Chapter 27

27

"Say it again."

Gabriel gritted his teeth. Henry was drawing too much pleasure out of this. "I fucked up," he enunciated.

Henry shook his head like there was water in his ears. "Sorry, just once more."

"I'll go get Tia."

"Asshole."

Gabriel flicked him a look. They stood waiting for a cab—or Gabriel did. Both of them had been kicked out of Toil and Trouble, and his former friend now seemed content to needle him. He should've kept his mouth shut.

The noise on the street was overwhelming, cars rumbling past, the people swarming and chattering like magpies. Yet, there was quiet inside him now. A stillness he'd never felt before.

Shame Henry wasn't letting him appreciate it.

"Explain to me again how you fucked up."

Bastian piped up from the other side. "Yeah, I'd like to know that, too."

Gabriel scowled. "I don't even know why you're here."

Bastian affected a hurt look. "We're friends. When a friend is hurting, you support them."

He was surrounded by assholes. But even as he thought it, Gabriel's lips twitched.

Although it went against his nature, he figured backup couldn't hurt and so, summarized the situation. Again.

Bastian nodded shrewdly. "You did fuck up. Oomph ." He staggered when Gabriel pushed some telekinesis at him. The pain was worth it.

"So, what's your plan? Grovel?" Henry looked around the city, at the cabs crawling past. "Don't you have to flag one down?"

Gabriel belatedly stuck out a hand. "I'm going to tell the truth." He was supposed to be good at that.

"And the truth is...?"

He refused to say those important three words to anyone but Leah for the first time. "I took the decision away from her," he said, nerves skittering down his spine. He flexed his hands. "She deserves to know everything and then..." Then he'd see.

His protective instincts went haywire, jockeying for control, but he breathed through it. By holding on too tight, he'd lose her. He had to try. Had to take this risk.

A few seconds went by. So did two cabs.

"Well." Bastian clapped his hands together. "Bro trip, then?"

"Bro trip?" Gabriel echoed, and found his arm seized by Bastian, who towed him away from the road toward an alleyway. When they stopped, he blinked at the piles of garbage. "Excellent destination."

Having followed them, Henry snickered as Bastian threw up a shield. "We'll portal."

"We?"

"Backup, man."

Henry nodded sagely.

The last thing Gabriel wanted was these two there when he spoke with Leah, a front-row audience to whatever happened...but portalling would be faster than human travel.

He gave in. "Fine."

"Where to?"

"The shelter."

Henry had barely flicked his fingers before a shimmering portal whirled into existence. Gabriel didn't waste time, hearing footsteps behind him as he strode in and out the other side.

What he saw had his stomach diving into his throat. Bastian and Henry both cursed as they exited and closed the portal, but Gabriel was already streaking toward the shelter, where smoke billowed out the broken windows in thick clouds.

"Henry!" he yelled. Henry's specialty was fire magic. He could contain the blaze.

"I'm on it."

As Bastian raised another shield, to keep the fire from spreading to the other buildings and also to keep humans from seeing too much, Henry braced both hands and began to work on the inferno. His hands shimmered white as he spat out a curse, strained. "Something's wrong. It's not natural. Gabriel! You can't go in until we've managed it. Gabriel. "

He barely heard his friend as he crashed through the door. A wave of heat knocked him back and he threw up a magical barrier against the dancing flames, gritting his teeth against the jolt of pain. Even with the block, the heat was incredible and sweat slicked his skin as he barreled through the fire. Was Leah in here? Horrible scenarios ran though Gabriel's head.

The animals , he thought in the next breath. Chuck. But as he turned down the first hallway, his eyes fell upon empty kennels and cages, their doors open.

Bastian and his telekinesis. He must have released them. Temporary relief made his head pound, not helped by the thickening smoke or the continued drain of magic. The heat intensified until it felt like his clothes could melt from him. Still, he forged ahead, needing to check each pen, unable to let it rest until he'd seen for himself that no animals were trapped in the blaze.

He nearly missed her. Later, it might make his heart stop to think of how close he'd been to passing by the kennel. The only reason he paused was because it was the only closed door. And there she was, curled up on the floor, pale, unconscious, blond curls splayed around her like a death shroud.

He might have screamed; his mouth moved but all he could hear was his heart throbbing wildly against his rib cage. He threw himself at the kennel door, yanking on it to get her out, to get her away. It wouldn't budge. He applied pressure, feeling the burn in his biceps, triceps, shoulders. He threw all his magic at it, draining himself to the point where his teeth locked together. Nothing.

