He snarled, his arm muscles tensing as he flexed his shoulders. She watched warily, certain the chains wouldn't hold out much longer.
"You help me, I'll help you," he said, after a few minutes.
She resumed her pacing. "Is that the sort of deal Rose offered?"
"Maybe."
"In what way do you think you can help me?"
"Rose has insurance. One of your own."
Alarm slivered through her. That's why no one could get hold of Gabriel. Rose had him.
"The SIU does not bargain for the life of its operatives."
"No? Then he dies." Orrin shrugged, but the gleam in his eyes was malicious.
She stepped closer. "If you know what is good for you, you'll tell us where he is, right now. The SIU is not bound by the same rules as the police. We play a whole lot rougher, believe me."
Orrin snorted. "Like, I'm really afraid."
"Well, that's a damn shame." She glanced to the mirrored wall on her right. "Briggs, get a break team in here immediately, please."
"Will do." The metallic edge the speakers gave Briggs's voice could not disguise her enthusiasm.
The big man frowned. "What's a break team?"
She crossed her arms. "What does it sound like, Orrin? You had one chance to play fair, and you declined. Now we get nasty."
He lunged against the chains again, teeth snapping. His canines were sharp, she noted. Almost as sharp as a vampires. "You won't get nothin' from me."
"We'll see." She glanced at the wall again. "Buzz me if he changes his mind and decides to talk, or when the break team finishes."
"Will do," Briggs repeated.
Sam walked from the room. Out in the corridor, she stopped and took a deep breath. Tension oozed from every muscle. There was something about the big man that made her skin crawl. And it was more than just the sense of evil. It was if he were something that should not exist — something obscene, like the kites.
She glanced at her watch and decided to get a coffee. The coffee machines in the building produced a black substance that tasted little better than dishwater, but right now, she didn't feel like walking down the street to get something better. She wanted to be on hand when the break team started in on Orrin.
She headed up to the foyer. Being a public area, the machines there tended to offer better quality dishwater.
Only everyone else in the building had to have the same thought, because by the time she got down there, the damn machine was out of coffee. She thumped it in frustration and then punched the button for hot chocolate. Better than tea, she supposed. She was watching it pour when Gabriel walked through security and headed for the elevators.
Orrin had been lying. Odd that she hadn't detected it. She grabbed her chocolate, almost burning her fingers as the hot liquid splashed up over the sides of the plastic cup, and hurried after her partner.
"Gabriel, wait!"
He continued walking, but he looked over his shoulder. There was no recognition, no emotion, in his eyes when his gaze met hers.
Heat crawled over her skin, whispering secretes to her mind. She stopped abruptly. Hot chocolate splashed over her hand again, breaking wetly across the pristine tiles near her feet.
This wasn't Gabriel.
This was a shapeshifter, taking his form.
Chapter Fourteen
Sam dropped the chocolate in the nearby bin and drew her gun. "A.D. Stern, please stop right now."