Read Online There'll be Hell to Pay (Hellcat Series Book 6) by Sharon Hannaford - Free Book Online
Authors: Sharon Hannaford
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with, and she immediately accepted the
pets as part of the household. Razor even appeared to like
her.
Kyle strode
into the room moments later, his expression grim. He nodded curtly
to the Vampires and ran a quick, assessing eye over Gabi. The fact
that he didn’t say anything to her meant she was either holding up
better than he expected, or he was treating her like a rabid
tiger.
“ Do you have any idea what or who we’re dealing with?” he asked
of Julius instead, not wasting time with greetings.
“ There are several possibilities,” Julius replied. “Each as
likely as the next.”
“ All tied to Gabi being a Dhampir?” Kyle posed the question,
but his tone implied it was rhetoric.
“ Not all.” Julius shook his head. “Aside from those who want
the knowledge of Dhampir creation or control of Gabi herself, we
can’t forget that SID is responsible for the execution of several
Master Vampires. Any of their underlings could be out for
revenge.”
CHAPTER
4
“ Well, we need something to go on, somewhere to focus.” Kyle’s
voice was uncharacteristically impatient. He was taking Gabi’s
mom’s abduction personally. “We could start with the cases SID has
closed or is working on. How much can you discuss?”
Gabi paused in
her pacing and looked at Julius. Their eyes locked, both asking the
other the question. They’d never been officially told to keep
details of the cases confidential; keeping the secrets of Vampires
as well as the Princeps was tacit and non-negotiable, details of
their cases on the other hand… Well, there was no precedent for
that.
“ I’ll take the rap,” Gabi said, “if they have a problem with
it.”
Julius’s gaze
turned flat and annoyance tainted the link between them. He didn’t
bother to respond, but his feelings were clear. Still, if it ever
came back to bite them, Gabi would protect Julius, Alexander and
Fergus. She would tell the Princeps it had been her decision, and
Faruq, their Vampire lie detector, would confirm the honesty of her
statement.
“ They’ll never know.” Alexander broke the tense silence in the
room. “No one will repeat anything said here. It will get no
further than this room and the five of us.” The atmosphere in the
room began to thicken, and goosebumps prickled up Gabi’s arms as
Julius gathered his power to issue an unspoken command. She could
feel the power radiate outward and the way it sought out each of
the Clan members on the Estate. No one would dare come close enough
to overhear them now.
Julius not only
held the physical power of life and final death over each of his
Clan members, but had the mental ability to control each of them if
he chose. Throw in the Magi abilities of both an Air-bender and a
Fire-bender and you got the kind of package very few beings on the
planet would trifle with. But Julius never acted like he had that
kind of power and rarely used his gifts unnecessarily. Gabi
regularly thanked every god listening that they hadn’t bestowed
those gifts on someone like Caspian.
Julius reached
out towards Gabi, his palm up, and waited patiently for her to put
her hand in his. When she capitulated, he pulled her close to the
cool strength of his body. It was the first time she’d allowed him
to touch her in comfort. The unspoken reassurance and understanding
undid her, as she’d known it would. Tears pricked the back of her
eyes and her throat felt thick. He kissed the top of her head
before drawing her down onto a sofa with him. He kept her close,
his arms wrapped around her, outwardly shielding her emotional
meltdown. There was no way to truly keep the others from witnessing
her moment of weakness. Razor jumped up on the other side of her,
purring quietly as he too pressed close to her. For a brief moment
she experienced a crushing need to lash out at Julius for making
her vulnerable in front of them, but she firmly clamped it down,
reminding herself that she trusted each one of them as much as she
trusted
pets as part of the household. Razor even appeared to like
her.
Kyle strode
into the room moments later, his expression grim. He nodded curtly
to the Vampires and ran a quick, assessing eye over Gabi. The fact
that he didn’t say anything to her meant she was either holding up
better than he expected, or he was treating her like a rabid
tiger.
“ Do you have any idea what or who we’re dealing with?” he asked
of Julius instead, not wasting time with greetings.
“ There are several possibilities,” Julius replied. “Each as
likely as the next.”
“ All tied to Gabi being a Dhampir?” Kyle posed the question,
but his tone implied it was rhetoric.
“ Not all.” Julius shook his head. “Aside from those who want
the knowledge of Dhampir creation or control of Gabi herself, we
can’t forget that SID is responsible for the execution of several
Master Vampires. Any of their underlings could be out for
revenge.”
CHAPTER
4
“ Well, we need something to go on, somewhere to focus.” Kyle’s
voice was uncharacteristically impatient. He was taking Gabi’s
mom’s abduction personally. “We could start with the cases SID has
closed or is working on. How much can you discuss?”
Gabi paused in
her pacing and looked at Julius. Their eyes locked, both asking the
other the question. They’d never been officially told to keep
details of the cases confidential; keeping the secrets of Vampires
as well as the Princeps was tacit and non-negotiable, details of
their cases on the other hand… Well, there was no precedent for
that.
“ I’ll take the rap,” Gabi said, “if they have a problem with
it.”
Julius’s gaze
turned flat and annoyance tainted the link between them. He didn’t
bother to respond, but his feelings were clear. Still, if it ever
came back to bite them, Gabi would protect Julius, Alexander and
Fergus. She would tell the Princeps it had been her decision, and
Faruq, their Vampire lie detector, would confirm the honesty of her
statement.
“ They’ll never know.” Alexander broke the tense silence in the
room. “No one will repeat anything said here. It will get no
further than this room and the five of us.” The atmosphere in the
room began to thicken, and goosebumps prickled up Gabi’s arms as
Julius gathered his power to issue an unspoken command. She could
feel the power radiate outward and the way it sought out each of
the Clan members on the Estate. No one would dare come close enough
to overhear them now.
Julius not only
held the physical power of life and final death over each of his
Clan members, but had the mental ability to control each of them if
he chose. Throw in the Magi abilities of both an Air-bender and a
Fire-bender and you got the kind of package very few beings on the
planet would trifle with. But Julius never acted like he had that
kind of power and rarely used his gifts unnecessarily. Gabi
regularly thanked every god listening that they hadn’t bestowed
those gifts on someone like Caspian.
Julius reached
out towards Gabi, his palm up, and waited patiently for her to put
her hand in his. When she capitulated, he pulled her close to the
cool strength of his body. It was the first time she’d allowed him
to touch her in comfort. The unspoken reassurance and understanding
undid her, as she’d known it would. Tears pricked the back of her
eyes and her throat felt thick. He kissed the top of her head
before drawing her down onto a sofa with him. He kept her close,
his arms wrapped around her, outwardly shielding her emotional
meltdown. There was no way to truly keep the others from witnessing
her moment of weakness. Razor jumped up on the other side of her,
purring quietly as he too pressed close to her. For a brief moment
she experienced a crushing need to lash out at Julius for making
her vulnerable in front of them, but she firmly clamped it down,
reminding herself that she trusted each one of them as much as she
trusted
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