Page 44 of The Huntress

He’d guard her from here, and should she awaken, for whatever reason, he could shroud himself. Was this crossing a boundary, intruding on her personal space? Yes, without a doubt, but he couldn’t see an alternative short of using witchcraft.

He’d have to consult with someone since his past attempts at charms had backfired. This was the safer option, and sleepless days lay ahead for him.

He kept his gaze on her, finding her soft breathing and her steady heartbeat as she slept peaceful.

A whisper of sound whipped his attention to the balcony. He vaulted to his feet, blurring as he ran. Launching with his arm extended, he caught the vamp by the neck and leaped through the opened sliding door.

“Which part of the Rite did you not understand?” Fury strangled his throat and his fangs extended, dimpling his bottom lip. He dug his nails into the man’s throat, fighting his instincts to kill.

The male vamp wheezed-laughed, wrapping his fingers around the grip Gabriel had on his throat. “My part is done.”

He snapped the man’s neck and released him to tumble hundreds of feet to the road below. Casting a glance at the sprawled body, he shot back, bursting through the door and into her room to find a female vamp leaning over Callie.

He yanked her away, tightening his hold on her shirt so she wouldn’t slam into the wall. He spun the vamp, pinning her to his chest with a forearm around her throat. “I’m tempted to kill you, and rid our stronghold of your stupidity.” He kept his voice below a whisper, at a level only vampires could hear.

Whispering an incantation, one of the few he knew well, prevented her from misting. He extended his nails until they were as sharp as daggers. Muttering a command, they glowed orange.

He sliced her chest. She screamed, but he muffled it with a hand across her mouth. Hot blood dampened her T-shirt and saturated his senses with the bitter aroma.

“Find Leo and ask him to heal you from mymelios, or you will scar.”

She gasped, writhing within his arms. He released her, and she staggered.

Tension trembled his body and tightened every muscle. “Return here and Iwillkill you, weakling.”

Gabriel trailed her to the sliding door, watching as she vaulted down to her accomplice. He closed the door and settled into the leather chair. He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling as he calmed his ragged breathing. It had been a long time since he’d battled and enjoyed the adrenaline spicing his blood

After the fourth attempt, he risked it and wove an incantation at her doors and windows. If it backfired, anything could happen at any time. He hoped they weren’t here when it did.

Callie stretched, sighing at how well she’d slept. With Val no longer at death’s door, the constant worry had evaporated. She should’ve lost sleep over her odd day and looming decision for or against Gabe, but she hadn’t.

A shimmer, nothing defined, caught her attention—but she dismissed it as sleep in her eyes. Her instincts weren’t warning her and besides, she didn’t want to deal with anything before coffee.

Throwing her feet off the bed, she padded naked to the kitchen. She shivered, as a cool breeze disturbed the air around her. Pausing in a pool of sunlight, she allowed its warmth to engulf her. Singing under her breath and shaking her hips, she started a pot of coffee.

In passing, she ran her fingers over the back of Dad’s chair as if to say morning, before disappearing into her bathroom. Stepping under the hot spray, thoughts of the day ahead merged with her open case on Carter. Not wanting her lack of progress to dampen her mood, she hurried through her ablutions.

With towels wrapped around her body and hair, she poured a coffee, then curled into the chair.

A familiar cologne teased her nostrils, like Gabe was here with her. She buried her nose in the leather and inhaled, then jerked back. Why did her chair smell like him?

I hope they have you in heaven.His words replayed in her mind. She sighed, sinking deeper into the leather.

As compliments went, it was one of the best she’d heard. Most men tossed out how they’d love for her to handcuff them or asked if she was as good in bed as she was with her gun. Those men were hardened or petty criminals. Not dating material.

She shifted her backside, loving how her body hummed when she thought of Gabe. Shaking her head, she hoped it would dispel the dazzling effect he had on her. This attraction made no sense, and her body’s reactions were silly.

Her smartwatch buzzed and she smiled at Mike’s message. He was on his way to pick her up and had ordered new uniforms for her. The package would arrive later that day.

Donning jeans, a T-shirt, boots, and a corduroy jacket, she braided her hair, and stashed as much of her arsenal on her person as her outfit would allow. Clambering down the stairs two at a time, she left her apartment building.

A shimmer in her peripheral vision tightened her hold on the balustrade. She would almost say she wasn’t alone.

“Hello?” She stared at the corner of the landing, holding her breath even as she pulled a poison-tipped blade from her boot.

The hairs on the back of her neck rippled, and she smothered a shiver.Never let them know you feel, you bleed, and you’re alone.Dad’s words had her snorting and sheathing her dagger in her boot.

“Are you coming?” Mike peered up the stairwell. “I’m double parked, and if I get a ticket, it’s coming out of your pay.”

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