Heat of the Night

  “No way.” His grip on the handset tightened. “Even trade. I see the boy alive, you see the trinity.”

  “You wound me, Captain. After all we have been through together, you still do not trust me?”

  “Nope. Not a bit.”

  “Very well, then. Meet me in the parking lot of the Del Mar Mall in Monterey.”

  “Got it.” He glanced at the gal on the laptop. She shook her head.

  Damn it, he had to keep her on the line a little longer…

  “Rachel? A word of advice? Not a scratch on the boy.” His voice lowered ominously. “You won’t like what happens otherwise.”

  Connor’s teeth grit as Rachel laughed, but he waited for her to disconnect the line before hanging up.

  “According to the last tower position, that call didn’t come from the north,” the brunette said. “It came from the Barstow area.”

  Aidan glanced at Connor. “I think she’s headed to Mojave.”

  “Can we go now?” Stacey asked, stepping into view from the kitchen.

  She was wearing a black ribbed tank top, urban camouflage pants, and jungle boots. More important than that, however, was her expression. Burning eyes and pursed lips told Connor that dissuading her from tagging along was going to be a bitch. “Why don’t you help Aidan figure things out?” he suggested.

  “Nice try,” she retorted. “But I’m not staying here.”

  He looked back at Aidan. “Are you sending someone up to Monterey?”

  They knew each other so well, they could communicate without words. The chances of Rachel separating from her bargaining chip were so slim, they didn’t even signify. Justin was with her. Monterey was a decoy. Since it would take three hours to get to Mojave and several to get to Monterey, she was stalling for time.

  “I’m not an idiot,” Stacey said, coming over to him. The top of her head barely reached his shoulder, but she set her hands on her hips and looked ready to take him on anyway. “You think you can send me along to Monterey, don’t you? It’s faster to Mojave and you’re hoping that you’ll wrap this all up before I’m in danger.”

  Connor struggled to keep his face stern when he really wanted to smile. “If Justin’s in Monterey, that’s where you’ll want to be.”

  “Listen.” Her head tilted to the side. “I’m going with you. If you’re going to Monterey, that’s where I’m going. If you’re going to Mojave, that’s where I’m going. Now grab your shit and let’s go.”

  Stacey glanced at Aidan. “Which car are we taking?”

  “Stace, please,” Lyssa begged. Standing from her seat at the end of the small table. “Stay with me.”

  “Sorry, Doc. No can do.”

  Grabbing her arm, Connor led her out through the crowded living room and then outside. He took her to the far corner of the porch, by the bedroom window, as far away as possible from the steady foot traffic moving in and out of the house.

  Stacey followed Connor with shaking legs. She hoped he didn’t notice how unsteady her steps were. She was terrified he would find a way to leave her behind. Maybe it was unreasonable to feel like she had to be with him, but she couldn’t shake the feeling. Her home was no longer her own, Lyssa was a walking guilt-trip, and Aidan was focused on keeping everything running smoothly. She felt like an outsider. Lost, confused, and really goddamned scared.

  Connor was her only anchor in the mess that was her life. He was stoic, prepared. Ready to go. What would she do if he left her behind?

  He drew to a stop and heaved out a breath. The roof of the porch hid him in shadow, but his eyes glittered with emotions she both longed for and resented.

  “Stacey,” he began in that low, rich brogue she adored. “What can I do to get you to stay behind?”

  “Nothing.” Her voice came out hoarser than she would have liked.

  “Sweetheart.” The aching note in his voice made her cry.

  “You can’t leave me here, Connor. You can’t.”

  He cupped her face in his hands and pressed firm lips to her brow. “I won’t be able to think if you’re with me. I’d be too scared for you.”

  “Please,” she begged in scarcely more than a whisper. “Please take me with you. I’ll go crazy here.”

  He was going to say no, she could tell. Her hands fisted in his T-shirt. His skin was so hot she could feel the humidity through the black cotton. “You owe me,” she said. “I swear to God I’ll never forgive you if you leave me behind. We’ll never have a chance -- you and me -- if you go without me.”

