The Banshee's Desire (2 page)

"What are you looking at?" He asked Jacqueline as he walked past.

She didn't reply, knowing that doing so would only be an invitation to a battle of words.

"I see Gabe still has a stick up his ass," Angela commented, looking after him. There was a wistfulness on her face Jacqueline didn't like. She'd seen it before and knew what it meant: Angela was crushing on Toby's son. "Too bad it's such a fine ass."

"Down girl," Jacqueline said. "You don't want any of that. Gabe is just a twenty year old kid who doesn't understand the ways of the world very well."

"How could he? I mean, if I was raised in a family of morticians who never let me experience any fun in life, I might be a little off kilter, too."

You have no idea, Jacqueline thought.

"Still, he's kind of young for you. I mean, you are almost forty," Jacqueline pointed out.

"No, I 'm not! That's still…years away."

"He's twenty, Angela. It would be like training a puppy or something."

"A cute puppy with a nice ass."

"Don't go there."

"Well what about you then? Toby is older than you by several years, right? He would have been about Gabe's age when he had him." Angela gave her a speculative look. "Right?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Toby was around eighteen when he and Gabe's mother got together," Jacqueline said. "They were too young to know what they were doing."

That wasn't quite true. But it was a good enough explanation for Angela. She didn't need to know about the laws of wizards and how the family lines were not allowed to mix.

"You never let me have any fun," Angela teased. "Fine. I guess I'll just have to be content with looking at the puppy."

Jacqueline smiled, but she wasn't sure Angela would be able to keep the promise. She knew her friend too well. When Angela saw something she wanted, she went after it. Gabe had better watch out.

A commotion at the bar got their attention.

The man marked for death slumped forward, and as Jacqueline watched, the darkness surrounding him grew more solid. She felt drawn to him, the urge to sing welling inside as it always did now when a soul was lost. Unable to help herself, she moved towards the bar.

Toby and Gabe were both bending over the man who appeared to be choking. Toby glanced at Jacqueline, seeing something on her face that alarmed him.

It was her eyes. Had to be. They turned a deep, unnatural green when her banshee nature went into action.

Gabe glanced at her and then back at the man who was trying to cough up whatever he'd swallowed. Wrapping his arms around the choker, he administered the Heimlich maneuver. With a whoosh of air, a peanut sailed out of the man's mouth and onto the bar.

The black matter around him dissolved, though oddly, there were gray shadows lingering nearby. They almost appeared to have form. Human form.

What was that about? Some new power she had yet to discover?

Before she could think about it, irritation at Gabe welled inside her, and Jacqueline contemplated his soul, wondering if she could just yank it right out of him. After all, he'd cheated her of something she'd really wanted just now. How dare he!

Besides, a little voice whispered in her ear, it would be a justified action. He did kill your husband, Eric.

No!

She forced herself to step back, a wave of shame washing over her.

It was one thing to claim a soul that was on its way out and sing it to the other side, but Gabe…well, what she'd been thinking had not been part of the normal banshee job description. Taking a soul just because you could was never a good thing. She didn't need to go to Banshee Training 101 to know that.

Jacqueline had accepted the part Gabe played in Eric's death. She didn't like him because of it--maybe she never would-- but she could see that the circumstances were…extenuating. She opted to try and put her anger over it aside.

But it was tough to see that smug young boy and know what he'd done.

There were moments…where…the anger rose up.

"Jacqueline, you okay?" Toby's voice, gruff and rumbling, soothed her in a way that no one else's did. It brought her back to the present where she felt more in control of her actions. "Everything is alright now."

"Yes. I just came to see if I could help."

"We're fine." Gabe turned to her, his tone short and clipped. He gave her a hard look. "Your…skills…aren't needed here."

The man who'd choked turned to Gabe and offered his hand.

"Thanks, man. You saved my life." He flashed them all a bright smile, but it couldn't disguise the fact that he was beyond tipsy and heading for totally wasted. His bloodshot eyes twitched, darting back and forth between them, and making Jacqueline think he might be high on more than just beer. He swayed a little on the bar stool, almost falling off. "I'm Jacob Hill."

"You okay?" Gabe asked, the perpetual frown he always wore deepening.

"I just got carried away watching the game." Jacob pointed to the screen above the bar where a basketball game was in progress. "I'm a San Antonio Spurs fan."

"But the Spurs aren't playing."

"I know. That's why I got pissed off and choked on the peanut." Jacob looked over at Jacqueline. His expression turned sly as he studied the pretty young woman. "Wow, you have amazing eyes. They're so green. Beautiful. You wanna come have a drink with me? You could bring your friend. I saw the two of you earlier. I bet we could have us a real good time."

Normally her eyes were brown. Nothing extraordinary. She figured there must still be traces of banshee green in them.

And as for introducing this guy to Angela--no way! He may have escaped the call of Death but there was something about him…something that just didn't sit right with Jacqueline. Sweat dotted his forehead even though Toby kept the bar a chilly sixty nine degrees, and she didn't like the way he looked at her, as if she were a piece of meat he'd like to tear apart.

"Thanks for the offer, but I have other plans." She turned to Toby. "Are we getting together later?"

"Definitely." His grin warmed Jacqueline all the way to her toes. "Looking forward to it."

"Good." She tilted her head to the side. "I've got big plans for you."

"Oh really?"

"Yep. Did a little shopping today. Bought a new nightgown and thought I'd model it for you."

Toby's eyes sparkled with appreciation.

