her eyes, Keira indicated Finn. She couldn’t fake an attraction to Stefan and really sell it to him, with a protective and disapproving Finn standing behind her. Finn, the man she loved. Even pretending to like Stefan was an affront to what she felt for Finn. It left a sour taste in her mouth.
Thank God the comet was due tomorrow. Then, one way or another, this would all be over. She’d either be victorious and Stefan would be behind bars awaiting execution, or he’d be successful and she’d be halfway around the world in her attempt to evade him.
Or she’d be dead. That possibility was never far from her thoughts.
A knock sounded on the door. “Enter,” Stefan called out.
Keira altered her position so she stood sideways to the door. That way she could keep an eye on Stefan, Finn, and the vampire Javier who had walked in.
He directed a cool glance toward Finn, a much more heated one to Keira, and a subservient, almost docile look at Stefan. “You need me?”
Stefan handed him the money bag. “Secure this. And meet me later at the machine.”
Javier took the money with a nod and left the room.
Stefan stared at Finn. “You may go as well. Thank you for looking out for this lovely lady today.”
“Sure.” Finn hesitated, his gaze going from Keira to Stefan and back again. “You’ll be all right?” he finally asked.
“Your need to protect her is over,” Stefan snapped. “She’s quite safe with me.”
Still Finn didn’t budge. Keira sensed anger roiling up in Stefan, like a cauldron of slippery crude oil about to bubble over. “I’m fine,” she assured Finn. “I’ll call you later.”
He gave a nod and reluctantly left the room.
“As a reward for a job well done,” Stefan said, taking her by the arm, “I’m going to show you the machine that will bring all our schemes to fruition.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Really? How exciting.” This had been one of her goals, and it was finally going to happen! “When?”
“Now.” He escorted her out of the room and headed toward the back entrance.
“Now?” She glanced over her shoulder but there was no one to come to her rescue, even if Stefan would have let them. If he really had bought her act she was in no danger. But she couldn’t stop a shiver that worked its way up her spine.
“Is there a problem?” he asked as they reached the parking lot. The sun had set while she’d been inside, and the lot was illuminated with multiple lamps. She didn’t have a jacket with her, and she shivered again as the cool night air caressed her skin. “Oh, no. No problem. I’m just surprised we’re going now.”
He smiled and helped her into the passenger seat of a large luxury sedan. She watched him as he walked around the front of the car, his wiry frame almost effeminate looking when she mentally compared him to Finn. Looking at him now, if she didn’t know what she knew, she’d never guess how incredibly devious and dangerous he was. He had a fairly nondescript appearance. It was only when his eyes took on that mad light that one began to see his true nature.
She wasn’t sure what had twisted him, but if he’d been working on this plan ever since he’d come through the rift, it had obviously begun in the other dimension. And she thought it must have been something pretty spectacular to cause such a reaction.
He climbed behind the steering wheel and started the car. “Ordinarily I have a driver, but I don’t want to share this moment with anyone else tonight.” He sent her a smoldering look. “No one but you.”
Oh, no. What else did he have planned other than showing her the machine?
She noticed as he drove he kept checking the rearview and driver’s-side mirrors, and the more he did it the more she realized he was checking to make sure they weren’t being followed. She stifled a sigh. If she was in trouble here, she could rely only on herself to get out of it.
An hour later he stopped the car at a trailhead northeast of town. “We’ll have to hike in from here,” he said as he opened his door and illuminated the inside of the car.
Keira glanced down at her feet. She wore her favorite pair of shoes—a bright pink peep toe with a two-inch platform and five-inch spike clear acrylic heels. “Ah, Stefan. I can’t hike in these.” She looked over at him.
“Of