Lana gave in to what she wanted, stretching up to touch her mouth to his, feeling the soft brush of his beard on her skin. “Sweet dreams,” she whispered.
“Will you be in them?” he mumbled, and then like a child sliding into his favorite position, Vincent rolled over onto his belly and was gone.
Lana stroked her fingers gently over the smooth expanse of his back, and then over to his arm where she outlined the Mayan god of his tattoo. Placing her lips on the sun god’s smiling face, she offered a silent prayer to the ancient deity, asking him to protect the child of his worshippers, hoping as she did that the fickle god was listening.
Chapter Twenty-Two
MICHAEL WAS WAITING when Lana and Vincent arrived at Guadalajara’s international airport the next day. Vincent steered the somewhat scratched and battered SUV into the private hangar, then waited until the big doors had closed behind him before stepping out to greet his lieutenant.
Lana stood on the running board, watching over the top of the SUV as the two men, two vampires, embraced. Vincent had told her the link between a vampire and his Sire was the closest bond two vamps could have. She hadn’t known what that meant until this moment, when she saw Michael’s reaction to Vincent, the instant comprehension on his face of what Vincent had been through, all of the emotional turmoil and the anger. There was genuine love between them, something she knew Vincent would never experience with his own Sire. Certainly not from Enrique who had usurped Xuan’s rightful place, and not from Xuan Ignacio either. He’d abdicated that role without a care for what it would mean to Vincent.
Vincent and Michael broke apart, thumping each other’s backs hard enough to break bone in a human, as the rest of the team gradually appeared from behind the private jet. Jerry and Salvio were there, along with Zárate and Ortega who’d been with them when they’d rescued Carolyn. Her heart constricted with unaccustomed tenderness when she saw that the two big, vamp fighters had Carolyn between them. They weren’t being obvious about it, but it was plain, to her anyway, that they were keeping an eagle eye out for anyone who might mean Carolyn harm.
Lana considered her sudden and irritating tendency toward squishy emotion. If this was what falling in love did to a person, it was no surprise she’d never done it before.
Even as she had that thought, Vincent smiled at her over his shoulder and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling back. More squishy emotion. He held out a hand in her direction, and she forced herself to stroll over to him slowly.
“Lana,” Michael said, greeting her. “My Sire tells me you’re joining us in Mexico City. What’s your weapon status? Do you need ammo, any additional guns? I understand you like knives?”
Lana blinked in surprise. She’d half-expected Vincent’s lieutenant to try to talk him out of letting her come along, maybe even try to dissuade her directly.
“I’m good on weapons,” she told him slowly. “But I could use some 9mm ammo, whatever has the most stopping power. Vampires are a little harder to kill.”
Michael nodded. “You’ll have to talk to Cynthia Leighton when this is over, or maybe Lucas’s mate, what’s her name?” he asked, directing the comment at Vincent before supplying his own answer. “Kathryn Hunter. I always thought that was a particularly suitable name for an FBI agent,” he added with a smile.
“Or a vampire lord’s mate,” Vincent agreed, grinning.
Michael nodded amiably, then turned back to Lana and the topic at hand. “Unfortunately, we don’t have either of those experts here tonight, so for now—”
“For now, we’ll try to avoid gunfights,” Vincent interjected. “My challenge is for Enrique, no one else.”
“But you know he’s not sitting around, waiting politely for you to show up. He’ll try to stop you before you get there,” Michael commented.
“That’s why we’re going to move fast. We’ll fly to Mexico City tonight, set up in the condo, and talk to friends. Tomorrow night, we go directly to Enrique’s HQ. Once I’m in the villa, he’ll be hard-pressed to do anything but accept the challenge. If he sets his guards on me then, it will make him look weak. He can’t afford that.”
Michael didn’t look happy, but he nodded. “I hate this, but you’re right.”
“Have faith, Mikey,” Vincent said, grabbing the younger vamp’s shoulder. “I can take him.”
“I know. And you know I’ll be at your back when you do.”
Michael shifted his gaze to something over Vincent’s shoulder just as a deep voice said, “We would also like to be there for you, my lord.”
Lana turned with Vincent and saw Ortega and Zárate going down on their knees. “We would swear our fealty if you’ll have us,” Ortega said.
Vincent’s hand tightened briefly around Lana’s hip before he released her to shrug off his jacket and toss it onto the hood of the SUV. Rolling up the sleeve on his T-shirt, he went to lift his wrist to his fangs, but Lana got there first, handing him the wickedly sharp Spyderco knife from her pocket.
Vincent’s dark eyes warmed with emotion. “Thank you, querida.”
“Hey, mi navaja es su navaja.” My knife is your knife.
Vincent flashed her a quick grin before his expression shifted and he regarded the two vampires kneeling before him.
“Richard Ortega,” he said, addressing the vampire who’d spoken, “Do you come to me of your own free will and desire?”
Ortega met Vincent’s gaze directly and said, “I do, my lord.”
“And is this what you truly desire?” Vincent asked solemnly.