  Tension gripped his frame and his head lifted. “Do we have a chance now?”

  She swallowed hard, her chest compressed in a vice of misery and yearning.

  “Stacey?” He pressed his parted lips to hers, his tongue flickering along the seam.

  “I don’t know,” she breathed against his mouth. “I can’t think about everything now. What you are…what this means…But I need you. I need to be with you.”

  Connor nuzzled his temple against hers and cursed under his breath. “You have to listen to me. Obey every command without question.”

  “Yes,” she promised, surging into him. “Yes, whatever you say.”

  “You’ll be the death of me,” he murmured, taking her mouth with deep, possessive licks. His thumbs brushed across her cheekbones, wiping at the wetness left by her tears. His grip was almost too tight, his passion almost too much.

  She welcomed it, welcomed his warmth and strength when she had none, and she missed it when he pulled away reluctantly.

  “Let’s grab our bags,” he said with a resigned sigh. “The sooner we take off, the sooner we’ll have Justin back.”

  Filled with gratitude, she restrained him and kissed him one more time. “Thank you.”

  “I don’t like this,” he growled. “I don’t like it at all.”

  But he was doing it anyway, because he couldn’t deny her. There was something precious in that capitulation.

  Stacey stored away the feeling to examine another day.

  Chapter 14

  Connor stared straight down the highway and wondered at his sanity. It was shot to hell apparently; otherwise Stacey would not be in the passenger seat next to him.

  “So all of your people are immortal?” she asked tentatively.

  His grip on the steering wheel tightened. The powerful HEMI engine of the Magnum hurtled them along Interstate 15 at eighty-five miles per hour, but the restlessness eating at him made it feel like they were standing still. They weren’t reaching their destination fast enough.

  “We can be killed,” he said finally, “but it takes a lot of work.”

  “Are you going to k-kill Rachel?”

  He shot a side-glance at her. “I may have to.”

  She nodded grimly.

  “I’ll do everything I can to keep this neat and clean, but if it comes down to the wire, we can’t afford to fail.”

  “No, we can’t.” She offered him a shaky smile that was meant to be reassuring and his heart clenched. “I figured you might need me when you handed me this gun and started explaining.”

  “That’s to protect yourself. Don’t worry about me, Stacey.” He reached out and set his hand over hers where it held the Glock. “Keep yourself alive. That’s the most important thing.”

  The silence stretched out between them. Not quite comfortable, not quite uncomfortable.

  She blew out her breath, then twisted in the seat to face him. “So I hold both arms out steady, and just keep pulling the trigger until all the bullets are gone. Even if they’re down for the count?”

  “Yeah, especially if they’re down. You can’t kill them with a gun. You can only slow them down long enough for me to finish the job.”

  “With the sword.”

  “That’s right. Guardians can heal most injuries, but we can’t grow back limbs or our heads.”

  “Yuck.” She shuddered.

  “And keep your eyes open. Sounds obvious, I know, but the report of the gun naturally causes t
he eyes to blink. You can fuck up a shot that way.”

  “Eyes open. Okay.”

  The hands-free communications system signaled an incoming call and they glanced at each other. Connor activated the line and said, “Tell me you have something good, Cross.”

  Aidan’s brogue came through the speakers. “We’ve got a location on the black sedan. Your recollection of the plate numbers was right on and that led us to a rental agency in San Diego who has GPS locators on all of their vehicles. You’re almost on top of them now.”

  “Where?” Stacey cried.

  “They stopped in Barstow, near where the trace lost the cellular signal. Hopefully, they decided to hole up for the night and didn’t just ditch the car.”

  Connor looked at the green highway sign they passed. “We’ll be in Barstow in just a few minutes.”

  “I’ve got a chopper on the way,” Aidan said. “We may need it.”

  “Stace?” Lyssa’s voice come over the line filled with concern. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m okay, Doc.”

