forest, he selected a couple of possible routes of egress in the event…no, rather, for when Katrina located his position. He wondered how much time he should give her to find him and frowned as he tried to gauge how far and fast she could move.
“Easy. Just time a lightning strike,” he muttered.
He made a mental calculation and removed a glove so he could retrieve his cell phone. He auto-dialed Katrina; the phone rang merely twice before she picked up.
“Caleb?” she asked guardedly. “Where are you? I noticed your car is already in the driveway.”
He hadn’t meant to concern her and quickly replied, “Sorry, Kat. I was preparing a special event for you and didn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
There was a silent pause at the other end before she asked warily, “What kind of surprise, my love?”
He knew that she wasn’t keen on surprises; a key aspect of alpha vampires was that they liked to be in control. He rolled his eyes heavenward at the gross understatement of that particular thought and hoped she would be pleased in the end once she understood what he had planned.
“How would you like to play a game with me tonight?” he asked playfully.
Another pause.
“Game? What kind of game?”
“It’s called Find Caleb,” he replied with a smirk. “It’s simple. All you have to do is find me, and catch me, before the timer on my watch goes off.”
Another pause.
“You’d better not be doing something dangerous, or I’m going to be upset.”
He winced at her admonishment and sensed her protective nature kicking into high gear. Upsetting her was the last thing he wanted, because vampires weren’t particularly pleasant to be around when they were angry.
“No, really. I thought this out already, and it’s perfectly safe,” he reassured her. “This is just playtime for adults, that’s all.”
Silence.
“Perhaps,” she hedged in a milder tone. “Tell me more, I suppose.”
“Okay. I’m somewhere outside, not far from the estate. You just need to come looking for me. But you have to tag me before the time limit expires.”
“Hm,” she replied. “Sounds intriguing. What do I win if I beat the time limit?”
He was perplexed, not having anticipated the need for prizes. But then inspiration struck, and he smiled. “Tonight, the prize is a foot massage,” he declared proudly.
“Both feet?” she teased.
He adopted a bland expression and replied flatly, “Yes, both feet.”
“Ankles too?” she pressed as she resumed typing on her computer keyboard.
She sure enjoys spending time on her computer. He sighed and agreed, “Okay, ankles too.”
He shook his head over the bargaining required just to get a vampire to chase him around the woods. Just wait until I tell Alton about this.
“Okay,” she agreed. “When does this start, and how much time do I get?”
“Let’s say a ten minute time limit, which starts as soon as I hang up the phone,” he ventured.
He heard her chuckle.
“I’ll be seeing you very soon, my love.”
The line went dead, and he realized with a smirk that she had been the one to hang up the phone to initiate the game. That whole alpha control thing, he mused. He also found her overt sense of confidence somewhat unnerving and wondered just what kind of game Alton had signed him up for.
Caleb put his phone away and slipped his glove back on. He waited, listening to the sound of the wind rustling through the trees around him. The dry branches clicked against one another in a cacophony, and he strained to listen for the sound of crunching leaves that might indicate she was nearby.
* * * *
Katrina hung up the phone, clicked the mouse to close her browser, and replaced her slippers with running shoes. She considered her jeans and long-sleeved knit shirt in the mirror, ultimately deciding they were perfectly fine for her endeavor.
She grabbed her house key and hurried to the front door. After setting the alarm, she pulled the door closed behind her and took a moment to take in the cold, crisp night air. It’s a beautiful night.
She walked to Caleb’s car and paused beside it while smelling the night air, categorizing its scents. Cocking her head to one side, she listened for telltale noises. She walked to the side gate serving as her property’s access to the adjacent neighborhood park and paused while smelling near the gate handle, but failed to detect Caleb’s scent.
Frowning, she considered other avenues of egress. The only other reasonable place was the driveway gate, and she raced over to it. Instead of using