More sweat dripped and from somewhere in the building, something crashed. He vaguely heard Henry's shouts amidst the roar of the fire. Remembered his friend's words.

It's unnatural.

Swallowing the dark fear, he placed a hand on the kennel door. Magic leaped at his palm like iron shavings to a magnet, forcing a bad taste into his mouth. Someone had sealed the door with a high-level spell. Who? Why?

His mind was a jumble of thoughts, not all of them making sense as he beat the door again, over and over and over, until his skin scraped away and blood bloomed. All outer walls had crumbled, every society manner that made up Gabriel Goodnight burned to ash. That was all he tasted as he finally braced his fists and let his head fall on the door. He stared at Leah with desperation.

Bastian and Henry could get her without issue, but neither were here, and the flames were licking closer. The air was thick with smoke and she was breathing it all in. She might already have suffocated.

The idea had something wild ripping at his insides, shredding him into something less than man. No. This wasn't supposed to happen. He couldn't let this happen.

An unnatural calm blanketed the panic. He couldn't let this happen. Wouldn't.

There was only one choice.

Part of him grieved, would grieve more when they were out and he had to face the consequences. But now he focused inside, sank his consciousness down until he reached the binding that held back his power. And, without hesitation, sliced through it.

His body arched, lifting into the air as magic flooded his body. It was ecstasy and torture as his cells rebonded with the power that had always been a part of him. His mouth opened on a silent scream as his body spasmed for endless seconds, until finally he crumpled to the floor.

Gabriel lay there for a blank moment, breathing hard until the lingering pain melted away. Then he lifted his head and pushed to his knees, his feet. Strength coursed through him and he barely broke stride as he focused on Leah's cell, crushed his fist. The spell sealing the kennel door shattered.

He threw a barrier of protection around her instantly, lunging forward to gather her into his arms. Her head lolled as he stood; her chest didn't move. Sick terror gripped him as he created a portal to outside.

Bastian shouted as Gabriel carried Leah through the portal, cradling her in his arms.

"Help," he shouted back, falling to his knees. He stared at her face, tracing every inch as panic swarmed his cells. "She's not breathing," he told Bastian as the other warlock dropped down next to them.

Bastian tore off his jacket. "Lay her on the ground. You know CPR?"

Gabriel shook his head.

"I need you to blow in her mouth when I say." Bastian positioned Leah, moving her chin, her arms, her legs, before laying his hands on her chest. Then he pressed down hard, once, twice, three times, again and again. "When I say, tilt her chin back, pinch her nose and seal your mouth over hers. Breathe into her. Now. Stop. Again. Stop. Good." He resumed his compressions, stopping after thirty. "Again."

Gabriel wanted to beat his fists on the ground, scream. Magic could do a lot of things, but it couldn't bring someone back to life.

Not that she was dead. He held that thought like he held her hand, like he could keep her here by force, the depth of his will strong enough to beat back the Goddess and anyone who'd dare take her from him. He had to tell her what she must know : that she was in every beat of the heart that now labored for both of them.

"Breathe," he demanded, vaguely aware of Henry still battling to keep the blaze from consuming the building. Unaware of him, thanks to Bastian's shield, groups of people gathered, gawking, distressed as sirens rent the air.

Gabriel barely noticed. His entire focus was on the woman lying so still, too still, when everything she was was energy. "Breathe, Leah." He clutched her as Bastian counted off the compressions. His face was ashen, the expression there close to grief. He slowed, chin tilting to Gabriel.

Something broke inside him, just crumbled, slid away.

"No," he managed, a broken syllable for a broken man. " No. " He squeezed her hand tight.

And her eyes flew open.

Instantly she turned, gagging, coughing a raw, painful sound. Gabriel's chest tensed until it hurt as he dragged in a breath.

"Leah." His voice was stricken. "Leah." It was all he could say. But not all he could do. He conjured a vial of Goodnight's Remedies' tonic to soothe a burn patient's innards. As she tried to sit up, he supported her head, then her body as he angled himself to sit behind her.

"Drink this," he urged, wrapping her hands around the pretty blue bottle as his own trembled. "It'll help."

He allowed himself to stroke the hair off her face, focusing on the faintest scent of coconut beneath the acrid smoke. He felt her heart beat, felt his settle into a slower, less jerky rhythm.

Except it didn't feel whole anymore, not completely. The other half was cradled in his arms.

He skimmed his lips over her forehead as she drank the potion with only a wrinkling of her nose. His eyes met Bastian's. "Thank you." He would be forever in his debt.

