Gabriel's Mate

“Let’s split up,” Gabriel suggested. “Use mind control if you need to get access anywhere you need to. We have to find her.”

Ricky nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, we do. I’ll take the seventh floor.”

“Yvette, take the fifth floor; that’s where one of her friends works—maybe she went there. I’ll take this one. If you don’t find her on your respective floors, move three floors higher.” Gabriel issued his orders with a calm he didn’t feel. What helped him was his experience—he knew how to track someone in a crisis situation. It was what he’d done for so long, and done well—Maya’s life depended on it now. There was only one handicap: the corridors of the hospital reeked of bleach. It stung his nostrils and impeded his ability to filter out Maya’s scent. His only consolation was that if the rogue was close, he’d have the same problem—it leveled the playing field.

As Yvette and Ricky left, Gabriel stalked the corridors. He’d checked the directory on the way up for Maya’s office. If she was here, she would probably go there—either to hide out for a while or to retrieve whatever personal items she had there, maybe a spare key to her apartment or some money or credit cards. She hadn’t taken any of her things with her when she’d fled the house, not even her handbag.

It was telling: no woman ever left the house without her handbag. It proved to him that Maya was in an extremely agitated state and would most likely act irrationally. He had to get to her before she put herself in even more danger than she already was. Besides, she hadn’t fed from him since before her outing in the Castro. She had to be famished, which would make her weak and less likely to think clearly.

Gabriel reached Maya’s office suite and pressed the door handle down. The door didn’t move. No matter—with a forceful push against the lock, the wood splintered. He slid inside unseen. Four office doors presented themselves to him, each of them with the name of a doctor stenciled on it. He opened the door with Maya’s name without knocking. If she was there, she would have already heard him, and if she wasn’t, there was no point in knocking.

The room was empty. He inhaled deeply and sniffed. There was a low lingering scent of her, but it wasn’t new. She hadn’t been in her office in days. His heart sank.

With a sigh, he dialed Thomas’ number. He answered instantly.

“Where are you?” Gabriel asked.

“Seventh floor.”

“Go further up—Ricky is already covering that floor. I’ll do another quick sweep of the sixth and then move higher. Yvette is on thefifth.”

“Sure,” Thomas answered. A split-second later, Gabriel heard a distant scream come through the line.

Shock coursed through his system. “Was that Maya?”

“Don’t know.” The line went dead.

“Shit!” Gabriel ran out into the hall. He spotted the sign for the stairs and rushed to them, then took three steps at a time. With vampire speed, he ran up to the next floor before he slowed down again trying to get his bearings. He sniffed again. The scent of blood assaulted him. He ran toward it.

As he turned a corner, he saw a group of people gathering around a person on the floor. Gabriel zeroed in on the site. A pool of blood spread from underneath the person’s white doctor’s coat.

A grip on his forearm made him spin to his right. “Thomas.”

Thomas pulled him into a side corridor. “It’s not Maya. Some doctor—looks like cold-blooded murder to me.”

“Did you see who it is?”

“Her name is Dr. Barbara Silverstein.”

Gabriel’s heart stopped as cold fear gripped him. “That’s Maya’s friend. Thomas, he’s here. The rogue is in the hospital.”

***

Maya’s skin prickled. It had been too long since Code Blue was called. She was getting impatient, and she felt like a sitting duck waiting for Barbara in the on-call room. She needed to check on her.

She listened for any sound from the corridor before she opened the door a fraction, then peered out. The bright hallway was empty now. Maya stepped outside and quietly closed the door behind her. Something compelled her to make no noise. She was grateful that she wore soft-soled shoes; they made no sound on the light-gray linoleum floor.

Somewhere in the distance, a door opened. Maya moved along the corridor and dove into the next alcove that housed a small sink. She flattened herself against the wall when she heard footsteps coming toward her. Her eyes darted around her tiny hiding place, but there was nothing she could use as a weapon. She hoped whoever came her way wasn’t an enemy and she wouldn’t have to try out her vampire skills.