Lana tucked her cell phone into a jacket pocket. She didn’t need the map to tell her which way to go. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d told Vincent she’d hiked worse. Give her a direction and she would get there, come hell or high water. Flexing her fingers, she started up through the rocky hillside.
Hours later, Lana was in a sort of Zen state as she focused on putting one foot in front of the other and not breaking an ankle in the process. She’d had to resort to using the small Maglite to see by. She was careful with the beam, shielding it with her fingers and keeping it aimed downward to avoid screwing with the two vampires’ night vision, not to mention the danger of spotlighting their position for any pursuers. But it had been that or breaking an ankle for sure, so she’d chosen the flashlight. They were on the downward leg of their hike, nearly to the flat of the desert floor, and she was beginning to suspect that Vincent’s taking up the rear position on the first part of their climb had less to do with letting her set the pace and more with putting himself between her and any pursuit. Because as soon as they’d crested the hill and started downward, he’d switched positions, leaving Jerry as a rearguard while he led the way, his attitude one of constant readiness.
Thus far, it appeared that their escape had either gone unnoticed, or that Camarillo’s men were reluctant to chase down a vampire who could pull a man’s throat out. But even without anyone to fight, the idea that Vincent wanted to protect her made her want to like him. Or, rather, like him even more, since the like him ship had sailed long ago.
Danger, Will Robinson, she reminded herself. It was bad enough that he was big and sexy and gorgeous and . . . had she mentioned sexy? For him to be a good guy on top of all that seemed like piling it on . . .
“Heavy thoughts, querida?” Vincent’s deep voice was right in her ear, and she jerked in surprise. He’d been walking several feet in front and she hadn’t noticed him dropping back. Which only reinforced what a danger he was to her.
She shot him an annoyed look. “Just thinking about getting out of this town and never coming back.”
“There is one more thing we have to—”
“Vincent,” she said warningly.
“Lana,” he responded, mimicking her tone precisely. “The woman in the cantina.”
“What about her?”
“She has to die. You must see that.”
“I told you she helped me. She told me where they were holding you. I wouldn’t have found you in time without her.”
“You also said she only helped you to save her own ass. The bitch sliced my neck and bled me nearly dry, Lana.”
“I told her to leave town,” Lana said in a rush. “That you’d kill her if she stayed.” She met Vincent’s scowl with a shrug and added, “So there’s no point—”
“But you know where she lives, yes?”
Lana sighed. “Yes.”
“We’ll see if she took your advice. If not, too bad for her. If so, I’ll leave a message guaranteed to give her sleepless nights for the rest of her life.”
“We need to put some miles—”
He stepped into her path and stopped, forcing her to do the same.
“Remember what I told you about Camarillo? Why he had to die?” he asked, staring down at her.
She studied him silently, then said, “To protect other vampires, so no one else would try the same thing.”
“Exactly. And that goes double for that bitch, because she did it in front of witnesses.”
She eyed him a moment longer. “I understand,” she admitted, although not without qualms. Because even though she’d warned Fidelia Reyes about what would happen to her if Vincent found her, she hadn’t really believed her own words until she’d seen what he did to Camarillo.
Vincent’s expression softened the tiniest bit, as if he understood her conundrum and sympathized. Not that it would change his mind at all, she was sure. He nodded, then turned and resumed his lead position, moving down the even hillside with a grace that Lana couldn’t hope to duplicate. She thought briefly that it might not be so bad being a vampire sometimes. Then she caught herself.
Not so bad? She must be delirious.
They descended the last few yards, rocks crumbling underfoot with every step until they finally hit the flat desert floor. Lana sighed with relief, hurrying forward until she could see the tail end of the SUV sticking out from between the rocks where she’d parked it.
Vincent grabbed her hand when she would have run for it. “Wait,” he cautioned. “Jerry, you and I will go first.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lana wanted to protest. Sure, she’d been pleased that Vincent wanted to protect her, but that didn’t mean she needed it. She did a dangerous job and worked alone most of the time. Unfortunately, arguing with Vincent would only waste time, so she lagged back, but only by a little bit, as they covered the final fifty yards and the SUV came fully into view.
There were no bad guys waiting for them.