Page 96 of The Huntress

Both men stepped back on tentative heels. Dimitri held his blade out, ready to strike the killing blow. Gabriel stared at Stavros, who lay immobile, fear sliding into his eyes. He’d spared him because of Abigail, and now he wouldn’t spare him because of Callie. The way Dimitri gripped his sword told Gabriel who needed to end this the most.

“The plan was brilliant,” Stavros said, sweat glistening on his body as he fought the rune. “One I toyed with for decades, Gabriel. A way to end our era of weakness, hiding from the humans and bowing to the shifters.”

“Involving Callie made it personal for us both. I don’t want to hear your excuses, your reasons. It makes no difference to your fate.” Gabriel ran a hand over his face, needing to be with Callie and not here, hating losing more time to a pointless vendetta. “None of what you’ve done would have pleased Abigail.”

“What the hell do you know?” Spittle flew as Stavros’s face mottled. “She was my sister. My only family.”

“Wekilled her. I’m tired of rehashing this. I don’t live in the past anymore, and I longed for you to be free of it all.” Gabriel looked to the sky, not taking a second to appreciate its vibrancy but needing its magnitude for clarity. “I am over this, Stavros. You no longer influence my thoughts nor summon any form of guilt. You don’t exist. Your death isn’t on my conscience, and whether this would displease Abigail, I don’t give a shit.” He tapped Dimitri on the shoulder. “He’s all yours,brat.”

“Wait!” Stavros’s shoulders straightened, his ancient power testing the strength of the rune. “Don’t you want to know what Carter has planned for your precious Callie?”

Gabriel stilled, tempted to listen to the poison he would spew, but his dwindling logic whispered not to…perhaps there was a twist in the tail, something Carterhadplanned. He shot a glance at Leo, and at his slight nod, Gabriel allowed a sad smile to form.

“This is farewell, Stavros. Dimitri, Leo, and I will leave him to you. The rune won’t protect him from harm nor a bolting,” Gabriel said.

“My gratitude. Let me know if you need mypal’tsyto find your beloved. I sense she will not return to your home.”

Gabriel couldn’t answer. Longing, despair choked him and swallowed his voice. He launched into the air, trusting Leo to follow.

He’s right. Gabriel, I’ve never felt this much pain from her. She believed you died, but upon finding you’re alive, she thinks you abandoned her to die. I’m sorry. I can’t track her. When she shut you out, she became unreadable to me.

“You return to the Hold. I’ll search everywhere else she might go. Please let me know if she shows herself to you.”

Ah, you believe she’ll want to see Valerie. Very well.Leo veered off, and the cold silence descended.

Gabriel shivered as the silence traveled along his veins, the destination his heart. Everything Carter had planned now lay with Leo, who’d read Stavros’s mind. None of that mattered if Gabriel couldn’t find Callie.

Mike was undergoing a slow conversion, so he wasn’t available to her. Which left Val or Callie’s old apartment.

Since Leo guarded Val, Gabriel headed for George. Callie would go nowhere without her.

Chapter Thirty-Six

AN UNDEAD LIFE

Calliedebatedwithherselfwhere to go.

Mike wasn’t home or answering her calls. Val was with Leo, which meant a mindfuck and many questions. Metcalfe would say I told you so. That left her old apartment and sulking in Dad’s brown recliner.

As she climbed up the stairs, her front door ajar had her reaching for her gun. She didn’t have one, so she summoned one, gripping it in both hands. Toeing her door open, she crept in. Nothing was taken or disturbed but something had shattered all her windows and splintered her doors.

Everything drained out of her, as if this was the last straw.

Trudging down the stairs, she knocked on the landlord’s door. Her husband answered, and Callie explained the problem. She’d pay for the damages if the repairs could be done as soon as possible.

Back in her apartment, she sank her backside into her chair’s molded depths, the rich scent of aged leather and Dad’s tobacco assaulting her. The familiarity of it ripped through her, misting her eyes as nothing else could have. It didn’t help that Gabe’s cologne rose to greet her, reminding her of the clusterfuck she found herself in. She blinked away the tears, summoning her anger to blanket her heart.

She drew in a shuddering breath, flipped the lever, and relaxed, staring at the ceiling as if it held all the answers.

Perhaps she overreacted?

Recalling the fear coursing through her, paralyzing her, had her rebelling against the suggestion. She could’ve been emotionally prepared, armed to the teeth, and content with the knowledge that herhusbandhadn’t abandoned her tohisenemy.

She believed they were a team. She shook her head. He’d shoved her out ofherinvestigation, pacified her with his supposed progress, and used her as bait. What else awaited her?

Did he love her, or had that been a lie too? They had gifts—perhaps revealing a fake inner self was one of them? Damned suckbloods. Sexy, lying, pieces of nasty evolution! Pain lanced through their connection, and she coated Gabe’s mental door with sealant. Was she being unfair? Damn right she was.

She chose to wallow in her anger, disappointment, and heartache. No matter how deep her pool of self-pity was, the problem remained: she loved him, and she had trapped herself and, like a child, mourned her decisions when the consequences weren’t favorable.

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