by Vivi Anna
She took the offer and slid out. When she was standing, he dropped her hand and shut the door. She wished he would’ve continued to hold her hand, just for a little while. Just until her body would stop shaking.
Gabriel walked her to the door. “Do you want me to call someone to come stay with you? I could have an officer here within fifteen minutes.”
“Could you stay?” she said in a rush. “I know it’s asking a lot from you, considering.”
He looked at her for a moment. She wasn’t sure what he was looking for. At one time she had always been able to guess what Gabriel was thinking, but now he was so guarded she couldn’t be sure of anything. After what seemed like forever, he nodded and followed her into the house.
She led him to the library. It was her favorite room in the house. It was cozy and warm, packed floor to ceiling with books, and it had always reminded her of her childhood home. She gestured toward the long leather sofa near the fireplace. “I need to change.”
He nodded.
“I could pour you a drink, if you like?” She started for the small bar in the corner.
“Go and change, Elise. I can pour my own drink if I need it.”
She nodded and retreated to her bedroom. She quickly shed her dress, hung it back up in her closet, and donned a long emerald-green silk robe she’d bought in Japan. She went into her bathroom, unpinned her hair, brushed it out and quickly washed her face. After sliding on silk slippers, she returned to the library.
Gabriel was sitting on the sofa with a short glass of what looked to be brandy in his hand. When she approached, he lifted the other glass on the table and handed it to her.
“I thought you would need this.”
Sipping the brandy, she sat beside him on the sofa, curling her legs up under her. “Thank you.” She drank all of the alcohol then set the glass onto the table. Sighing, she leaned her head back onto the sofa cushions and looked at Gabriel. He was busy staring at anything but her, sipping his drink. “I’m sorry I got you involved in this.”
“It’s my job, Elise. It has nothing to do with you.”
“Oh, well, I see.”
Sighing, Gabriel drained the rest of the brandy and set the glass onto the table with an audible clunk. “Not everything is about you.”
“Oh, I realize that.”
He turned toward her. “No, I don’t think you do.”
They stared at each other. The heat in the room seemed to intensify exponentially. Elise could feel the hum of his power skimming the surface of her skin and it made her quiver with need. She missed his intensity. She missed how he made her feel, all keyed up and on edge. Like anything could and would happen with him around.
Unfurling her legs, she sat up, leaning closer to him. His scent filled her nose and she nearly sighed with desire. Just his smell alone could ignite all her senses. Licking her lips, she moved even closer to him, excited that he didn’t pull away. “Are we still talking about the case?” she murmured.
“I don’t know.” His hand snaked across the sofa cushions and fell onto her thigh. The second he touched her she felt a jolt of pleasure charge up her body. She could barely contain herself. She wanted nothing more than to breach the distance between them and claim his mouth, claim him.
“It’s hot in here,” she announced stupidly.
“Yes, it is.” The pupils in his eyes dilated and his nostrils flared.
But before she could lean any closer and capture his lips with hers, Lily burst into the room, like a charged butterfly.
“Oh, my God, I can’t believe it.” She crossed the room in four steps and wrapped her arms around Elise. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”
She patted the girl’s back. “It’s all right, Lily. I’m fine. Gabriel brought me home.”
Lily pulled back and looked at Gabriel. “Thank God for you, Inspector Bellmonte.”
“Yeah.” He stood and smoothed the wrinkles in his pants. “And now that you’re here, I’m heading back to the crime scene.”
Elise stood, too, not wanting the magic to dissipate, not when they were so close to talking about the horrible distance between them. A distance filled with pain and sorrow, but also love and passion. She wanted to remind him of that latter part.
“I’ll walk you out.”
“I’m fine, Elise. I’m sure I can find my way.” With a curt nod, he made his way around the sofa and toward the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow on the set?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound desperate.
“Yeah, you’ll see me tomorrow.” And with that he left.
Lily continued to fuss over her, but she managed to tune it out. The only thing she could clearly hear was the thumping of her heart. It hurt, but it was a pain she welcomed. She’d gone too long feeling numb. Gabriel had awakened her and she planned on staying that way.
Chapter 8
As Gabriel watched the scene being filmed from the corner of the soundstage, he hid a yawn behind his hand. He’d managed maybe two hours of sleep last night. After leaving Elise’s he’d returned to the crime scene. He knew he didn’t have to, as his team was exemplenary at what they did, but he felt a need to be directly involved.
