Wanted: Undead or Alive

Chapter Eight

Much to Brynley’s disappointment, Phineas simply let go of her when they arrived at the cabin. He didn’t even look at her, just retrieved the paper about Jason Pritchard from his jacket pocket and studied it.

She folded her arms over her chest. “Aren’t we going to discuss this?”

“Okay. This Jason dude lives in Sheridan. I think we should call his number and—”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

He gave her an irritated look. “It’s what I’m talking about. I’m gonna drink some blood, then I’ll teleport to Jason’s house. You can come with me if you want.”

She glared at him as he strode toward the refrigerator. “I saw your eyes turn red twice now. Are you going to deny that you’re attracted to me?”

“No.” He stuffed a bottle of blood into the microwave.

Not the most romantic of confessions, but it still made her heartbeat speed up. “So you like me?”

He glanced at her. “Don’t get excited. Nothing’s going to happen.”

Ouch. “No need to be rude.”

“I’m just being realistic.”

“Well, good. That’s all I’m asking, that we both face reality. And the truth is we’re . . . mildly attracted to each other.”

He scoffed. “You call that the truth?”

“Yes.” She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “You already admitted you’re attracted to me. You can’t take it back.”

“I am attracted.” He retrieved his bottle of blood from the microwave. “But there’s nothing mild about it.”

The bottled water slipped from her hand and tumbled onto the wooden floor. She snatched it up quickly. “Damned thing is slippery.”

He took a sip of blood. “It’s simple. We’re here to do a job. We do it as quickly as possible, then go back to our normal lives and put this all behind us.”

She groaned inwardly. He thought that was simple? About as simple as torture. “What about our attraction?”

“What about it?” He strode toward the couch, then sat and stared at the empty fireplace. “It would be wrong for us to get involved. You know as well as I do that it could never work. And never last.”

She winced. Part of her acknowledged that he was right, but another part wanted to curl up on the floor and cry. It hurt. Hurt enough that she wanted to hurt him back.

He took a long swig from his bottle, then glanced at her. “How can you be attracted to me? Did you stop hating vampires all of a sudden?”

“No. I think you’re a disgusting bunch of parasites and users.” She gave him a wry look as she wrenched the top off her bottle. “But don’t take it personally.”

With a frown, he plunked his booted feet onto the coffee table. “Then it’s good you haven’t forgotten I’m a vampire.”

“No, I haven’t. That’s why I ignored my feelings for so long. You have to admit we’re horribly, dreadfully mismatched.”

He grimaced. “I wouldn’t say it’s that bad.”

“Oh, it is. A real disaster waiting to happen.”

His eyes narrowed. “I guess your father would find me totally unsuitable.”

“That goes without saying.” Though to be honest, she couldn’t care less what her father thought.

Phineas gritted his teeth. “He’d never accept a poor guy from the Bronx for his princess.”

She winced. She hated being called that. “I was never a princess. I was more like a pawn.”

When he gave her a curious look, she waved a dismissive hand. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I refuse to let my father dictate my life.”

He leaned back against the sofa cushions, studying her. “Is that why you’re attracted to me? Is it part of the rebellion against your father? So you can piss him off?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snapped. But could he be right? No, she didn’t want to think that. Her feelings had always felt genuine, not like some sort of twisted, sordid quest for revenge. “I’ve always thought you were gorgeous. And courageous. And—” What was she doing, complimenting him when he’d rejected her? “But like you said, there’s no future for us. I’m sure I can manage to resist you for the few nights that we’re here.”

His jaw shifted. “Fine. I’m sure I can resist you, too.”

“Fine.” She put the bottle back into the fridge. “Then let’s get back to business, shall we?”

“Fine by me.” He strode back to the kitchen table, set down his empty bottle, and picked up his cell phone. “Are you coming?”

“Yes.” She strode toward him, then jerked to a stop a few inches away. This was awkward.

He punched in the number. “You’ll have to hold on to me, but don’t let it bother you. I’m sure you can resist fondling my manly body.”

“Exactly.” She slipped her hands around his neck. “This is business.”

With an abrupt move, he pulled her close. “Exactly.” He gave her a fierce look, then everything went black.

Phineas was relieved when Jason Pritchard didn’t answer the phone. It was so much easier to teleport to an answering machine that talked for a minute without asking any questions.

They landed in a dark foyer, and his eyes quickly adjusted. Most of the house was dark, not surprising since it was after midnight. It was also Saturday night, so a young guy like Jason might be out on the town, but Phineas suspected he was asleep in his bedroom. After all, he’d just been released from the hospital that morning.

He placed a finger against his lips to remind Brynley to be quiet, and she nodded, giving him an annoyed look that probably meant she didn’t need reminding. Prickly, as always.

