“Just follow her, okay?”
They drove for miles, until the food truck pulled into a restaurant parking lot. They parked across the street and cut the lights, watching.
Alex half listened as Eli called in to Gideon. He couldn’t take his gaze from the woman as she gracefully jumped down from the truck and hurried into the shadows. Before he knew it, he’d gotten out of the SUV and followed her harried movements.
She didn’t stand very tall, but her wine-red hair stood out in the dark. From this distance a normal man would never be able to make out her eye color. But Alex saw her bright blue eyes, took note of her creamy skin and lack of freckles, saw the shapely build and heard her ragged breaths as she raced from danger.
She paused in the dark shadows of a large building, no doubt catching her breath. “Are you here?” she whispered.
It took him a moment to realize she was speaking tohim.A trap of some kind? He remained silent.
She swore under her breath, then continued down the alley behind the buildings. He heard Eli driving the car, following him as he jogged down the alley, keeping her in sight.
She tripped over a bottle, fell, and didn’t get up. She just lay there, breathing hard.
He heard low sobbing and felt something in his heart give. Trap or not, he couldn’t let her lay there in the filthy alley. If he took her at face value, she was scared, hurt, and had nowhere to go.
“Don’t, you idiot,” Eli said in a low voice from the car that Alex ignored.
“Hey, you.” He raised his voice so she would hear him.
She looked up in a panic, spied him, and rose to unsteady feet. She wavered, saw Eli in the car behind him, then took off like a gazelle.
“Shit. Follow us,” Alex called back before giving chase.
It took him four damn blocks, but he nabbed her. Right before she could vault a high fence at the end of the alley, he grabbed her foot and tugged her down into his arms.
“Shh. I’m not going to hurt you, honey. Hush. We don’t want Lang’s people to find us.” The feel of the woman in his arms did something funny to his insides. She radiated…something…that had Alex’s system going haywire. He wanted to tug her closer, to sniff her, lick her, and then caress her all over, memorizing her by taste, touch, and feel.
So very, very odd.
She quieted and remained still, like a statue in his arms.
“Alex, did you get her?” Eli asked, his voice not too loud to carry but enough that Alex’s Circ senses could pick him up.
Her gaze sought his. “Alex?”
“Alexander Palmer. And who might you be?”
“Oh, thank God.” She cupped his cheek with a trembling hand, then passed out.
Alex stared down at her, not sure what to do.
Eli jogged up to him. “What the hell did you do?”
“Told her my name. Guess my good looks and stellar personality made her faint.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.” Eli snorted. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before we’re made.”
Alex walked with her to the car and sat with her in his lap in the back seat. “We can’t go back to the others. Not yet. What if she’s a trap? A plant?”
Eli sighed. “Yeah, I thought of that. We’ll find another place to lie low. Meanwhile the guys are putting a watch on the lab, and we’ll try to find out who this chick is. She’s pretty hot. Did you notice?”
“Jesus, Eli. Really? The poor woman passed out from exhaustion. And who knows what they did to her in there.”
“More like she passed out from fear seeing your ugly face,” Eli muttered. “And saying she’s hot is a compliment, moron.”
Alex contained a smile. “Of course it is. Now find us a decent place to rest. I’m tired.”