He couldn’t deny that seeing that word scratched into Elise’s vehicle had angered him. He wanted someone to pay for causing her anguish. His natural protective traits were kicking in. Elise did that to him. Made him want to do everything he possibly could to keep her safe and secure. And deep down, he also desired to make her happy.
It was a feeling he couldn’t shake. He’d been trying—thought he had succeeded—to bury that need deep in his heart, only to have it resurface now. Seeing her again had brought up all kinds of emotions. Emotions he wasn’t willing or able to deal with. Not now at least. He had to be completely focused on the job at hand.
So far, they had nothing to go on. There’d been no witnesses to the vandalism. Gabriel found that hard to believe when the car had been in front of a busy hotel the entire time. They also hadn’t managed to find the driver. After some investigation though, Gabriel discovered that the driver, a lycan, had a warrant out for his arrest. So it was possible he’d skipped town after everything went down. Elise told him that she’d left a message on the guy’s phone to tell him he was fired. What bothered him the most though was he couldn’t ascertain who had hired the driver.
One of the other limo drivers gave a statement that he saw Elise’s driver get out of the vehicle and jog across the street, and he didn’t see him return. But Gabriel wasn’t sure how reliable the guy was, because after that he’d admitted that he’d gone around back with some other staff, other drivers and hotel staff, to smoke and play some cards. After talking to a few more people, it appeared that no one had been standing at the front of the hotel when the vandalism occurred.
So, as far as Gabriel was concerned, the vandal could’ve been anyone at the party. Guests were coming and going all evening. Anyone could’ve had the opportunity. And because of that, Gabriel had been busy cross-referencing the party guest list with anyone who might have some grudge against Elise.
Unfortunately, he discovered that list was going to be long.
The famous, rich and successful never failed to have a number of people who held some sort of grudge. Jealousy, feigned snubs, real snubs, all of these could be motive enough for a stalker.
He yawned again just as Lily approached him. She smiled, holding out a foam cup of steaming coffee. “You look like you need this.”
He took the drink. “Thank you.” He sipped the hot liquid, impressed that the witch always seemed to know what was going on, and who needed something. This made him think that out of everyone in Elise’s life, she would know pretty much everything.
He eyed her curiously as he drank the strong coffee. Her gaze was glued to the set, where Elise and Diego were playing out a big important scene. According to one of the grips he’d talked to earlier, this scene was the climax of the film. By the way Lily seemed mesmerized by Elise, Gabriel
had to wonder if there was more there than just employer loyalty.
“How’s Elise doing?” he asked her.
“She’s okay. Tired mostly.” She smiled. “But she’s a consummate professional, so it won’t affect her performance. I’m not sure anything could bother her enough that it would affect her acting.” Did he detect a note of disapproval in her voice?
“Elise has always been driven.”
Lily snorted. “You could say that.”
“It sounds like you don’t approve.”
She shook her head, looking at him with wide eyes. “No, it’s not that. I respect her ambition to always be the best. It’s just hard sometimes to live up to, you know.”
He nodded. He did indeed know all about that. “I imagine that must make it difficult to work for her, then.”
“Oh, goodness, no. Elise is amazing to work for. I wouldn’t want to work for anyone else. She’s kind and caring. And I—”
“Love her.”
She peered at him with a strange expression. “I was going to say respect her. But in a way I guess I do love her. I know I’d do anything for her.”
Nodding, he drank the rest of his coffee. “I was surprised that you weren’t there by Elise’s side last night. That you didn’t show up at the house until much later.”
She glared at him. It was a very unpleasant look and he was surprised by its vehemence. It was obvious the witch had more to her than just bubbling energy. Maybe there was more than one actress here in this partnership.
“I had business to attend to.”
“For Elise?”
“Yes, for Elise.” She crushed the foam cup she was holding and tossed it into the garbage can behind him. “I can give you names and numbers if you like.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.” He smiled and also tossed his empty cup into the trash bin. “Right now.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I have more work to do.” She stomped away from him, her heels making quite a racket as she did.
He digested everything she’d said and he made a mental note to watch her more. She was hiding something. It might be no more than she was using Elise’s private hairdresser as her own, but it was something. If it was harming Elise in some way, then Gabriel would find out.
Needing to stretch his legs, he walked around the soundstage, always mindful he didn’t venture too close to the set. He didn’t want to get in the way. But as he crossed behind the director, he risked a peek at the scene. It appeared to be nearing the climax. From the snippets of dialogue he heard, Elise’s and Diego’s characters were having it out. Lots of screaming and curse words.
