Broken Heart 07 Cross Your Heart (10 page)

“I will not be held hostage in my own home,” said Gabriel. A growl entered his tone. “Tell me what’s going on. Now.”

The saying “saved by the bell” never held more true than when Eva’s cell phone rang. No one wanted to tell Gabriel his wife was locked in the downstairs prison, much less that someone had been impersonating him. While Eva moved away and had a hushed a conversation, I tried to cross the divide of silence.

“How long have you been in Tulsa?” I asked.

“Three days.”

“Were you with Patsy when she found the room?” asked Tez.

Gabriel’s expression went from irritated to confused. “I found the room. There was a wall, which hadn’t been in the original blueprints. I realized there was empty space behind it, or so I thought, until I broke through it. Patsy and I agreed not to do anything about the place until I returned from Tulsa. I’m not a psychic, but the vibe in there is… dark.”

I shared a look with Tez.

Eva finished her call and shut the cell phone. “That was Lorcan. He said he took Gabriel into the emergency ward, then went to confer with Dr. Carter. When they returned so the doctor could examine him, he was gone.”

“Except that I’m standing here.” His gold gaze burned into us. “Let’s go into the living room. Tell me everything from the beginning.”

“No offense,” said Eva. “But we can’t be sure you are… you.”

Gabriel’s gaze roved our faces. “You’ll have to take the chance,” he said. “Now, someone better tell me what’s going on, where my family is, and why you’re in my house.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Tez. He sheathed his gun, and tugged me toward the opened double doors that led to one of the main living areas.

Eva followed us, and then Gabriel. The air was thick with tension. We couldn’t be sure this was Gabriel. And what had happened to Lorcan? Why hadn’t he returned? Magical transportation took only seconds. Surely Eva had conveyed we were still in the house, but with another Gabriel.

Tez chose to sit me on the red velvet couch, sitting as close as was possible without him actually being on my lap. Eva, even though she was obviously worried about this new situation, took a moment to smirk at me as she took the wingback. I shot her a shut-up glance.

Gabriel took the couch across from us and focused on Tez.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Tez Jones.”

Gabriel was obviously dissatisfied with that answer, but Eva launched into the explanation, starting with when Patsy had asked her and Lorcan to come help catalog the mystery room. She left nothing out—though she was clearly uncomfortable with explaining how he’d been fighting with his wife, accused of adultery, and then nearly killed by Patsy’s own hand.

Nor did Eva seem to relish admitting that we had stashed his wife in the prison underneath the house.

After she finished, I took over the thread of the story and told him about my experiences, from the time Rand gave me the silver jewelry box to the moment Patsy arrived in my home.

We all sat in the resulting somewhat uncomfortable silence, trying not to stare at Gabriel as he processed the information.

“It seems you did what was best,” he finally said. His gaze flicked to Tez. “You’re a shifter.”

“You, too.”

“Loup de sang,” offered Gabriel.

“Jaguar.”

Gabriel’s eyebrows went up, but, unlike Damian, he didn’t seem to dispute Tez’s claim. Before Gabriel came to Broken Heart and married Patsy, he’d been part of a group of outcasts. He knew, more than any of us, what it was like to be the only one of a species, not to mention ostracized because of it. Last year, Gabriel found out he was one of triplets; now his sister, Anise, and his brother, Ren, lived in town with their charge, Astria Vedere. Astria had been known as the prophet, but after suffering mortal wounds, she’d been Turned. Once she became undead, her powerful visions disappeared. The three of them ran the Old Sass Café now, and seemed to enjoy being part of the community. I idly wondered what Tez planned to do, now that he’d confirmed Broken Heart was a parakind sanctuary. Would he stay… or return to Tampa?

“Elizabeth?”

I looked at Tez. “What?”

One eyebrow quirked. “Gabriel asked us to examine the attic room.”

“Of course,” I said, embarrassed I’d drifted so deeply into my thoughts that I’d ignored what was being discussed by the others. “Although I don’t know what I can do. I’m not a detective.”

“The Silverstone mansion was built by your family,” said Gabriel. “You might have some insight to offer.” He glanced at Eva. “You’re satisfied that I am the real Gabriel?”

She nodded, though it seemed to me that her gaze still held suspicion. “We should call in Phoebe and Connor,” I said. “Patsy seemed to think we might be dealing with a demon, and they’re the experts.” I paused. “Maybe we should ask Lenette to drop by, too.”

