All Hell Breaks Loose Read Online Free PDF Page B

undertone of awe and respect.  Not that it stopped him from teasing her mercilessly every chance he got.
    Alexander, or Lex Boy, as she liked to call him when he was annoying her, told her that older Vampires didn’t handle emotional change or distress very well.  Even though Danté had been utterly insane, Julius still had to come to terms with killing his own brother.  Added to that, Alexander insisted, Julius’s feelings for her were strong enough to affect him as well , and watching her almost die in his arms had seriously disturbed the Master Vampire’s state of mind.  Alexander had advised her to give him time and space and let him come to her when he was ready.  But Gabi’s patience was running out fast.  She didn’t like Julius’s distant attitude towards her.  He could love or hate her, but she couldn’t handle his utter detachment.
     
    She slept restlessly, w aking every time she rolled o nto her bruised elbow and shoulder.  Aware of Razor restively pacing the house, she repeatedly called him back to the bed and tried to get him to settle .  When she did sleep , she found herself endlessly running to try and catch a shadowy figure that remained inexorably out of reach.
    She got up early, feeling stiff and bleary eyed.  She cleaned and refilled the coffee maker and pulled on a long-sleeved robe before Rose arrived.  If she was careful about her arm , she could avoid worrying the older woman and also avoid the distressed phone call from Byron and the visit to Ian’s consulting rooms to have the wound checked.  Minutes later, Rose let herself in and bustled into the kitchen. Gabi gave her a quick hug, grabbed a cup of coffee , and headed to her office.
    She’d barely sat down and turned on her computer when her mobile rang.  She considered ignoring it; it really was too early for anyone to be calling with good news, but then she noticed the caller ID.  It said Russell.  Russbear , as she called him, was her assistant animal trainer whenever she had work on movie sets.  It wasn’t that she actually needed the help of the friendly, ginger-haired Shapeshifter when handling the stunt animals; he was more of a prop for Gabi to appear less remarkable, as well as her minder in certain ways.  Her abilities with animals went far beyond simply understanding animal nature, she could actually control their emotions and , to an extent , their behaviour.  What she really needed was someone to tell her when she was overstepping the boundaries of human belief and drawing too much attention to herself.  Russell was actually very good with animals, as good as anyone without her unique abilities could be, so he pulled his weight in that regard as well.  It was very unusua l for him to call her , though ; they generally met on set on the day they were needed there.
    Intrigued , she answered the call.
    “Gabi . ”
    S he could clearly hear the anxiety mixed with sudden relief in his voice.   “Russ, what’s wrong ? ” she asked, already knowing she wasn’t going to like his answer.
    “It’s Derek,” he replied.
    “Derek?” she repeated, confused.
    A picture of the tall, dark and criminally handsome stuntman popped into her mind, but she couldn’t think why Russell would be calling a bout him.  Derek was a ‘norm’, a full human, and only a passing acquaintance of Russell’s.  They only met on movie sets where the three of them happened to work together.  Gabi had been struggling for months to keep the man at arm’s length.  He’d been open about his attraction to her, but she had a strict ‘no-norm s ’ policy when it came to dating.  It was just too damn complicated.  But it hadn’t been easy to resist the man’s easy charm, honed athlete’s body and sexy, silver-grey eyes.
    “Uh, yeah,” Russ said.  “You remember my friend Jenny, the make-up artist who covered up your burn mark on that last movie we did?”
    “Yes,” Gabi said a little impatiently.
    “Well, she called me