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Immediately, I wanted to take it back. Sure, training with Gabe had put us in a sort of comfortable status, but flirting with the man who I’d basically kicked off the board and hijacked into being my partner was a low move. Especially when he’d been so cool to me this week.
I was surprised to catch his green eyes smoldering with so
mething wicked that instantly made my knees tremble. For a heavy second, he said nothing, then the look vanished and his usual serious frown came back. Yet another confusing reaction from him, for me to analyze a million times in my head later.
“Just be careful in town.” He picked up the dull swords we’d used to spar at the beginning of the training session, and placed them back on the weapons rack. “Your goddess demon is still out there. She probably won’t venture that far into human territory, but be on your guard.”
I promised him that I would be careful and then ran back to my room to get ready. In all, there were seven of us that piled into the huge van for the trip. Dominic drove and Bree sat with him in the front. Ashley claimed the middle seat for herself, while two teenaged Nephilim by the names of Jordan and Charlotte took the third row. Raquel and I climbed into the back, only too happy to put room between us and Ashley’s snide remarks.
"I killed a demon yesterday," Ashley was telling Jordan and Charlotte. "It was a big sucker. He had hands the size of tennis rackets. Killed him with one clean swipe through the neck with my blade."
Raquel rolled her eyes at me. We both knew Ashley had gone on patrol yesterday with Luke. From the version Luke told us, Ashley had managed to cut off one of the demon's hands, but it was Luke that dealt the killing blow. Still, Luke was a gentle teacher, no matter who he was with, and had praised Ashley for her efforts. He said she was getting better.
At least once a day that week, Luke had pulled me into his office in the manor to share tea or a meal. He was determined to get to know me as fast as he could, and it seemed like the other board members had finally stopped insisting I was a demon trap. We didn't talk about demons or any of the bad stuff that had happened lately. Instead, he asked me about my childhood and the school I went to and all the little things he’d missed as I grew up. Once in a while, I’d even ask him about his childhood and growing up in Europe.
I didn’t notice before, but Luke had the slightest hint of a Scottish accent. He said his mother was human and had raised Esther and him in Scotland until their mother died from a horrible fever that ravaged his town when he was twelve. That was when his father came to collect them and brought them to live with the Nephilim at the Hell Gate.
I felt better knowing Luke knew something about what I was going through. He'd been a latecomer to the Nephilim way of life, too. Not only that, but he knew what it was like to be without a mother – a topic we purposely avoided. I wasn't ready to talk about the woman he'd loved. It was painful enough to learn that I was the reason he carried around a permanent sad glint in his eyes.
"Mission for today: find you some clothes so that I don't have to keep digging in the warehouse for hand-me-downs for you." Raquel pulled a gold credit card from the depths of her black leather purse. "We've got unlimited credit, so we can go crazy."
I gaped at her. "I can't spend someone else's money. I'd feel too guilty."
"Don’t be silly. Everyone gets an allowance." She shook her long red hair until it was out of her face. "And besides, Uncle Luke gave me this card for that reason. He wants you to use it and won't take no for an answer."
I rolled my eyes and looked out the window at the forest as we sped through it. There was no way I’d ever become used to having a father, especially one as caring and kind as Luke. He was everything I’d hoped for as a kid. I couldn’t help thinking that I didn’t deserve him or everyone that had been so kind to me at the manor. It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop. Something, somewhere, had to go wrong. Life couldn’t be this perfect.
Almost two hours later, we pulled into Rapid City. It wasn’t exactly New York, but it was huge compared to Hanna. I’d been here a few times with Kate and her mother when it came time to shop for school supplies. It felt strange coming here without them.
“All right, urchins, everyone out.” Dominic pulled over to a metered parking space downtown and shut off the van. “I expect everyone to be back in exactly…” he looked at his bare wrist for emphasis, “three hours. A minute later, and you’ll be walking home. Everyone understand?”
We nodded and scrambled out of the van, splitting off into groups. Jordan and Charlotte went off to do their thing. Ashley joined Dominic and Bree to check out a music store a couple of blocks down. Raquel grabbed my hand and pulled me in the opposite direction.
“Come on,” she squealed. “There’s a cute little boutique this way and you’re going to love it. We could get everything you need there.”
I let her drag me a block and half to a little corner store with a colorful window display of cute summer clothes. The store was called Stacy’s Stash. From the outside, I could see racks piled high with all sorts of women’s clothing. A leather display on the wall nearest to the window made my eyes go wide. There was a little red leather jacket hanging halfway up the wall, calling my name.
It didn’t take Raquel more than five minutes to drop a pile of clothes in my arms, and march me straight to the dressing rooms. I was trying on clothes left and right, dropping most of them into the keep pile. Shaking off the guilt I felt at the impending bill, I tried to let myself get into the spirit of the trip. Here I was, with my newly found cousin, and we were having a girls’ day. If I couldn’t even enjoy this, then I needed to get an attitude check.
“So, how’s it going with Gabe?” Raquel leaned casually on the door next to my changing room, as I took her newest pile of clothes to try on. “Please tell me you guys have made out already. I want to know every single little gory detail.”
“What?” I sputtered and felt my face go red. “No. He’s just training me. I told you.”
“Uh, huh.” She raised her eyebrows at me like she didn’t believe a single word I said. “I’ve seen you two training together. He’s totally gaga over you. Might as well enjoy it.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek and shook my head. Raquel was crazy. If she’d seen him from my point of view, she wouldn’t be saying the same thing.
“No, he’s just protective. He wants to make sure I learn everything I’ve missed. I thought that’s how a partner was supposed to be.”
“Protective? Yes. Totally head over heels? Well, that’s a bonus.”
I closed the door to the dressing room and leaned against it. True, I’d thought there were sparks between us this week, but every time it seemed like we were getting close, Gabe pulled away. I tried to talk to him about things other than demons and fighting, but I still didn’t know much about him, and he wasn’t one to open up.
“What do you know about him?” I asked Raquel.
Who better to ask than the Queen of Information herself? Raquel was a walking house of knowledge. She collected it like some people collect stamps.
“He’s been at the manor since before I was born,” she said from the other side of the door. “Every female Nephilim wants him, including Ashley, of course.”
