by Amy Miles
Sadie rolls her eyes. “She probably changed it when she moved here. It’s not exactly a popular name, is it?”
Gabriel frowns. Something doesn’t feel right. He saw Rose and the stranger talking, laughing, and then everything changed. The man’s face had darkened and he looked furious with her. What if Roseline was in danger? “I can’t take this anymore. I’m getting out of here.”
“What about Claire?” William asks, glancing at the sequined figure racing toward them from the ballroom.
“I don’t care about her. Let her find a friend to give her a ride home,” Gabriel says, surging to his feet. “I’ve got to find Rose.”
Sadie nods, rising too. She clutches her biker boots under her arm and stares at her brother with firm resolve. “I’m going with Gabriel. He can drop me off once we find Rose.”
“What about your car?” William protests. Sadie rolls her eyes. There is no way he cares about her car. Besides, it was sure to be safe in valet parking overnight. He’s just trying to cover his backside.
“Just deal with Mom and Dad, alright? I’ll owe you.”
“You’re darn right, you will!” he calls as Sadie runs to catch up. Gabriel ignores Claire’s furious shouts as he slams through the front door, startling the door attendant. Instead of waiting for the car to be brought around, he grabs his keys and rushes into the parking garage, frantically searching for his car.
“Try the alarm,” Sadie suggests, struggling to catch her breath. She might be slender but she is far from fit. Working out is for jocks and cheerleaders and she certainly is not one of those.
Gabriel pushes the alarm and rushes toward the end of the row where his silver Range Rover is parked between a Hummer and a Lincoln Navigator. He pushes the alarm button again and deafening silence fills the concrete prison. “Get in,” he commands, unlocking her door.
Sadie leaps inside and tosses her boots into the backseat. She shoves her seatbelt into the lock just before Gabriel throws his car into gear and races out of the garage on squealing tires. The SUV slides wildly on the ice before righting itself. “Where are you going? She could be anywhere.”
White knuckles grip the steering wheel as Gabriel winds in and out of traffic. He is too focused on his mission to answer Sadie. There is only one place that he can think of to look.
The drive to Roseline’s house is tense with an oppressive silence blanketing the car. When they arrive, the two-story bungalow stands dark. There is no sign of movement. The driveway is empty apart from a fresh set of tracks are ground into the snow.
“She’s not here.” Gabriel roars, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. Tingling numbness races up his forearm but he refuses to acknowledge it. “I was sure she’d still be here.”
“Yeah, well, it looks like you were wrong,” Sadie snaps. Her anger and concern for Rose is making her very irritable. “Where to now, Sherlock?”
Gabriel yanks on the door handle and spills out into the snow. His dress shoes slip underneath him as he races for the porch. Gabriel works his way up the icy steps with far more ease than Sadie could have managed.
“What are you doing?” Sadie calls. There is no way she is going to leave the warm comfort of Gabriel’s car to go bang on an empty house in the middle of the night.
Gabriel pounds on the door until his fists go numb. Tears of frustration slip from his eyes as he cups his face to look through the window. The same bleak emptiness stares back at him as he saw the day before, but there is something new this time.
Leaning closer to the windowpane, Gabriel breathes in deep. The scent burns as it slides through his nose and down his throat. Cinnamon and vanilla mingles with pine and dirt—the stranger.
“She’s not home,” Sadie calls again, leaving only enough room for her head to fit through the raised window. She shivers against the frosty night air. The windshield is slowly freezing over, courtesy of the sleet that began falling not long after they left the dance.
Gabriel rushes back to his car, annoyed with Sadie’s lack of help. “Thanks for stating the obvious,” he snaps as he clicks his seat belt in place. “Is that all you’re good at?”
“Don’t yell at me,” Sadie snaps. “I’m not the one that pushed her into some stranger’s arms.”
Gabriel’s mouth drops open. “I didn’t…it’s not my fault,” he stammers.
“Oh no? We both know how you betrayed her. Rose was crushed.”
