Cross the Line: A Gabriella Cross Paranormal Romance Book 2 (12 page)

“Coffee?” said Gabby, retrieving hers.

“Yes please, six sugars,” said Valentine.

“Six? Wow.”

“I like it sweet.”

Gabby poured her a cup and placed it on the island, where Valentine had made herself comfortable.

“You sounded so urgent when you called. What is it?”

“I had another dream about the castle. Victor’s maker Lilith was in it.”

“Lilith?”

“Have you ever heard of her?” Gabby asked.

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Anyway, she told me that if I go out to the island, she will give me the cure my father needs.”

Valentine looked disturbed. “What does she want in return?”

“She wouldn’t say.”

“You’re not going to do it. Are you?”

“I have to. It’s the only way I can help my father.”

“I don’t know, Gabby. Sounds pretty sketchy to me. Did she tell you to go alone?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, no. Not a good idea.”

“Look, I didn’t invite you over here for your opinion. I need your help in getting away from the weres.”

“So you’re just using me?”

Gabby raised a brow to that. “That, coming from you?”

Valentine took in a shocked breath. “I don’t use people.”

“Save it for someone who doesn’t know better. Will you help me or not?”

“I’ll help you, but you’ve got to think this through. What if this Lilith wants to kill you? You’ll be walking into a death trap.”

“If she tries anything, I’ll nullify the shit out of her. Besides, I didn’t feel anger in the dream, she seemed more curious than anything.”

“You think she’s not going to want revenge for Victor?”

“She might. Hell, she’s already got it. If she doesn’t give me the cure for my father, he’ll die. And why would she go to all this trouble if she was going to kill me?”

Valentine thought about it and shook her head. “I still don’t like it. I would go with you, if you asked me to.”

“You can’t. I don’t want to do anything to break my end of the bargain.”

“I guess she’s got you by the balls,” said Valentine. “Fine, I’ll deal with the weres and help you sneak out.”

“Awesome. Now I just have to figure out a way to get a boat.”

“I’ve got you covered.”

“You have a boat?”

“I have several, actually. Two of which are docked in the harbor.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” said Gabby, hugging her.

Valentine melted into the hug lovingly, and Gabby kissed her cheek to give her a little extra. She got a rush out of flirting with the succubus, knowing that dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of people had succumbed to her incredible sexual energy. Now it was Valentine who was under the spell.

When Gabby pulled away, Valentine let out a sigh. “You’re a tease.”

“Aren’t I though?” said Gabby with a grin and a wink. “I’ve got to shower and prepare for tonight. Help yourself to whatever.”

“If you need any help in there, don’t be afraid to holler,” Valentine called behind her.

Gabby stopped in the hallway and offered Valentine her sexiest duck-lip pose and arched her back. “I won’t hesitate to ask,” she said in an exaggerated voice.

“Such. A. Tease,” said Valentine with a mock pout.

Gabby laughed and walked down the hall to the bathroom. She started a steaming shower and disrobed, half wishing that Valentine would join her.

“What the hell is wrong with me lately?” she asked the steadily fogging mirror. “And what the hell was that with Riggs?”

Her reflection had no answer, and so she shrugged and got into the shower, shifting her thoughts to more serious affairs, like meeting with Lilith after sundown.

After her shower, Gabby suited up in the white room and checked herself in the full-length mirror that she had brought down from the house. She stared at her reflection and repeated the same mantra over and over.

“You can do this, Gabby. You’re a badass nullifier.”

She was distracted by the thought of the vampire blood stashed away in the drawer beneath the weapons. It had been days since she used, and already she was beginning to feel the effects of withdrawal. Gabby had done her share of drugs in high school and college, but she had never become addicted to anything. Now, she worried that her control over the potent vamp blood was waning. She found herself thinking about it all the time. On vamp blood she felt strong. It gave her increased focus, speed, and power, and it had saved her life more than once. The only downside was that it made her weaker against vampires. Juliette had warned her that if she continued to use, she would soon find herself unable to nullify vampires at all. There was other blood, however, such as werewolf.

