Gabriel’s heart dropped. She had a part of his soul. “What’s the big worry?” His panic growing, he grabbed for Justin, shook him hard. Justin closed his hands around Gabriel’s forearms with a grip like iron. “Is she dying? She’s really dying, isn’t she? Tell me.” If she’s dying, then he was as good as dead, too.
A gray light flared from Justin’s hands to Gabriel’s arms. Gabriel jerked from the shock, but dug in his fingers as desperation and need spread through him. “Your faerie jolts aren’t going to stop me. Tell me where she is.” Gabriel backed his brother up against the desk. His hands moved to Justin’s throat before sanity prevailed and he went for the collarbone instead.
Justin went still beneath his hands. “Let me go, Gabriel. This isn’t going to solve anything.”
“You want me to beat the location out of you?” Gabriel’s demon stretched inside him. The need to change throbbed through his body. If he could just get to Rose, he’d be fine. He just needed to get to her. He shook Justin again. “Tell me. Now.”
Maggie cried out. “Gabriel, please. There's a tattoo on Rose that's—well, we can't figure out what it is. Let Justin go. Come here, and I’ll show you the photos." Maggie hovered. “Please let Justin go. Don’t make me use magic on you.”
“It’s not you, Gabriel. It’s the demon. You need Rose, don’t you? You need to touch your soul. To soothe the demon.”
Justin’s words penetrated the green haze over Gabriel’s vision. He released his brother, aghast at what he’d done. “You’re right. I need Rose. And I've seen the spiral. It's not a tattoo," Gabriel said. "It's a demon spiral." He swung away from Justin and moved to the window.
"What the hell is a demon spiral?" Kellan’s voice came to him as he pressed his hot forehead to the cooler glass. “How do you even know about demon spirals?”
"I’ve seen it before. Once. It's a containment. Think of it as a way for a demon to possess a person."
"The girl you killed. She had one of these things, too?" Justin’s voice had taken on a thread of sympathy.
"Marianne. Yeah."
"That sucks," remarked Kellan.
"Holy hell." Justin sounded tired.
"Since Rose is a Soul Chalice, her opposite is a Soul Stealer." Maggie recited the facts as though she were reading a grocery list. "But Doc Cavanaugh wasn't sure about the demon, or what role it's playing."
Gabriel closed his eyes against despair. "The demon is the same one who possessed Marianne. And Satine is a Soul Stealer. Now that just makes my day." Nothing in his life made any sense. To have spent ten years away, and yet come back to the very thing he ran from?
"Do you think the demon's stalking you?"
"I think it's a pretty large coincidence, that demon on that woman." Gabriel turned to face them. "Just my luck. Justin, please. Tell me where she is."
"She’s in a private hospital in West L.A. She had a blood transfusion and is getting saline because she’s dehydrated. You need to know that while she’s fine now, according to the doc, the more she uses her borrowed demon powers, the more addicted she could get to them."
Which would be bad. Gabriel shook. Need for Rose pulsed through him. Was it more than just keeping his demon quiet? "I honestly thought I was doing the right thing by leaving." He looked toward Kellan and saw a wordless understanding there. “But leaving, running away didn’t give me what I wanted or needed,” he said. The realization broke over him. “I left the family for the same reasons. I left to keep you safe, and because I was ashamed.”
“It’s time to get over it, Gabriel. Let it go.”
Justin sighed. “Before I take you to her, let's put it together. What have we got?"
"We've got young Rose holding a part of Gabriel’s soul and turning into a fire demon, which may kill her even as her Soul Chalice powers come online. And Vlad, who controls Satine,” Kellan mused.
Gabriel rubbed his neck, anxious to get moving. “Then there's Satine, the Soul Stealer who has the rest of my soul and who wants me on her team, forever more.”
“We’ve got you, Gabriel, who has no soul and whose demon is struggling to break free. We need to get you back to Rose. And we have a vamp nest that needs to be wiped clean." Justin raised his eyebrows when Gabriel frowned. “Did I forget something?”
"Yeah. I found out last night that Rose and Satine are cousins. Five years apart. Rose was there the night a vampire took a willing Satine. I guess I'm the weakest link." As usual.
"And on the positive side, we've got Kellan, Justin, Gabriel and myself." Maggie looked at the men. "Plus, Rose is a Soul Chalice and she's with us. There's some research to do there. Gentlemen, it sounds like there's a job for everyone."
"Wipe out Twisted." Gabriel looked from brother to cousin, searching for their agreement. "Take out Vlad and then Satine. Great. Can we go see Rose now, please?"
Another voice came from the doorway. "You can take out the club. Leave Satine to me."
As one, they turned to look at Rose who stood, pale but determined, swaying in the doorway. Gabriel’s stomach dropped even as his hands itched to touch her.
“I’m fine,” Rose said in response to the clamor. She held out her hand to Gabriel, grabbed on and let him help her to a chair. Rose sighed in relief. It had felt like forever since he’d touched her. She kept her hand glued to his.
"You look terrible," Maggie said. “Remind me to take you clothes shopping.”
Rose brushed at the black jeans and gray sweatshirt. “Hey, I’m lucky I’m not in a hospital gown.”
Justin leaned over to take her free hand and squeezed it gently. "We were going to come get you when you woke up. Why didn't you wait?"
