“Where are you?” he barked into the cell phone, thinking no more of the predator he’d eliminated. “Where’s Gideon?”
“Aren’t you even going to try to deny it? Why would you do something like this?”
“Put him on the phone, Gabrielle.”
She ignored his demand. “There’s another thing I’d like to know: how did you get into my apartment last night? I had all the locks set, including the chain. What did you do, pick them somehow? Did you steal my keys when I wasn’t looking and have another set made?”
“We can talk about this later, once I know you’re safe at the compound.”
“What compound?” Her sharp gasp of laughter took him aback. “And you can cut the benevolent protector act. I know you’re not a cop. All I want is a little honesty. Is that too much to ask, Lucan? God—is that even your real name? Is anything you’ve told me remotely close to the truth?”
Suddenly Lucan knew that this anger, this hurt, wasn’t coming at him as a result of Gabrielle getting a crash course from Gideon on the Breed or her destined role within it. A role that wasn’t going to include Lucan.
No, she didn’t know any of that yet. This was something else. This wasn’t fear of the facts. This was a fear of the unknown.
“Where are you, Gabrielle?”
“What do you care?”
“I do…care,” he admitted, albeit reluctantly. “Damn it, I don’t have the head for this right now. Look, I know you’re not at your apartment, so where are you? Gabrielle, you need to tell me where you are.”
“I’m at the police station. I came down here tonight to see you, and guess what? Nobody’s ever heard of you.”
“Ah, Christ. You asked for me there?”
“Of course I did. How could I have known you were playing me for a fool?” Again the brittle scoff. “I even brought you coffee and a sweet roll.”
“Gabrielle, I will be there in a few minutes—less than that. Do not move. Stay where you are. Stay someplace public, somewhere inside. I’m coming for you.”
“Forget it. Leave me alone.”
Her sharp command drew him up short on the street. Just before his boots started hitting the pavement at a determined clip.
“I’m not sticking around to wait for you, Lucan. In fact, you know what? Just stay the hell away from me.”
“Too late,” he drawled into the phone.
He was already rounding the last corner before he would turn onto the street where the police station was located. He moved over the concrete and through the thin knots of milling pedestrians like a ghost. He felt the blood he’d ingested begin to merge with his cells, adhering to muscle and bone, strengthening him, until he was nothing but a cold draft on the back of the necks of those he passed.
But Gabrielle, with her Breedmate’s extraordinary perception, saw him at once.
He heard the sudden intake of air skate across the receiver of her cell phone. She drew the device away from her ear as though in slow motion, disbelief widening her eyes as she stared at his swift approach.
“My God,” she whispered, the sound of it reaching his ears a mere second before he was standing in front of her, reaching out to take her by the arm. “Let go of me!”
“We need to talk, Gabrielle. Not here. I’ll take you someplace—”
“Like hell you will!” She wrenched herself out of his grasp and backed away from him on the sidewalk. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“You are not safe out here anymore, Gabrielle. You’ve seen too much. You’re a part of it now, whether or not you want to be.”
“A part of what?”
“This war.”
“War,” she echoed, doubt lacing the word.
“That’s right. It’s a war. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to pick a side, Gabrielle.” He ground out a curse. “No. Screw that. I’m choosing a side for you right now.”
“Is this some kind of joke? What are you, one of those military rejects who gets off on acting out authority fantasies? Maybe you’re something worse than that.”
“This is no joke. It’s not a goddamned game. I have seen a lot of combat and death in my time, Gabrielle. You can’t even begin to imagine all that I’ve seen, all that I’ve done. But it’s nothing like the current storm that’s building. And I’m not going to stand by and watch you get caught in the crossfire.” He thrust out his hand. “You’re coming with me. Now.”
She dodged his reach. Fear and outrage clashed in her dark eyes. “Touch me again, and I swear I’ll get the cops. You know, the real ones back there in the station house. They carry real badges. And real guns.”