Gabriel (11 page)

“
Roll up your sleeve, Lily.”

Calla rolled up her sleeve
and turned her head. The blood didn’t bother her; she was used to that, but she
wasn’t sure what her reaction would be to seeing it in her in current
condition.
Better not take any chances.

Robert drew the blood he
needed, put a cotton ball with tape across the puncture site and walked out of
the office holding seven vials. They sat in the room and waited for Robert to
return.

“
Do you think he will be able to help?” Gabriel asked.

“
He’s the only person I know who specializes in hematology, and I
trust him not to turn me into the government where I’ll be a guinea pig.”

They sat in silence. Calla’s
mind was still quiet. She could feel a push every now and then, but her mental
shield held strong. It was becoming more familiar, and she realized she didn’t
need to concentrate as much to keep it in place.

Robert returned after a few
minutes with a grim expression. “Everyone else has left for lunch. I want you
guys to come and take a look at what I’ve found so far.”

They walked to a small corner
with equipment that wasn’t hooked up to any computers. It had a thin layer of
dust across the top. The manual that rested on one machine was dated 1989.
Calla and Gabriel stood at the raised counter where a microscope sat.

“
I’ve never seen anything like this before. The cells are
replicating as fast as they are destroyed. This is amazing. Imagine what we
could do with this information.” Robert peered through the microscope.

“
The only thing we’re going to do with this information is find a
way to stop the Kematians and maybe find a way to get their filth out of my
body.”

“
Yes, yes, of course. This is so exciting I was thinking of the new
discovery and not the implications. I’m sorry, Lily.” Robert moved away from
the microscope.

“
What else have you found out?” Gabriel asked.

“
Well, I know that I’m not going to be able to help you as much as
Lily thought I could.” Robert wiped his brow.

“
Why? How bad is it?” Calla asked.

It’s not a question of being
bad or good. This is out of my expertise. I know someone who may be able to
help. I’ll give my friend Sam a call.”

Robert pulled his phone out
of his pocket, and Gabriel grasped his arm. “Can you trust him?”

“
What kind of question is that? You’ve known Lily for all of five
minutes. I’ve known Lily her whole life. I would never do anything to hurt
her.” Robert glanced down at Gabriel’s hand that gripped his arm. “Don’t let my
age fool you.”

Gabriel pulled his hand back.
“I did not mean any disrespect. My only concern is for Calla’s safety.”

“
Grab me like that again, and you might want to think about your
own safety. Angel or not, I’m not going to be manhandled by anyone. Do we
understand each other?”

“
Yes.”

“
Come on into my office. We’ll sort this out in there. Everyone
will be back from lunch in a little bit.”

Robert pulled the papers off
the machines, packaged up the slides and vials. He placed everything into a
foam cooler with the papers wrapped in plastic resting at the bottom. He picked
up the cooler, carried it to his office and set it on top of a file cabinet.
Then he sat down behind his desk and pulled out his phone.

Calla tenderly gripped
Gabriel's arm. "Thank you," she said.

 
“
Why?”

She winked at him. “For
letting Robert be tough and for not being offended by his words or actions.”

Gabriel moved behind Calla
and wrapped her in a warm embrace. He rested his chin on her head as they both
looked at Robert for more information.

Robert opened the phone and
then stopped. “I’m going to have to send him some pictures. I used the
equipment that wasn’t hooked up to computers so that this information stayed
between us.” He glanced up at Calla. “I trust him with my life, and I’ll be
trusting him with yours, too. Are you okay with that?”

Calla raised her head and
looked at Gabriel and then back to Robert. “If you say he’s okay, then I trust
your decision.”

Robert stood and exited the
office.

“
I guess this is it,” Calla said.

“
This is what?”

She stood and moved Robert’s
chair out of the way and looked out the window. “My secret will no longer be
among the three of us. Someone else will know. I only hope that he’ll be able
to help me.”

She tried to control her
breathing. It was becoming more rapid by the moment. She wiped her palms on her
jeans and then felt a hand slip around her waist. She was panicking even more
than she thought, or Gabriel moved with a speed and silence she never
experienced.

“
I will not let anymore harm come to you. If it becomes necessary I
will remove his memories.”

Calla spun around, breaking
free. “You can wipe people’s minds? And whose mind are you talking about,
Robert or Sam?”

Gabriel peered into her blue
eyes. “Yes, and both if necessary.”

“
Robert isn’t our enemy. Sam, I can’t be sure about, but Robert
trusts him, so I will, too … for now.” Calla smiled and leaned into Gabriel’s
hard sculpted chest, and butterflies filled her stomach. She was getting
comfortable with him, but there was so much about Gabriel that she still didn’t
know. “What else can you do?”

Gabriel brought her hand up
to his lips. The heat from his breath brushed her skin and sent chills down her
back. He placed a small kiss on the top of her hand, before pulling away. Her
heart beat faster. Her mouth suddenly dry, she tried to respond, but no words
could be formed. All she could do was smile and nod.

As he moved away the fog began
to clear. “Damn you! I was asking you a question, and you did your angel magic
on me. Now I’d like an answer. What else can you do?”

Gabriel took a step closer
and she extended her arm, palm out. “Oh no, you don’t. Stay right where you
are.”

Gabriel sighed.

“
Would it really make a difference to you to know this? Would that
change how you regard me?”

