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Thank God.“Keep going,” I encouraged. “You’re already getting better.”
He licked my wrist, closing the cut, then released me. “That’s…enough.” His eyelids drifted shut.
I wiped the switchblade clean on the wet sand and then settled his head on my lap, tucking the still-open blade carefully beneath my thigh.
“How do you feel? Is there anything else I can do?”
“No. But…hurts. Need…rest.”
“Okay.” I stroked his hair, wincing at the lump behind his left ear. “Damn. They really worked you over, didn’t they?”
“Should be…dead. Good thing I had…secret weapon.”
“And what’s that?”
He turned his head to press a kiss to my palm. “You.”
My stomach clenched. I resumed stroking his hair.
“Yeah,” I muttered under my breath. “Butwhosesecret weapon?”
Voices came from the cove on the other side of the rocks. I stilled, heart slamming, afraid to call out.
Two long, low shadows shot over the rocks. Gabriel’s pet wolves.
Amber eyes narrowed on where I was crouched over their master. They growled in unison, a harsh, menacing sound.
I gulped and stretched out a hand, palm down. “Good dogs?”
They moved forward, sniffing my hand, and then to my relief, trotted over to examine the two piles of charred bones and ashes that were all that remained of Stefan and Martin. When they returned, they settled on either side of Gabriel. One nuzzled his face while the other let out an anxious whine.
His lips turned up. “Daisy. Diesel.” He rubbed their muzzles. “Sit.” They obediently dropped their hindquarters, panting softly.
Two vampires—Airi and a wiry brown-skinned man named Umar—followed the dogs over the rocks, dropping to the sand on either side of us.
Gabriel pushed himself up on his forearms while I looked on tensely. For an agonizing moment, they considered the two of us. Without taking my gaze from them, I moved my hand to the switchblade concealed beneath my thigh.
Umar held out a hand. “Can you stand?”
“Of course.” Gabriel took the hand, and the two vampires helped him to his feet.
“He’s hurt.” I scrambled up next to him. “His stomach, and I don’t know where else.”
Gabriel draped an arm over my shoulder and squeezed, silently warning me not to say anything further.
“I’m good.” Training a look on the vampires, he spoke in a voice that was pure ice. “Let’s get back to the house, and then you can tell me what the fuck happened.”
18
Gabriel
Something in a supernatural’s blood reacts with silver. Worse, the metal weakens us. But thanks to Mila, I’d healed enough to fake a strength I didn’t feel.
Airi and Umar helped me over the rocks, but I made my own way up the stairs even though with each step, my gut felt like it was being ripped open all over again. And already, the silver poisoning was making me feel lightheaded and feverish.
I clenched my jaw and bore it. Until I knew exactly how my security had been compromised, I couldn’t risk anyone—especially the vampires on my staff—seeing how shaky the attack had left me.
Back in my suite, I downed a large glass of blood-wine. Mila looked on anxiously, her clothes bloody, her pretty face streaked with more blood and dirt.
