Present Tense (Out of the Fire #3) - Candace Blevins Page 0,1
shoulder.
And, of course, she saw Collosa right away — it was hard to miss the six-foot-ten-inch-tall hulk standing with the butlers and chauffeurs waiting to pick up the other passengers. He was in jeans, they were in suits. Oh well, not the first time he’d been underdressed.
The adorable little vampire stopped in front of him. “Collosa, I’m glad you’re here. I have four more bags in the plane we need to get.”
He smiled and tried to look friendly. “Actually, why don’t I take those off your hands, and you can go get your other four bags, since you know what they look like. Take the wagon and stack them on their sides. Three should fit, and you can put the fourth on top.”
She shook her head. “These have to go in last. My electronics can’t be crushed.”
She was supposed to have worked on her accent, so it wouldn’t sound as if she’d grown up in Australia, but what he heard was straight out of Sydney.
“Okay. Let’s get them together, so we can make sure I get the correct four bags.”
“They’re red, and each has a black-and-yellow checked ribbon tied to the handle.”
This time, when he smiled, he meant it. “Clever girl. You must be exhausted. Wait here and I’ll be back with your bags as quick as I can.”
They had plenty of time. It wasn’t quite twenty-two hundred, and the sun wouldn’t rise until oh-seven hundred. They had nine hours to make a seven-hour drive — and a black, lightproof body bag to put her in if they were waylaid.
Collosa stowed her bags in the back of the Suburban while she watched, as if she expected him to demolish them somehow, but he’d been warned about her anxiety. She suffered from agoraphobia, and she was moving halfway around the world. It wasn’t like she had a choice in the matter, but she was being brave.
“I have filtered water in a thermos for you,” he told her when they were both seated and belted in. “Flying always dehydrates me. I know you fed on the plane, but if you want something to drink, I figure you’ll prefer warm.”
He scented surprise and happiness coming from her, as well as relief. “Thank you. Have you been around many vampires?”
“I’m a bodyguard. Most of the time we keep humans safe, but I’ve been assigned to enough supernaturals, I know how to keep them comfortable. It isn’t my job to feed and water the client, but I’ve found that if I pack snacks for them when I pack for myself, it keeps things simpler.” He put the SUV into gear and backed out of the parking space. “And I’m all about keeping things easy. Speaking of which, I’ll hit up a fast food window before we hit the interstate, and then we should only need to make one stop between here and home to gas up and make another food run. Since you fed on the plane, I assume you’ll be good until you rise tomorrow night?”
“That’s correct.”
He followed a stretch limo out to the main road, and she noted it had South Carolina tags. She’d learned all the states immediately around Tennessee, so she had an idea of where that was.
“I was also told you’d been working to lose the Australian accent, but that information seems to have been wrong.”
She sighed, slouched in her seat, and said in a perfect American accent, “I know how, I just don’t like doing it.”
“Well, practice makes perfect. Aaron wants you to blend in, and I’m pretty sure our new Master of the City is going to feel the same.”
“Right, because I’m coming in as one Master is about to leave and another is arriving, just to complicate things even more.”
Collosa glanced at her and looked back to the road. “I can’t imagine how stressful this is for you. I can’t speak to the vampire politics part of it, but Drake Security will fold you into us like you’re family. We’ve been needing more computer geeks, so everyone will be happy to see you.”
She shrugged. “Likely not everyone. I’ll walk in and be better than everyone else. It always causes problems, but I can deal with it.”
“You’re better than Chance?”
“Apples and oranges, where he’s concerned. Different skillsets.” She sighed. “But yes, I’m better.”
Kelsey sat quietly while the grizzly bear ordered nearly sixty dollars of food. She did the math in her head and figured that was around eighty Australian dollars, and she suppressed a sigh. Vampires are supposed