The Reluctant Vampire Page 0,79
said that to keep from worrying Harper, and fortunately, Stephanie had been too wrapped up in the movie to read her and call her on the lie.
Not that there was anything to worry about, Drina thought. She'd probably just seen a neighborhood cat or something skulking across the yard or over the fence. But she was going to check it out anyway. Armed and not in a nigh e, she thought with a wry shake of the head as she hurried up the hall to the stairs and down to the first floor. Teddy, Alessandro, and Leonora were in the living room talking quietly while they awaited their shi si ng with Tiny and Mirabeau. They glanced over at the sound of her descending the stairs and Teddy immediately came out of the room.
"Problem?" he asked.
Drina shook her head. "I thought I saw something in the backyard, and I'm just going to take a quick peek around. I probably won't even leave the deck."
"I'll come with you," he said, moving to follow, but she shook her head as she walked into the pantry to don her coat and boots.
"There's no need. In fact, it's be er if you watch from the window. If there is trouble and you're with me, we could both be taken out. If you watch from inside, you can shout the alarm and warn the others, so they aren't taken by surprise," she pointed out sensibly. "Besides, it was probably just a cat skulking about or something. There's no sense both of us getting cold."
"Alessandro can come watch from the window to give the alarm if anything happens," Teddy said grimly, dragging on his coat as she pulled on her boots. "I'm not le ng you go out there by yourself. I'm police chief of this town, and if there's trouble, I'm going to help take care of it. You're not going out there on your own," he finished stubbornly.
"What? Are you trying out for the role of the cop in a slasher movie?" she mu ered with disgust, thinking they were usually just as stupid as the other characters in the movies.
"What?" he asked with bewilderment.
Drina straightened with a sigh, and said solemnly, "Look, Teddy, you're being very brave and strong to want to accompany me. Unfortunately, you're also being stupid. If there is a problem out there, you could only be a detriment rather than a help in this situation."
He puffed up indignantly. "I know you immortals are stronger and faster and all that nonsense, but I have a gun and wouldn't hesitate to use it."
"Which makes you even more dangerous," she said firmly. "Any immortal worth a spit could take control of you and make you turn the gun on me before I even realized they were there." He blanched at the possibility, and she added gently, "The best thing you can do in this situa on is watch from the window and shout to alert the others if there is a problem. That isn't a reflec on on you. It doesn't mean you are weak and helpless. It is the smart thing to do, and you're a smart man. So act like it and stop le ng your pride make foolish decisions for you. And please try to remember I'm basically the immortal version of a cop. I am trained for this. I'm not some helpless female creeping out in her nightie."
Confusion flickered across his face, telling her he didn't recognize that reference either, but Teddy heaved a disgusted sigh, and nodded. "All right. But give me a signal if you see anything, anything at all."
"I will," she assured him, dragging on her coat and hat before turning back to the closet to retrieve one of the large suitcases Anders had stored in there when they'd thought they were basically babysi ng. Opening it, she rifled through the contents, no ng that a couple items were missing. Anders was already armed and she should have thought to arm herself before this, she knew. It was that old "new-life-mate"
distrac on thing ge ng in the way, Drina thought on a sigh as she retrieved a quiver of arrows, a crossbow, a gun, and a box of drug-laced bullets that should knock out any rogue for at least twenty to thirty minutes . . . enough time to secure them for pick up.
"Christ," Teddy muttered, eyeing the arsenal she'd revealed.
"Did you think we went a er rogues armed with just our charming smiles and