A Touch of Crimson

  Elijah’s face gained more color as his attention shifted from his fear to their conversation. “There’s a big difference between ordering me to take a hit for you and allowing us to be . . . friends.”

  Looking over her shoulder again, she found Adrian watching her. He was dressed in tailored khakis and a black dress shirt that she knew must be worth a month’s pay for her, at least. The sleeves were rolled up and the collar undone, exposing just enough of his olive skin to captivate her. So far she’d seen him casually dressed in the airport, half naked just that morning, and now urbanely elegant. Of course, he was stunning in all ways. She was so infatuated with him that she had difficulty looking away. It was Adrian who broke the contact first, smoothly returning his attention to his men.

  Lindsay looked back at Elijah. “See? Not territorial at all.”

  “We have the same bloodline,” he whispered. “Not all of the beast in us comes from demons.”

  Momentarily taken aback by the notion, she eventually nodded her comprehension. Adrian definitely had some wildness in him; she felt it thrumming just beneath the surface.

  “You’re not surprised.” His verdant gaze narrowed. “He told you what we are.”

  His tone was pitched so low she had to lip-read as well as listen. She was amazed he was able to speak that quietly with a voice as deep as his.

  “I got the Cliffs Notes version,” she replied, lacking the practice to speak as softly as he did, but trying her damnedest. “I’m still not sure I understand the whole hierarchy thing, though. I mean, clearly the Sentinels are bad-ass, or else they wouldn’t have been able to subdue the Watchers to begin with. Unless the Watchers didn’t put up a fight . . . ?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps not as much as they would have, had they known what they would become.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know? You can’t remember?”

  His lips pursed. “I wasn’t there. Lycans aren’t immortal. I’m only seventy years old.”

  Her mouth fell open. Her idea of a seventy-year-old man so did not fit with the serious hunk of beefcake sitting across from her. His thick sable hair hadn’t even one strand of gray in it and his strong, handsome features were unmarred by lines. “Wow,” she said.

  Silence descended. Surprisingly, it was Elijah who finally broke it. “Why do you hunt?”

  Lindsay thought about her answer for a moment. It was a topic she never discussed, because talking about her mother’s death meant reliving the memories of it. But Adrian knew now, and in this new world she was living in, her past was relevant to understanding her. That was something she didn’t take lightly. She had never been fully understood before and hadn’t realized how much she craved acceptance until she’d found it in Adrian. Taking a deep breath, she answered, “I was a victim of a vampire attack.”

  “Not you directly, or you’d be dead.”

  “A family member.”

  Elijah nodded. “Me, too.”

  “Is that why you’re fighting the good fight?”

  His dark brow arched. “As if I had a choice. But yes, that motivates me.”

  “Yeah.” Lindsay sighed. “I don’t have a choice, either. I thought I did, but I was deluding myself.”

  “What are you?”

  “Huh?”

  “How did you know that was a demon last night?”

  “Oh.” She winced. “I’m a human—mortal—with bad luck, I guess you could say.” She used to wonder what it would be like to be blissfully ignorant like other mortals were, but it’d been a long time since she had entertained such thoughts. It was pointless, like wondering what her life would be like if she were a cat.

  “What is it you see?”

  “I don’t see anything. I feel things. Like a ghost walking over my grave, if you’re familiar with that saying.”

  “You went straight to Adrian the moment you saw him. Is that why?”

  “No. I picked him up because he’s hot.” She embellished the half-truth with a smile, keeping her sense of the weather and its connection to Adrian close to the chest. “I’m a woman, too, you know. Heterosexual. Good-looking guys attract my attention.”

  “You don’t find it coincidental that you happened to pick out the one angel in the terminal?”

  “Absolutely. I said the same thing to Adrian last night, but he had some six-degrees-of-separation explanation.”

  “Hmm . . .”

  “Pretty much my reaction, too, but what do I know? I’m not religious.”

