hellcat 05 - come hell or high water (11 page)

Only once did three vehicles block the way and Gabi was forced to apply the brakes hard as Alexander was in the only clear lane.  The rear spoiler air brake on the McLaren whooshed upward, steadying the car, keeping it grounded as the main brakes squealed, slowing the rocketing vehicle from warp speed.  Gabi revelled in the bite of the seat belt checking her forward momentum and then whooped as she swerved the car into the free lane behind the Ferrari. She tensed her muscles in response to the sudden G-force pressure against her chest as the pair of them roared away again, leaving the truck and two car drivers with open mouths and round eyes.

They were miles from the city limits when Gabi’s phone rang.  A quick glance at the screen showed Casey’s name.  She hadn’t heard from the Unholy Trio for weeks, they were her favourite bunch of Werewolves to party with. Noisy, naughty, feisty and fun to be around, Gabi realised she’d missed them.  She jabbed the answer button on her steering wheel, the grin clear in her voice as she said, “Hey, girl, it’s been too long.  What’s up?”  A picture popped into her mind of the beautiful Goth girl with a devilish grin and a thoroughly sweet nature.

“Gabi,” Casey replied, and in that one word Gabi knew something was terribly wrong. 

“What’s the matter?” she demanded, automatically lifting her foot from the accelerator and flashing her headlights at Alex to tell him the race was over. 

“It’s…” The girl’s voice cracked.  “It’s Adriana.”  The words turned the blood in her veins to ice.  Adriana was the least tough member of the Trio, a petite blonde with orphan Annie curls and cheerleader curves.  Gabi wasn’t sure she could cope with more bad news right now.  “Gabi, she’s missing, gone.  I think she’s been kidnapped.” 

Suddenly Gabi could breathe again.  Kidnapped she could handle.  She blew out the breath she’d been holding in and indicated to Alex to take the upcoming off-ramp; it was an overpass and the quickest way back to the City.

“Where are you now? I’m on my way,” Gabi said. 

She keyed the address into the car’s GPS, it wasn’t one that she was familiar with, and she was speared with a pang of guilt; she’d been a terrible friend the past several months.  Lord and Lady, she didn’t even know where her friends lived any more.  She called Alexander first, relaying the few details she knew, and suggested he return to the Estate.  It surprised her when he refused and told her he’d follow her as well as rustle up some protection.  Neither of them should’ve been out of the Estate without bodyguards, there was a fine line between daring and stupid, and if they went to Casey’s place without knowing exactly what was going on and without any backup, they’d be firmly on the ‘stupid’ side of that line. 

As they raced back towards the City, Gabi called Kyle, giving him the heads-up as well.  Gabi’s disquiet was heightened by the fact that she couldn’t just call Byron and expect him to cover their asses and send reinforcements.  Even while she hadn’t been a Hunter for the SMV, she’d still felt like there was some kind of safety net, someone who would care about the rest of them and make sure every supernatural threat was taken care of.  Now who did they have to turn to?

Kyle tried to reassure her. He knew the girls and he knew Werewolves; he wasn’t wrong when he suggested that maybe she’d just taken up with a guy and was holed up somewhere having fun. It wouldn’t be the first time one of the Trio had done that.  But something inside Gabi told her that wasn’t the case this time.  She had a sense deep inside her, call it gut instinct, call it intuition, call it a touch of clairvoyance, but Gabi was acutely aware of the warning bell that sometimes dinged in the back of her mind. It might be frustratingly vague, but it was very rarely wrong. 

Trish and Kyle beat her to the address; his van was in the street across from the apartment building.  It was on the far side of the City, in an area zoned for redevelopment.  Until the red tape was handled and the builders actually moved in, the run-down apartments were relatively cheap to rent, close to public transport and an easy commute to most places in the City.  Gabi wouldn’t be surprised to find out that more young Werewolves lived in the area. 

Though the vast majority of Werewolves in the City belonged to one of the five, no wait, with Kyle’s that made six, Packs, that didn’t mean they all lived together or near each other.  Once a Werewolf was over the worst of the initial shock of living with Lycanthropy, they were encouraged to reintegrate with society and their communities.  Albeit with more caution, and in many instances in a new community, rather than one that might notice the changes in them.  The City’s Alphas expected them to be productive members of the population and, together with people like Julius, Byron and the Magi Council, got them into jobs wherever possible.  The only time the whole Pack came together was at full moon and for special occasions during the year.

