L.L. Foster - The Kindred

She’d be doing this as a woman, not a paladin.

“I promise not to cry,” Gaby told Fabian with sharp-edged sarcasm.

“Very well.” He lifted her arm by the wrist and bent to examine her scar.

Most of the shop remained mired in shadows, with only one harsh, powerful light directed on Gaby’s arm. The glow of that lamp lent added distinction to Gaby’s features. It sharpened her jawline, defined the bow of her upper lip, the length of her inky lashes.

Disturbed comprehension palpated off her in waves.

Luther saw the wary preparation in her, even if Fabian remained obtuse.

“My God,” Fabian said when he saw how much she’d healed. He couldn’t conceal an odd satisfaction. “The wound is nearly invisible now. It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“Some of the scar will remain.” Gaby never took her burning gaze off Fabian. “That’s why I want you to cover it.”

“As good as it looks now, that won’t be a problem at all.” He sat back in his seat. “There are several things I need to do first to prepare for the ink.” He patted her arm with paternal pride. “Sit tight.”

Moving to a sink set in the wall beside the sterilization equipment, Fabian scrubbed his hands. When he finished, he returned to Gaby with swabs and alcohol and cleaned the entire area of her arm that would be tattooed, then let her rest her arm on a sterilized towel.

The alcohol had to burn the areas of her arm not completely healed yet, but Gaby never even blinked.

And Luther felt so much pride, he wanted to burst.

Gaby was the toughest person he knew, and still she had the biggest heart and the most giving nature.

He watched as Fabian opened up a single-use needle, put it in an odd machine, and settled comfortably before Gaby.

“Ready?”

“If you take much longer, I’ll be asleep.”

Fabian’s mouth quirked in a smile. “I’m going to make an outline of the design now.” He started working, his head bent to his task.

Luther winced every so often, but Gaby remained as immobile and unflinching as a brick wall.

“So, Gaby.” Fabian glanced up, then back to his work. “I saw you across the street today.”

A muscle tightened on Gaby’s face. “Do tell.”

“You were butting heads with one of our more colorful denizens. A drug dealer, I believe.”

Belying her tension, Gaby sounded bored when she asked, “You know him?”

“I’ve done most of the tattoos for the dealers in the city. They want the best and, foregoing modesty, I can say with confidence that I’m by far the best. My designs come alive.”

“Bully for you.”

“And they can afford to pay my prices, so . . . ” Fabian shrugged. “I’m acquainted with many of the more reprehensible sorts.”

“Of course you are.”

Fabian shot Gaby a look, judged her comment to be only more cynicism, and dismissed it. “This morning, before you left the area, you rounded up some of the area children to take with you.”

She said nothing, just stared at him.

He cleared his throat and nodded at the design. “What do you think?”

She didn’t release him from her gaze. “That it?”

Fabian flashed an indulgent smile. “I need to fill it in yet, but that’s the outline of the barbed wire design.”

Hoping to break the tension and help Gaby settle down again, Luther leaned over to look.

But Gaby was already saying, “It’s fine. Finish it.”

Raising a brow, Fabian used yet another sterile towel to wipe away a few spots of blood. “You’re a curious woman, Gaby.” He began swabbing the area again with soap and fresh water. “Cody, is it?”

Luther took a protective step forward, too shocked to censor his reaction. How the hell could Fabian know Gaby’s last name when she’d never given it? Something was going on, something more than he knew, and he didn’t like it.

Gaby shifted—a subtle indication for Luther to cool his jets.

Her faint amusement reassured Luther; Gaby would know if imminent danger existed.

“That’s right, Fabian.” Her slow nod gave Fabian points for ingenuity. “Gabrielle Cody, if you want the whole shebang.”

“It’s a lovely name.” He replaced the needle with a new, sturdier one and went back to work. Occasionally he glanced up at Gaby to gauge her discomfort at the puncturing needle, but she showed none.

If Gaby felt anything at all, she hid it well.

When Fabian had finished, he smiled with pride. “Well, what do you think?”

Gaby approved the overall effect with a dismissive shrug. “Looks fine. It does what I wanted it to do.”

Stung, Fabian said, “It entirely conceals any scar and even though you limited me in color, there’s a certain dimension to it that’s quite unique and appealing.”

Gaby said only, “Yeah, you’ll get paid.”

Frustrated with her lack of appreciation, Fabian scowled. “Let me just bandage it up and we’re done.” As he saw to that, he detailed more precautions. “For the next twenty-four hours, keep it bandaged. After that, you can wash it with antibacterial soap, but don’t soak it. Stay out of hot tubs or long showers. Don’t pick at it, either.”

“Got it.” Gaby started to rise.

Fabian caught her wrist. Even Gaby’s glare didn’t make him release her.

“I know why you really came here, Gaby.”

Luther kept his stance loose, but ready. “Think so, huh?”

Fabian spared him an annoyed frown. “I see the news. I know all about the body parts found.” Lip curling, he said, “The headlines have been ludicrous, painting the person responsible as some kind of perverted predator.”

“You don’t think that fits?”

This time Fabian didn’t even look at Luther. He beseeched Gaby instead. “You’re wondering if I had something to do with it.”

Gaby curled her hand into a fist, tightened it so that her muscles flexed and rippled under Fabian’s hold. Finally he released her.

She lounged back, at her leisure. “Actually, Fabian, I’m not wondering about that at all.”

“I . . . ” He closed his mouth, at a loss, but not for long. “Then you’ve already drawn your conclusions.”

Hearing a small sound, Luther eased away from Gaby on a pretext of looking at more designs. Concentrating, he listened for any unfamiliar noise—a breath, the scuffle of a shoe.

He heard nothing. But . . . Fuck. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like it at all.

His visceral reaction was to shut it down, right now. He drew a breath and held off.

“I know what I know,” Gaby told Fabian. “No doubts at all.”

“I see.” Fabian regrouped, and changed tactics. “You know, Gaby, it might interest you to find out that I have some of the same . . . special talents that you have.”

That announcement hit Luther like a shock wave. He ended his perusal of the shop and returned to Gaby’s side.

While he tingled with a foreboding of doom, Gaby didn’t look in the least perturbed. A half-smile cast her features in sinister shadows. “What kind of special talents do you think you have, Fabian?”

He grinned in absurd camaraderie, leaning forward to create a more intimate nature to their discussion. “I knew you were familiar to me. You felt it, too. Admit it?”

She shrugged. “I sensed a deeper knowledge of you.”

“I knew it! In the very same way, I recognized you and your symptoms. The extraordinary things you do are not so far-fetched as you might think.”

Luther couldn’t stand it. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Yeah.” Gaby slouched lower in her seat. “This is getting interesting. Enlighten me, Fabian.”

He couldn’t hide the hatred he felt for Luther. “Perhaps you’d be more comfortable discussing this without his intrusion.”