Caleb (32 page)

Allie
stopped at the edge of the roof, her toe on the edge of the gutter. A story up
didn’t sound like so much until she was actually looking down from that height.
It was a long way to the ground, and the moonlight did nothing to soften the
image of her body making impact with the hard surface. Might be time to rethink
the descent. Instead of just stepping off and hoping she could float, she decided
to do a “dangle and drop.” With the backpack over her shoulder and the metal of
the gutter cutting into her fingers, she closed her eyes and pictured herself
floating down. When she had it solidly in her mind, she let go.

She
hit the ground with bone-jarring force. Her teeth snapped together and her
shins screamed. She crouched, rubbing at the sharp pain until it became
manageable, then ducked behind a leafless bush as she waited to see if anyone
came to investigate the disturbance. No one did. Oh yeah, she was safe with
these guards.

She
crept to the left, heading for the woods, unease flaring as the leaves rustled
in the trees. To her overactive imagination they sounded like whispers tracing
her path. Woman or vampire, she still didn’t like the dark.

As
soon as she reached the concealing brush at the edge of the woods, she
tightened her right shoulder strap and settled into her pace, following the
inner vibration she picked up from the invitation that drew her along the path
of the moon. She didn’t know where the Johnson property ended, but she assumed
there would be an illusion at the road, as there had been before. She just
hoped there wasn’t another pack of killer D’Nally weres on the other side. The
last two weeks had provided quite enough excitement in her life, thank you very
much. She wasn’t in need of more.

Nerves
on edge, constantly scanning for wolves, goblins, or any other paranormal
freakiness, she trudged on, grateful for at least one thing—vampirism had
increased her endurance. A fox skidded out of the hedge to the left and she
shrieked before she could contain it. Allie slapped her hands over her mouth,
as if that would somehow take back the betraying noise. It was too late.

“Going
somewhere?”

Caleb
was beside her—no warning, no sensing him. Just there. Big, bad, and mad. It
was enough to make her heart flutter. Stupid heart. She put her hands on her
hips. “How do you do that?”

He
didn’t pretend to misunderstand. Just raised an eyebrow and folded his arms
across his chest. “Practice.”

He
didn’t look happy. Just the opposite, but that was just tough. She’d talked
herself blue in the face trying to get him to see reason. Extreme stubbornness
called for an extreme wake-up call.

“And
for your information, I’m heading east.”

“Then
you’re heading in the wrong direction.”

Allie
rolled her eyes. “Okay, north.”

“Try
again.”

She
pointed to the deepest part of the forest, where the tingling told her to go.
“That way then.”

“West.”

She
hitched the pack on her shoulder. “West. I’m heading west. Any more questions?”

He
caught her arm before she could take a step. “Yes. Why?”

“Because
you don’t have the answers I need.”

“And
you think something out there does?”

“Not
something . . . someone.” She was sure of that.

“That
thing is out there.”

“So
are, apparently, a whole lot of other vampires with, hopefully, a lot more
study on the syndrome.”

“There’s
nothing they can give you that I can’t.”

Oh,
that was such a load a crap. She ignored his hand on her arm and folded her
arms across her chest. “How about an answer on whether I’m pregnant or not?”

“Time
will tell that.”

“So
would a pregnancy test if vampire bodies functioned like human ones.”

“That’s
not necessarily true, according to Slade.”

“Uh-huh.”
The pack dug into her shoulder. She moved it to a more comfortable position.
“According to Slade, a lot of things are possible, but without the right
equipment, he’s pretty much stuck with theory.”

“I’m
working on it.”

“I
don’t have time to wait.”

His
mouth set in that straight line that said she’d roused his stubborn side. “Time
is about all we do have.”

She
wanted to kick him in the shins for that. They had the potential for a lot. A
great relationship, a great future. Maybe even a family. “You know, if you keep
looking for the negative, you’re always going to find it.”

“I’m
not negative, I’m practical.”

“Well,
I’m adventurous.”

“You’re
reckless.”

“Get
used to it.”

“Not
an option.” The tug on her arm punctuated his conviction. “We need to head
back.”

“No.”

His
weight shifted to his heels and his grip on her arm loosened, but for all his
nonchalance, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was just waiting to pounce.
Her own big bad wolf.

“I
could just throw you over my shoulder and take you back.”

She
ignored the laziness of his drawl and looked beneath it. “That is so eighteen
sixties.”

“But
so true.”

His
tone mocked her, but his eyes said he was going beyond the moment, considering
his options. Allie adjusted her backpack. “You realize, of course, that this
time I arranged it so you could find me.”

The
edge of his mouth kicked up in a smile. “You think there’d be a time when I
couldn’t?”

“I
think I could arrange it in the future so you couldn’t find me in time.” She
let the knowledge seep between them. Saw the flare of anger in his eyes before
it faded behind a wall of assessment.

“In
time for what?”

“For
you to be a part of whatever I planned.”

“IF
you say ‘I told you so,’ I’m going to scream.”

Caleb
leaned against the wrought iron gate and folded his arms across his chest. “Can
I at least mention that my deciding to wait until tonight rather than showing
up in the wee hours of this morning was a much better plan after all?”

“No.”

Smug
men were so annoying.

“You
do know how to take the fun out of a man’s day.”

Who
did he think he was kidding? Every three minutes the man found something about
her that inspired a chuckle. If she didn’t think he needed the laughter so
much, she’d work up to offense. Allie pushed the intercom button again. There
was a low hum as the bell rang inside the structure.

“You
going with the philosophy that ten times is the charm?”