  “So says the woman who now lives with angels.”

  “No shit.” Lindsay grinned. “Did you see Adrian’s face when the dragon went down?”

  Elijah’s eyes lit with amusement. “Yeah.”

  The plane began to descend. She rubbed her hands together. “I hope we find whoever it is we’re looking for.”

  “We will.” His face hardened, taking on the fierce cast of a predator.

  “You like hunting, don’t you?”

  “Yes. This time especially.” His irises took on a preternatural glow. “In addition to Adrian’s lieutenant, this vamp is responsible for the death of two lycans.”

  “Friends?”

  “Something like that.”

  Lindsay wondered how many people Elijah called friends and suspected it was a small, elite group. She rolled her shoulders back and exhaled audibly.

  “You all right?” he asked, blanching as the plane dropped swiftly.

  “I will be.”

  For the first time, she was actually looking forward to killing something. And she didn’t feel nearly as bad about that as she thought she should.

  CHAPTER 10

  Lindsay stepped out of the plane, slipped on her sunglasses, and looked around. “Holy shit.”

  A warm hand settled in the small of her back, followed by Adrian’s murmur. “What?”

  She turned all the way around, slowly, until she faced him directly. “Where is the ground?”

  The runway ended . . . in midair.

  “We’re on a mesa.”

  “No way.”

  “Yes way.”

  “Who’s crazy enough to build a landing strip on a mesa? If the pilot overshoots, you’re toast.”

  His mouth twitched, making her long to see him smile again. “Come on.”

  He led her to the airport’s small parking lot, where two sleek dark town cars awaited them. Jason and Damien climbed into the back of the first vehicle, while Elijah slid into the front passenger seat of the second one.

  “Saint George, huh?” she said as Adrian opened the door for her. “I’ve never been to Utah before.”

  “It’s a beautiful state.” He took the seat beside her and shut the door. The cars rolled into motion. “The southern half has some gorgeous red rock formations.”

  “Where are we headed?”

  “Not far. A little town called Her-ah-kun.”

  Lindsay frowned. “Her-ah-kun? Weird name.”

  Again, he almost smiled. “It’s spelled like ‘hurricane.’ ”

  A storm. Oh man . . .

  Resolve strengthened her.The city’s moniker couldn’t be a coincidence, not on top of everything else that had happened to her since she’d left Raleigh.

  As they descended into the city, Adrian grew still and silent, but she felt his volatility gathering force with every mile that passed. His best friend was dead. As stoic as Adrian appeared, it was clearly a loss he felt deeply. His pain humanized him, made him more man than angel. It also made her wonder where he sought comfort when he needed it, or if he internalized everything. Surrounded by angels who would die for him, he still seemed so alone.

  She set a hand on the seat between them and surreptitiously linked her pinky finger with his. Although he gave no outward sign of it, Lindsay felt the surprise that jolted him. He caught her hand in a fierce grip, his gaze trained out his window. She draped the top of her canvas messenger bag over their joined hands, shielding the contact from the rearview mirror’s reflection. He gave a quick
squeeze of gratitude.

  Oddly moved by being a source of comfort to him, Lindsay contemplated the closeness that had developed between them already. They were opening up to each other in ways they didn’t with others they’d known longer. Why? Why had Adrian planned on taking her to his home last night? A restaurant would have been the wisest choice to prevent her from discovering his secrets. And why was he so intimate with her? So tender . . .

  Why did she let him? Why wasn’t she more guarded with him, as she was with everyone else whose path she crossed?

  She stared sightlessly at the passing vista, wondering why she seemed to attract the strange and weird. Why did she move so fast when she was only human? Her dad had taken her to the doctor for every runny nose and minor rash. She’d had her share of dental and bone X-rays, routine blood work, and even a CAT scan when she’d gotten a concussion from falling off a friend’s backyard playground. There was no medical explanation for her abilities. But she was undeniably different, and her anomalies were fostering an affinity between her and Adrian. She couldn’t decide if that was a blessing or not.

