He could hear the edge of desperation in her voice. "Pull over, sweetheart."
This time she obliged. After they had settled the car on the side of the road, he looked her straight in the eyes and found he could hardly breathe. All he wanted to do was swim in their violet depths. When had the Divine had time to make such a surreal color, and how had it ended up in Loraine's eyes?
Not that he was complaining. In fact, he would like looking at them forever. He gasped. What was that last thought?
He would like looking at them forever…
Wow
. Knowledge hit him like a truck smacking into a brick wall. She was his soul mate. His heart pounded hard like he'd run a marathon. She'd just appeared in his life hours earlier, yet he was certain she'd been made for him.
God, her eyes
…
"Are you going to explain what you meant or not." She sounded frantic. He realized he'd been silent for too long.
"Whoever it was that raised you, the people you thought of as your parents or grandparents or whoever, are just the people who ended up raising you. Your biological parents were killed thirty years ago, as were mine, when the Darkness came into power."
She bit down on her lip. "What you're telling me is that everything I've known, everything I've believed my whole life, has been a lie?"
He shook his head. "Not everything. You're still
you
. You're still Loraine Peacock. The things you've believed to be true about yourself are still true. You're just more than you thought you were."
You're my soul mate
.
"How did you justify speaking to the dog… er… Futon?" he asked.
She bit her thumbnail. "I can speak to all animals. It's just that Futon is the most interesting conversationalist."
Nodding, he wanted to laugh at the funny way she put things but didn't think she'd appreciate that at the moment. For him, finding out he was an Outsider wasn't such a big deal. He'd always been weird. He could fly; he could move people or objects through space. Alexa had been different too, so he'd never been alone in his oddness. Finding out there was a whole slew of people who were the same was not such a big leap.
Of course, the idea that he had a prophesied destiny was a little bit hard to take, since he'd practically taken care of himself since birth. But for Loraine this had to be hell. Apparently the fact that she could speak to animals hadn't been enough to tell her that she was significantly different from regular humans.
"It's going to be okay, Loraine. There are benefits." At least he hoped he was a benefit and not a downer. However, maybe Loraine would think a man who was basically a low-life like him was more of a problem than a plus. God, could that happen? Could they be saddled with each other if she thought he was a stupid, ignorant criminal?
"What are they?"
He cleared his throat. He really needed to get something to drink. "The eighteen children were born as pairs. Nine groups of soul mates."
"There's someone out there who is my soul mate?"
Gabriel pinched his forehead; a migraine had taken hold between his temples. "There is someone out there, yes." He should just tell her?
Shouldn't he?
But it sort of irked him that she didn't know immediately that it was he. It might have taken him an hour but he'd figured out who she was. Shouldn't it be one of those organic things that happened? Hadn't Charma and Jason just known? But then they'd shared dreams at night when they'd slept. As far as he could tell, he never dreamed let alone communicated with Loraine in them.
Silently, Loraine pulled the car back onto the road. He knew he should say something but silence was just easier.
The GPS signaled they'd arrived at their destination, which brought Gabriel out of his musings. Loraine parked the car, still thinking whatever thoughts consumed her.
Before he did anything he had to figure out what to do about Alexa. Sebastian had her so deeply indoctrinated in a belief system where Gabriel—not Sebastian—was the evil one that he wasn't sure he would ever get her back. He'd never told the other Outsiders about her. Everyone, especially Kal, who had been the one Gabriel and Alexa had helped Sebastian capture before Gabe had seen the error of his ways, knew there was a woman out there working with Sebastian, but Gabriel had refused to discuss her.
Maybe he would turn out to be wrong but it seemed to him that the last thing Alexa needed was the whole Outsider crew showing up to try to convert her. That might make her disappear all together.
Loraine looked out her window. Her head was turned so all Gabriel could see was the way her long red hair fell against the side of her face. He reached up to touch it just as she looked at him and he ended up banging her in the nose. She yelped, and Futon barked.