The warlock inclined his head and patted Leah's knee. "Glad you're back with us, Leah." His words were casual but the raw note in them revealed how close it had been. Saying nothing about that, he hiked a thumb. "I'm going to go help Henry."

"I'll come. Rest here for a minute," Gabriel said to Leah and eased away.

"What's...?" She turned her gaze onto the building and panic leaped to her eyes. "The animals." She struggled to rise.

"They're not in there." He soothed her back to sitting. "Rest. I'll be back."

He found it hard to keep his gaze off her, how she breathed, that she breathed, as he walked backward for a few steps. Then he turned and helped Bastian and Henry beat the mystical fire into submission.

Leah's mind was still foggy hours later as she curled up in her bed. Next to her, Rosie sprawled, snoozing, while Delilah and Louie lay together at the footboard. Sylvie had abandoned her for Peggy, who'd fluttered around Leah until she'd finally been ordered away. Yet she hadn't been the worst offender.

Emma had gripped her hard in a hug that wouldn't end, while Tia had paced the bedroom floor, ranting about how when she found out who'd done this, she'd hex their insides to be their outsides and force them to eat every slimy inch. Just...ew.

Leah hadn't seen Gabriel once her friends had descended.

She couldn't blame him. He must be...was there even a word for what he must be feeling?

He'd voided his contract, or word, or whatever was the right term. On the final day, when he'd made it three months, he'd been forced to throw away all of his dreams, his chance at redeeming himself—in his head, anyway—because of her.

She knew it wasn't her fault that she'd been knocked out and locked up. But she'd promised him she'd never be an obstacle.

Well, congratulations, Leah , she told herself as she stared at the figures moving around on the TV. You weren't an obstacle, you were a dead end.

The expression made her wince. Dead end.

She shied away from the words as they echoed in her mind. As gut-wrenching as Gabriel's situation was, it was still easier to focus on than the fact that she'd apparently stopped breathing.

It could've been so much worse. And she still had no idea who would want to set the shelter on fire. Mitch was right, it was like they were being targeted for some reason.

At least the animals would be okay, having been saved by being rounded into the yard. Unfortunately, although Bastian had done his best, smoke damage had still caught some of them before they'd got the fire out.

Sonny had immediately linked with their on-call vet to come assist, Joanne and other neighbors also offering help once the all clear was given. Luckily, thanks to the warlocks filtering the magic out of the blaze, firefighters had finished putting out the fire shortly after Leah had woken up. She'd been bundled off to the hospital for a checkup, but she'd been told Gabriel had also contacted his sister in search of something to help the animals. None of their usual elixirs would work for non-humans, but Melly, as he'd told Leah once, loved to experiment, so she'd been tasked with tweaking some of their existing medicines. According to Emma, the early results were promising.

Gabriel had also solved the problem of where to house the animals longer term and volunteered his manor, at least temporarily, until the shelter could be assessed and repaired. Leah couldn't even imagine how his housekeeper would cope, but she knew Melly would be in heaven. And luckily, with Gabriel and all her other witch friends to help, the shelter wouldn't be a write-off. Everything would be okay. For her.

But Gabriel was going to lose everything.

"Leah."

His voice had her gaze flying to the open door. He stood in the doorway, dressed in one of his three-piece suits. Immaculately armored once again. His hair was freshly washed, face freshly shaved. He looked perfect and unattainable, not like the man who'd held her so tenderly when he'd taken her away from the shelter.

They still hadn't talked and their last words before the fire throbbed between them. She'd hoped he'd come but now he was here, her stomach knotted at his watchful gaze. He'd only worried she was fragile before; now he knew it.

She scooted up to sit, making the mattress dip. Rosie moaned in her sleep.

Unsure what to do with her hands, she tucked hair behind her ear. "Hi." Her voice was scratchy, uncomfortable.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Alive."

He nodded and stayed in the doorway.

Her heart dropped farther, to her toes. She curled them under the covers. "Did I say thank you?"

"Yes. But there's no need."

"Sure. When I save someone's life, I always think it's no big deal."

Delilah stirred. On seeing Gabriel was there, she lifted her little body and wiggled it, yipping.

He hesitated then crossed the threshold to scratch her behind her ear. He focused on the dog. "I have to go to New Orleans."

Leah chewed the inside of her cheek, lifting her knees up so she could wrap her arms around them. "To tell them."

"They'll already know. The binding... Breaking it forcefully will have caused a ripple effect back through their magic, since they created it." He smoothed a hand down Louie's back as the lazy spaniel lifted a paw. "I have to explain."