“Look at you,” Gabby told her reflection. “Trying to figure out how to get a blood fix. Get your shit together, Gabby. Get your shit together.” She told herself as much, still, she grabbed a vial and pocketed it.

She left the white room and replaced the bottle that was used to open the vault door. Valentine was waiting for her upstairs. She had changed into one of Maggy’s slutty-looking dresses, and even Gabby had to admit that she looked like a knockout. Her blonde hair fell about her shoulders in waves, and her lips were cherry red. She didn’t wear any other makeup; she didn’t have to. Aside from her overwhelming sexual power, Valentine had a timeless beauty that was enough to turn heads and swell hearts.

“What?” said Valentine, and Gabby realized that she had stopped at the top of the stairs and was staring.

“Sorry,” said Gabby, shaking her head clear. “You’re just so beautiful.”

Valentine blushed and smiled shyly. “Thank you.”

“Are you ready?”

“Oh, I’m ready. The question is, are the weres ready for me?”

“Try not to hurt any of them,” said Gabby, moving to the door and opening it for Valentine.

The succubus stopped at the threshold and touched Gabby’s face lovingly. “You be safe out there. You hear me?”

“I will.”

Valentine leaned forward and kissed Gabby on the lips. She lingered for a long time, pressing her soft lips against Gabby’s and then pulling her into a hug.

Gabby felt passion stir inside of her and pulled away before she acted on her desires. “I’ll be fine.”

“Of course you will,” said Valentine before striding gracefully out of the house to get the attention of the weres.

In less than five minutes Valentine was back, leading a group of six weres through the door like the Pied Piper. Gabby watched, awestruck and all but invisible to the mesmerized men as Valentine led them to the bedroom. The door closed, and Gabby hurried out and jumped in Valentine’s Cadillac, not trusting the car that Michael had given her as a loaner. It most likely had a tracking device somewhere on it, and Gabby didn’t want to take any chances.

She headed for the docks, unbelieving of what she was about to do.

You can do this, Gabby. You’re a badass nullifier.

The harbor was quiet, too quiet. The dark waters lapped steadily against the docks, rocking the many boats gently, as though lulling them to sleep. The sky was overcast, which took away any light that the moon might provide. Shadows ruled here, and the darkness of the lake became absolute only a few hundred feet from shore.

Gabby found herself glancing over her shoulder every few seconds. If anyone was actually watching her, they would no doubt think that she was up to no good. She quickly made her way to where Valentine said her boat was docked, and found the pink speedboat waiting for her. On the side, written in big bold sparkly letters, was the name
Aphrodite
.

Valentine had given her the keys and a crash course in how to operate the craft, which was pretty straightforward. Gabby untied it from the dock and sat in the pilot’s chair. She turned the key and was surprised by the rev of the double engines. The power of the craft was apparent in its deep rumble. She turned on the lights and slowly crept out of the harbor. When she was a few dozen yards away she gunned it, excited to see what the boat could do. The speedboat shot forward, pressing Gabby back into the leather seat.

She was alone and on her way to face a dangerous and powerful vampire, but she had never felt more alive. There was a power to freedom, a magic all its own. Gabby had spent so many days feeling helpless, and now that she had taken matters into her own hands, she found that her mind was calm, her resolution absolute.

The lights of the boat split the deep darkness, but Gabby soon hit the wall of fog that had gathered upon the surface of the choppy water. She kept it under twenty when the fog became so thick that she couldn’t see five feet in front of the boat. The GPS told her that no obstructions lay ahead, but she didn’t trust it as much as her own eyes. Heading north from the harbor, she punched in the coordinates for Widow’s Island. The GPS reported that it was fifty miles northeast of her location and two hours away at her current speed.

