“I’m positive.” A steely glint entered his eyes. “I won’t take refuge from someone I can’t trust. Your stranger is unknown to me.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.” When he looked at my quizzically I reminded him, “I trusted Goose, and look what he did. Sometimes it’s smart to keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and the strangers you meet on speed dial. If we need weapons, Bane can get them.”
“You have a point, but it doesn’t matter. Jerry will take us to the vehicle I had set aside in the event you agreed to leave with Paine and Ethan. If we drive through the day, we can arrive at our destination by nightfall.”
Bane wouldn’t like it, but fortunately I didn’t owe him anything. I’d give him a courtesy call when Disco and I were safe, just to keep our quasi-relationship amiable. No sense in burning any bridges we might need to cross for safety. Maybe in the future I could help Bane out, give him the clues he was after, but since I had a long to-do list he’d have to get in line.
“You’re sure it’s safe?”
“I won’t risk you again,” he answered, as though that explained everything. “No more doing things behind my back. Those days are over.” I nodded my agreement, and he stroked the back of his hand along my cheek, his knuckles light on my skin. “We find your angel, bring her back and gain an ally.”
“There’s more, though. Isn’t there?” I asked, feeling a stirring within him, knowing he wanted to tell me something.
“Yes,” he whispered, his power washing over me, and cupped my chin. “I’m not running, and I will not hide. I plan to return and reclaim my rightful place as Master of New York. I will not exist like a pestilence in the shadows. It’s time half-demons understand vampires will no longer bend to their will. Those who stand against us are destined to fall.”
As I’d shared my thoughts with him, he opened a mental vault with me. There was a part of me that was shocked, taken back by the vehemence rolling through him. Gabriel fully intended to take the city back, to proclaim it as his. If he had his way, vampires would break from half-demon tradition. They would refuse to bow down to those who were the originator of the vampire race.
Shit on a stick, he wanted an uprising.
“One thing at a time,” he reminded me and stopped the flow of thoughts.
“Whatever you say,” I responded and lowered my gaze. So much for the easygoing Disco. I was stuck with the hard-edged Gabriel Trevellian from now on.
“I’m glad you think that.” He spoke in my mind. “You know I prefer my given name.”
I could have argued with him like I used to, telling him I’d always call him Disco if only to piss him off, but I didn’t. The snarky bitch was gone, leaving behind a woman who was emotionally damaged and bleeding out. There wasn’t enough in me left to joke, to make things light or breezy. Not when the weight in my arms—so light I barely registered it, yet so heavy I couldn’t lift it to save the world—reminded me of how much had been lost.
The conversation with Disco had blessedly redirected my thoughts, allowing me to pretend I wasn’t holding my sister. Only now, gazing down, I had to face that I was. I studied the young woman in my arms. She was so young. Still innocent despite everything she’d experienced. All she had known was horror. I wondered if it was possible to introduce her to something better.
“Every time I visited Jenny, she was always looking out the window. I don’t know what she saw that captivated her so much, but I’d like to ask.”
“Are you ready?” He reached out and ran his fingers along Jennifer’s forehead, the touch tender, his own respectful and lingering farewell.
No. I wasn’t ready. For something like this I never would be. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can. Show her how much you love her by ending her suffering. Give her peace. Set her free.”