Chapter 2 #3
She looked from one male to the other, unsure what the new arrival meant. Had Gabriel learned of Patrick’s actions and… and what? She wasn’t sure why Gabriel was here, but it wasn’t to assist her. Of that she had no doubt.
The eagle brothers, as many of the females had started calling them, were strikingly handsome males.
Raphael and his second, Victor, had claimed Claire, one of Heather’s close friends.
Raphael was outgoing and gregarious while Gabriel was dark and brooding.
She had never so much as spoken with Gabriel, but everyone in Eagle Village knew who he was.
She glanced at Patrick, hoping to judge how much trouble she was in by his reaction to Gabriel’s arrival. Patrick’s thick mahogany hair appeared messy as if the wind had played through the wavy strands. He watched silently, features tense, green eyes intent yet cautious.
Dragging her gaze back to Gabriel, Heather drew in a breath and tried not to panic.
His hair was longer than Patrick’s. The shoulder-length strands blended shades of yellow and gold.
His features were angular, with sculpted cheeks and a square jaw.
He crossed to where she stood, his strange orange gaze boldly assessing her.
“I chose Patrick as my second because he’s methodical and cautious. ”
She hadn’t realized that Patrick had any connection to Gabriel. Would this improve her situation or doom her to even more intense punishments?
“Snatching a female and spiriting her off to his secret hideaway is out of character for my steadfast second,” Gabriel went on. “What, I wonder, caused him to act so recklessly?”
He looked at her expectantly, but Heather wasn’t in the mood to indulge him. They were going to take whatever the hell they wanted and there was little she could do about it. “I wouldn’t presume to explain his motivation. You’ll have to ask him yourself.”
“I did,” Gabriel insisted. “Now I’m asking you. Why did Patrick bring you here?”
Her heart began to pound, and she fought back a cruel surge of hope.
Was Gabriel here to listen to her side of the story?
The possibility was so unlikely that she nearly laughed.
It was much more likely that he was here to participate in her punishment.
This was Rydaria after all. There was no such thing as due process.
“I don’t like repeating myself,” Gabriel warned, his voice firm, gaze penetrating.
Lying was pointless. Patrick doubtlessly told Gabriel that she was part of the medical team. “I worked at Nuevo Biotech,” she admitted.
“In what capacity and for how long?”
The gleam in his eyes warned her that he already knew the truth. “I’m a physician’s assistant. I was assigned to Patrick’s team and was employed there for just over four years.”
Gabriel motioned toward the living room. “Have a seat. This could be a lengthy conversation.”
Wrapping the blanket snugly around her body, Heather walked over to one of the chairs angled toward the fireplace and sat down.
Patrick hung back, closely watching and obviously listening to every word the other two said.
“Tell me about yourself,” Gabriel prompted as he strolled across the room. He stood in front of the fireplace with his hands locked behind his back.
She stared back at him silently, trying to keep the defiance out of her expression. His interest made her feel vulnerable. She was the enemy. Her role might have been minor, but she had been part of the organization that redefined their existence.
The pause lengthened and his gaze narrowed, lips pressing into a disapproving line. He was being polite if not actually friendly. The last thing she wanted was to make him angry. “What specifically do you want to know?” she countered.
“You were part of the medical team that conducted experiments on Patrick. That is literally all I know about you. Who are you? Where did you grow up? What did you do before you came to work at Nuevo Biotech? I’ve heard lots of stories about the employee. Now I’d like to understand the woman.”
Why? The question echoed through her mind, but she didn’t allow the word past her lips.
Why would he give a damn about her past or anything beyond what she had done to Patrick and the other hybrids?
Still, anything she told him would help him see her as a person rather than just an enemy.
What did she have to lose by answering his questions?
“I was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia.” She allowed her Southern accent to become more pronounced. “My childhood was routine. Loving, financially secure parents, happy memories. The drama arrived when I was fifteen.”
“What happened?” Gabriel unclasped his hands as his posture began to relax.
