The urge almost seemed stronger with her today than when he left her last night. He was already struggling not to let his hands roam her body freely, the way he wanted to.
But something was wrong. His mate was lying to him. It had to do with her trip to Hell, with the deal she made Darkyn.
Gabriel. Landon's summons drew his attention.
"I've gotta go," he said, standing.
"Where?" she asked.
"Work."
He hugged her close. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him back.
"If you need anything, Katie is four doors down on the left," he reminded her.
"Okay."
Gabriel withdrew and called a portal to take him to the lake. He glanced over his shoulder as he entered the shadow world.
Deidre was watching him, her large blue eyes lost and frustrated.
He forced himself to walk away, uneasy. Disliking the thought, he did what he should've done last night. He shut down her ability to use the portals, just in case there was something else going on.
"Did you find out who it belonged to, Landon?" he asked as he emerged onto the bank beside the eerily glowing lake.
The massive lake was roughly round with a panhandle on the side nearest the fortress. His death dealers were lined up along one side of the panhandle, waiting for the invasive mind check, where Gabriel went through their heads for signs of betrayal. He hated the idea but understood the necessity, especially after finding the second compass in the hands of demons within a week.
"Boss, we have a bigger issue," Landon's voice was hushed.
Tymkyn, the best tracker in the underworld, stood behind him, hands clasped and chest heaving. He looked as if he'd fought his way through a herd of demons to reach them. The tracker was wide and thick, a head smaller than Gabriel, and built like a boulder.
"Mind check," Gabriel said.
Both death dealers bowed their heads without hesitation. Gabriel knew they were loyal before he placed hands on their heads based on their body language. Still, he made a show of checking the two assassins before he let them continue.
"You find Harmony?" Gabriel asked Tymkyn in an even voice. The highest ranking of his death dealers to defect, Harmony had been Gabriel's lover for months and his second-in-command since he took over the underworld. She disappeared, and Gabriel assumed she was in Hell hiding.
"I did," Tymkyn replied. "She's in the underworld."
Gabriel stared at him.
"They've been moving through the portal in Hell," Tymkyn explained. "Harmony and a few others."
"How?" Gabriel's gaze went to the waiting death-dealers. He counted a total of seven missing, including the three known traitors.