The High School Reunion From Hell - Saranna DeWylde Page 0,46
DNA. I didn’t, Margie. I swear, I didn’t.” She lifted her chin high, but her lip trembled.
I believed her. I would have believed her before we had our hot and heavy makeout session. I knew she wouldn’t do that.
“I know.”
“Call my lawyer. The number is in my bag at the table with Lila Jean. And Mina!”
“I will.”
“Must be nice having a slayer in your back pocket,” the cop said as he jerked her forward.
If she hadn’t been a vampire, he would’ve dislocated her shoulder.
Gabe said nothing, and did nothing to help her the way he’d helped me. Not that it surprised me, but I’d hoped he’d help her.
“I’ll get you out. I swear.”
She nodded and he dragged her down the hallway, a contingent of officers surrounding them like they thought she was some kind of Hannibal Lecter.
Vampire laws were different than human laws. If a vampire was convicted in a court of law of murder, it was an immediate death sentence. It was one of the laws humans had required to allow them to co-exist.
There was no way in hell I was going to let that happen to Brooke.
Gabe dragged me away from the scene. “Come on. Quickly.”
I followed him to the elevators and down to his room, texting Lila Jean on the way to call Brooke’s lawyer and have them meet her. She’d handle it, and bring Marc up to date.
Once we were inside, Gabe locked the door, and engaged in extra security measures.
“The Order of Leocadia,” he began. “That’s what these traffickers call themselves.”
“Why did you have to wait until now to tell me that?”
“I’m sorry, I had to get clearance.”
“They tattoo their prey. Brand them like livestock,” I said. “What else?”
“The bid is definitely on you, Margie. It’s over a million dollars.”
“Shit, I might turn myself in to them for a million dollars.”
“Don’t even joke about it. They have people everywhere.” He looked into my eyes for a long moment. “Everywhere.”
“I’ve had a price on my head before.” I shrugged as if it didn’t matter. As if it was business as usual.
“Not like this. They… they were content to leave you alone when you were young because slayer blood doesn’t come into its power until around forty. It’s rich with flavor, and it carries with it all of the power of the slayer. If you have super strength, it doubles the vampire’s strength. If you have power in your voice, it gives the vampire seduction.”
“Did you just make a tabletop roleplaying reference?”
“Hey, you knew I was a nerd just like you.” He smiled softly. “But I need to know that you’re taking this seriously.”
“I am taking it seriously, Gabe. I swear.
“Good. I want to stay close to me so I can help protect you.” He held up his hand. “And before you argue, I know that someone tried to break into Marc’s house.”
“How did you know that?”
“I have my ways. I can’t tell you yet, but I will. You just have to trust me.”
“That doesn’t come easily for me, Gabe.” I shoved my hands in my pockets.
“I know.”
I pressed my lips together. “I will on one condition.”
“Marge, there’s nothing I can do for Brooke. They found her venom in Dallas’s wounds. All the lawyers, all the money, all the FBVI resources in the world can’t save her. I know it’s harsh, but it’s better to cut your losses.”
“People aren’t expendable,” I said, angry at the things he said.
I knew he was right. If this has been only about a tactical advantage, cutting my losses was the right thing to do, but I’d never just been about tactics and numbers.
Whatever it cost me, I would always follow my heart.
Chapter Thirteen
I spent an awkward night with Gabe after asking Emily if she could dogsit Vlad and Mina overnight. After explaining what had happened, she’d been more than willing to help out. She was an angel sent from heaven. Lila Jean, Marc, and Presley all spend the night together in Presley’s suite, which had comforted me greatly to know they were all together and looking out for each other.
Sleep had eluded me in Gabe’s room. We’d spent long hours going over the files, and when we’d gone to bed, he’d taken the floor.
Not that I wanted him in the bed, but the way he’d acted before, like every tidbit of information he shared with me was reliant on what he could get out of me. He’d said he’d been waiting on clearance, but I knew in my bones that was