Kiss of Midnight_ A Midnight Breed Novel - Lara Adrian [116]
Well, at least Kendra was safe as of a few hours ago. That took away some of Gabrielle’s concern. But there was still the matter of the guy she’d been seeing. The Rogue, Gabrielle amended, feeling a shiver of fear for her friend’s unwitting proximity to the same danger that was currently dogging her own heels.
She skipped to the last message. Megan again, from just a couple of hours ago.
“Hi, sweetie. Just checking in. Are you ever going to call me and tell me how it went at the station the other night? I’m sure your detective was glad to see you, but you know I’m dying to hear in detail just how glad he was.”
Megan’s voice was calm and teasing, perfectly normal. Completely changed from the panic of her earlier messages at Gabrielle’s home and on the cell.
God, that’s right.
Because to her, and to her cop boyfriend as well, there was no reason to be alarmed about anything since Lucan had wiped their memories.
“Anyway, I’m meeting Jamie for dinner tonight at Ciao Bella—your favorite. If you can make it, swing by. We’ll be there at seven. Save you a seat.”
Gabrielle clicked erase and checked the clock on the cell phone: 7:20.
She owed it to her friends to at least call and let them know she was all right. And part of her longed to hear their voices, her only connection to the life she knew before Lucan Thorne turned her entire world upside down. She speed-dialed Megan’s cell and waited anxiously as it rang. Muffled talking came over the receiver in the second before her friend said hello.
“Hi, Meg.”
“Oh, hey—there you are! Jamie, it’s Gabby!”
“Where is that girl? She coming, or what?”
“I don’t know yet. Gabby, are you gonna join us?”
Gabrielle listened to the familiar chaos of her friends’ chatter and wished she could be there. She wished she could go back to the way things were, before…
“I, ah…I can’t. Something’s come up, and I…”
“She’s busy,” Megan told Jamie. “Where are you, anyway? Kendra called me looking for you today. She said she went by your apartment but it didn’t look like you were home.”
“Kendra stopped by? Have you seen her?”
“No, but she wants to get together with all of us. Sounds like she’s done with that guy from the club.”
“Brent,” Jamie supplied loudly and dramatically over Megan’s voice.
“They broke up?”
“I don’t know,” Megan replied. “I asked her how it was going and she just said she’s not seeing him anymore.”
“Good,” Gabrielle said, so very relieved. “That’s really good news.”
“So, what about you? What’s so important that you can’t come out for dinner tonight?”
Gabrielle frowned, staring at her surroundings. The red candle’s flame wobbled as the air in the chapel stirred slightly. She heard soft footsteps, then a quietly indrawn breath as whomever walked in realized the chamber was occupied. Gabrielle turned and saw a tall blond in the open doorway. The woman gave Gabrielle an apologetic look, then started to turn away.
“I’m, ah…out of town right now,” she told her friends in a hushed voice. “I might be gone for a few days. Maybe longer.”
“Doing what?”
“Um, I’m on a commission job,” Gabrielle lied, hating to do it, but seeing no other choice. “I’ll give you guys a call as soon as I can. Take care of each other. I love you.”
“Gabrielle—”
She clicked off the call before she was forced to say anything more.
“I’m sorry,” the blond woman said as Gabrielle came toward her. “I didn’t realize the chapel was in use.”
“It’s not. Please stay. I was just…” Gabrielle released a pent-up sigh. “I just lied to my friends.”
“Oh.” Gentle pale blue eyes settled sympathetically on her.
Gabrielle closed the phone and smoothed her finger over the polished silver case. “I left my apartment in a rush the other night to come here with Lucan. None of my friends know where I am, or why I had to leave.”
“I see. Maybe one day you can explain everything to them.”
“I hope so. I just don’t want to put them in danger by telling them the truth.”
The halo of long, golden hair shifted as the woman nodded with understanding.