But before Nolan could reach them, someone from deeper within the apartment bellowed, “Ah! Here they are.”
The entire apartment went silent, and the invisible line on which Gabby had strung Nolan was severed. He stopped moving. His playful smile crashed.
A man made his way toward them through the crowd. Gabby didn’t need an introduction. She saw Nolan in every facet of him—his overwhelming height, his dark features and fathomless blue eyes. Nolan’s father, Carrick Quinn.
Apparently, the elder Quinn knew no introduction was necessary. He didn’t spare them one.
“Where is your gargoyle?” he asked.
For some reason, Gabby and Grayson automatically looked to Ingrid. Silly, since they both knew the answer.
“Outside,” Ingrid told him.
“Good. See that it stays there,” Carrick Quinn quickly replied. Out of the corner of her eye, Gabby saw Ingrid’s chin lift. It. Luc wasn’t an it.
“I won’t waste your time, or mine,” he went on, all business. “Recently, there has been a breakdown in proper Alliance command in this city.” There was no missing the pointed look he sent his son. Nolan ignored it, his eyes remaining on Gabby.
“I’ve come back from Rome with plenty of Alliance ready to set things to rights. With what we’ve learned about the fallen angel Axia and this much-too-vague Harvest of hers, we cannot allow for even the slightest dip in our standards,” he said. His Scottish burr was just as soft and unpronounced as Nolan’s.
“You and you,” Carrick said, stabbing a finger toward Ingrid and then Grayson. “The Alliance is still interested in the two of you, even though you both declined an urgent request for your presence in Rome. You”—he stabbed his finger toward Gabby—“I have to ask that you leave.”
Gabby stilled and felt a stupid expression slacken her jaw. “I—I beg your pardon?”
Chelle’s petite figure emerged from between two taller Alliance men, followed by Vander.
“The Alliance insists that you forget everything you’ve learned about us these last months,” Nolan’s father answered without an ounce of remorse. “My son made a mistake bringing you into our circle, informing you of our practices.”
Nolan stood rigid, the only change in his expression the downward slant of his brows. Open your mouth! Gabby wanted to shout. Say something! Even Chelle’s and Vander’s lips were sealed, though their eyes were bright and clearly troubled.
“This is an underground society, one that has been built upon a solid foundation of Alliance families around the world. Your sister and brother possess certain abilities that—if controllable—could aid our hunters, just as Mr. Burke has done. Otherwise, we do not make it a regular practice to take in first-generations. Not without good reason, at least.”
So Gabby had nothing to offer. No demon gifts, no special abilities. Nothing but her own will and a glimmer of fighting skill.
Without a parting word, or an apology, Carrick Quinn nodded once to show he was finished and folded back into the stunned crowd. Gabby’s whole body shook with embarrassment and fury. Forget the last few months? Forget the Alliance and everything she’d learned? Was the man absolutely insane? There was no way she could forget. It was like asking someone to forget what a crack of thunder sounded like, or the sum of two plus two. It was just there, and there was no getting rid of it.
She didn’t want to be rid of it. The Alliance was supposed to be her chance. This was what she’d been working for, training for. And as pathetic as it sounded, even to her, this was where she’d thought she’d be accepted.
Nolan came forward as the others went back to their conversations. No doubt they were already forgetting her. Gabby blinked, her eyes stinging. No. She would not cry, not here in front of everyone.
Nolan stopped a foot away from her. Before, she had pictured throwing her arms around him, feeling him catch her and return the embrace. Maybe even stealing a kiss. That fantasy reunion shriveled.
“I’ll come to you,” Nolan whispered so low that no one else could hear.
He wasn’t going to fight for her.
Gabby backed up without a word. Her heels trod on something solid and she felt a pair of hands grip her waist. Spinning around, she found herself looking up into the face of the young man who had opened the door for them.
“Will ye be all right?” he asked. The question startled her. She didn’t know him, and yet he sounded genuinely concerned.
Gabby had no answer. She shook her head and bit her lower lip to fend off a new threat of tears. She rushed past him, away from her sister and brother. If the Alliance didn’t want her, well, then she wanted no part of it.
Ingrid started after Gabby as she barreled down the entrance hall. Nolan’s father had been horrible, and Ingrid’s eyes burned with anger.
Grayson caught her elbow. “I’ll go.” He looked around the apartment as if it were infested with vermin. “I don’t want anything to do with this place anyway.”