The Awakening

That's when Gaby noticed the lingering braises. The girl had not had an easy life. Maybe that's why, despite her wariness. Gaby felt an affinity to her. 'Right now, if you want me to.'

'Now?'

'Yeah.' Luther could damn well talk all night to Ann, since that seemed his intention anyway.

'But…' Again looking away, Bliss shook her head. 'If you go right now, and Rose ain't hurt, she wouldn't be there.'

'No?' Gaby's eyes narrowed. 'Where would she be then?'

Bliss drew away a little. 'Um… Could be she's just mad at me or somethin' and maybe that's why she's not around.'

Gaby saw the deception in every line of Bliss's body. 'So now you think she's unhurt?'

'I dunno. Maybe. I'm just sayin', if she's not hurt, this time of night she would be workin'.'

The cloud of conspiracy thickened—but that didn't deter Gaby. For whatever reason, she felt she needed to follow Bliss's lead, to carry out the plan. 'Okay, Bliss. So if you don't want me to check on Rose now, then when should I?'

'I… I dunno.' Nearly choking on the words, Bliss turned away. She fretted with the fringe off the end of her denim skirt. Misery weighed her down. 'Oh God, I'm so sorry.'

Gaby tilted her head. 'You apologizing to me or Him?'

'What?' Bliss floundered in confusion. 'No, I… You was so nice to me, and you already helped enough.'

'But?'

Firming her resolve, Bliss drew a deep breath and blurted, 'I shouldn't be dumping all this on you. I know that. But I…'

Don't have a choice, Gaby silently finished for her. Someone had coerced the girl, likely applying with threats either to her, or to a friend… perhaps Rose.

For once, Gaby put aside her suspicions and reached out to take Bliss's hand. 'It's all right.' And she meant it. Everything would be all right. Even a conspiracy. 'Tell me when I should go.'

Eyes squeezed shut, Bliss whispered, 'She'd be most likely to be there tomorrow night.' She drew a broken, shuddering breath, and whispered very low, 'Will you please be careful?'

'I always am.'

At that firm statement, Bliss opened her eyes again. She looked at Gaby, and some of her upset abated. 'You will, won'tcha? You'll be real careful and everything really will be okay.'

'Yeah.' It'd be fine for Gaby, and hopefully for Bliss. But for the restless spirits—from both the dead and the tormented—hell would make some claims.

With a new calm about her, Bliss tried a small smile. 'There's a lot of buildings by the old hospital. You need to go to the one with graffiti on the walls. That's the place. Rose might be in there, on the first floor.'

'So specific.' Gaby shook her head at the easily thwarted plan. Definitely a scheme. And not a very bright one. 'Any particular time tomorrow?'

'After dark, but before midnight.'

'That's when you and Rose would hang out there?'

'Yeah.' Appearing more relaxed. Bliss said, 'I remember how you fought that guy in the alley. You was like a superhero or a ninja or maybe both.' She gazed at Gaby with adoring eyes. 'I never seen nothin' like it.'

'I know.'

'You saved me, so you should be able to save yourself, huh?'

A verbal slipup, that. 'Yeah, I can save myself.' Taking a chance, Gaby said, 'I'm sorry I couldn't save Rose, though.'

Bliss started to nod, then caught herself with a sharply indrawn breath. She reared back in fear and shock, looking around the sidewalk. 'I gotta go. I shouldn't have sat here talkin' so long.'

'It's all right.' They both stood, and Gaby said, 'Go on. But Bliss?'

'Yeah?'

'Be careful tonight, okay? Stay out of the shadows and alleys. Stay where there are people.'

'I will.' Bliss turned—and ran into Luther.

He caught her arms, but looked beyond her to Gaby. 'Making friends?'

Well hell. For a minute there, Gaby had forgotten all about him. 'Bliss and I are already acquainted.'

'Bliss, huh?' Luther's expression sharpened and he looked at the girl with new interest. 'Is that so?'

Seeing Luther sent Bliss into a terror and she bolted away in a run made more graceless by those hideous sandals.

Frowning, Gaby watched her disappear around a corner; utilizing her crazy intuition, she knew Bliss would be okay. She dismissed any worries and instead put her mind to figuring out the treachery that had been awkwardly presented.

'Let me guess.'

Gaby recalled Luther's presence. 'Don't bother. She's the girl I helped the other night.'

'The girl who was there when you stabbed her attacker.'

'One and the same.'

'And somehow, she just ran into you here?'

'Actually,' Gaby said on her way to his car, 'I think she was looking for me.'

Luther beat her to the door and opened it for her. 'To thank you?'

'Not exactly.' She seated herself, reached back to adjust the knife in the sheath so it didn't gouge her spine, and then waited while Luther studied her.

'What exactly?'

Impassive and unprovoked, Gaby stared up at him. 'What did Ann want?'

He sighed—and slammed her door. When he got behind the wheel and had the engine humming, he said, 'I can't tell you.'

'Ah.' Gaby propped her feet on the dash. 'So it was something all sugary sweet and intimate, huh? I understand.' She was probably better off not knowing. 'That's not the sort of a thing a man like you shares, I guess.'

'Actually, it was business.'

'Sure it was.' With any luck, she'd annoy him as much as he annoyed her.

'Ann is a detective too, if you'll recall.' He jerked the car into drive. 'She had some information for me, and no, I'm not telling you what it is because I don't want you involved.'

Gaby shook her head at his absurdity. At this point, there was no way for her to be uninvolved—but Luther wouldn't accept that. 'You know, Luther, for a little while there I stupidly thought that we'd be able to work together. I see now that I was wrong.' She put her head back and relaxed. 'You don't trust me and I sure as hell don't trust you.'

'You don't, huh?' He curled the fingers of his right hand over her slim thigh and, steering one-handed, pulled out into traffic.

'Well…' Awareness of his touch, how hot he felt, how electric, moderated her tone. 'Maybe I'd trust you with some things.'

'I figured.' With a gentle pat, Luther withdrew.

Jerk. 'But not business.'

Hands flexing on the wheel, Luther said, 'Look, it's police work and has nothing to do with you.'

'Bullshit. It has to do with that doctor at the hospital, or those cancerous monsters, otherwise it wouldn't matter if you told me. And if that's the case, it's very much my business.'

He glared an accusation at her.

'Yeah, too bad I'm not an idiot, huh?' Gaby folded her arms. 'All right. Let me take a stab at guessing.'

Visibly frustrated, Luther growled, 'Don't bother.' He flexed his hands again, then gritted out, 'Ms. Davies' body is missing.'

Gaby's feet hit the floorboard in shock. 'You're shitting me.'

Now his hands squeezed the steering wheel tight enough to crush it. 'I wish, but no. Somewhere between the hospital and the crematorium, she vanished.'