He moved quietly through the small house, relieved they couldn’t talk right now. Their last chat had ripped his ego to shreds. She thought he was a disgusting parasite? They were horribly, dreadfully mismatched? A disaster waiting to happen? Sheesh, she acted like the polar ice caps would melt if they got together. Half of Wyoming would blow up like a giant geyser. The sun would go supernova, and a freakin’ black hole would swallow the universe.

Thank God she found him so easy to resist. The universe would remain safe for one more night.

What was really frustrating was he knew this situation was his fault. The truth had come out because his eyes had turned red. He’d known it was dangerous to spend time alone with her. He’d known he needed to keep his attraction to her a secret, but damn, his feelings for her were too strong. He hadn’t survived one night without blowing it.

Now she knew. And what was even more shocking, she appeared to be attracted to him, too.

Not too attracted, he thought wryly. Not if she considered him easy to resist. After all, they were horribly, dreadfully mismatched. A disaster waiting to happen.

The den and kitchen were empty. He stalked down a hallway and peeked inside the first door. An empty bedroom. He was tempted to drag Brynley inside to prove they weren’t so horribly, dreadfully mismatched after all. But making love to her might knock the Earth off its axis, so he’d have to resist.

He checked the second door. Bingo. Jason Pritchard was sound asleep in bed.

He eased the door open as he slipped inside Jason’s mind. Keep on sleeping. This is just a dream.

He motioned for Brynley to follow him inside, and she tiptoed after him.

You are under my control. You will sleep and answer my questions.

Jason rolled onto his back, but his eyes remained shut and his breathing normal.

“Do you remember who attacked you?” Phineas asked softly.

“A woman,” Jason mumbled.

“What did she look like? What did she do to you?”

“Blonde. Pretty.” Jason frowned. “I don’t know what she did to me.”

Phineas delved through Jason’s memories and spotted blank spaces, a sure sign that the man’s mind had been tampered with. Still, he persisted, digging deep in search of a memory that would show him the attacker’s face.

Jason moaned and shook his head.

“He can’t remember her face,” Phineas told Brynley, then tried another tactic. “Did you hear her voice, Jason? Did she say anything to you?”

“She . . . she said she was my queen.”

Phineas’s breath caught.

“Oh my gosh,” Brynley whispered. “That sounds like Corky.”

Phineas leaned over the sleeping man. “Where were you when she attacked you?”

“Cloud Peak Glacier.”

“I know where that is,” Brynley said quietly.

“Good.” Phineas touched Jason’s forehead. This was all a dream. Sleep and forget about me.

Jason let out a loud snore and rolled onto his side.

Phineas reached a hand out to Brynley. “Let’s go.”

She stood stiffly in his arms as he teleported back to the cabin. As soon as they arrived, she jumped away and strode into the kitchen.

He scowled. How noble of her. She was so determined to keep the polar ice caps from melting. “So where is the Cloud Peak Glacier?”

She pulled a map out of a drawer and unfolded it on the kitchen island counter. “See this area here?” She jabbed a finger at a northern area of Wyoming. “This is where we are.”

He joined her at the island and studied the map. The sweet scent of her hair filled his nostrils. Peaches. And vanilla. It reminded him of the homemade peach cobbler his aunt Ruth made. He used to love it hot and topped with vanilla ice cream. Come to think of it, he wouldn’t mind a taste of Brynley topped with some vanilla ice cream. Or was he lactose intolerant now?

“And this,” Brynley continued, “is the Bighorn National Forest. It lies east of Phil’s land. Inside the forest, you’ll find the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area. The glacier is located about here.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

She gave him a wry look. “Are you going to call the glacier? They don’t generally come equipped with a telephone.”

“Then we’ll take the car.” He smiled. “See? I knew it would come in handy.”

“It’s a wilderness area. That means no motorized vehicles are allowed off the main roads.”

His smile faded. “Then how do you get around?”

“You walk.” Her mouth twitched. “Or you ride a horse.”

He stepped back. “I don’t think so.”

“Aw, come on, Phineas. It’ll be fun!”

“Those horses don’t like me.”

“They don’t know you.” She gave him a sly grin. “To know you is to like you.”

He frowned at her. Was she flirting with him? Didn’t she know that was torture? “I tried getting to know them. When you and Trudy left the barn to greet the other lady, I stayed behind for a little while. I tried mentally communicating with the horses to let them know I would never hurt them.”

“Ah, that was sweet.”

“Not too sweet. One of them tried to bite me.”

She laughed. “Which one?”

“I don’t know. They all look alike.”

“Horses look alike?” She shook her head. “You’re such a city boy.”

His brow arched. “Country girl.”

“And proud of it. I can bring down an elk in sixty seconds.”

“I didn’t think your breath was that bad.”

She huffed and punched him in the shoulder.