  “The crew here is in raptures over your pie,” Lyssa said. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s been a few hours since you left and they’re getting hungry.”

  “Are you kidding?” Stacey smiled wryly. “They’re helping me get my kid back. I love each and every one of them. They can eat whatever they want.”

  “Hey!” Connor complained, working with Lyssa to keep Stacey’s spirits up. “Save me a slice.”

  “Don’t worry.” Stacey touched his forearm, then pulled away quickly. “I’ll make you your own pie. You won’t have to share.”

  The look she gave him made his breath catch. There was affection there. Her body language told him she was wary, but her overture gave him hope.

  “They’re fighting over who can have some,” Lyssa said with a soft laugh. “Too many people, not enough pie.”

  “It’s still not better than sex,” Aidan insisted.

  “Depends on the sex,” someone shouted out in the background.

  That brought a genuine smile to Stacey’s face. It did Connor’s heart good to see some life in her. She was so pale, her eyes so big, her lush mouth framed by deep grooves of stress.

  “You guys are making me hungry,” he complained. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast, which was not the way he liked to go into battle.

  “Okay.” The alertness in Aidan’s tone caught Connor’s attention. “You’re going to take your next exit.”

  Glancing over his shoulder, Connor was grateful for both the number of dreams he’d shared where he learned to drive and also for the light traffic. Pretty much the only vehicles behind them were reinforcements—vans with cleanup crews and Hummers with armed backup. One day, he’d ask Aidan why McDougal needed a personal army, but right now, he was grateful for the support. “Okay, we’re on the off ramp.”

  Aidan directed them away from the freeway to a motel that had probably never had a good day to begin with, and certainly wasn’t having one now. The two-story building appeared to have once been painted peach and brown, but in the yellow glow of the parking lot lights it was hard to tell for sure. The paint was cracked and peeling, the colors faded by the California sun.

  Connor parked the car a short distance up the road from the establishment and said, “We’re going in.”

  “Be careful,” Aidan admonished. “I know you’ve never worked with humans before, so listen to me: Don’t try and do everything yourself. McDougal is a savvy spender. He only hires the best. Trust your team to do their job. I’m fairly confident that you’re going to pay through the nose for their help, so use it. I need you alive.”

  “Got it.” While the order was given bluntly, Connor understood the friendship behind the words and took comfort in it. He was in a strange world, but he wasn’t as alone as he’d first felt.

  Disconnecting the line, he climbed out of the car and looked over the roof at Stacey as she did the same. His shoulders were well above the roofline. She was height-challenged, lifting to her tiptoes to see him more comfortably.

  “Here’s how we are going to handle this,” he began. “We’re just going to have a look around. Check out the car and the front desk. See if they’re here or if they switched transportation and bailed.”

  She nodded grimly.

  “Don’t try to be a hero,” she said. “I’m good, sweetheart, believe me. But with multiple opponents and a hostage at stake, I’m not in a position to fight them all and keep an eye on you. If they’re here, you need to stay out of harm’s way so I can concentrate on getting Justin back, not saving your ass.”

  He saw how much that killed her. The thought that her son could be close and she might have to restrain herself. Still, she said, “I understand.”

  “Do you trust me?” He made no effort to hide the emotions behind the question. Right now, his lack of detachment was both his greatest strength and his biggest liability.

  Stacey’s lips compressed until they were white, then tears glistened in her eyes.

  Connor slammed his palm down on the roof so hard he startled her, making her gasp and jump.

  “Damn it! Stop thinking about all the losers in your past and think about me! Do you trust me?”

  “We just fucking met!” she hissed back at him. “Don’t act like we’ve known each other forever.”

  “I care about you, Stacey. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve known each other or not. It comes from here,” he hit his chest, “and it’s important to me. I think if you stopped trying to convince yourself that all men are the same, you’d realize that time doesn’t matter.”

  “Easy for you to say, Mr. My-life-is-endless.”

