"Maybe we should pick up my car, too," Harper murmured, apparently thinking along the same lines.
"Your car is toast." Drina reminded him quietly of their accident.
"Oh, right." He frowned, and then said, "Well, Victor said I could borrow his car while they were gone if I needed it. We could pick that up."
"That's probably a good idea," Leonora commented as she stepped into the entry to take her coat from the closet. "We could go to the house first. I can drop you two and Anders off there, and go on to the blood bank alone. Then you'd just have to stop at the store on the way back to get Stephanie her treats."
Harper immediately stuck his head into the dining room, and asked, "Would you mind if Leonora drove your car, Teddy?"
"Nope. She's had her license longer than I've been alive," he said easily. "I was only going to drive with her so she didn't have to go alone. But if she doesn't mind . . ." He shrugged.
"She will no be alone," Alessandro announced, coming down the stairs to catch the conversation. "I too will go."
"Sounds like a plan," Harper said wryly, quickly pulling on his coat and dragging on his boots. When Drina straightened from completing the same task, he took her arm and urged her around Alessandro and Leonora toward the door. "We'll go heat up the car and give you two some room to get your stuff on."
He didn't wait for a response but urged Drina outside. She stomped out onto a small porch, her feet sliding about in the overlarge but warm boots. The coat was too big as well, but also did the job, protecting her from the cold night.
Harper kept a hand on her arm as they descended the stairs and headed for the driveway in front of the house. Watching her tramp forward through the snow, he asked with concern, "Are you going to be all right in those?"
Drina grimaced as his hand tightened on her arm, preventing her from falling when her feet slipped about inside the boots, and the boots slid on the slippery snow. "For now. But tomorrow I think I will have to visit Wal-Mart again."
Harper nodded, and then said, "I suppose Stephanie won't be able to come?"
"I'm not sure," she said on a sigh. "I'd think Lucian would want her restricted to the house after these attacks, but since the last one took place in the house . . ." She shrugged unhappily.
"Yeah," Harper murmured, then they both glanced toward the house as the front door opened and Leonora and Alessandro came out. Harper whistled, and when Alessandro stopped and glanced his way, he tossed them the car keys, saying one of them may as well drive since they were essentially just dropping everyone off.
Chapter Fourteen
Casey Cottage was dark and silent when Leonora dropped them off. Anders didn't waste any time but got immediately into the SUV he and Drina had driven down in. He started the engine and was backing the vehicle out almost before Alessandro had cleared the driveway. Drina shook her head at the man's impatience. Really, he was so rude sometimes, she thought, as Harper ushered her up the sidewalk along the garage.
The house was heavy with the smell of smoke when they entered, and Harper heaved a sigh as he closed and locked the door behind them. "I hope the insurance people can get this cleaned up and back in shape before Elvi and Mabel return. They'd be heartbroken to see it like this."
"Yes," Drina murmured, reaching instinctively for the light switch and glancing around with surprise when Harper caught her arm to stop her.
"It's probably better not to," he said quietly. "The wiring may have been damaged in the fire. If we turn on the juice, it might spark something and get it going all over again."
"Oh, of course." Drina let her hand drop when he released it and shrugged. "It's probably for the best anyway. It's doubtful anyone would be watching the house now it's uninhabitable, but there's no sense advertising we're here."
"No," he agreed.
Drina glanced around. It was a clear night, dim moonlight creeping through the windows. With their night vision, they didn't really need the lights anyway.
"Maybe we should collect some clothes too while we're here," Harper suggested, bending to slip off his snow-covered boots. "They'll probably reek of smoke from the fire, but a good wash or three might take care of that."
"My own clothes," Drina said on a sigh as she shrugged out of Teddy's coat and laid it over the radiator. She didn't mind going without a bra and panties so much, but had spent most of the day tugging up the joggers Stephanie had brought to her. They had a drawstring, but she'd only been able to tighten it so far. The darn things were loose enough they kept dropping to ride her hips rather than staying at her waist, where she would have preferred them.
Harper tossed his own coat over the radiator next to hers and chuckled as she stepped out of Teddy's overlarge boots without undoing them. He then caught her hand and headed for the curving staircase. "I'm sure Stephanie would appreciate it too. The poor kid has no hips yet and has had to hold her pants up since she put them on."
"I'll pack her things too," Drina murmured, as he led her upstairs. When he reached the landing and turned left rather than right toward the bedroom she shared with Stephanie, she asked, "Where are we going?"
"We'll start with my clothes and then stop for clothes for you and Stephanie on the way back down," he announced.
"Or I could gather Stephanie's and mine while you get yours. It would be faster," she said with amusement, but Harper shook his head at once.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight until this business is finished and I don't have to worry about your getting hurt in sudden attacks."
"But Stephanie isn't with us," Drina pointed out gently, as he turned left at the end of the landing to head for the stairwell leading to the third floor.