  They pulled off the road and into the parking lot of a small country hardware store. As the car slid smoothly into a marked space next to the vehicle carrying Jason and Damien, Lindsay looked around to gain her bearings.

  “We’re here,” Adrian said, before exiting the vehicle.

  Her door opened, and Elijah stood there, tall and impressively intimidating. Although he was a muscular man with broad shoulders, he wasn’t oversized, yet his presence made him seem so. Like Adrian, he clearly was someone you wouldn’t want to piss off.

  Stepping out, Lindsay took a deep breath and scanned her surroundings. Hurricane seemed to be a small, one-main-street sort of town. In addition to the hardware store, there were a couple fast-food establishments, one chain grocery store, and a couple mom-and-pop shops.

  The wind whipped through her hair, screaming. She gasped and took a step back from its vehemence. Elijah caught her arm to steady her.

  Adrian was beside her before she could catch her breath. “What do you feel?”

  She shivered. “This place crawls.”

  “A nest, perhaps?” Damien said, joining them.

  “I don’t know what that is.”

  “A group of rogue vamps,” Adrian explained.

  Great. Just what she’d always wanted. “There are definitely more than a few.”

  Damien looked at Adrian. “You weren’t kidding. She’s hypersensitive.”

  Adrian gave a curt nod.

  She pulled herself together. “Do we want to dig around now? Or wait for reinforcements?”

  Jason gave her a thorough once-over. “Can you pinpoint their location?”

  She nodded, knowing the wind would steer her in the right direction if she gave it a chance. “The closer I get to them, the more I’ll feel it. I just need to wander around a bit.”

  “No.” Adrian turned away as if that was all there was to say on the matter. “Now we know Phineas wasn’t followed; he walked into a nest. We can take it from here and track without risking her.”

  Lindsay debated her next move. Challenging him in front of his men wasn’t an option for her, but she also wasn’t going to be denied the chance to help “for her own good.”

  When no better idea presented itself, she went with the only solution that came to mind—she walked away.

  She headed toward the main street, figuring the road most traveled was the best place to start; plus she was hoping the highly visible location would prevent Adrian from restraining her—she wouldn’t put it past him. She didn’t doubt that he was capable of tossing her over his shoulder and putting her where he felt was safest. As it was, she felt his gaze on her. For better or worse, her senses were as focused on him as they were on finding their prey.

  Elijah fell into step beside her. His eyes were shielded behind shades, but she knew he was surveying the area with a predator’s meticulousness. “FYI: there are usually consequences for defiance.”

  “I figured. I’m a big girl; I can handle it. Are you going to be okay?”

  “I’m not supposed to let you out of my sight.”

  “So you’re damned if you come with me and damned if you don’t.” Her lips pursed. “What do you think he’ll do?”

  He shrugged. “Not sure. Insubordination is usually fatal, but I suspect he’ll go easier on you.”

  Apprehension rippled through her, intensifying the disquiet caused by the frantic wind. She was certain Adrian was capable of things she couldn’t even imagine; he wouldn’t have been placed in charge of the Sentinels otherwise. Still, she didn’t fear him—after all, it was her safety he was concerned with in the first place. Worrying about the consequences wasn’t going to get her anywhere. The only thing she could do was what she’d always done: put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward.

  Fortunately, that reasoning seemed to be doing her good now. With every step she took, Lindsay grew more comfortable. However Adrian felt about her mutiny, he was giving her the lead. She appreciated that. It gave her credit for having a brain and some experience. Considering the cavernous gap between her abilities and his, his show of trust meant a lot to her.

  As she and Elijah walked past a Dairy Queen, she glanced through the windows. There were families and teenagers inside, laughing and eating and living so happily unaware. Lucky bastards.

  “Do you have a girlfriend?” she asked. “Or a wife? Kids?”

  “I’m not mated.”