“She into demons, too?” asked Tez.

For a shifter fairly new to the paranormal world, he was taking all of this in stride. Of course, what other choice did he have? Well, other than simply leaving.

“Not exactly. Lenette is Wiccan,” said Eva. “She’s a very powerful white witch who runs the bed-and-breakfast with her two sisters.” She nodded. “She would be able to sense the use of magic or seals.”

Gabriel looked surprised. “That makes sense. Whoever boarded up the room might’ve magically sealed it as well. I can’t usually sense such things, but Patsy should’ve. And she said nothing about demonic energy.”

Patsy had the same demon powers as Phoebe, so it made sense that she would be able to determine if the room had the stink of sulfur to it. I was disappointed by this realization. Were we really dealing with a ghost released when Gabriel opened up the room? Could this whole situation be as simple as a vengeful spirit who believed I was the woman he killed—and wanted to kill again?

Maybe Gabriel was right. I didn’t know much about my ancestor Jeremiah Silverstone, or about the history of the house. We never visited Broken Heart. In fact, the first time I had ever been in the house was the same day I had died.

Now I wondered if Great-uncle Josiah knew something about that room. Maybe he was the one who had closed it up. Had he been affected by a paranormal happenstance? Or had he just gone mad in his old age?

I glanced at Eva. “I was hoping you might know something about the place. You’ve been collecting information about the town.”

Eva shook her head. “I’ve been archiving what I can find, but there’s not much paperwork left from the early days. I have a few property deeds, and that’s about it. It’s strange because, I imagine, people kept diaries, recipes, receipts, even newspapers. But as far as I know, nothing of the sort has been uncovered. Not even in the library. And the LeRoys have been caretakers of it since the town was founded.”

“Did you find any papers, Gabriel?” I asked.

“We’ve barely delved into this. Given that Patsy has been going through everything without me, I have no idea what’s been found.” He rubbed his temples. “I’m going to check on my wife. We need to figure out what’s going on. I don’t like Patsy being confined.”

“Gabriel.”

We were all startled by the appearance of… Drake, I believe. He was one of the werewolf triplets, brother to Damian and Darrius. I was fairly certain this was Drake; I knew his hair was a lighter brown and that he was about an inch or two shorter than either of his brothers.

“I see we are taking every precaution against me being a doppelganger,” said Gabriel as he studied Drake’s stoic expression.

“I’m here to guard Patsy,” said Drake. “Teams are stationed around the house.”

“And my children?”

“Taken care of,” said the werewolf. “We need to verify your identity.”

Gabriel stood up, nostrils flaring and jaw muscles ticking. I could see now that he’d been keeping a very tight rein on his emotions. It must’ve been very difficult to choose statesmanship when he probably just wanted to go to his wife and take care of her. I knew about duty versus love; it was a difficult path, choosing to do what was right even if it meant sacrificing a little of your heart. “Get Dr. Michaels here, or call upon whomever you wish, so that we can determine that I am the real Gabriel Marchand.”

“The doctor is on his way,” said Drake. Sympathy seeped into his gaze. “I’ll go with you to check on Patsy.”

Gabriel nodded. “Very well.”

“Shouldn’t we go to the hospital so you can examine the scene, Tez?” I asked.

“That’s not my job, princess. Besides, I bet all we find is some black goo.”

Eva’s gaze widened. “That’s right. Lorcan said it was all over the bedsheets.”

Tez’s eyebrows went up. “When the hell did you talk to him?

She smiled and tapped her temple. “Meeting of the minds.”

“Oh, right. Mates can do that telepathy thing.”

“Eva, can you make sure someone at the hospital is getting a goo sample to Dr. Michaels for testing?”

“Of course,” she said.

Gabriel nodded to us, plucked out his cell phone, and strode toward the security door as he made a call. I heard him say MaryBeth’s name and realized he’d called her to check on his kids. Obviously, they were not safe in the house. It was reassuring that Damian had already put them in protective custody.

I hoped Gabriel got his identity confirmed soon. I felt badly for him. It was surely a terrible thing to come home to find your wife insane and imprisoned, and your children out of your reach.