"Sorry." He quickly withdrew his hand before looking at Futon. "It was an accident. I didn't mean to hit her."
Ah, hell, now he was talking to the dog.
"He didn't think you did." Loraine laughed and rubbed her nose. "He's more concerned about this place. Something doesn't feel right to him."
Gabe nodded. "I bet it doesn't. It's a homeless shelter founded by Sebastian, also known as the demon who Futon's been talking about."
"The demon?" Loraine swung her head around to look out the driver-side window again. "He's here?"
"I doubt he's here right now. He does, however, use it as his own personal hunting ground. Someone goes missing and no one notices."
"And your Alexa works here?"
That was kind of a strange way to put it.
'His' Alexa?
"Ah… yes, she does." Gabriel pushed open his door, making sure he was still wrapped in the blanket. The good news was that since this was a shelter he'd be able to clothe himself. The bad news was he was going to have to explain to Alexa what happened, and she would, once again, not believe it was Sebastian who had done it.
Someday, and he had a feeling that particular day was not going to be too far away, he was going to have to stop banging his head against the increasingly frustrating brick wall that was Alexa's loyalty to Sebastian. Where the hell was her trust in him? He'd been the one who had fed and clothed both of them during their years on the street. In no imaginable circumstance could he foresee ever betraying her, and while she thought she was helping him, it might be nice to see a little of the same unwavering support from her.
Loraine opened her door, telling Futon to stay in the car. He watched as she lowered several of the windows.
"Are you doing that so he won't get hot?"
She nodded. "It's the responsible thing to do. Also, he can escape if he needs to."
"Has he run off before?"
"Yes, but he always comes back. One time he disappeared for an entire year. He never tells me where he goes. Then again, it's not unusual for Futon to be cryptic. He's definitely here on his own terms." She cleared her throat as she looked up and down the street.
He could remember the first time he'd been here. Even at eight years old, he'd known that someone should have objected to two children running barefoot through the streets at ten o'clock at night. Hand-in-hand, he and Alexa had moved silently, not ever daring to complain if one of them stubbed a toe or stepped on broken glass.
Alexa, no more than a waif when she was well-fed, had diminished down to where he was afraid she was going to disappear if she lost any more weight. All he could see when he looked at her was long, unwashed, black hair flying in every direction as they ran together.
He knew he'd needed to take proper care of Alexa. Never sure exactly why he felt the way he did, he knew that he was responsible for her. In his soul, although no one as far as he could remember had ever uttered words to tell him thusly, he was sure that a man took care of the women around them.
Warriors never falter. They never fail.
Shaking his head, he recalled how he had gripped Alexa's hand tighter in his. "I heard there was a good place to sleep, Lexie. I heard that they take children in and they don't call the authorities. The man who I met told me that the grownups who work there wouldn't let anyone give us a hard time."
Gabriel shook his head, clearing the memory.
Warriors never falter. They never fail
. The credo had to be an Outsider thing. Something his father or mother said to him before he was old enough to really remember, or maybe it was just imprinted on the brains of all Outsider men. Alexa wasn't his soul mate, but she'd been his in the sense that she was also an Outsider. They were kindred that way.
He looked at Loraine who hung slightly behind him and to the left as they walked into the building. He bet she'd never had to spend the night in one of these places. That thought made him happier than anything else he'd contemplated all day.
"So, if I went to Maine, I could find the others?"
He nodded. "The rest of us, yes."
Meeting Loraine had solved one problem for him. He was sure now that he'd be making the trip to Maine. Leonardo was right, there was safety in numbers. While he hadn't cared one bit about his own security, now that he had Loraine he was going to get her away from New Orleans and Sebastian's clutches.
It was, he decided, a tribute to just how despondent things were that the shelter was completely full of people and nobody had said one thing about the fact that he was wrapped only in a blanket. Loraine's eyes were huge. Her violet gaze troubled. He wondered how deeply the poverty she saw around her affected her.
