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Gabriel climbed the stairs, his shoulders stiff and sore with tension. He'd been working for weeks, digging through all his contacts, trying to find anything he could on Honorera, her family, her past, and the price on her head. But he'd made almost no progress. He traced Tanner and Kayla Lee back to a small pack in Ohio. Kayla Lee had been an almost invisible member of the pack, an obedient omega. When her brother was exiled, she went with him. Possibly she was forced by her brother to accompany him into no man's land. But somewhere along the way, they had parted.Todd would not reveal the owner of the contract, and King’s denied all knowledge of the mark. "It's not one of mine, Rico. When are you coming back to work? We need you man, the boys are getting sloppy without you."When he reached the top of the bedroom, he was surprised to be met by his mother. She was wrapped in her favorite tattered terrycloth bathrobe, but she was no less intimidating as she propped her han
Gabriel scooped her up and carried Honorera to the bed. He laid her down as if she was as fragile as glass. Then he knelt on the bed next to her and continued the kiss where he had left off, fully unleashing his passion. His hands pulled up her shirt so he could touch her bare, heated skin. She moaned and writhed underneath his touch, wanting more, needing more. Her hands tugged impatiently at his t-shirt, yanking it up until he obliged her and pulled it off over his head... before doing the same for her. Honorera was naked before him, in only her panties, since his over-size t-shirt was all she wore to bed most nights. He’d never seen anything more beautiful.He worshiped her body, kissing her neck, biting lightly at the tender junction of her neck and shoulder, before he turned his attention to her breasts. Her breasts were full, the dusky nipples pearled in the cool air. He kissed the soft flesh before drawing the nipple into his mouth, sucking lightly until she groaned a
Washing the blood off from his hands in the sink, Gabriel watched the red-stained water swirl down the drain with his usual numb detachment. The body of his latest kill was still on the floor behind him, slowly bleeding out into the cheap, industrial carpeting. Lifeless eyes were staring up at the ceiling fan, the face frozen in an expression of surprise. To Gabriel the identity of the stiff was unimportant. It was a contract, and the job was done. Gabriel was a man with nothing to live for. Working for King was a distraction, and it gave him some semblance of purpose. He took on the most dangerous assignments with almost suicidal zeal, and he was very, very good at his job. His cell phone vibrated from the back pocket of his jeans. He carefully wiped his hands on a clean towel before he pulled it out and answered it. "Hello Mom... yes, I'm fine. I'm finished with my work... I'll be home sometime late tomorrow. How's Dad? Ryan? …. Great... See you then...Love you too." H
The Three Oaks pack was located in the woods of North Carolina, on the historic Three Oaks Plantation. The old brick plantation house stood like an old southern belle with stately white columns across the front, which supported the second story veranda. The red brick was classically accented with white trim and black shutters at the tall windows. At each end of the great house two chimneys pointed toward the sky. The ancient and iconic three oaks on the front lawn had been reduced to two oaks in a hurricane several decades ago, when the third oak had blown over. On the inside, the entire structure had been remodeled into a modern and comfortable pack house. Although most of the pack lived in private homes scattered across the five-hundred-acre estate and in the town beyond, there were plenty of extra bedrooms in the mansion, a conference room, the Alpha’s office, a huge kitchen and a formal dining room that could seat fifty. The only permanent residents of the great house were t
Gabriel packed his black full-size pickup truck carefully. He did not know if he was going for a few days, or a few weeks, or even for months. He only knew he had no intention of returning until he had found her. He grabbed an old paper map of the United States, and a marker. In his hometown of Puller, he put an X. His finger traced a line vaguely northward toward the next town. It was going to be like a game of Hot and Cold. He would just have to keep moving where the inexplicable sensation in his chest felt stronger. His mother and father came out to the driveway to see him off. His mother was encouraging as always, her blue eyes warm and hopeful, her lips curving in a smile. She was happy for him, happy that at least he had some shred of hope. His father, on the other hand, looked grim. Thomas Shephard had already called this a "fool's journey". He also knew his son well enough to know that nothing the older man said could dissuade Gabriel to stay once he had made up h
After another two days, Gabriel crossed over the state line between New York and Vermont. The pull was so strong now, it was making him dizzy. He passed the small city of Rutberg and followed the old highway until he arrived in an unlikely small town called Pete’s Peak. He drove slowly from one end to the other, but there wasn't much to see. There was a gas station attached to a mini mart, a garage with a tow truck that looked like "Mater" from Cars, and a snack bar with picnic tables arranged outside. To the south of the village there was a public High School that served several of the surrounding communities, and beyond the school, a slate quarry. To the north of town, the only thing resembling accommodation was a dilapidated collection of little cabins surrounding an old farmhouse and a faded sign that read "Cora’s Cottages". A "vacancy" shingle hung precariously by one hook underneath.Gabriel parked his truck on the gravel drive beside the sign and headed toward the farmhouse
Dawn came early to the little clearing on the side of the mountain where the dilapidated trailer sat at an odd angle in the large yard. Honoraria woke without an alarm, and tiptoed from her room, past the small bathroom to the kitchen. Only a kitchen counter divided the cooking area from the small living room. She could see that her uncle was not in his recliner, and that worried her. She glanced nervously toward the bigger bedroom on the far end as she put two slices of bread into the toaster. She had just pushed the lever down when she heard him bellow.“Honor! Where the hell are my keys?”She didn’t answer him. She had not touched his keys. He had probably left them in the truck when he staggered in, drunk as usual last night. She looked between the toaster and the back door, knowing that she should hurry outside before her uncle came out of the bedroom, but she was so hungry. Her dinner had landed on the floor last night when her uncle had pushed her into the table. She
Gabriel drummed his fingers on his desk impatiently. She was in the school. When he'd interviewed with the school board on Friday he'd detected her scent, faint but familiar in the hallways. It had been fairly easy to get the substitute position, as teachers seemed to be in short supply. He had never been a teacher, but he had a glowing (but fake) resume to impress the school board. His employment was conditional on passing background checks, but he wasn't worried about that. His background was squeaky clean, and there were no official records of the work that he really did for a living. A few phone calls and a few favors called in, and he had plenty of references to verify his imaginary career as a high school English teacher.By the time Gabriel entered the classroom for his first class behind the principal, the classroom had been awash in the sweet scent of lilacs and violets. The floral scent was absolutely intoxicating, and he wanted to immediately abandon this pretext of