A second man stood further down the table, barely within his restricted line of sight. Taller, but with the same wiry build as Eddie, this man had blond hair and a somewhat scraggly ginger beard. No vampire, then, as vampires tended not to be able to grow beards. But no human, either, if the almost feral gleam in the man's green eyes was anything to go by.
Kazdan was nowhere in sight, but his heavy steps were audible. Three men, at least two of them vampires. Not good odds for an attack when he wasn't one hundred percent fit.
He shifted slightly, trying to ease the ache in his left leg. Kazdan's pacing stopped. Gabriel froze, wondering if the vampire had caught the sound of a pumping heart. If he was close to the door, it was a real possibility, even though Kazdan was very young in vampire terms and still had to be learning how to handle his newfound senses.
"We don't dare wait any longer. That bitch at reception is bound to wake up soon and raise the alarm. We have to get the disks and Ryan out of here."
Eddie slipped off the table, the movement almost languid. "The boss wanted her left alone." He flipped the dagger one final time and shoved it into a sheath attached to his right wrist. "He ain't going to like this."
Gabriel raised his eyebrows in surprise. Sethanon wanted Sam left alone? What exactly did that mean? That she was somehow involved with Sethanon?
"You're working for me now. You do as I say."
Kazdan's voice was sharp with menace. He wondered what Sam would think if she could hear him now. And why did Kazdan want her when his orders were obviously to the contrary?
"What about Stern?"
"Take him straight to the car. He and his brother were slated for termination at the end of this month, anyway."
Brother. Only three people beyond their immediate family knew Stephan and he were brothers. Mary, Karl, and Lyssa — the original Lyssa, that was. Whether the shifter taking her place knew depended on just how long she'd been by his brother's side. But if Kazdan knew, then it had to mean that one of those three was involved with him.
And if both he and Stephan were slated for termination at the end of the month, did that mean that Mary had orchestrated tonight's bombing attempt alone? But why?
He listened to the receding sound of their footsteps, but he didn't move until silence had returned. He pushed open the door and limped in. The kitchen was long and full of gleaming metal benches and appliances. It was also empty, for which he was grateful. He walked through a doorway to his left and down another corridor. The service lift door came into view. The doors hadn't even fully opened before Sam scrambled out. She fell into his arms, her whole body shaking, alternatively coughing and sucking in huge gulps of air.
Even though she still wore his jacket, her skin felt like ice. This wasn't an effect of the fog; this was fear. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her close. After several minutes, the trembling in her limbs began to ease, but her heart still raced.
"Why didn't you tell me you were claustrophobic?" he asked softly.
She took a shuddering breath. "What good would it have done? You know there was no other way out."
If he'd known she was so terrified of small, dark places, he might have tried to find another way. "How long have you had this fear?"
"For as long as I can remember."
"Have you talked to the psyche guys about it?"
"Yeah. They put it down to a childhood trauma." She shrugged, feigning a casualness that was almost instantly belied by the tremor that ran through her slender form.
"You okay now?" He hoped so, because Kazdan had probably entered the apartment, and it wouldn't take him long to discover his trap had failed.
She sniffed, and then nodded. The top of her head brushed across his chin, and silky strands of red gold tickled his nose. He smoothed her hair down, feeling the dampness near the crown and sides.
"Then we'd better get moving," he said, though if Kazdan had not been a threat, he could easily have stayed here, simply holding her. It felt good. She felt good.
She pulled away slightly. "There's a problem?"
His gaze focused on her lips, watching them move as she spoke. "Kazdan."
She tensed. "Jack's here?"
"Yes," he said, a little more sharply than he'd intended. "He wants the disks."
And you. He frowned suddenly. The tone Kazdan had used when speaking about her was not the tone of a friend. Enemy, yes, friend, definitely not. So why was he so keen to get her back?
She met his gaze. The ring of shadows around the blue of her eyes was more pronounced than it had been a few hours ago. "Why can't we just confront him now?"
"Because he has company. I can't fight three nonhumans alone." Though with her help, he certainly had a better chance. She'd apparently gotten the better of the two vamps at Kazdan's house, and she still had the laser. But there was a niggling concern in the back of his mind about her relationship with Kazdan. A niggling that said don't trust her when it comes to him. "We're better off getting those disks out of here."