Wishing he could say something to ease her mind, but not sure how to do that considering he didn't control the world and he'd long ago discovered there wasn't much to be done to settle other people's problems, he continued his silent composure. Hell, it wasn't so long ago he'd been where they were.
He wanted to take her hand and squeeze it. Do something to let her know she would be safe. "Fuck, Loraine, look…"
"Gabe? Is that you? What the hell happened to you?" Alexa's horrified voice cut into what he wanted to say. Reluctantly, he turned his attention from Loraine.
Alexa dropped the clothes she'd been folding and rushed to him.
"I nearly drowned in the canal after Sebastian sent a tidal wave to kill me. He didn't, obviously, but he did manage to destroy my house."
Alexa closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. She bit down on her lower lip. He hated that affectation on her. She used to be completely open and readable. These days she seemed nothing but a posed picture. One that Sebastian had designed.
"Gabe, how long are you going to keep this up?" She moved closer to him and placed a hand on his arm. "I can help you get better. We can turn you around from the evil path you've decided to walk down."
He patted his chest. "
I
am not evil."
"Hi." Loraine inserted herself into the conversation. He was glad for the reprieve. "Whoever sent the wave, and I assure you I was there to see it, nearly drowned Gabriel. I'm Loraine Peacock."
Alexa arched a dark eyebrow. "Loraine Peacock?"
"That's my name." Loraine smiled, but to Gabe it looked forced. "So I've brought him to you. Now I'll be on my way. I'm sure we'll all meet again."
She turned on her heel, and Gabriel's heart sped up. He walked forward and grabbed her arm, which was tricky to do because he needed to hold up his blanket to prevent from being arrested for public indecency.
"You're leaving?" God, he wanted to shout, 'don't leave.'
Nodding, she gave him that forced smile again, and he wanted to wipe it off her face. "I am. I brought you to Alexa. It's time for me to go on my way. You've told me a lot of stuff I have to digest. Good luck." She looked at Alexa and he wished that one of his powers was mind reading because he had no clue what was going on inside of hers. "To both of you. It was nice meeting you."
Pulling her arm free of his grip, he thought for a second he felt her shake. Was she okay?
"Loraine, wait a second…"
He wouldn't have believed she could move that fast. One second she was there and the next she sprinted out of the building.
"Loraine," he yelled but she didn't turn around and soon the crowd in the room blocked his view.
Why was she leaving? Like a light turning on, realization struck him. She had used the phrase
your Alexa
. What did she think his relationship with his oldest friend was?
Ah… fuck
.
He turned to Alexa. "Look, we need to talk, but right now I have to clear something up with Loraine. I need clothes."
Alexa pointed absently to several boxes lined up against the wall. "Those are clean."
"Great." He walked over and rummaged through to finally grab a pair of raggedy blue jeans and a black tee shirt. Considering that all his clothes were now washing down the canal outside his house, he couldn't be picky.
Still barefoot, he rushed through the crowd.
Alexa's voice called after him. "Gabriel, is she your girlfriend?"
"She's so much more than that," he called over his shoulder even as he tried to figure out how on earth he was going to find Loraine. "We'll talk later, Alexa."
And they would. He was going to make sure of that.
Running out the door of the building, the New Orleans' heat hit him hard but that wasn't what sent him to his knees. His hands hit the concrete ground hard, scraping his palms.
Demon
.
He could feel Sebastian in the area, and as a million pinpricks hit his skin, he knew that Sebastian had Loraine. If Sebastian harmed her in any way, Gabriel would make him pay tenfold. For the first time ever, Gabriel knew he could add murder as one of his sins, and he wouldn't even feel badly about it.
Chapter Five
Loraine knew she'd acted cowardly. Gabriel called out to her several times, and she hadn't turned around. But, really, how much pain did she have to take when it came to him? Earlier in the car, and for just a split second, she'd allowed herself to imagine she could have some kind of life with him. Then she'd learned of
Alexa,
and all hope for that washed away.