“Right,” Gabriel growls, backing down the drive. “Did she also tell you about the email to her boyfriend back home?”
Sadie frowns. “Boyfriend? What the heck are you talking about?”
“Fane. The guy she’s in love with,” Gabriel spits out the words. Even now they feel like poison on his lips.
“Are you insane? You’re all Rose has been able to talk about since the first time she met you. No way is there another guy,” Sadie protests.
“You didn’t read the letter.”
Sadie’s eyes bulge. “And you did? You actually violated her privacy?”
Gabriel winces. “Yes, but I never meant to…she’s been lying to me, Sadie, and I needed to know why.”
“So you think that gives you the right to go snooping? Un-freaking-believable. I was so right about you. You are a jerk!”
“Hey,” Gabriel objects. “I’m not the one with secrets.”
“Well, maybe she had a good reason for keeping her secrets. Ever think about that?”
Gabriel sighs. Of course, he has thought of that, but the idea of Rose trying to protect him doesn’t allow him to excuse away his anger. Gabriel blows out a breath, imagining the anger flowing out of his body, riding on the ripples of heat flooding from the vents. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m just worried about Rose.”
Sadie begrudgingly agrees, crossing her arms over her chest. “So what’s the plan now?”
Gabriel shrugs, feeling a heaviness settle over his heart. “What about a phone? Did she ever give you a cell number?”
Her squeal drives Gabriel’s foot into the brake. They lurch forward and slam back into their seats. Sadie scowls at him. “Smooth, genius. Real smooth.”
“Well why the heck did you scream?”
“Because she bought a phone not too long ago. She called once to give me the number. Said it was for emergencies only.”
Hope flares to life. “Great. Give her a call.”
Sadie rolls her eyes. “Do I look like I have a purse?”
Gabriel glances at her form-fitting dress. He really did not want to guess where she would have to hide a phone in that. “Where is it?”
“My house.”
Thirty-Three
“Wake up!” a shrill voice screams in Gabriel’s ear. He groans and bats it away, worried that his eardrum might burst. “My mom’s gonna kill me if she finds you here.”
Gabriel jerks upright, confused by the room around him. A purple lava lamp glows on the desk nearby, red converse sneakers poke out from under an untidy bed, and a bright pink neon beanbag sits under a window. Various rock band posters cover the ceiling. Gabriel rubs his eyes as he tries to remember where he is. A girl shoves her face over his. “Argh.”
Sadie stands up, rolling her eyes as Gabriel picks himself up off the floor. “Oh please, like it’s such a shock to wake up here. You spent the entire night running up my phone bill trying to reach Rose, remember?”
Sleep’s haze quickly dissipates as Gabriel brushes his fingers through his tangled hair. The events of the previous night begin to come back to him. “Rose? Did she call?” A withering glance from his neighbor is enough of an answer. “I had to ask.”
Sadie shrugs. “So what do we do now? Go back to her house?”
Gabriel nods and grabs his car keys off the floor before racing for the door. Sadie blocks his path. “Hold on there, bucko. You can’t just go waltzing through my house at six in the morning. My mom will have both our heads.”
“Then what do you suggest?” he asks, annoyed with the de
lay.
Sadie smiles and points to the window. Gabriel groans. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
“Nope. There is a tree not too far from the ledge. Just swing on over and do your best Tarzan impression, but for goodness’ sake, be quiet.”
Gabriel grabs his tuxedo jacket and lifts the window. He glances down and gulps. “Don’t tell me a big guy like you is afraid of heights.”
“No. I’m afraid of falling. Big difference,” Gabriel corrects her tersely as he swings his leg over the ledge. His mind races through all of the crazy things that have happened since he met Rose. Super strength, increased speed, amazing hearing, freaky tattoo…but can he trust that he will survive this fall?
Glancing over the edge, Gabriel’s fingers hook tightly around the window ledge. His knees lock down and he goes pale with fright. After a minute with zero headway, Sadie sticks her head out next to his legs. Her mocking humor vanishes. “You really are scared, aren’t you?”