  “Yeah, and your life isn’t and you’re wasting it.” Connor held up a hand to cut her off. “I’ve lived centuries, Stacey. I’ve known a lot of women. I’ve spent years with some. I’ve done things with them that I haven’t had time yet to do with you, but I already know this is different.”

  Shaking his head, he backed up and opened the rear driver’s side door. “Forget it. I don’t know why I asked.”

  “I didn’t say I don’t trust you.” She came around the back of the car.

  “You didn’t say you did either.”

  He motioned her closer and then held up a shoulder holster for her to maneuver into. “You’re going to wear this to hold the gun. If you have to, defend yourself.” He tightened the straps until it was snugly secured, then he turned her to face him. “But I want you to run first. Shoot only if you have no other choice. Got it?”

  “Yes.”

  Connor moved to turn away and she caught his arm. “I don’t think you’re like any other guy I’ve ever known.” Her thumb stroked over his skin restlessly, an innocent absentminded caress.

  “Damn fucking right I’m not,” he growled, kissing her hard and swift before she could pull away. “I’m the guy who’s going to wear you down. The guy who’s going to make a nuisance of himself every time he’s in town. The guy who’s going to seduce you every chance he gets, even when you say no…Shit, especially when you say no.”

  Stacey gazed up at him with wide eyes and worried her lower lip.

  “I can’t promise to wear a suit and come home for dinner every night.” He pushed her away and reached into the backseat for his scabbard, which he slung over his back. “But I can promise to care about you. And I’m stubborn, so get used to me.”

  Grabbing a windbreaker, he shoved it at her. “That’ll help to hide the guns.” Then he looked down at himself and groaned. “Okay. We look like hoodlums. Fuck.”

  “This is where I come in handy.” Stacey reached into her pockets and pulled out a pair of colorful sparkling rubber bands. Within minutes she had two childish pigtails sticking out the top of her head and garish red lipstick on her mouth. She used the reflection of the car window to secure a leather collar to her neck, then faced him. “Ta da!”

  Connor’s brows rose. “Yikes.”

  She shrugged. “I figured these pants were
going to take some creativity to pull off, so I came prepared to look weird enough to wear them. There’s nothing I can do about your sword though or the goon squad.” Stacey gestured to the small army getting ready just a few feet away. “We’ll just have to play it like we’re looking for a costume party, if someone asks.”

  “Right…well…I like the collar.”

  Stacey shivered under the intense appreciation she saw in Connor’s gaze. Even pissed off, frustrated, and under a great deal of stress he still tried to compliment her. Regardless of the situation between them, she loved him for that and for caring enough about her to go through all of this. Sure, his “people” had a vested interest in what was going on. But he was fighting for Justin more than he was fighting over the trinity. She knew that for a fact.

  “Are we ready?” she asked, the words husky with gratitude.

  “As we’ll ever be.” He shut the door and gripped her by the elbow. Connor looked at the men waiting nearby and said, “Four of you check the perimeter. The rest come with me.”

  As he led her away there was strength and command in his touch, and Stacey appreciated both as they crossed the street and entered the parking lot of the motel. The pavement was cracked and worn, the cars in the spaces bearing more-than-average wear and tear. Many of the lights were either out or flickering with an annoying high-volume humming that grated on Stacey’s already raw nerves. Litter spoiled on the ground and in the near distance, a dog howled plaintively, an apt accompaniment to such squalor.

  They had a dozen men with them total. Of the eight who stayed close, four branched off at Connor’s gestured command and began weaving through the parked cars.

  “You know,” Stacey began. “I just can’t see Rachel stopping for the night in a place like this. Not when there are tons of other lodgings here in town and Mojave is so close.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod. “I agree. They probably ditched the car, but even that’s odd. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb. Look at it. You can’t miss it.”

  The cloud-filtered moonlight glimmered off the black paint, which made finding the sedan easy, despite its location in an unlit corner of the lot. They approached it slowly, cautiously. Connor took the lead; she followed a few steps behind with the others.