Gabby continued on through the fog for a half hour. When it finally parted and the moon peeked out from beyond the clouds, she gunned the throttle and gave a triumphant cry as the speedboat shot across the water at breakneck speeds. Gabby dared sixty miles an hour, delighted by the way the boat soared over the choppy waters, touching down only long enough for the propellers to catch and launch the boat forward once more.

She arrived at the island a half hour later and circled it, careful to stay away from the jagged rocks. Gabby saw no dock, but there was a small beachy area on the south side that would do. There were no other boats along the shoreline, which gabby thought was curious indeed. It was possible that Lilith had flown to the island, and the thought of her winged form sent a shiver down Gabby’s spine. Victor had looked like an onyx demon, with leathery wings and twin horns curling up from his smooth forehead. She could only imagine what Lilith might look like in her true form, for Victor had told her that the older a vampire was, the more grand their appearance became.

After leaping from the boat, Gabby pulled it in and tied it off to a sturdy-looking tree, whose roots were married to a large boulder sticking out of the water. The forest of pine from her dreams spread out before her, covering the entirety of the island. She drew a pistol and took a steadying breath. Now that she was on the island, the dread returned tenfold. Her mind screamed a warning, and her senses struggled to pick up any signs of danger. But the island was eerily quiet. Only the whisper of the moaning wind through the pines and the slow lapping of waters could be heard. The air carried the smells of fall; damp leaves, wet earth, and the faintly fishy aroma of the surrounding lake. The moon, which was a few days from full, had come out of hiding and seemed to have scared the clouds away. Silver light darkened the green boughs of the pine, which added an ominous quality to the forest of shadow.

“Stay calm, Gabby. You’re just on a deserted island with a vampire,” she said to herself.

A weak, shaky laugh escaped her. She considered taking the vampire blood. It would help her to hear her enemy’s approach, as well as turn night into day, but she told herself that it would be a waste. If her theory was right, Lilith wanted something from her other than her death.

Gabby started for the woods before she lost her nerve. In her dreams, the castle had been at the center of the island on a high bluff, and so she hurried on through the forest in that direction. The island was small, no more than fifty acres, still, the going was slow through the tight-knit forest. The ground was rocky and uneven. Ferns grew in bunches in those places where trees let in light. A deep, musty smell permeated the air, filling Gabby’s mind with thoughts of frogs and mud.

Fifteen minutes into her trek, she saw the castle looming before her like a monolithic relic lost to another era. She had learned that the castle had been built by a wealthy industrialist’s wife around the turn of the nineteenth century. The woman, Gillian Freeman, had planned it to be a summer getaway for her children and workaholic husband. However, a month before it was completed, the husband had died, and Gillian never returned. Rumor said that it was haunted by her ghost, who waited in the high tower for her husband to arrive.

Although unfinished, the castle was still impressive. It was built in a square, with high walls and many towers in various degrees of completion. A door of solid iron stood before her, daring her to open it and venture beyond the threshold.

“Gabriella Cross.”

Gabby jumped, startled by the sudden voice. She recognized it to be Lilith’s and suddenly felt eyes watching her from the many broken stained-glass windows.

She strode forth boldly and threw open the heavy doors, letting them bang against the wall. The deep thud echoed throughout the castle, and dozens of bats fell from the ceiling and flew over Gabby’s head and out the door.

“Lilith! Show yourself!”

Gabby’s voice echoed through the emptiness.

“I am here, child.”

The voice came from the landing beyond the main hall. On each side of the room was a staircase, both of which curved up to meet the landing. Gabby took the staircase to the right and cautiously climbed up to the next level. Two double doors stood open, and torchlight danced beyond the threshold.

Gabby moved to the door and paused. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before walking purposefully through the doorway.

A long dining room opened before her, and Gabby’s eyes instantly went to the figure standing at the head of the table opposite her.

“Hello, Gabriella. I’ve waited so very long to meet you.”