"Aren't you supposed to be Mr. Uber-professional?" she asked rather bluntly.
"I am when I have to be. Which," his tone changed instantly as he glanced around the area they were driving through, "is going to have to start now. We're near their territory."
Caia didn't say anything as a stab of nervous anxiety shot through her. This was it, this would be her first real test. Could she handle the job of riding herd on a bunch of shifters? Part of her wasn't sure. The other was determined she would succeed, both for herself and so she didn't let Gabriel down.
"Now listen, when we get in there, I'm in charge. There will be no arguing, no overruling, nothing. You do as I say, when I say. Understood?"
"We're supposed to be partners," she told him.
"We are. You plan out everything you want to happen before we go in, and I will do my best, as the situation allows, to execute it. But once we're actually inside, I make the calls. They likely won't hurt you if something goes wrong, because you're a human, and they know what that would entail. They likely won't try anything with me, because they know how badly I'd hurt them." He fixed her with a firm, serious stare as the truck rolled to a halt in front of an apartment building. "But that doesn't mean things couldn't go horribly wrong. So just come along, and let me do most of the talking. Don't be a mute, but only chat with them. Don't say anything about why we're there. Got it?"
His professional side was just as scary as she had heard. If Caia was in trouble, she knew Gabriel would be the one to have at her side. But walking into trouble while she knew he would protect her? His attitude and instinct for it overwhelmed her. She felt very vulnerable just then.
Gabriel's hand reached out from the wheel and grasped hers, giving it a squeeze. "You can do this," he told her.
She looked up at him, meeting those eyes with blue steel of her own.
"Yes. I can." She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face him. "Okay, so the plan is to explore and inspect. Let them lead us around. You then me. You come to a door, if they're going to go by it, you accidentally turn into it. They go left, you try to go right. Make it look like you're guessing wrong, but don't overdo it so that they catch on to you."
He nodded. "What are you going to be doing?"
"Analyzing. I went to school for psychology and got an advanced degree in human reaction and body language. I'll be looking for any signs that they become scared or overly agitated when you make your moves."
She took a brief second to bathe in the look of newfound respect that Gabriel gave her, then she pushed the door open. "Got it?" she said, mocking him lightly.
He touched his fingers to his brow in a lazy salute.
"Let's go then."
Together they exited the truck.
Chapter Three
Gabriel
"Don't tell anybody, okay?"
"What?" Caia whirled around to look at him, caught off guard by his slightly relaxed tone and his comment.
He looked guilty for a second, then slowly pointed his finger up at the No Parking sign on a pole right next to where he had parked.
"This is serious," she hissed, then headed back toward the building with the big white lettering. It read Windglade Luxury Apartments in chipped and faded paint plastered over the beige bricks that formed the exterior of the building.
"Hold up," he said, his professional voice back in place. He didn't want to be like that. He wished they were somewhere more carefree, and not on the job. Caia was fun and witty. He wanted to get to know her better, to spend more time around her.
Which, unfortunately, was effectively the last thing he could do. Gabriel wasn't allowed to get involved with employees of the Consortium. It was too much of a risk, and his position was too important to allow him to do that. So for now, he would have to be content with the way things were going.
That did not please his bear one bit. It had been agitated ever since he met her the first time, and then yesterday in her office had been pure torture for him. The pressure of wanting to be closer to her had been so bad that he had been tempted to command her into coming over and kissing him, like he had teased her about. Gabriel wouldn't, because he had more respect for himself and for Caia than that, but he would be lying if he said the thought hadn't crossed his mind.
"What now?" she asked, pausing in her stride.
"They'll have a sentry out. Someone to warn Ben if anyone noteworthy comes strolling in."
"Like if oh, let's say Gabriel, head of the Stone Bears, were to show up unannounced? That sort of thing?" she asked.
He nodded. "Exactly that sort of thing."
Caia thought for a moment. "We need a plan to deal with that. Would I be amiss in thinking that they probably have no idea who I am yet?"
