Paris After Dark by Jordan Summers Read Free Book Online

that’s not going to happen.”
    Gabriel slowly shook his head. “No.”
    “That doesn’t leave us much time,” she said.
    His brow furrowed. “Time for what?”
    “To catch this bastard and get my necklace back.”
    Gabriel stood, gloriously at ease with his nakedness. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”
    “Every word.” Rachel closed the distance between them. Gabriel flinched when she touched his cheek. “If what you say is true, I don’t have much time left. I plan to make every second count, starting with bringing the bastard down. Help or stay out of my way. It’s your choice.”
    “You know I won’t let you go after him alone. It would be a slaughter.”
    “I didn’t go down easy the first time.”
    Gabriel kissed her. “No, you did not. You are a remarkable woman.”
    Rachel blushed. “Bet you say that to all the girls.”
    He stared at her. “I’ve never said that to anyone until now.” Gabriel sighed. “Where should we start?”
    “That’s easy,” Rachel said, grateful for the change in subject. “The catacombs. I chased him there once. There’s a good possibility he’ll show again. Besides, we have an advantage.”
    Gabriel cocked his head. “What’s that?”
    “Me.” Rachel shrugged. “He’s obviously after me.”
    He nodded. “You’ve seen his face. He knows you can identify him. That makes you a threat.”
    She grinned. “Perfect, so let’s give him what he wants.”
    Gabriel turned away. “It’s too dangerous.”
    Rachel snorted. “I’m dying. There’s nothing else he can do to me.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong,” Gabriel said. “There are a lot of things worse than death.”
Six
    The plan wasn’t foolproof, but it was the best they could do under the circumstances. The bodies of the two women Rachel had seen in her dreams had been discovered, one by Gabriel’s team and the other by the Parisian police. The fact that the police had been brought in troubled the Sang High Council. A termination order was given to the Trackers of Paris. There would be no trial.
    Somehow the killer was keeping tabs on Rachel. She and Gabriel were counting on the fact that he’d follow her, if she left herself open for attack. The best place to do that was in the catacombs.
    Hiding until it closed for the evening hadn’t been difficult, although it did require crawling on mountains of bones. Rachel lay on a pile swallowed by shadows and concentrated on not moving. Mentally she kept apologizing to the dead for the inconvenience. When the last employee did his rounds, she slowly made her way off her bed of bones. Human remains from the eighteenth century crunched beneath her booted feet. Somewhere nearby Gabriel was waiting, careful not to give his presence away.
    Despite everything she’d been told over the last two days, Rachel felt at peace for the first time in a year. She turned on her flashlight and made her way down the path towards the sound of water dripping. There was no guarantee the killer would show tonight or any other night for that matter. They were counting on his arrogance to bring him.
    Rachel reached the stone chalice, which held water that steadily dripped from the ceiling. She and Gabriel had picked the spot earlier because the area was wider here than along the rest of the trail. There were no benches, so Rachel had to stand. She leaned against a wide column that looked to be holding up the cave-like roof. Rachel extinguished the flashlight allowing the darkness to envelop her. Nothing left to do but wait.
    The drip, drip, drip of the water onto the stone lulled her mind. Rachel replayed much of her life and realized that, with the exception of Paul’s death, she had few regrets. She’d come to Paris to contemplate ending her life, only to discover a reason to live. Too bad it was too late.
    Drip, drip, drip, silence .
    She waited for the next drip, but it never came. Rachel slowly straightened, her ears straining to hear. Something nearby had stopped