Previously pack members had been restricted to living within certain boundaries in the City, in order to keep the peace, but with the recent formation of the Werewolf Alliance, the living restrictions had been loosened, and some wolves had chosen to move to new areas and even mingle with wolves from other Packs. 

The Unholy Trio had been some of the first to move.  They had been firm friends for years, but Adriana was from the small Red Shadow Pack while Casey and Jade were from the larger Black River Pack, so they’d always been forced to live in different parts of the City.  The moment they heard they could live wherever they liked, they’d gone out to find a larger apartment that all three of them would fit into.  Gabi hadn’t been to the new place yet. 

The building was old and tired looking, but must have once been a showcase apartment block.  The elevator still worked, but hearing the loud clanking it made on its way down, Gabi, Alexander, Fergus and a Werewolf guard chose the stairs.  The smell in the stairwell was one step away from nauseating, but Gabi didn’t fancy being stuck in an elevator for hours. Fortunately for their noses, the Trio’s apartment was only on the third floor. 

The door to the apartment stood open and Gabi could already hear Jade’s upset voice as they cleared the stairwell.  She automatically sent out her supernatural ESP to check for danger; all she sensed was four Werewolves in the apartment and no other supernaturals except the ones surrounding her.  The apartment was long outdated, but spacious and clean.  Kyle was hugging a sobbing Jade and Trish was holding Casey’s hands as they all sat on a large, ugly, green sofa. 

Fergus and the Werewolf guard took up protective positions near the door as Gabi helped Kyle and Trish calm the two girls.  Alexander hung back, distraught women weren’t his forte.  A pot of filter coffee and a tin of biscuits later, Gabi and Kyle exchanged a look.  A look that said the girls weren’t overplaying Adriana’s disappearance; something had happened to her, something sinister. 

********************

Caspian had had plenty of practice slipping unnoticed inside the Estate that he did it without a second thought or concern.  He followed his usual routine of striding through the communal areas as though he was on some kind of mission.  As long as he appeared to be doing something, no one questioned him.  He just had to be careful to avoid those who knew him, like Fergus and Nathan.  Fergus was often near the manor house, and Caspian didn’t fancy having to explain his presence to the Scotsman.  He was under no illusions as far as Fergus was concerned; if his continued existence had been up to the Scotsman, he would now be a pile of ash.  But he had intimate knowledge of Vampire law, and Julius’s idea of morals, and he knew that as long as he did as he was told, he was safe.  Once his plans came to fruition, however, he would need to hide himself very well indeed.  Until such time as he was strong enough to challenge Julius.  Ah, he’d waited so long, and now victory was so close he could taste it.  Just one little piece of information, and then everything would fall into place.  He just knew it.  As long as he had enough patience.  Have patience, he had to remind himself constantly.  It would all work out if he was able to bide his time until exactly the right moment. 

He surreptitiously scanned the area.  Usually he would find a convenient Werewolf to control, the subservient ones that Julius employed as cleaning staff were almost too easy to control and use their eyes and ears to spy on those inside, but they were never able to get close enough to the important areas of the house.  He hadn’t been able to glean anything useful in his previous three visits.

Throwing caution to the wind, Caspian pulled up the collar of his coat to conceal his features as much as possible and took the back pathways, working his way towards the rear of the large building.  One side of the house was bordered by a thick copse of newly planted birch trees and he used these to hide his approach.  His best hope was to get close enough to be able to hear a conversation through a window.  An open window would be even better.  An idea hit him; if a Werewolf couldn’t be his ears and eyes, at least they could make themselves useful by opening a couple of windows.

He had one main objective, and he needed information to achieve that objective.  However, if he was ever presented with the opportunity to get close enough to that bitch of a Dhampir who should by all rights be his, he wouldn’t hesitate to strike this time.  He couldn’t be sure, but he thought that if he got even a little taste of her, maybe it would be enough.  Enough to push his power level up a notch, enough to break free of his cursed fealty to a Sire he abhorred.  And then…then he would find what he was looking for, and nothing would be able to stand against him. 