"See you at closing time then," he said, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Somebody is going to get lucky." Jacob slurred the words a little and whistled low. "Nice."

Gabe just grunted, a sure sign of his disapproval.

Jacqueline moved away, but when she looked back, her heart leapt with excitement. The black cloud of death was back. It surrounded Jacob Hill once again.

And the shadows she'd seen earlier--they danced around the man, frantic and hungry for attention. She didn't know what they were. None of the souls she'd reaped had anything like that attached to them.

No matter.

"You only delayed the inevitable, Gabe," she whispered.

A delicious chill of anticipation ran through her.

****

Kids and girlfriends could be a real pain in the ass, Toby decided.

Especially when they didn't get along.

He couldn't really blame Jacqueline for holding a grudge. Having to face your husband's murderer every day had to be tough. And choosing not to do anything about it? Hell, Toby didn't know if he would have been as strong.

But what really bugged him was that he knew she wasn't telling him everything. It was obvious that her powers were growing and she'd been tense lately, irritated even. Her temper would spark to life too easily.

She was hiding something.

How were they supposed to have a relationship if they kept secrets?

He glanced over at his son, Gabe, who shoved bottles of beer deep into the ice bin. Sullen, depressed, and generally a smart ass, Gabe was a complete mystery to him. Yet, the kid kept hanging around the bar, wanting to help out, but not wanting to admit he needed help.

Toby shook his head, frustrated. He sometimes felt like he was alone in the sea, fighting desperately not to drown. When had life gotten so complicated?

Probably the moment the Brotherhood had asked him to keep an eye on Jacqueline Huston and make sure that her banshee urges didn't get out of control. That had been over a year ago, and for a while, everything had been fine. He was content to watch from a distance, but as the anniversary of her husband's death had dawned, everything changed. Suddenly he found himself falling deeply in love with a woman who was completely in the dark about the supernatural world.

Her husband--the late Eric Huston--had been a guardian wizard. Toby didn't know if it was coincidence or not that Eric had happened to marry a woman with the banshee gene, but whatever the case, Eric had loved Jacqueline.

He'd given his life for her.

And therein lay the problem.

While engaged in a battle between two wizards, Eric had dove in front of an energy ball aimed at Jacqueline. As luck would have it, Jacqueline was just grazed by the energy. However, it was enough to stop her heart.

Using all his powers, Eric saved her.

But doing so had come with a price.

Eric died and Jacqueline's banshee blood boiled to life. The energy he used to bring her back from the brink of death activated her dormant banshee gene, a gene that would have turned her into a true banshee had she stayed dead.

The Brotherhood had not been pleased at this new half breed wandering around. But they had preferred to sit back and play the wait-and-see game. Jacqueline might have proved useful to them. That's where Toby came in. His job was to watch her and intervene when necessary.

That day had come thanks to his son Gabe and Gabe's uncle, Derek Spark.

Toby watched Gabe out of the corner of his eye. He worried about the relationship between his son and Jacqueline. They never seemed to have too much to say.

Then again, what do you say to the woman whose husband you killed?

Gabe was just lucky Jacqueline had opted to let the matter go, saying he was obviously under the influence of his controlling uncle. She could have demanded justice, could have even turned Gabe over to the Brotherhood herself, but Jacqueline had done none of those things.

She'd shown mercy.

It was that part of her humanity that would keep her grounded. Or at least, Toby hoped so. If only she would open up, talk to him about her thoughts. But while their days were filled with gentle teasing and jokes and their nights steamy and sultry, the subject of her powers was a touchy subject.

And as for the Brotherhood--Toby couldn't begin to imagine what their plans were now. His few contacts in the council were keeping quiet, but he knew enough about the ways of the Brotherhood to figure they would try to get retribution for Derek's death.

That meant trouble was coming for Gabe.

Maybe even death.

Toby couldn't allow that. The memory of his doomed Gabriella was enough to make him vow to protect his son.

"Hey, bartender!"

Toby winced at the call. He hated to be summoned like that. All of his regulars knew better. He turned to look at Jacob Hill, the drunk who'd just choked on a peanut and tried to hit on Jacqueline.

"Remember me?" Jacob waved a twenty dollar bill in the air. "I'm still waiting for another beer."

Toby grabbed a cold bottle from the ice tub and sat it in front of the man.

"Mr. Hill, you should have a care with how you shovel those peanuts into your mouth," Toby advised. "I don't like people dying in my bar because of stupidity."

"I really don't like the idea of dying in a bar for any reason." Jacob's eyes were bloodshot from the five beers he'd consumed prior to the one Toby had just given him. "Especially this one."

"You got a problem with my bar?"

"No, no." Jacob tapped his beer on the counter causing white foam to rise up and spill over the lip of the bottle. "It's just I know a little something about death and the work place. When people die there, it tends to give you a bad rep. Trust me. I know all about that."

"Did you own a business where someone died?"

"Yep. You've probably heard of me. I made all the local papers." Jacob sipped his beer, glanced around to make sure no one could over hear their conversation, and then leaned in close. "I'm actually Jacob Fortensky."

Toby narrowed his eyes, trying to remember why the name rang a bell.

"Yeah. I know what you're thinking. I'm the guy who got those two hookers killed in his own law office, right? The cops are trying to say I did it." Jacob wiped at his nose. "But I didn't kill nobody. I was framed."

Now the details came flooding back. There'd been a lot of talk in the bar about the case when it first happened a month ago. Everybody felt Jacob Fortensky was a creep lawyer who'd gone too far and finally got caught.