“Let me show you how to get to the attic,” said Eva. “Lorcan is already at the archives trying to find more information about the town. We’ll widen the search, and maybe we’ll find some outside sources.”

“You’re still doing that mind-meld thing?”

“Same as breathing,” said Eva, smiling, “if I breathed.”

Ah. At least that explained why Lorcan had not returned. It appeared he didn’t doubt Gabriel’s identity, or he trusted that his wife was safe enough. Eva was obviously eager to reunite with her husband.

“I remember where the stairs are,” I said. Even though I had only visited the place once as a human, as a vampire, I’d been in the mansion many times. “You go on.”

Eva gave me a quick hug, waved at Tez, and then hurried out the front door. Tez looked at me, frowning. “How is she going to get there?”

“Probably steal your car.”

“Seriously?”

I laughed as we headed down the wide hallway to the kitchen. “I guess you’ll find out when we try to leave.”

“Very funny.” He pinched my bottom.

I stopped and shot a look of annoyance over my shoulder. “I find such actions inappropriate.”

One brown eyebrow rose. “I expect you to try a little harder with vocab,” he said. “Especially if you want me to kiss you.”

“I wasn’t trying—”

“Exactly.”

“You’re infuriating.”

He grinned, unapologetic as usual. “It’s one of my better qualities.”

I sniffed and turned back around, mostly to hide my smile. I really shouldn’t encourage such behavior.

In the large pantry, I walked to the back shelf and pressed on the end. It swung forward and we squeezed into the gap.

“The house has several hidden hallways and secret rooms,” I said as we walked down the very narrow space. “Jessica and Patrick lived here for a while, and their kids became quite adept at finding all the nooks and crannies.”

“You gave this whole place up?” he asked in amazement.

“It was never really mine.” I explained to Tez about my great-uncle’s will, the reason I had come to town, and how I met my end. “I woke up a vampire and very happy to be alive. Or rather, undead.”

“Lorcan’s okay? He hasn’t turned back into that thing?”

“Completely cured. However, he can shift into a wolf. The ability appears to be a side effect of the cure. And since Eva mated with him and started sharing his blood, she has the ability now, too.”

“Interesting.”

“How so?”

“That vampires can become shifters.”

“Oh, but they can’t,” I said. “It worked the opposite way—Lorcan was a vampire first who gained the ability to shift from a full transfusion. Eva doesn’t drink from donors anymore, so she gets the full effect of the transfused blood.”

“How’s that any different from a vampire sucking on the neck of a shifter?”

“Vampire to vampire,” I said, although I was beginning to doubt my own logic. “Not vampire to shifter. See the difference?”

“Nope.”

At the end of the teeny hallway was a wrought iron spiral staircase. When I stepped onto the first stair, it squealed ominously. I hurried upward and Tez followed closely, the iron steps protesting the whole way.

We entered the huge open space and I hit the light switch on the wall nearest to me. Lights flickered on and revealed the vastness of the attic.

“Wow. I think you can fit an ocean liner in here,” said Tez.

“Maybe half of one.” Gabriel and Patsy had managed to clear out much of the moldering furniture and collapsing boxes. I pointed to the right. “There.”

We approached the mysterious hidden room. I felt trepidation creep through me. Maybe no one had been able to sense magic or demon energy, but even a nonpsychic had mentioned the “dark” feeling. It was like a suffocating blanket. The air felt wrong—and we hadn’t even entered the room yet. Debris littered the sides of the doorway. And once, there had been a door—though it was long gone. It was obvious the entrance had been boarded up for a great while.

We peered inside. Temporary lighting had been connected to the existing wiring. The room was much larger than I had imagined. In fact, it seemed to be several rooms.

“It looks like a bunch of junk,” said Tez as he stepped through and wandered between two long tables piled with objects. Shelves lined the walls, filled with items I couldn’t believe had any meaning except to previous owners: rusted tins, glass bottles, moth-eaten clothes, gold-rimmed dishes, wooden trains, bolts of fabric… The amount of items was endless. And inane. It smelled musty, and, of course, dust coated everything. Unfortunately, there were no windows to open to clear out the stale air.

“Maybe they stored items from the general store here,” I mused. “Jeremiah Silverstone owned it, after all.”

“You’d think he’d put supplies in a more convenient location.” Tez had found a box filled with marbles. He put it down again and sniffed the air. “Something’s really wrong here.”