“My father died and a few months later my mother took up with an abusive asshole. He made good money, which was why Mom kept him around, but he verbally abused all of us and regularly beat the shit out of my mother.”
“‘All of us’? Do you have siblings?”
Heather nodded. “Two sisters, one older, one younger.”
“What became of the abusive asshole?” Gabriel moved to the chair on her right and sat down. Though his manner seemed more relaxed, his features gave nothing away. “Did your mother get tired of being his punching bag and kick him out?”
Tension knotted Heather’s belly and for a moment all she could do was shake her head. “She married him,” Heather finally admitted once her throat relaxed enough to allow her to speak. “She made excuses for the bruises and convinced herself that she deserved his cruelty.”
“Did you have friends or other family members willing to help?” Patrick asked from across the room.
Heather had been so focused on Gabriel that she’d almost forgotten that Patrick was standing over by the door. “There was no one. My mother was an only child and my father’s family disliked her intensely. They had generational wealth and felt that my father had married way beneath his station.”
“How did they feel about you and your sisters?” Gabriel wanted to know.
“They were completely indifferent. They had other grandchildren so there was no reason to sully their reputation with the poor relations.”
Patrick moved closer. “You said your parents were financially secure. If your mother had plenty of money, why did she put up with the abuse?”
“Mom married Dad when she was nineteen and had three kids in five years. She never worked outside the home and had no marketable skills. Being a wife and mother was the only life she knew. Dad’s death was completely unexpected.
He was in his early forties. Estate planning hadn’t even entered the conversation yet.
She was lost when Dad died, utterly lost.” Patrick said nothing more, but Heather felt defensive.
“She didn’t know what else to do, so she found a man to take care of her.
That might seem weak, but she had no support and no resources. ”
“Did the asshole ever raise a hand to you or your sisters?”
Gabriel’s question was logical, yet the subtle disapproval in his tone increased her defensiveness.
She shifted on the chair and drew the blanket more tightly around her body.
“There were the occasional slaps, but his weapon of choice was words, sarcastic, derogatory words. We learned to avoid him as much as possible.”
“When did you leave home?” Gabriel asked, his tone less autocratic.
She paused to gather her thoughts. The next phase in her life led quickly to her first real job, which was at Nuevo Biotech. “I received a full ride scholarship to Georgia Tech, so I was able to live on campus. My older sister had already moved out, which left our younger sister, Rebecca, at home.”
“Did the abuse continue?” Patrick moved closer to the chairs, but didn’t sit down beside her.
His expression had shifted from open hostility to cold irritation.
Heather considered that progress. “The asshole got tired of beating on Mom and turned his focus on Becca. She’d just turned sixteen and was exceptionally pretty.
Unsurprisingly, he came into her bedroom one night and tried to rape her.
She smacked him upside the head with her laptop and ran to our older sister’s apartment. ”
“How did your mother react to what happened?” Patrick wanted to know.
“The asshole told her that Becca made it up because she wanted to live with Rachel. I don’t think Mom believed him. She never openly defied him, but she encouraged Becca to stay away.”
“How old was Rachel when this happened?” Gabriel wanted to know. “Did she have a steady income? Was she mature enough to deal with an emotional teenager?”
“Rachel was twenty-three. She was, and is, very maternal. She did a fabulous job with Becca and now has three children of her own.” Heather paused and licked her lips.
The next subject was the one she preferred to avoid.
“As for a steady income, Rachel was barely scraping by. There was no way she could have taken on Becca without help.”
“And that’s where you came in?” Gabriel asked.
Heather nodded. “I’d just graduated and knew I had to land a good job so I could help my sisters. There was no way in hell Becca was going back to our mother’s house.”
“And luckily for you the salaries at Nuevo Biotech are well above average.” Resentment crept into Gabriel’s tone.
“That’s only true for the outpost positions,” Heather reminded. “I didn’t want to move to the off-world complex, but I would have done anything to keep Becca safe.”
Gabriel looked at Patrick and their expressions intensified. She’d heard that many, if not most, of the hybrids were telepathic so it was likely they were conversing mind to mind.