“No.”
She started punching the button in a funky rhythm. “I’m working on the theory
that if you grate on someone’s nerves enough, eventually they’ll show up, if
for no other reason than to tell you to knock it off.”

“And
once you get them here?”

“I
intend to keep them here until I get inside the gate.”

“Based
on that annoyance factor?”

She
cut him a glance. The amusement in his green eyes sliced through her
frustration to tug an equally amused grin to her mouth. “I thought once I had
them here, I’d go for the poor-pitiful-little-woman angle.”

“You
do look pretty pathetic bundled in those two coats.”

“Gee,
thanks.”

“No
need to get your feathers in a twist.” He glanced at the top of her head.
“You’re also damn cute.”

She
was reaching for the top of her head before she realized there was no way the
feathers could be back. Of course, Caleb noticed. She rolled her eyes. He
chuckled.

She
kicked the beat on the buzzer up to three-quarter time. “I hope whoever comes
to the door is as old-fashioned as you.”

“Why?”

“Because
there’s no way they’ll be able to ignore a vampiress in distress. All that
old-world chivalry will force him to comply with my wishes.”

Caleb
looked through the gates. “This would probably be a bad time to mention that
old-world chivalry you keep harping on was more myth than fact.”

She
followed his gaze. “A very bad time.”

The
man coming toward them was the epitome of a horror novel revelation. He was
dressed in a flowing white robe that just looked bizarre in combination with
his monster fangs and beady eyes.

A
soft whir and the gates, the only barrier between him and them, began to open.
Caleb straightened. “Get behind me.”

“Just
because he looks—”

She
never got a chance to finish the sentence. Caleb grabbed her arm and
practically threw her back. She caught her balance just as the beast-man
cleared the gates. Flew through them was more like it. Straight at Caleb.

“Stay
down,” Caleb snapped.

Did
he think she was as nuts as him? The backpack with the gun was on the other
side of beast-man. A glance around showed the well-manicured grounds clear of
debris. Why on Earth was there never a stick around when she needed one?

She
closed her eyes as beast-man collided with Caleb. She immediately forced them
back open, pushing away her instinctive fear and reaching for her courage.
Caleb was going to need her help. No way could he win against something that
big. That ugly.

Caleb’s
answering growl rumbled as the two men’s shadows blended, a low, deadly, yet
somehow sane counterpoint to the beast’s ferocious roar. She scrambled to the
side, trying to see what was happening. She just needed an opportunity, an
opening to help Caleb. Another thud and the sound of bones breaking snapped her
gaze around. The men leapt into the air, spinning as they came together,
falling as they pummeled each other. The ground shook as they hit again. The
beast-man was on top. Anger surged, sending tingling darts of energy down her
arms and out her fingers. If that thing hurt Caleb she was going to personally
neuter it with a pair of rusty pliers. The men rolled and came to a stop. Caleb
rose above the monster, his boot gouging into the monster’s groin and his
talons digging into the man’s massive chest.

“You
picked the wrong day to get on my bad side.”

Such
an innocuous statement to carry so much lethal intent. From the way beast-man’s
eyes were bugging, she got the impression he was too terrified to make a sound.
She couldn’t blame him. Caleb in full vampire snit was scary. A little too
scary. She came up behind Caleb, trying not to focus on the image of his hand
knuckle deep in the creature’s rib cage. “I swear to God if you rip out his
heart, I’m going to puke all over you.”

That
might just be a growl from his throat. “I told you to stay back.”

“I
thought you might need help with beast-man here.”

The
glance he cut her was disgusted. “You thought wrong.”

Blood
pooled around his fingertips. She quickly averted her eyes. There were some
things about vampires she would never get used to. “So shoot me.”

“I’d
rather paddle your ass.”

“You
have a real thing about my ass.”

He
never took his eyes off beast-man, but he still managed to put a sexy rumble in
his voice. “Can’t help it. It’s a damn attractive ass.”

At
least one of them thought so. “What are you going to do with him?”

“I
was thinking of ending his miserable life.”

That’s
what she was afraid of. “But since you know that would be really uncivilized of
you . . .”

Caleb
lifted the man’s torso off the ground, keeping him earthbound with the boot in
his groin. “My wife doesn’t think I should kill you.”

Beast-man
spit the blood from his mouth. “You’ll never get out of here if you do.”

Caleb
shook his head. “I’m thinking you were sent because you’re expendable, which
would make ending your sorry life an agreeable option.”

That
was so wrong. “No one is expendable, Caleb.”

“Too
bad for this guy that I don’t share your philosophy.”

He
sounded so calm, so unphased by the prospect of taking a life, it made her
uncomfortable. And the way the muscles in his wrist bulged like he was thinking
about doing it any second worried her. He couldn’t just kill the man. Vampire.
Whatever it was. “Violence doesn’t solve everything.”

“It
works for me.”

“The
lady has a point.”

The
very cultured voice slid across the violence like a balm. Allie turned to the
speaker, taking a step backward as she did. Good God. It couldn’t be. But it
was. “Vincent?”

It
wasn’t the Vincent she remembered—the one who wore polo shirts and jeans and
talked spreadsheets until she’d wanted to fall over in a coma. This Vincent was
still very handsome in a suave, urbane sort of way, but the blond hair she
remembered was so pale it almost glowed the same white as his flowing robes. He
also radiated an aura of power and control she didn’t remember, but at least he
didn’t present a threat. Which was good. She’d about had her fill of
uncivilized violence. She mustered a smile past her amazement at his change.
“Hi.”