He thought you wouldn’t want to see him.”
Tegan scooped up her purse, anxious to end the conversation. “I’m not sure what I want anymore.” She opened the window and Lago hopped up. “Tell him I’ll be careful.”
Lago nodded and took off from the sill. She closed the window and went downstairs. In the dojo, she gave herself a once-over in the big mirror.
By the time she got in the car, her emotions settled back into the numb emptiness she’d become accustomed to. She took a deep breath and drove toward the Belly Up. She had no idea who might be playing tonight. Not that it really mattered, as long as she could dance to it.
…
“Damn it, Lago. She went out anyway?” Gabe paced his office floor. “You warned her about Tina, right?”
“I did.” The demon’s big eyes stared at the floor. “She told me you should—” He paused, then grinned. “She said you should man up and tell her yourself next time.”
Gabe had to laugh. He could almost hear her saying it, jabbing at him. He shook his head, doing his best to get memories of Tegan out of it.
“I better go down to San Diego and see if I can find Tina. She’s only been missing for two days, but I’d feel better if I could find her.” He had to be sure she wasn’t a threat. The trip had nothing to do with a chance to see Tegan again, and definitely nothing to do with the fact that Lago told him she was going dancing. “Maybe Tina left town for a fresh start, but until I’m sure, Tegan could be in danger.”
Gabe grabbed his long black coat from the hook and glanced over his shoulder at his snitch. “There’s a pint in it for you if you keep an eye on Tegan tonight. Don’t let her see you’re there, but alert me if Tina shows up.”
Lago licked his lips and flapped his wings. “See you soon, Slayer.”
Gabe pushed the large oak door of the converted chapel open. Lago flew into the night, and Gabe went to the Mustang. After sending a t
ext to Martie, he fired up the engine and did his best not think about Tegan dancing with some other guy.
…
He pulled into Tina’s lot, gravel pebbles beating the hell out of the undercarriage of his car, as usual, but he hardly noticed. The neon hand in the window was dark, but a dim light flickered inside. Gabe got out and quietly opened the trunk. Pocketing a new dagger, his lock-picking kit, and a can of pepper spray, he made his way to the door.
He gave the handle a quick turn. Locked.
He checked the area, but the streetlamp left him too exposed to pick the lock without being seen. Around the back, the flickering light looked brighter. It had to be coming from Tina’s private room where she performed readings.
And spells.
This door was locked, too, but unlike the front door, this one was hidden from the street. He pulled out his kit and made quick work of the dead bolt and the knob. He opened the door and waited. Nothing moved inside.
Gabe swiped his hand over the threshold and jerked it back. The energy of her magical wards on the door made the hair on his arms stand on end. The wards only physically repelled beings that weren’t from the human plane, but it left others feeling uncomfortable, on edge, and eager to leave.
With his tools back in his pocket, Gabe took a deep breath and stepped through the door. The strength of Tina’s magic surprised him. The ward made it tough to breathe, as though all the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs. He told himself it was an illusion and stumbled into her spell room. He winced when he saw a dead rabbit, its blood in a scrying bowl.
He took another step in, and his mouth went dry. “Shit, Tina.”
Her counters and shelves were bare. All her tools and talismans were gone. The rugs that used to cover the walls and the floor were missing, and stray rounds of ammunition littered the ground. A single black candle burned, the wax building up and seeping across her table. She couldn’t have been gone too long if the candle was still lit.
He considered putting it out, but decided it was better not to touch anything. If the shop caught on fire, it wasn’t his problem.
