The Hollow Page 0,77

did that night."

"Signed in blood at the dark of the moon."

Amused, Cybil glanced over at Gage. "I wouldn't discount that."

Gage rose to go to the kitchen. He wanted more coffee. He wanted, more than the coffee, a few minutes without the chatter. At this point, and as far as he could see for the next several points, it was all talk, no action. He was a patient man, had to be, but he was starting to itch for action.

When Cybil came in he ignored her. It took some doing. She wasn't a woman fashioned to be ignored, but he'd been working on it.

"Being irritable and negative doesn't add much."

He leaned back against the counter with his coffee. "That's why I left."

After a moment's consideration, she opted for wine over tea. "You're a little bored, too. But your way hasn't finished the job. New days, new ways." She mirrored his pose, leaning against the other counter with her wine. "It's harder for people like you and me."

"You and me?"

"We're plagued with glimpses of what might come, and sometimes does. How do we know what to do, or if we should do anything, to stop it, or change it? If we do, will it be worse?"

"Everything's a risk. That doesn't worry me."

"Annoys you though." She sipped. "You're annoyed right now because of the way things are shaping up."

"How are things shaping up?"

"Our little group's paired off. Q and Cal, Layla and Fox.

That leaves you and me, big guy. So you're annoyed, and I can't blame you. Just FYI, I'm no happier than you are with the idea that some hand of fate might be moving you and me together like chess pieces."

"Chess is Fox's game."

She drew in a breath. "Dealing us into the same hand then."

His brows rose in acknowledgment. "That's why there's a discard pile. No offense."

"None taken."

"You're just not my type."

When she smiled, just that way, a man heard siren songs. "Believe me, if I aimed at you, you wouldn't have any other type. But that's neither here nor there. I came in to propose a kind of alliance, a bargain, a deal. However it suits you."

"What's the deal?"

"That you and I will work together, we'll fight together if it comes to it. We'll join our particular talents when and if necessary. And I won't seduce you or pretend to let you seduce me."

"You wouldn't be pretending."

"There, we've each gotten a shot in. Score's even. You're here because you love your friends, however else you feel about this place, about some of the people in it, you love your friends and are absolutely loyal to them. I respect that, Gage, and I understand it. I love my friends, and I'm loyal to them. That's why I'm here."

Glancing toward the doorway, she took a slow sip of wine. "This town isn't mine, but those people in the other room are. I'll do whatever I need to do for them. So will you.

"So, do we have a deal?"

He pushed away from the counter, crossed to her. He stood close, his eyes on hers. She smelled, he thought, of mysteries that were exclusively female. "Tell me something. Do you believe we're going to come out on the other side of this, throwing the confetti and popping the champagne?"

"They do. That's almost enough for me. The rest is possibility."

"I like probabilities better. But..." He held out a hand, taking hers when she offered it. "Deal."

"Good. Then-" She started to step away, but he held her hand firm in his.

"What if I'd said no?"

"Then, I suppose I'd have been forced to seduce you and make you my love puppy to keep you in line."

His grin spread, full of appreciation. "Love puppy my ass."

"You'd be surprised. Or would if we didn't have a deal." She put down her wine to pat his hand before pulling hers free. Picking up her wine again, she started to walk out, then stopped, turned back. The amusement was gone. "He's in love with her."

Fox, Gage realized. Cal was already a given. "Yeah, I know."

"I don't know if he does, certainly Layla doesn't. Yet. It makes them stronger, and it makes it all more difficult for them."

"Fox especially. That's his story," Gage said, with finality, when her eyes asked how.

"All right. They're going to need more of us soon, more from us. You're not going to have the luxury of being bored much longer."

"Did you see something?"

"I dreamed they were all dead, piled like offerings on the Pagan Stone. And my