All Gabriel can do is nod. His eyes are riveted to the ground, his breathing shallow as he fights to control the churning contents of his stomach. There is nothing in the world that frightens him more than heights. No, that’s not true anymore. The fear of losing Rose is far worse.
“You don’t have to do this,” Sadie says softly. “Come back in and we can head out in an hour when mom has left for her aerobics class.”
Gabriel shakes his head. “No, I can’t wait that long. Rose needs me.”
Sadie observes the firm set of his mouth and the waves of determination flooding off him. “You really love her, don’t you?”
His wide eyes flit her way. “More than you can imagine.” Despite his fear, his voice does not waver.
She tugs on his hand and slowly helps him back inside. “Fine. Then let’s get this over with.”
“Wait, you’re gonna go now?”
Sadie offers him a wry smile. “Who am I to stand in love’s way?”
With her brave face firmly in place, Sadie opens the door and leads Gabriel into the hall. She stops short as William’s door cracks open. “You sneaking snake,” she hisses as she shoves the door open, knocking Nicolae flat on his back. She rears back and kicks his shin. “When did you get home?”
Nicolae clamps his hands around his throbbing leg. “Last night. Before you two got back,” he groans.
“Why did you disappear from the dance?” Sadie snaps, winding up for another blow to his shin.
“I just needed some fresh air.”
She rolls her eyes. “Sure you did. At the exact moment Rose was kidnapped.”
“You think she was kidnapped?” Nicolae’s laugh grates on Gabriel’s frayed nerves. “Why would Fane kidnap her?”
Liquid ice freezes him in place. “Fane? That’s who took her?”
Green eyes flicker over Gabriel and suspicion pinches Nicolae’s features. “How do you know about Fane?”
“I read an email.”
Nicolae’s face relaxes. He rolls over and sweeps up to his feet. “Yeah, well then you already know they’re best friends so it makes sense that she’d leave with him.”
“Friends?” Gabriel chokes out. He has a bad feeling about this.
“I thought you knew.” Nicolae frowns, darting a glance between Sadie and Gabriel. “What’s going on?”
Sadie rolls her eyes and plants her hands firmly on her hips. “He thought Rose was in love with Fane. Stupid jealous fool.”
Gabriel swallows down his bitter guilt. “I didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t,” she snaps. “You decided it was easier to think she’d betrayed you than to just ask. It’s guys like you that drive girls to romance novels!”
A groan rises from a tangled pile of sheets on a bed. William rubs his eyes as he sits up. He is still wearing his rumpled dress clothes. His hair is plastered on the side of his face. “I didn’t realize we were having a slumber party,” he grumbles.
“We’re not,” Sadie snaps. “Rose is still missing.”
William looks crestfallen. Nicolae backs away. “Where do you think you’re going?” Sadie cries, yanking him back.
“We don’t have time for this, Sadie. Just let him go,” Gabriel says, heading toward the door. “Rose needs us.”
Reluctantly, Sadie turns, motioning for William to follow. She shoots a threatening glare toward Nicolae. “Don’t move. I’ll be back for you.”
Thirty-Four
The instant they hear the coffee mug hit the granite countertop they know they are busted. Gabriel winces as he rounds the corner. Mrs. Hughes glares at him first before turning to glare at each of her children in turn.
“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” she says as the trio shuffles into the kitchen.
“It’s really not what it looks like,” Sadie says, nervously tugging on a stand of her hair.
“Oh no?” her mother questions as her lips purse. “‘Cause it sure looks like the three of you crashed upstairs after a long night of partying.”
“Oh,” William snickers, fighting to straighten the wrinkles from his shirt. “Then it is what it looks like.”
“Uh-huh. So that explains why Gabriel’s father has been calling us nonstop for the past three hours.”
Gabriel groans. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Hughes. I never meant to disturb you.”
