"Man, that is one pissed-off spook."
Henry paused, one hand on the bathroom door, and turned toward the hall corner where Tony lounged against the wall. "You could feel it?"
"Feel it?" Tony snorted, covering his fear with bra?vado. "I could almost see the waves of pissed-offedness radiating out from your room. I just, you know, wondered if you were okay."
"I'm fine. It can't actually affect me."
"Uh-huh. And that's why you just crushed the doorknob?"
Opening his fingers, Henry dropped his gaze to the unrecognizable piece of brass protruding from the bathroom door. "Perhaps I am a little... irritated. I'm sure I'll feel better after a shower." He took a half a step forward-one bare foot on tile, the other on carpet-and paused. "Don't you usually work Sat?urday evenings?"
Tony took a deep breath, lifted his chin, and met Henry's gaze square on. "I traded shifts," he an?nounced defiantly. "So I could be here when Vicki arrived."
Red-gold brows rose. "To protect her from me?"
"Maybe." Expecting anger, and knowing how dan?gerous that anger could be, Tony would have pre?ferred it to the undercurrent of amusement he could hear in Henry's voice. "Or to protect you from her."
Realizing that he'd hurt the younger man's feelings, Henry sighed. "I appreciate the intent, Tony, I really do, but for your own safety, if anything happens, any?thing at all, don't get between us. While I would never intentionally harm you, I'm not sure how much intent is going to count."
"Then why did you stay? You're ready to go to the cabin, you could've been gone when she got here."
"If I was gone when she arrived, Vicki'd never be?lieve that two vampires are incapable of being to?gether. She'd continue to think that I'm overreacting, that a response innate to our natures can be over?come." His eyes darkened and an aura of ancient power seemed to gather about him-in spite of the green velour bathrobe. "By remaining home for the first part of the night, by actually meeting with her, I'll prove my point in the only way she'll accept."
Tony nodded slowly. Having known Vicki since he was a fifteen-year-old street kid, the explanation made perfect sense. "I bet she was the kind of kid who stuck beans up her nose."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You know." His voice lifted into a shrill falsetto. "Now, Vicki, don't stick beans up your nose."
Henry grinned. "No bet."
"So you stayed to prove a point?"
"That's right."
"Not because you wanted to see her again?"
"Vampires do not maintain attachments after the parent-child bond is broken." Henry's tone ended the discussion. For added emphasis, he stepped into the bathroom and emphatically closed the door.
The knob fell off and bounced down the hall.
Bending to pick it up, Tony fitted his fingers into the creases Henry's fingers had made. Don't get be?tween us, he repeated silently. Yeah, like I'm in the habit of getting between The Terminator and the mother alien....
Michael Celluci watched Vicki pacing back and forth in the elevator-three steps back, three steps forth-and kept his mouth firmly shut. More than any?thing, he wanted to know if she'd even considered the possibility that Henry might be right. Unfortunately, although the words were pressing up against his teeth, he couldn't ask because, from her expression, she ob?viously had.
"His scent is all over this building," she muttered, nostrils flaring.
"Don't tell me he's been pissing in the corners."
Her teeth seemed longer than usual as she snarled, "That's not what I meant."
"It was a joke." When she whirled to glare at him, he spread his hands. "Just trying to lighten the mood."
"Oh." The bell chimed for the fourteenth floor. She spun back around to face the door.
Following her out into the hall, Celluci shook his head. "No need to thank me." As their names had been on a security list at the door, they'd been waved right through without needing to buzz up and so had no idea of what they were about to face. Given Vicki's reaction so far, if Henry had been stupid enough to stay home, it was going to be an explosive evening.
He found himself wishing he'd brought his gun- although who he intended to shoot, he had no idea.