There'll be Hell to Pay (Hellcat Series Book 6) (37 page)

Trish’s tears
were flowing again. Kyle shook his head, laughing a little as he
handed Trish a fresh tissue and wrapped one arm around his
mate.

“
You’ll be around to help with…the other part?” he
asked.

Gabi closed her
eyes and breathed. There was very little chance the baby wasn’t
Dhampir, but she could still hope. Finally she smiled again, though
she knew it was a little brittle.

“
Imagine the world with two of us in it,” she said with a wry
chuckle. “Of course I’ll help as much as I possibly can when, and
if, the need arises.” She paused, knowing she needed to tread
carefully. “I have one personal request to make.”

Trish and Kyle
both looked at her with matching quizzical expressions.

“
Please, never tell her that Mariska wanted her dead. Make
something up and let me know the details and we’ll all stick to
those like glue. There is no reason for her to know that kind of
mental anguish.”

They both
responded with an immediate nod. “You have our word,” Kyle
said.

“
We agree wholeheartedly,” Trish backed him up. “But what about
being a twin? Should we tell her that?”

Gabi blinked
away her own suddenly emotional state. “I have the feeling she
already knows about her twin,” she said. “She’s a very special
little character.” There was a moment of silence as they all came
to terms with their new reality. Gabi finished her coffee.

“
Now,” Kyle sat forward on the sofa, his eyes alight
with…something Gabi couldn’t quite read. “We have a question to ask
you.” Trish’s entire face lit up, and Gabi grew sceptical. “We
haven’t actually told anyone else this, but I asked Trish to marry
me and,” he turned to his mate with a stupid grin, “she said
yes.”

“
Oh. My. Gods.” Gabi found herself shrieking for the second
time in less than an hour. She jumped up to hug both of
them.

“
Will you be my maid of honour?” Trish asked, then looked at
Kyle and giggled. “We actually had a fight over who got to ask you
to stand at our side. Kyle wanted you to be his best woman, but I
won when I pointed out that I would be left with Derek and he would
look terrible in a dress.”

Gabi burst out
laughing. “I would pay good money to see that, but yes, absolutely,
I’d love to be your maid of honour.”

“
We’re planning an evening wedding so that everyone can
attend,” Trish began, her excitement almost palpable. A plaintive
wail interrupted her. Trish responded like a thoroughbred out of
the starting gate and she was out of the room in a
flash.

Kyle grinned,
shaking his head, and then turned serious. “You have no idea how
happy you’ve made her. Us,” he corrected.

“
Oh, I think I have some idea,” she assured him.

“
Are you really sure about this? You and Julius don’t want
to…?” He looked at her pointedly.

“
You know I’m not cut out for it,” she told him. There had been
a tinge of sadness to her decision, but it was more for Julius than
herself. Seeing Trish’s and Sasha’s response to the baby had only
cemented her decision. “My life is crazy, I rarely see the sun, I
can’t keep normal hours, I travel around the world and face
dangerous people and situations. And I genuinely like my life as it
is. If the gods forced my hand, I would cope and change what I had
to and be a mother, but it’s not a decision I would make for
myself. And just look at Trish, you can see she was meant to be a
mother; it’s integral to her mind and soul. I don’t have that
inside me.”

“
I understand,” Kyle said at last, and studying his expression,
Gabi thought he did.

And then Trish
sailed back into the room with a tiny bundle wrapped in a white and
pink baby blanket. Her friend’s face glowed with radiance and she
oozed happiness. Slinky galloped along behind, his eyes fixed on
the bundle.

“
Look, it’s Aunt Gabi,” Trish cooed, kissing the little girl’s
forehead and gently depositing her in Gabi’s arms. “Slinky is just
as besotted as the rest of us. He sleeps at her feet in the crib
and doesn’t take his eyes off her.”

Gabi smiled at
the excited ferret; he was emanating the same cloud of content
happiness as Trish.

The baby
scrunched up her nose and wriggled a little until Gabi turned her
so that they were face to face. A smile lit her cherubic face and
her eyes locked with Gabi’s. Those baby blue eyes were calm and
clear, knowing, intelligent; an old soul, as some would say.

“
Life sure is going to be interesting with you around,” she
told the little girl.

The baby
gurgled cheerfully in response, and Gabi chose to ignore the tiny
frisson of unease that trickled down her spine.

THE END

This concludes
the Hellcat Series

Other books by
Sharon Hannaford

A Cat’s Chance
in Hell (Hellcat Series Book 1)

All Hell Breaks
Loose (Hellcat Series Book 2)

A Cold Day in
Hell (Hellcat Series Book 3)

To Hell and
Back (Hellcat Series Book 4)

Come Hell or
High Water (Hellcat Series Book 5)