“Okay, how about this?” he said, still laughing. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Lana considered whether to answer or not. If she admitted she didn’t, would he try to seduce her? Not because he was attracted to her necessarily, but simply because that was what he did. On the other hand, if she lied and told him she had a boyfriend, he might consider it a challenge. She sighed, wishing she’d never agreed to this stupid question and answer game in the first place. She’d have been better off with a book.
“No boyfriend,” she said at last.
“Never?”
“I didn’t say that,” she snapped. “I’ve had a few. They didn’t last.”
“Hmm.”
“What hmmm?”
“I was just thinking it must be hard to be in a relationship when you travel so much of the time.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Anyone serious?”
“Only one.”
“Who was he?”
“Someone who turned out to be a player, like all the rest of you.”
“You have a very low opinion of the male half of the species, querida.”
She didn’t say anything to that, because it was true. They rode in silence a while longer, until he asked, “How do you know Raphael?”
“I don’t. I told you, I deal with Cyn. You probably know she does some investigative work. Sometimes she needs someone checked out in my neck of the woods, and she calls me. It’s faster, plus I get the impression that Raphael likes her to stay close to home.”
“That’s an understatement. Vampires are possessive as a matter of course. But when you consider the extra aggression and territorial instincts a vampire lord has, I’m surprised she’s not kept in a basement. A very nice basement, but a basement nonetheless.”
“She doesn’t strike me as a woman who’d put up with that.”
“I think you’re right. I’ve never met her, only seen her across the room. Her rep is pretty serious, though.”
“I’d like to meet her in person someday. We’ve only spoken on the phone.”
“Which bring us back to the task at hand. Why does Raphael want us to find Xuan Ignacio?”
“You know everything I do. Did you ask Enrique if he knew Xuan?”
“Not a chance. You know that territorial instinct I was talking about? Well, let’s just say Enrique would not be thrilled to discover his lieutenant is on an errand for Raphael.”
“You’re Enrique’s lieutenant? I didn’t know that. That’s high up the ladder, isn’t it?”
“Only Enrique is higher.”
“So if you think Enrique’s an asshole, do the other vampires think you are, too?”
His grin finally returned as he said, “I sure as hell hope not.”
“Michael seems to like you.”
“Michael is mine. He’s pretty much hard-wired to like me.”
“Yours? You mean you made him a vampire?”