Free The Banshee's Desire by Victoria Richards

smile. Together they scurried over to a back corner of the bar where the light was dim. Jacqueline looked his way and he knew without being told what she wanted.
    Going behind the bar, he poured a glass of wine and brought it to their table.
    "Thank you," Jacqueline said, pushing the glass towards Angela.
    "Yes, thank you." Angela looked up at him and a little fire ignited in his gut. Even bruised and banged up, she was still beautiful. "My thank you is long overdue."
    "Don't know what you're talking about," Gabe said, gruffly. "It's just a glass of wine."
    "It's more than that and you know it." Angela touched his hand. "Thank you for saving me."
    For a moment, he stared into her eyes, moved by the true emotion there.
    "Like I said, it was nothing," he shrugged.
    But even as his thoughts flashed back to that hellish night, Gabe felt anger prick at him. Bastard! Fortensky had no right to touch Angela, no right to even breathe the same air as her. If Jacqueline hadn't finished him off, Gabe would have done it himself.
    Angela was the only reason he'd kept his mouth shut when it came to telling Toby about what Jacqueline had done.
    Jacqueline gave a little gasp and then covered her mouth with her hand.
    She looked at the empty space next to Gabe and then back at his face.
    "Glad you're feeling better," Gabe said and hurriedly moved away. He could feel Jacqueline’s gaze burning a hole in his back though, and he had a pretty good idea about what she'd seen.
    So the stories were true.
    Half banshees were able to see the souls of the murdered.
    As he rechanted the spell he'd been using ever since he'd killed Derek, he wondered who she had seen: Derek or Eric Huston? And why had the spell suddenly slipped? It had been powerful enough to block her from seeing anything for almost four months.
    He'd have to do some more research, review his notes.
    Still chanting, he'd grabbed a broom for the storage closet and began sweeping up the stale popcorn that someone had spilled in the backroom by the shuffleboard.  As he pushed the kernels along, he heard the back entrance of the bar open.
    A little tingle crept along the back of his neck. Straightening slowly, he turned to see a man not much older than himself standing at the door. His gaze traveled the area slowly, taking in the mourners before it settled on Gabe.
    The man smiled.
    "You must be Gabe," he said.
    "And you are?" Gabe's fingers twitched as he readied a defensive spell. Everything about this guy smelled of wizard. "This is a private party."
    "Doesn't look like a party to me. Feels more like a wake."
    "I'll ask again: who are you?"
    The young man grinned revealing his perfect white teeth.
    "Finneus Spark. I believe you knew my brother Derek."
    "What the hell do you want?" Gabe's senses were on full alert and he wished Toby wasn't spending his time getting drunk in the office. His father had warned him the Spark family would likely retaliate over Derek's death. However, Gabe had hoped Toby would back him up in a fight.
    Not that he couldn't handle Finn Spark.
    The guy looked like he spent more time preening in front of a mirror than fighting.
    "All I want is to talk. I have no interest in causing trouble," Finn said. "I had hoped to shake your hand if you'll let me."
    "Why would I do that?"
    "Because you killed Derek."
    This was unexpected. Where was the anger? The desire for revenge?
    Finn laughed at the expression on Gabe's face.
    "I hated that son of a bitch brother of mine. When I heard he was dead, I cheered. I'm not here for vengeance if that's what you are worried about," Finn said. "In fact, one of the reasons I'm here is to let you know that as far as the Spark family is concerned, there are no hard feelings."
    "And the other reasons?"
    "There is only one." Finn leaned his head to the side, studying Gabe. "I wanted to speak with you about the half banshee I know that you and Toby are harboring. I'd like to give you a warning."
    "A warning?" Gabe narrowed his eyes. "What