Calla placed her hands on her
hips, refusing to look into his green eyes. “No, it wouldn’t, but—”

Gabriel cupped his hand under
her chin and lifted. Calla resisted for a moment, but allowed him to raise her
head, their eyes locking. “Despite all the powers I possess, I cannot erase the
pain the Kematians have inflicted upon you.”

Tears slid down her cheeks.
“It’s not that I want to know everything about you right this minute. Okay I
do, but I would settle for knowing the angel who stands before me. And part of
that is knowing who you are.” Calla wiped the tears from her cheeks. “As silly
as it sounds, your abilities are a part of you who are, just like my powers to
heal are a part of who I am.”

Gabriel reached out and
pulled her into his arms. “The only thing you need to know is that I love you,
and we will get through this.”

Calla laughed, pressing her
cheek into his warmth. “You have a nasty habit of avoiding questions, you know
that?”

Gabriel smiled down at her.
“In a world full of questions, answers are not all they appear to be, and
rarely comforting as you would like them to be.”

She opened her mouth, and
stopped as Robert walked into the room and sat down at the desk.

“
You are so lucky, saved by Robert,” Calla said.

Robert glanced at Gabriel and
smiled. “So my presence saved you, did it? Well I can leave and come back when
Lily’s through with you.” Robert started to stand.

“
No, that is okay.”

Robert sat the rest of the
way down with a big smile plastered across his face.

“
Did you send the information to your friend Sam?” Calla asked.

“
Yes, I did. He was going to take a look at the file I sent, and
then call me back.”

“
So now we wait.” Calla sat down in a chair in front of Robert’s
desk and Gabriel sat beside her.

They waited in silence. The
tension in the room was thick. The “what ifs” were driving Calla crazy. She
needed to get out of there and do something. She wasn’t sure what it was, but
the need to leave was strong. She felt the pull that begged her to find …
something. Her mouth began to water; her skin felt too tight, and she began to
run her tongue across her lips. The realization that she was hungry for blood
flung her back into reality. The need to hunt was strong, but she was stronger.
Calla was not going to feed on people. She turned to the side, and Robert and
Gabriel both watched her.

“
I can beat this.” Calla whispered to herself, the statement
lacking the conviction she hoped to put behind those words.

Gabriel turned to face her.
“You wanted to talk, so let’s talk.”

Grateful for the distraction,
Calla needed to compose her thoughts. This is what she wanted.
Focus on Gabriel, concentrate on his full
lips, the crease on his forehead when he smiles, those brilliant green eyes,
and that smile.
The craving started to disappear, and she started to feel
more like herself.
A question, I need a
question.

“
What can you do?” Calla asked.

“
Read and erase minds. My brothers and I can speak to each other telepathically.
I am omnilingual, and I can share my knowledge with anyone I choose. I am fast
and strong, and I can heal—well mostly, except I wasn’t able to heal you, and I
can fly.”

Calla thought about that
knowledge and tried to process it.
He can
speak any language. He can share his knowledge, and freaking fly. What the hell
is he doing with me? How can I keep someone who is god-like interested in me?
A new wave of panic started to roll through her. Beads of sweat gathered on her
palms, and her stomach began to rise up turning into an ocean on a stormy
night. Her lungs betrayed her, withholding air, and forgetting how to breathe.

Warmth covered her cheeks, as
large hands covered them, and lifted her head up. The movement was gentle, but
with her body rebelling against her, the motion jarred her.

“
Calla, focus on me,” Gabriel said.

She saw the glistening green
eyes that called to her, but she felt as though she was looking through them,
instead of into them. Her body felt detached, as if she were in a dream. She
needed to get back, but how? This was too much information. She had trouble
processing it all. Then warmth began to fill her. The pieces of her body began
to fall back into place. She could feel her toes, her legs, her hands, and the
warm lips resting on her forehead.

“
Is she okay?” Robert asked, as he stood behind Calla rubbing her
shoulders.

Calla nodded, breaking the
connection, breaking the spell. Reality came crashing down on her, and, not
wanting to get caught in the current of emotions and be swept away again, she
pulled away from Robert and Gabriel.

“
I’m all right.” Calla turned and faced Gabriel. “You’re a god.”

“
No, I have more abilities when I am in my angelic form, but while
I wear this human body I have limitations.”

“
Why would an angel want to be with me?” That question had been
weighing heavily on her mind, and popped out without censorship. She had wanted
to ask that question before, but she envisioned a watered-down version of it.
Calla couldn’t take it back. Now she would have to hear the answer, even if she
wasn’t ready for it. She braced herself for what she was sure to be bad news.

Gabriel brushed his
fingertips across her cheek. “I love you, Calla. You are my soul-mate, and we
belong together. My abilities or lack of abilities don’t matter when it comes
to you. I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you have
made me. I have been lonely … incomplete for far too long. You are my other
half, the half that fulfills me.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks,
and Gabriel wiped them away and pulled her close. “I’m broken, Gabriel, and you
deserve so much more. I’m sorry that you got stuck with me.”

Gabriel pulled away enough to
see her face. “I am not.”

Calla laughed through the
tears. “Now you sound like a normal guy.”

Gabriel’s expression changed,
his brows drawn and puzzlement filled his eyes. “I do not understand.”

“
I know, and it’s okay.” Calla stood on her tiptoes and kissed his
cheek. “You can be killed in this form then?”

“
Yes.”

She held his gaze. “Then
don’t die. I need you.”

Robert’s cell rang. Gabriel
and Calla sat back in the chairs, and Robert went to his desk and opened the
phone.