Gabriel's Hope

"Okay." They were making some sense. Deidre didn't want to ask about the part that disturbed her the most. She soaked in the information, and something clicked. "I'm supposed to die in three months. Does this mean I won't now?"

"That depends," Kiki said. He said nothing else.

"What does that depend on?" she prodded.

"We don't really know how that will work out," Ileana said. "By Immortal Code, Death can't kill you, and neither can any of his dealers."

"Because …"

"Because you're his mate," Kiki said. "We don't really know what will happen."

"He can probably take you down to the underworld and you'll be fine." Ileana shrugged.

"Underworld." The sense of being overwhelmed made Deidre grip the coffee mug hard.

"The demons have been stalking you for a while. We think there's something else going on," Kiki said. "At the end of the day, you're Gabe's, so he can do whatever he wants with you, as long as he follows the Code."

"It's an honor to be an Immortal mate," Ileana said.

Panic stirred at the idea of Gabriel dragging her to some freakish underworld. He claimed he was giving her a choice the night before of whether she wanted to be with a sword-wielding maniac. The Immortals before her seemed more convinced she'd fall into her place as his mate. Because somehow, this was normal wherever they were from.

"Gabriel is Death," Deidre said the words carefully, slowly.

"Yep," Kiki replied.

"His day job is to kill people."

"Exactly and to collect souls of those who have died by other means."

She swallowed hard. "I don't think I can do this."

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Ileana said with a smile.

"How so?"

"It's Immortal law. It doesn't much matter what you want," Kiki replied.

Ileana rolled her eyes. "For what it's worth, Gabe was the most respected and longest serving assassin of Death before he got promoted. He's fair, honorable, a stickler for the Code, and not someone anyone will mess with."

"I could really use some brandy right now," Deidre propped her forehead on her hand.

"Forbidden," Kiki said firmly.

"There's no way out of this?"

"Absolutely none."

Unless I'm dead in three months. If only she hadn't slept with a complete stranger two nights ago. Though, if what they said was true, she was destined for the Immortal society anyway.

Deidre had the sudden urge to go home. Maybe, if she returned to her apartment, she'd find everything was back to normal. She'd break up with Logan and die in three months. The simple plan never seemed more appealing.

"I, ah, think I want to go lay down," she said.