Rose leaned back with a sigh. "Nice to see you, too." She turned to Kellan. "Who're you?"
"Kellan Caine, cousin. At your service."
She smiled. "Good to meet you."
"You had us all scared," Justin said.
"Yeah, well. Apparently I'm good at that." Intensely aware of Gabriel at her side, she tugged on his hand. “Sit down, would you? Then fill me in. It sounded like I interrupted a war council.” She looked at the circle of concerned faces, feeling at peace for the first time since she woke up. “It’s really good to be here. What’s been going on?”
“Aside from you scaring everyone?” Gabriel squeezed her hand. “Just the typical. I went back to the nightclub, found Kellan sniffing around. Oh, and we let the pregnant werewolf go.”
Warmth spread through her. “You remembered? Thank you. You just made my day.” Rose couldn’t contain her joy and she beamed at him. She’d been cold in the hospital, but here warmth filled her and her smile grew wide. “Did you get the other werewolves out?”
“It’s in the plan,” assured Gabriel.
“So what is the plan?”
"Fire." Kellan spoke up then. "Simple. A couple firebombs set during the day, and whoomph! No more building, no more vampires, you're done."
"Not exactly," said Gabriel. "You know they've got werewolves. They'll pick up the scent of a bomb before you have it within fifty yards of the place. And even if they are on our side, they wouldn't hesitate to save themselves and make a scene."
Rose shuddered. No one could want to be there. No were animal, at any rate. "We need to free the other weres before we do any sort of bombing. I can’t believe the weres are working for the vamps. The trick will be to get it done without getting caught.”
Kellan straddled a chair and leaned forward against the back. "There's any number of ways. One, we take out the vamps and the demons, let the weres go, and blow up the building. Two, we let the weres go and blow up the building. I’m thinking either way—blow up the building." Kellan looked from one to another in the small office, grinning wickedly. "What?"
Rose took a quick survey and smiled at Kellan. “Maggie and I are shocked, Justin is working the angles, and Gabriel isn’t sure what to make of you.”
"Good read, Rose.” Gabriel turned from her to Kellan. “A bit bomb happy, aren't we?" He cocked his head as he eyed his cousin.
Kellan bared his teeth in something resembling a grin. "The desert is big, my friend. Empty. I have learned a lot out there."
"It's something to consider." Justin looked around at everyone. "I'll visit the Nine Hells, see what's up. It's usually demon territory, but I should be able to find out where the weres' normal watering hole is. Hopefully Daniel Roush will be feeling generous. Willing to help."
Gabriel’s hand jerked in hers. She turned to look at him, noticed his eyes had turned molten silver. He grinned in happy anticipation. "I’ve never been to the Nine Hells. Legally."
"Fill me in. The Nine Hells?" Maggie asked.
"A bar in Venice Beach." Gabriel shrugged. "It's part biker bar, part demon bar. It’s the kind of place where people like us tend to gather."
Gabriel had never been to a bar with his brothers. Astonished at the insight, Rose tightened her hand on his. He’d been robbed of so much. No wonder eagerness practically poured out of him. “Maybe we can all go? It sounds like the perfect place to plan.” Rose sent a questioning glance to Maggie who shrugged back.
"They've got great beer on tap, and a pool room in the back. Balcony out back, too, with a nice view of the ocean. Typical fried bar food, good for what it is," added Justin. "Not many women—scratch that. Not many proper, well-groomed women go there. And they tend to stand out when they do," he added, with a meaningful look at Rose.
"All three of us will go together," said Kellan. He cracked his knuckles thoughtfully, one at a time. "We need to make up for lost time, boys."
“Maggie and I could dress down,” Rose offered.
All three men turned toward her. “No.”
“I can’t risk you,” Gabriel added, before he turned back to the other two.
Rose frowned. How could she keep Gabriel with her? How could she keep him from going to the bar?
“I guess Rose and I will do research on the spiral tattoo and the Soul Chalice while you guys are thumping your chests and grunting over beer. There's got to be something about that spiral somewhere," Maggie added.
“While you do that,” Justin said, “Gabriel and Kel can open up the old homestead. It’s a place to stay,” he added when they groaned.
Kel and Gabriel shared a look. “Maybe so, but we’re not doing all the gardening around the place,” Gabriel said.
“I’ll help when I can. So will Gregor.”
“Where is he, anyway?”
“Taking a break. His best friend, Tara, died a couple months ago.” Justin moved restlessly in his chair. “He needed to get away. And no, I’m not calling him on this. We can handle it.”
“If you say so,” Kellan said.
“So, we open the homestead up. We’re agreed?" said Gabriel. He looked to Kellan.
“Agreed.”
"I appreciate it.” He turned to Rose. “Take a short walk with me? Just down to the conference room and back.” He held out a hand.
Rose struggled to keep her grin from taking over her face as she placed her hand in his. “Absolutely I’m up for a walk.” She stood and smiled at everyone. “We’ll be right back.” So much had changed for the better in the last twenty-four hours. It felt like a miracle. Rose left the office with Gabriel in happy anticipation.
* * *
He didn’t know where to start, so he didn’t say anything on the walk down the hallway to the conference room. Rose didn’t speak, either, which told him she was just as uncomfortable with their physical closeness.
Her hand fit his. She didn’t have dainty hands. She had worker hands, big hands that fit his perfectly. He frowned over that as they settled at the conference table, side by side.