"Not really."
Jimmy scratched at the back of his neck. "Are we going to have to file a missing persons report on her later?"
"I doubt it. She's running with a group of Daimons. They're usually not the kind to call you guys." And he knew for a fact that she had no family.
Unless she'd married.
His breath caught as he realized he didn't know anything about her now. Hell, she could be married to a Daimon or Apollite. The very thought made him ill. But humans did occasionally fall in with them for one reason or another.
She could be someone's mother....
Surely she wouldn't have been on the street hunting Dark-Hunters if she had dependents.
Would she?
Jimmy turned around in the seat with wide eyes to stare through the partition at him. "Is she the one the Oracles have been talking about? The human killing you guys off?"
I should have kept my mouth shut. Now all the social network sites used and run by the Squires would be lighting up like a Christmas tree. "I think so, but I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this between us until I have a chance to ask her some questions."
"Absolutely." Jimmy slapped Kevin on his arm. "Told you it was real. Hah! You owe me twenty bucks."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Kevin groused.
They didn't say anything else as they sped down South Las Vegas Boulevard. Jess felt that familiar tingle at the back of his neck. The sun was dawning. The sky turning brighter with every heartbeat. And they were still a couple of miles from his home. Worse? He had to knock her out again as she started coming to.
Jess rubbed his thumb and index finger together-a nervous twitch he'd developed as a gunfighter. It was the same feeling he had right now. One mistake. One delay.
He was history.
Only this time, he wasn't relying on his instincts and skills to survive. He was relying on theirs....
The first rays were cresting just as they pulled up to the black wrought iron gates that protected his driveway. Jess slinked down in the seat as he used his iPhone app to open them. He also signaled for the garage doors.
Come on ... let's go....
His skin was already burning something fierce. It wouldn't be long before he'd be dead.
Kevin shot them through the gates before they'd finished opening and across his long driveway. Too long, he realized as Kevin hauled ass down it and they still weren't under cover. Why the hell had he bought a house with a two-mile driveway? Okay, slight exaggeration, but damn. It seemed like forever before they were inside the garage.
Jess breathed a long sigh of relief, and he leaned back in his seat. "That's about as close to bacon as I want to come for a while."
Without commenting on that, Jimmy came around to open his door and let him out. "You need any help with her?"
He shook his head. "Nah, I got it. Thanks, though."
Jess had just pulled her from the car and was heading to the back door when Kevin blocked his path. The Squire pulled out a pair of cuffs. "You need these?"
That actually made him laugh. "Think I can handle a little filly without them." Then again, given the whipping she'd put on him earlier, he might want to rethink that.
Pride goeth before a fall....
Kevin returned them to the pouch on his belt. "All right. We'll see you later."
Jess inclined his head to them before he carried her into the house.
He hesitated inside the door. Now what to do with her? He hadn't thought this far ahead, and while he should have done it in the car, he'd been a little preoccupied with thoughts bursting into flames.
His best bet would be to take her into the basement with him. There was plenty of room down there to keep her locked up and away from anyone who might think about releasing her before he wanted her set loose.