"And he saved us from a great deal of pain," Drina added, her voice becoming more subdued.
"Pain?" he asked dryly. "Try saved our lives and his own too. If that bottle had landed, the whole damned place probably would have exploded. Those were gas pumps."
Drina nodded and reached over to squeeze his legs. "He helped, but you did the saving. Nice catch," she added quietly.
"That was desperation," Harper said on a sigh as he pulled out onto the road. "I didn't really notice the bottle, but I saw the flaming, fluttering cloth coming at us like a bird on fire and . . ." He shook his head. "It was the last thing I saw in the porch before it became an inferno. That time I didn't know what it was and wasn't quick enough to stop it. This time I was."
Like a recurring nightmare, she recalled his words and squeezed his leg again. But then frowned and glanced out the window, before announcing, "We have a problem. Two, actually."
"Only two?" Harper asked dryly.
Drina smiled faintly, but said, "Stephanie wasn't there. The attack was on us. It may not be Leonius."
"Except that you're about Stephanie's height, wearing her coat, and your hair is tucked under a hat so you could easily have been mistaken for her," he pointed out.
Drina glanced down at the bomber she wore and frowned as she realized he was right. That made her mouth tighten, and she said, "Which means we have a different set of problems."
"That he doesn't seem to be that concerned about keeping her alive for breeding since the explosion could have killed her," Harper guessed.
Drina nodded.
"What's the other?" he asked.
"Stephanie must have controlled the driver of the car."
Harper took his foot off the gas, allowing the car to slow as he sought out her eyes. "You think so?"
"What would you do if someone suddenly popped up in the backseat of the car?" she asked quietly.
Harper's head went back a bit as realization struck him. "The car didn't slow, stop, or jerk to the side. It just continued smoothly up the road." He frowned. "I didn't know she could control mortals already."
"Neither did I," Drina said on a sigh. "And she shouldn't be able to."
"No," he agreed, taking one hand from the steering wheel to cover hers on his leg. He was silent, considering this, and then said, "She could make him take her wherever she wanted."
"Yes," Drina agreed.
He thought for a minute, and then asked, "Where does her family live?"
"Windsor." Marguerite had told her a bit about Stephanie in New York-what she'd been through, where her family was from, etc. Marguerite seemed to feel bad for Stephanie, but then so did Drina.
Harper nodded and pulled a U-turn on the empty road, heading back the way they'd come. The highway entrance was just beyond the gas station.
"Do you want to call Teddy before we leave the area?" he asked, as they approached the gas station.
Drina shook her head. "We'll call from Windsor if we find her there."
"It's more than two hours away," he warned.
Drina bit her lip but shook her head. "Anders will call Lucian, and he'll have someone in the area head right over. I'd rather Stephanie wasn't faced with strangers to deal with this."
Harper nodded and squeezed her hand with understanding. They drove past the gas station and took the on-ramp to the highway.
Chapter Sixteen
"That's it," Harper murmured, slowing and pointing to a large two-story redbrick building.
"Don't stop. I don't want to scare her off if she's here," Drina said quietly. "Drive around the block. We'll find somewhere to park and walk back."