"Maybe they'll understand."

"Maybe." But his tone wasn't encouraging. It wasn't anything really.

Any hope she might have harbored about the two of them melted away in that moment of silence.

Tears burned at the backs of her eyes, for him, for her. For what they may have been. She held them back. "Do you want me to...would it help if I came? Explained?"

"No. It's best I face the consequences alone." Another marked hesitation lapsed into silence. Then he shifted to look at her. His eyes were vibrantly green. "We need to talk."

Hope, a thing more dangerous than a blade or gun, unfurled in her chest.

His gaze caressed her, a frown marking his brow. "You're tired."

"I'm fine."

That same gaze called her a liar.

"Mostly," she allowed. "You wanted to talk."

"Later. You should rest first and I have to deal with...this." He paused for the longest second. "But I am sorry, Leah. For what I said."

That hope shivered. "I'm sorry, too." For springing it on him. The words about his parents.

He withdrew his hand from the dogs. "Do you need anything? Peggy or Emmaline or Tia?"

She shook her head. "The board might understand," she added, hating the gulf between them but knowing now wasn't the time. "You were helping a human, right?"

"Maybe." To her surprise, after a marked hesitation, he came around the bed. He bent, pressing his lips to her forehead. She inhaled, wanting to grip his tie, hold him to her, using it for leverage. But she let him go as he stepped back.

And it came to her.

"Gabriel?"

He stopped, angled a look back in question.

"I remember...the man who knocked me out. He said something. About me being the perfect leverage." She searched his face. "Do you think that means anything?"

His lips pressed together, something dangerous flaring to life in his expression. "It means someone knows what you mean to me. Someone close."

She didn't dare react to his statement. "Close? Like...?"

"Someone who would benefit from my failure."

"You didn't—" Understanding dawned. She gripped the duvet. "Your uncle."

He didn't let her continue, though what she'd have said, she wasn't sure. "I have to go."

"And do what?" Worried, she tried to catch his hand, but he'd moved away. "Confront him?"

"If I have to."

His brittle voice made her wince. "It might not be what it looks like."

For a split second she saw the utter pain in his eyes before he blanked them. "I'll give him the chance to tell his truth. Even if it's not one I want to hear."

"I'm sorry." It was useless but all she could think of.

He was already in motion. "I'll come back."

He was gone the next second. And then it was just her, the dogs and the quiet.

"I'll be waiting," she said to the empty room.

Gabriel met Henry and Bastian in front of the shelter. The windows were blown out, plastic tape making Xs across them. It flapped in the wind, drawing attention to the destruction caused. If it wasn't for the fact that all the employees were human, Gabriel would've worked a spell or seven, but they might be suspicious of a building that withstood a fire without a scratch. Better to ensure the innards were sturdy, if smoke-damaged.

Not that it had changed Sonny's mind, as the owner had told Gabriel that morning. It was the final straw for the old human. He was selling.

"She's going to hate me," Sonny had said, staring at his blackened shelter with swimming eyes. He didn't acknowledge the tears so neither had Gabriel. "But I just don't have the heart anymore."

Gabriel wiped that from his mind as he greeted the warlocks with a nod. "Thanks for coming."

"Shit." Henry winced at the deep-fried structure. "Though with the strength of that fire, I'm surprised it's still standing."

He'd told Gabriel that the magical fire had been set to withstand the interference of magic, and considering it had taken Henry with assistance from Bastian and Gabriel to put out the blaze, Gabriel believed him.

It added to his dark mood. "It was set to lure me out."

Bastian cocked an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

When he told them what Leah had said, they both grimaced.

"Shit," Henry said again, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know, only a high-level warlock can cast that kind of magic."

"I do."

"And you have a suspect?"

Gabriel wanted to beat his already torn-up fists against the brick, lift all the stones in the area and crush them with telekinesis. He held it in as he said, "My uncle."

"August?" Henry goggled. "Are you serious?"

"There's nobody else who stands to gain anything from my failure. Now he stays CEO."

"He likes the job?" Bastian voiced.

"He does. He says he's happy to hand it back, but power, that kind of power, can do strange things to a person." Gabriel's hands tightened into fists, signet ring cutting into flesh. "He doesn't like Leah, made a point of berating me in front of the board for letting myself be weak."

"Putting you down to make you look even weaker." Henry rubbed his hands over his face. "But Gabriel, August's been there since..."

"Since my parents died." Gabriel firmed his jaw before it could tremble. "I know. I don't want to believe it. Which is why I'm asking for your help."