  She resisted the urge to see how closely Adrian was following. It would actually be better if she were alone; a group of intimidating hot guys in a town of this size was a dead giveaway that something unusual was going on. “Is that who you lost? Your mate? Sorry—I shouldn’t pry.”

  Elijah looked at her. “If I’d lost my mate, I wouldn’t be alive now. Lycans languish when their mates die. Death follows swiftly.”

  “Oh. Like wolves? The real ones. I read that they mate for life.”

  He turned his attention forward again. “Yes.”

  “That happens to humans, too, you know. With couples who’ve been married a long time. The surviving partner usually doesn’t last long after their spouse passes away. Does the same thing apply to vampires? And Sentinels?”

  “Vampires pair up, but not for life. Sentinels don’t date.”

  “Ah, well . . . They’ve got a lot to hide and it’s not like they can commingle among themselves—there aren’t enough of them. I can see why one-night stands would be the best route under those circumstances.”

  “To my knowledge, they don’t even have sex. Period. They don’t seem to have a craving for it as far as I can tell. I’ve always gotten the impression the urge was beneath them.”

  Lindsay grinned, knowing damn well Adrian craved sex. The man practically dripped it from his pores. “You’re just not their type, I guess.”

  “Sentinels are never without lycans nearby,” he insisted quietly. “I would have heard something from someone.”

  It was the unwavering conviction in Elijah’s tone that caught her, followed by recollections of how collected the Sentinels were. She had yet to see one laugh or really smile. They didn’t even raise their voices, whether with excitement or anger. Not that she’d been around them long enough to make a comprehensive study of it . . .

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” she said.

  “Why would I?”

  She was surprised to realize she believed him. He was one of those guys who just didn’t bullshit. Which left her confused. She knew masculine interest when she saw it—not to mention Adrian had come right out and said what his intentions were. What else could he want from her, if it wasn’t to explore the attraction between them?

  They reached the end of the main drag, where the road veered to the left, turning into a more residential area. Signs said the turnoff for Zion National Park was close.

  “So are you looking for your soul mate?” she asked. “Do
es it work like that? Only one person in the world for you sort of thing?”

  “No. No. And no.”

  “I hear ya. This is the wrong kind of life to want any sort of long-term relationship. I threw out that possibility a long time ago.” The wind whipped through her hair. “We’re close.”

  He looked at her. “Care to explain the crazy gusts of wind that follow you?”

  “We’re in a place called Hurricane. What do you expect?” She jerked her chin at a rocky hill across the street; then she darted across the road at full speed.

  Elijah stayed directly on her heels. “Lycans sense danger in the air before we catch scent of it,” he pressed.

  She still considered her weather radar too personal and too revealing to share. She wasn’t sure what exactly it revealed, but it said something about her she’d rather keep to herself—for now.

  Her hand slid under the flap of her messenger bag and gripped the hilt of a throwing knife. They passed some sort of monument, a stone pillar with a brass plaque. There were small homes fanning out in a horseshoe behind it. Old homes from the fifties or earlier.

  “Do you scent equally well in both forms?” she asked, raking the area with an examining gaze.

  The next minute she was bumped in the thigh, drawing her attention to a massive chocolate-colored wolf beside her. She supposed that answered her question.

  “Wow.” She was seriously impressed. “How did you do that so fast? And where are your clothes?”

  He gave her a look that she pegged as exasperated.

  “Fine,” she conceded, reaching out to touch his fur to see if it was soft or coarse. It turned out to be somewhere between the two. The lustrous cocoa pelt was relieved by patches of white on his chest and paws, making the overall package both beautiful and regal. “You’re a really good-looking wolf, you know.”

  Elijah snorted.

  Lindsay moved forward, noting how still the air had suddenly become. Almost stagnant. Protecting her by not blowing the scent of lycan and angel around. Somehow, she knew the angels had taken the high ground. She didn’t look up, but she suspected they were on the hilltop above her.