“Hold up,” she says, looking at me. “That wasyouin the crate I saw getting off-loaded from the plane earlier today, wasn’t it?”
“Guilty.”
“You mean you’ve been hanging out in the back of a fricking panel van until it got dark?”
“Well, yes. You nearly shot poor Noah.”
“‘Poor Noah’ could’ve nutted up and said he waswithyou, you know. They could’ve backed the van into the garage and we could’ve unloaded you there. It’s light-proof. The whole house is vampire-safe during daylight.”
“I told him not to reveal who he was, unless you tried to kill him. I didn’t want you to run again before I could speak with you in person. I’m considering handcuffing you to me, by the way.”
Chaldis looks far too amused by this turn of events. “I’ll loan you a pair of ours if you promise to return them cleaned of bodily fluids.”
Outside, I hear the men arrive. I let them in and make the introductions to Chaldis, and formally introduce Noah to Eilidh.
Noah chuffs. “Lady, all due credit, you gotta set of balls on you,” he says as he shakes with her. “Garrett warned me you can handle yourself, but that’s the first time a human’s ever got the jump on me. Especially a human female.”
“I recognized your voice from the gate intercom. Also, I smelled you in town, at the grocery store.”
He scowls. “How?”
I lean in. “I did warn you she’s not your average human.”
The wolf carefully eyes her. “I’m gettin’ that.”
“Let me call Lucius and Garrett and tell them you’ve been found,” I add.
She sticks her tongue out at me again and I pull her in for another long, deep kiss, followed by another hard smack on her ass. “You, baby, are in sooo much trouble.”
“How did you find me, anyway?”
“Jackson King’s mate, Kylie. She’s a hacker. She finally discovered you’d taken the ferry to Alaska. Spotted your license plate and then was able to trace that you were a passenger, and where you disembarked. From there, we tracked down blood shipments coming to this area and narrowed the options.”
“Goddammit,” she mutters. “IknewI should’ve stolen a license plate somewhere.”
John laughs. “Good job, by the way. You should give classes in hiding out. I have never seen this man so frustrated as he has been searching for you.”
“Frustrated, hmm?”
“Very,” I growl as I give her another long kiss.
“I take it this means my blood shipment wasn’t tampered with?” Chaldis asks.
“No, it wasn’t,” I tell him. “Sorry about intercepting it. I charmed and bribed a guy at the freight company in Anchorage to let us take it. Please, don’t be upset with him.”
“Couldn’t have hijacked mycocotte, I suppose?” He sighs. “I would have thrown you aliteralhero’s welcome had you done that.”
“What?”
Eilidh groans and rubs her forehead like she’s trying to hold on to her patience. “Dude. You havethreeotherfrickingDutch ovens you could use.Pickone!”
“But I wish to usethatone!”
I leave them to their friendly bickering, which apparently also has something to do with Star Wars, and step into the living room to make my calls to Lucius and Garrett, so they can call off the search.
By the time I return, Eilidh’s detailing to John and Mark the logistics she wants arranged for Chaldis and Corbin—who I assume is the vampire’s human partner—and my men are already making notes.
“Needless to say,” Chaldis says, “you are all welcome to stay here. The night is rather short, and we have plenty of room.”