He had to admit it was difficult to watch Diego yell at Elise, difficult to hear him call her foul names. Although Gabriel knew it was an act, that they were playing parts, the urge to rip out Diego’s throat surged through him. At one point, he had to dig his nails into the palms of his hands to stop from rushing the stage and going to her rescue.
He knew she’d berate him for it. Elise was no weak wallflower, and she’d be the first to tell him that. She didn’t need any rescuing, thank you very much. Hadn’t she told him that very thing all those years ago when he thought he was coming to her rescue?
His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t had breakfast yet. He was about to cross the floor and check out the spread of food on the other side of the stage, when something gave him pause.
It was nothing concrete. Nothing that he could immediately put his finger on. It wasn’t a noise or something he spied out of his peripheral vision. No, it was more a feeling. Like something ominous was about to happen. The hair on his arms and the back of his neck stirred to attention. He had an urge to suppress a shiver.
He glanced up at the high ceiling on the soundstage above the set. Was there an open shaft up there? A hole where a cool breeze was blowing in? Something like that may have given him the creeping sensation. He couldn’t see anything but wires and hooks, and a giant lighting apparatus. Nothing out of the ordinary.
But he still couldn’t shake the feeling.
He moved closer to the set, standing not far behind the director in his chair. The cameraman was up on a lift, filming the intense scene. Gabriel’s gaze settled onto the set, onto Elise and Diego. He watched as they moved around the set, Diego pursuing Elise, the film’s final showdown between the heroine and the villain.
He knew Elise would have a mark, a spot designated on the set’s floor to indicate where she needed to end up for the camera to zoom in on her. Moving closer, Gabriel found that sticker, outlined in yellow. Then he glanced up above it.
Elise was almost there. Almost at her marker, preparing for the big close-up, the huge emotional moment of the movie. He couldn’t wait any longer. It had to be now.
Gabriel rushed toward the set, pushing chairs and equipment out of his way. There were shouts of indignation and protestation in his wake, but he kept moving. Elise was his number-one goal. He couldn’t fail.
By now, Reginald the director was calling, “Cut, cut, cut!” And the rest of the crew realized something was going on.
Gabriel pressed on, gaining speed. As he stepped onto the set, he leaped over the sofa that was in his way and continued forward. Elise was turning now, toward him, her eyes wide, angry words forming in protest. But she didn’t get the chance to say anything.
He pushed her hard across the set. Hard enough to send her sprawling at least twenty feet. He didn’t have to worry about Diego, though. The vampire was already halfway across the soundstage.
It was then his foot landed on the yellow marker on the floor and the ceiling right above him came crashing down. Gabriel had only seconds to brace for the impact.
He raised his hands to stop a thousand pounds of metal and plaster from landing on top of him. But it proved pointless. It landed right on top of him. A thin metal rod pierced his leg. Pain, immediate and sharp, surged through him like a dark icy wave of water. And that’s when everything went black.
Chapter 9
Elise brushed the stray dark hairs from Gabriel’s brow. She’d been sitting in his hospital room for the past three hours, battling the urge to kiss his cheek, to rouse him somehow. Seeing him unconscious and helpless crushed her heart.
After the ceiling collapsed, they had to dig Gabriel out of the rubble. At first, she hadn’t been sure he was alive. Blood had pooled around him and she immediately thought the worst. It would be just like life to do something so cruel as to snatch Gabriel away from her when she’d just found him again.
But he’d been alive, though badly wounded. A piece of metal scaffold had pierced his thigh. Thankfully it had missed his femoral artery but the damage was still bad. If he’d been conscious, she was certain he could’ve shifted into his wolf form to heal himself. But he’d yet to gain consciousness and the doctors were worried. They talked about a head injury.
Feeling tears welling in her eyes, Elise leaned forward and pressed her lips to his brow. “Wake up,” she murmured into his skin.
Movement at the door caused her to sit up. A redheaded woman came into the room. She remembered her from the set when she’d first received the letter. Sophie something.
The woman nodded to her. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“You didn’t.”
She smiled and neared the bed. “I’m Sophie. I work with Gabriel.”
“Yes, I remember.”
Sophie looked at Gabriel, and Elise could see the deep concern in her eyes. Lifting her hand, she reached out to touch his foot under the blanket, but hesitated then dropped it as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t.
