“No. Gabby.”
Moving into the van, I gently lifted her into my arms. Her heartbeat reassured me, but only a little. She was so pale and still, her shallow breathing barely moving her chest as I carefully stepped out of the van.
“What happened to her?” I said, looking at Isabelle.
The redhead had puke stains on her shirt and looked just as pale. She also looked guilty as hell.
“Is she breathing?”
I nodded.
“I happened to her. We couldn’t go with them.”
She sounded like Bethi. I glanced at the men on the ground, the ones who had taken Gabby. I wanted to kill them. One of them moved, and I growled but before I could even think of setting Gabby down, Carlos stepped forward and finished them.
“Thank you,” I said softly. He nodded once and went back to Isabelle.
It took some persuading, but once he had her in his arms, we ran back to the group. The whole time, Gabby didn’t move. Not even a twitch. Fear clawed at me. Would she ever wake up? Just what had Isabelle done to her?
I’d watched Gabby lay sick and motionless too many times in the short time we’d been together. The helpless fear that consumed me the first time it had happened hadn’t eased with each occurrence. It had only gotten worse. How many times could she lay in my arms like this before there came a time when she wouldn’t wake up?
Sam. Gabby’s out again.
What do you mean?
Like at the Compound. She’s breathing but not waking up. She doesn’t look good.
We’re close, son.
A few seconds after we joined the others, three vehicles pulled up. Winnifred and Sam both rushed over to check on Gabby.
“What happened?” Sam asked.
Before I could answer, Isabelle spoke up.
“I couldn’t kick open the door without help. She’s not hurt. Just the opposite. She’s floating so high, it’ll be awhile before she’s back. As long as she’s still breathing, she should be fine.”
Fine? I didn’t like Isabelle’s attitude, or the fact that she was walking toward us. She’d knocked Gabby down twice now. It was hard to be mad at her, though, when I knew she’d saved Gabby by also knocking out the men who’d taken them.
“She’ll be okay. I promise. I accidently did this to my parents a ton of times while growing up.” She absently swiped at her bleeding nose, watching me with her pain-filled in her eyes.
I nodded, realizing she felt guilty about what had happened to Gabby.
“We need to go,” her friend said.
“Clay, put Gabby in the back with you,” Sam said. “Bethi and Luke, there’s room for you, too.”
While the rest figured out a new seating arrangement since we were down a vehicle, I climbed into the SUV. Cradling Gabby in my arms, I waited for the rest to join us.
We drove for an hour before pulling over.
“What’s going on?” Bethi asked.
“Ethan is saying Isabelle needs to stop.”
Bethi quickly exited with Luke right behind her. I stayed where I was, watching Gabby’s peaceful face. I couldn’t feel anything over our link. If she was “floating high” shouldn’t I feel something? Gently, I brushed a piece of hair back from her cheek.
“I need you, Gabby. You need to wake up.”
She continued as she was. Unaware and unreachable.
Several minutes later, everyone was moving back to the vehicles.
“We need to listen to him,” Bethi said. “I know Carlos is thinking he knows best for her, but in this case, he doesn’t. Ethan is her friend. When it comes to her ability, he obviously knows how to help her. Carlos needs to chill out and start paying attention or she will die.”
I lifted my head to glance at Bethi. She was talking with her hands and Luke was doing his best to contain most of the wild gestures.
“We understand,” Sam said from the front. “Carlos is trying to be patient.”
“No, he’s not. He’s going all caveman on her. He can’t do that. This Mate crap isn’t what’s important here. Hasn’t anyone been listening to me?”
“Luv, of course we have. Come here.” Luke wrapped his arms around her, and she started to cry.
Turning away from them, I went back to watching Gabby, looking for any sign that she was ready to wake up.
* * * *
We are in trouble and need a place to stay for the night in North Carolina. If anyone is willing to help us, please reach out to an Elder.
Winnifred’s message to all of our kind surprised me. Joshua hadn’t been the only Urbat to infiltrate the pack.
“Isn’t that a big risk?” I asked, glancing at Sam.
Bethi, who’d been quietly resting her head on Luke’s shoulder, popped up.
“What’s a risk? What’s going on?”
Grey turned to look at Bethi.
“Winnifred sent a message asking for a place to hole up in North Carolina.”
“No! Why would she do that?”
“We need a place to stay that’s out of the way. Gabby’s out and Isabelle and Ethan don’t look so good.”
“Joshua wasn’t the only one who—”
“We know,” Grey said kindly. “That’s why we’re saying yes to each person who is offering. Only we’ll know which one we’ll take.”
Bethi calmed a little. I did too. It didn’t feel any safer. But with Gabby still out, nothing really did.
The place they chose was an old farm in the country. As soon as the car stopped, I was out and carrying Gabby to the door. Sam helped me with the lock and held the door for me. The scents of the family still lingered faintly. Most families had gone into hiding when the Elders had sent out the warning weeks ago.
I followed a hall to a set of steps leading up. There I found a bed in the middle of an open room.
Kicking off my shoes, I settled on the bed, keeping her in my lap. I hated the waiting, the worry. It was twice as hard because I knew this wasn’t like the last time. It wasn’t a simple twelve to fourteen hour wait for her to wake up and ask for water. She’d be out until whatever Isabelle did to her wore off. If it wore off.
As the sun faded in the sky, my worry grew.
At some point, the rest came inside and I could hear their quiet conversation in the kitchen. Bethi introduced everyone to Isabelle and gave a rundown of each of the girls’ abilities.
Then the conversation quieted when Isabelle went to shower. Downstairs, I heard Carlos asking if any of the girls had something Isabelle could wear. Michelle offered up some her clothes.
Each second that ticked by, each word that Gabby missed of the conversation downstairs, crawled under my skin. Why was she still unconscious? How long had Isabelle knocked her parents out?
The sound of footsteps on the stairs barely penetrated my worry.
“When I came to, she had my head in her lap,” Isabelle said softly as she crossed the room. “She was stroking my hair like my mom used to do before I broke her. It was dark in the van. I could feel we were moving, driving further away from help. I felt Gabby’s fear and her barely contained panic. Not far away, I felt the pitiless lust and eager aggression of the men who drove.”
I’d known she’d saved Gabby. But hearing what she’d saved her from made swallowing difficult.
I glanced up at Isabelle, ready to thank her.
“I’m so sorry for what I did to her. But what they would have done...”
“I know,” I said.
“If there would have been another way, I would have taken it.”
I nodded and looked back down at Gabby. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. If keeping her safe meant hours of worry, I would deal with it.
“Give her a few more hours. She’s sleeping off the best high of her life. And when she comes to, keep her away from me. I’m crack. Highly addictive.”