Page 41 of The Huntress

“Gabriel de Winter. A pleasure to meet you, Mike.” He held out his hand toward her partner, looking as if he were a businessman greeting someone for the first time.

Barrows accepted the offered hand for a shake. He didn’t squeeze Gabe’s hand in a show of bravado. If he had, it would have cost him the bones in his fingers.

“What are your intentions?” Mike’s fatherly tone had her scrambling for a distraction.

She groaned at his question before rushing to intercede. “You don’t have to answer that, Gabe.”

Saying something was meant to delay the inquisition Mike would bore her to death with. He cared. He’d promised Dad. She got that, but now wasn’t the time. But like earlier, he had his piece to say, and say it he would.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Miss Sass,” Mike said, not looking away from Gabriel, waiting for his response.

“She’s mine for eternity,” Gabe said.

Barrows jerked as if punched. “You plan on converting her?”

“Eventually.” Gabe buried his hand in his pocket, tugging the waistband down, drawing her focus to the taut, caramel skin peeking out. “In the most painless way possible.”

“Shit.” Barrows glanced between Gabe and Callie with horrified awe contorting his features. “I can’t save you from this, my girl.”

“Save me?” She folded her arms across her chest against the cool night air. “Not all monsters hiding in the dark are bad.”

“Monster?” Gabe asked with his lips twitching.

“I’m human, remember.” She grinned.

“You’re not human,” he said, arching her brows upward in surprise.

“I’m not?” she asked, then gave a dismissive shrug. “Gramps said we were fey, but we never believed him.”

“You’re not fey, either.” He tightened his arm, looping her shoulders and pinning her to him.

She liked the comforting weight of it, despite not being used to open affection.

“Crap, this is bad. I’m not beast, am I?” She squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for his response.

Not that beasts were bad. Just that the idea of an animal trapped inside her was hard to wrap her head around.

“Beast?” Gabe asked.

“Shifter.”

It took forever for him to shake his head.

“Zombie?”

She grinned, and he chuckled in the same way Mike laughed at her silliness. “Alien? What else is there?”

“Legend.” Gabe brushed his lips across her temple and tingled her skin. “You’re legend, Callie.”

“That doesn’t sound bad. My sass islegendary,” she said, spotting Mike’s I-told-you-so expression,not understanding what he meant and not wanting to know.

Being a legend didn’t sound good—like some sort of destiny awaited her.

“Agreed,” Barrows said. “As long as you can keep her safe, then I’m happy to have you guard her on her time off, Gabe.”

“Keep her safe from herself? Is that even possible?” Gabe grinned, his teeth flashing bright against his shadowed face.

“Hey! I’m right here.” She curled her lip in a pout.

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