“I understand that, Gabriel, but what I do not understand is why you are here. Your father is under the impression that you should be with Claire.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He sends a warning glare at Sadie as she opens her mouth. She instantly clams up and passes on the look to her yawning brother. “I got a ride home from Sadie last night but forgot my house key. I tried to wake my parents but I guess they couldn’t hear me. Sadie was kind enough to let me crash here.”
“In her bedroom?” Mrs. Hughes glares.
“Nah, he was with me,” William covers smoothly. “He crashed on the floor. Looks terrible, doesn’t he?”
Gabriel swallows down his cutting remark. If it weren’t for William’s quick thinking, his tail might be skinned by the butcher’s knife beside Mrs. Hughes hand. For a moment, she looks like she is contemplating using it but finally her face sags with exhaustion. “I don’t know how you kids slept through all that racket. I swear all that ringing has spawned a migraine from Hell!”
“We haven’t had a land line in our rooms since we were eight. How on earth would we have heard the phone?” William rolls his eyes. “Get with the times, Mom.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she yawns. “Well now that I know you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere I can get some sleep. But you and I are gonna have a little chat this afternoon, Sadie Marie Hughes.”
Sadie winces at the dreaded middle name. “I’ll be here.” She forces a smile.
Mrs. Hughes glares one final time before heading back up the stairs. Gabriel breathes a sigh of relief. They wait until her bedroom door closes before dashing to the hall to collect their coats and bustle outside.
“Where’s your car?” William asks. The street and drive in front of Gabriel’s house is vacant.
“We parked around the corner so my parents wouldn’t know where I was.” Gabriel sets off at a quick pace, unfazed by the sheen of ice covering the path. Sadie grips William’s forearm to remain upright.
“Good thinking, except for the part where you shacked up with my sister for the night,” William growls. “What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t,” Gabriel replies, as he races ahead to his car. He presses the key fob and dives into the driver’s seat. William and Sadie quickly follow, moaning about how cold it is. Gabriel frowns. He hadn’t even noticed the temperature.
“This is taking too long,” he mutters as he cranks the defrost on full force.
“Patience is a virtue and I think it really sucks.” Sadie rubs her hands together. The tingling numbness has turned into agonizing pain. “I hate winter.”
William glances between his sister and Gabriel in the front seat. “So, is anyone going to f
ill me in?”
Gabriel looks back over his shoulder. “We’re going to Rose’s house again.”
“Looking for clues?”
“Something like that,” Gabriel nods. He flicks the windshield wipers and watches as they clear a small streak. “Good enough for me.” He ignores the worried glance the siblings share as he pulls out onto the road.
Five minutes later, Gabriel slides to a stop in front of Rose’s deserted house. “Everyone coming?” he asks as he jumps out of the car.
He doesn’t wait to see if they will follow him as he hurries up the path. His shoes crunch heavily on the ice-glazed grass as he crouches.
“What are you looking for?” Sadie calls, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist. Her black ski jacket does little to keep out the biting chill of the arctic air that whips down the street.
“A rock.”
Spotting a large, jagged gray stone half buried under the bushes, Gabriel digs it out and tosses it in the air, getting a feel for its weight. Before Sadie can protest, Gabriel chucks it right through the glass panel edging the door. “Are you insane?”
“You got a better idea?” he grunts as he slips his arm through the broken glass, turning the lock. “Got it.”
The door swings open but no one moves to walk through. “This is so illegal,” William mutters, staring into the dark space.
“It’s Rose. Do you think she will press charges?” Gabriel asks, stepping over the threshold.
“What the…” Sadie exclaims, turning around. “Where is everything?”
“Was she robbed?” William ducks his head into the kitchen. The counters are empty, cupboards bare, and the fridge door is open. “Man, they took everything.”
“No.” Gabriel shakes his head as he moves toward the stairs. “This is how it’s always been.”
“But that can’t be,” Sadie protests, hurrying to follow Gabriel up the stairs. Her gaze flickers over the empty room on the right. Its sole occupant is the largest, hairiest spider she has ever seen.
“Gross!” she squeals, slamming the door closed. Gabriel stops in front of a partially open door, his hand pressed against the splintered frame.