Gabriel eyed her suspiciously. "You're probably correct, but I don't like that tone in your voice. What are you planning?"
"Well, if I were a lookout, I would call it in the instant I saw you, right?"
"Right."
"So that means you can't just go barging in there, like I'm sure you want to. However, if he was distracted until you appeared, then I'm sure you might be able to persuade him not to warn Ben, right?"
Ben Groll was the head of the Sapphires, their Alpha. He was also a dick, as far as Gabriel was concerned. The only unfortunate part was that he hadn't yet found a good enough excuse to put the other shifter in his place. Ben wasn't as dumb as he came across sometimes, much to Gabriel's disappointment.
"I think so. Just..." he hesitated. "Be careful, okay?"
She smiled. "I will. I promise. Give me two minutes to see what I can do."
She's learning quickly that we have a weakness for women with curves like her. That sentry isn't going to know what hit him. Gabriel chuckled. Then he clenched his fists and tried to relax as the anger surged through him at the imagined other shifter flirting with Caia.
"Not good, Gabe. You need to get it together. She isn't yours; you do not own her. Plus you can't do anything with her either, or Marcus would tear you a new one, and probably fire you as well. If not worse," he said out loud.
Assuming she even wanted to do anything with you to begin with.
Shaking his head, he stopped talking to himself and strode toward the building. He hadn't exactly kept track of time, but he knew by the time he got to the area the lookout would be, it would have been enough time.
Moving quickly and with purpose, he approached the door, slowing his momentum just barely enough to allow him to pull the door open and slide in before resuming his walk across the lobby. The ground floor was mostly open concept. The elevators were off to his left, and what had once been the superintendent's office had been opened up to allow a view of anyone coming in from the street. It was on the far side of the room from him, but as he watched, Caia had the other shifter thoroughly engrossed in her, with her back directly to the doors.
The shifter didn't stand a chance. The look of shock in his eyes as Gabriel loomed over him without warning was good enough to win him an award if it wasn't real.
"Hi," he said jovially to the stunned man behind the desk. "Take your hands out from under the desk please," he said just as politely when the Sapphire moved to activate what he assumed was some sort of alarm or warning system.
"Much better. Now, we're going to go upstairs and see Ben. Just to have a talk with him, nothing crazy, I promise. If it was crazy, I'd have hauled you out from behind your desk already, trust me." He let his eyes go all wide as he talked, trying to intimidate the other shifter a little more.
Caia, to her credit, was already summoning the elevator. He had expected to have to tell her to do so. Gabriel revised his opinion of her, and told himself to stop underestimating her all the time.
"While we go upstairs," he said, continuing with the shifter. "You're just going to sit here and do nothing. Do you know why?" he asked sweetly.
The terrified shifter shook his head violently.
"Because if you do warn him, then I'm going to get upset. And well," he dropped his voice until it was just few degrees above freezing. "You wouldn't like me when I'm upset."
He could sense the eyeroll from Caia at the lame line, but it did have the desired effect. The other shifted nodded jerkily, his hands firmly placed on the desk in front of him.
"Remember," Gabriel said over his shoulder, walking toward the elevator as it dinged and opened. "Don't say a word!"
Caia spoke the instant the doors closed. "Do you ever feel you overdo the evil villain bit?"
"Really? I don't even get a round of applause before you start to tear me down? I thought that was a great acting class. Besides, I'm not evil or a villain. I'm an enforcer, and they know it. I need to play that up, or else they don't obey. Now Ben won't be warned, which is exactly what we want."
He punched the top floor button, knowing that Ben resided up there, and it would likely be where anything was hidden, though he intended to walk through the two levels below that one as well. The Sapphire building was five stories tall. The ground floor was the lobby, with nothing in it. The second floor was a pool and workout room, all glass. There was nowhere to hide anything there. He knew Ben wasn't stupid enough to try and build something there to block it off either. No, if they were hiding something, such as the Opal crew that had gone missing, it would be in the upper floors.