He chose a position near a window on the lower level, leaning against the slender trunk of a tree and settling in, as still as only a Vampire can be.  He began searching for the familiar core of energy that denoted a Werewolf, opening his senses, fine-tuning his spear of power.  So entirely consumed by his mission that he didn’t sense the presence of one of his own until a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

Caspian spun wildly, lashing out, only to have his fists gripped by stronger hands.

“Now, what have we here?” the other Vampire asked in a lazy drawl.  He was a grizzled-looking man, his lips set in a hard line and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.  Caspian recognised him as the recently Turned Vampire who had wormed his way into the inner sanctum in just a few short weeks.  He was so recently Turned he shouldn’t be out of the first stage yet.  But here he was, calm and in control and so silent he’d managed to get the jump on Caspian. 

Caspian pulled back from the newer Vampire, throwing every ounce of strength behind the movement, ripping away from the man’s grip, but only just.

“I’m doing a perimeter check,” he told the man with a snort of disdain.  “Nathan asked me to do him a favour.  What are you doing here?” 

The other man simply turned his mouth up in a facsimile of a smile.  His fangs were prominent.

“I’m just enjoying a walk in the fine evening air,” he said mildly.  “I’ll be sure to let Nathan know you are on duty.” 

Caspian forcibly stopped the tic in his neck that threatened to betray his charade.  Instead he too bared his fangs in the pretence of a smile. 

“Oh, please do,” he replied, “but please move along. This area is out of bounds to those not invited inside.”

The other Vampire’s smile was almost genuine this time.  “Of course,” he told Caspian, “after you.”  His gaze was knowing as he held out his hand courteously to indicate that Caspian should precede him from the trees.  Caspian had no choice but to stride from his place of concealment, knowing he needed to leave the Estate as quickly as possible before the new Vampire had time to alert others to his presence.

********************

“She was most likely taken from work,” Gabi told Patrick on her return to the Estate a couple of hours later. 

The Werewolf pursed his lips, his expression serious.  “The bar on Seventeenth?” he checked. 

“Yeah, that’s the one,” she confirmed.  “She clocked out just after three a.m., but didn’t make it to her car.  Jade found it the next day in the staff parking and checked it over, she has the spare key.  It was still in running condition, just barely, but there was no reason for her to have found alternative transport.  The bar manager confirmed she left alone, and she told him she was going straight home.  Her phone is off the grid, but Trish traced her last few calls and messages and there was nothing unusual in them, nothing that would arouse suspicion, no new contacts or unsolicited emails.  Nothing.  She’s just gone.”  Gabi’s fist slammed down onto the desk, not hard enough to break anything, just an outlet for her frustration. 

“We’ll find her,” Patrick said, absolute confidence in his voice.  “Whatever has happened, wherever she is, we’ll find her, I promise.”  He would do everything he could to find her friend, not just because he too was a Werewolf, and not just because she was Gabi’s friend, but because he was that kind of guy. 

“Kyle is informing the rest of the Alphas,” she told him. “They’ll divide up the city and begin a search. It will probably be best to liaise with him on where the best places would be for us to help out.  Trish is combing security-camera footage, but if you have any juniors with good eyes and keen attention to details, send them her way.  There’s a lot of video feed to go through.” 

Patrick’s eyes went distant and Gabi could see the wheels in his mind spinning already.  “I have two that will fit the bill perfectly,” he assured her after some thought.  “They’ll report to Trish in an hour.  I’ll coordinate the rest and make sure you, Trish, Alexander and Kyle are kept in the loop.  You’ll do the same for me?”

“Of course,” Gabi agreed.  “If nothing major comes up, we’ll meet up just before dawn to run through what has and hasn’t been covered and discuss a further plan of action.” 

Patrick nodded and left her alone in the office.

********************

Gabi hadn’t bitten her nails since she was twelve.  Nothing had stopped her before the age of twelve, not punishment, not her mother’s nagging, not bitter concoctions, nothing.  Until she’d decided for herself it was time to stop.  One day she looked down at them and decided it looked ugly, so she stopped that day.  Just like that.  Not that she wasn’t tempted on a regular basis; even nearly two decades later, the temptation still existed.  Maybe it was the childish version of an addiction, something that once you’d gained a taste for would remain with you for the rest of your life.  She’d already caught herself three times in the last hour.  As if being stuck at the Estate while one of her friends was missing wasn’t bad enough, she hadn’t heard from Julius yet and doubted she would for several more hours.  It was a long flight to the Princep Court.