“Ah, foreplay.” He rubbed his shoulder. “And here I thought you were going to resist me.”

She scoffed. “That’s not my idea of foreplay.”

“Then what is?”

Her eyes widened, then she looked away.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

She shrugged and turned back to the map. “No big deal. And actually, I don’t think we should ride in at night. Our best bet is for me to go in the late afternoon. Trudy can bring her trailer and drop me and the horses off. I’ll ride one and lead the other, then set up a base camp below the glacier. As soon as the sun sets, I’ll call you and you can teleport.” She winced. “Although the cell phone probably won’t work.”

“I can zip back to Romatech and pick us up some satellite phones,” Phineas suggested.

“That would work.” She wrinkled her nose. “The problem with this plan is it’ll leave you alone here for a few hours.”

He glanced at the basement trapdoor. Did he dare risk it? “How often do people come around here?”

“Never. And I would lock up. But still . . .”

“You would worry about me?”

She shrugged in an unconcerned manner. “It’s my job to guard you.”

He gritted his teeth. “I’ll be fine. We can move the couch to conceal the trapdoor. I’ll teleport in and out of the basement.”

“Are you sure?”

She was worried about him, he knew it. She just didn’t want to show it. “If I wasn’t sure, I’d spend the day at Romatech.”

She nodded. “Okay. Then we have a plan.”

“All right.” He sat at the kitchen table and booted up the laptop. “I’ll find a map of the wilderness area.”

“Cloud Peak, and the Bighorn National Forest.” She rummaged inside the fridge and pulled out some sliced roast beef. “I’m going to make a sandwich. You want anything?”

“I’m fine.” He pulled up a search engine. “There are camping areas in the forest, right?”

“Yes. Over thirty of them.”

“We’ll need to check those. Corky may have commandeered one of them.” He glanced at Brynley. “Don’t check anything without me. It could be dangerous.”

She opened a loaf of bread. “Seems to me that it would be safer to look for her during the daytime when she’s dead.”

“She wouldn’t dare sleep unprotected. She’ll have a few mortals under her control, and they’ll be brainwashed to kill anyone who comes close to her. Don’t do any investigating without me.”

Brynley glowered at him. “Okay.”

He found a good map that detailed all the camping areas. “I’ll zip over to Romatech and print this out and grab our sat phones.”

“Okay.” She slathered some mustard on her bread.

“I’ll probably stay there for a few hours. See how my brother’s doing. File a report and catch up on what the other guys are doing.” It would be a lot easier to resist her if he put over a thousand miles between them.

“Okay.” She slapped her sandwich together.

“You’ll be all right here?”

She shot him an irritated look. “I’ll be fine.”

“You have a lot to do tomorrow. You should get some sleep.”

“Go ahead and teleport. I know you don’t want to hang around me for the rest of the night.”

“It’s not that I don’t like you. Quite the opposite—”

“Just go!”

“Fine!” With a sick feeling in his stomach, he vanished.

“Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” Brynley sang to herself in the shower. She’d finished her snack, then checked on the horses in the barn. Phineas had not returned.

She turned off his computer, then gathered up some supplies for the trip to Cloud Peak Glacier. Some beef jerky, a few granola bars, some bottles of water, a roll of toilet paper, and a sleeping bag. Phineas might be able to teleport in and out, but she’d be with the horses, so she’d have to do things the old-fashioned way. She made a note to herself to bring some weed-seed-free feed for the horses.

By one o’clock in the morning, he still wasn’t back. She took a shower and sang the Big Bad Wolf song at the top of her lungs, hoping he’d come back and hear it.

He didn’t.

She left the light on in the bathroom with the door partially closed, so the cabin wouldn’t be totally dark, then climbed the ladder to the loft and crawled into bed.

With a groan, she punched a pillow. It was her fault he was uncomfortable around her. She shouldn’t have told him that she knew what the red eyes meant. She’d wanted to tease him, but to be honest, she was flattered. More than flattered. Amazed. Astounded. He’d admitted he was attracted to her. The real Brynley.

All the guys in the past who had pursued her had never bothered to find out who she really was. They’d simply seen her as the Supreme Pack Master’s daughter, the ticket to win more power and prestige in the werewolf world.

Phineas had nothing to gain from a relationship with her. Unless you counted gaining a bunch of enemies. Her father and his countless followers would want to kill him.

She sighed and nestled under the covers. It was for the best that he was staying away from her. They couldn’t be together. He knew it. She knew it. Her inner wolf knew it. They were from two different worlds.

How much did she actually know about him? Had he really been a drug dealer? Was it true there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest? It didn’t seem to fit the Phineas she knew. She’d always felt safe around him. She knew her brother and the Vamp guys liked and respected him. Angus MacKay had promoted him to head of security at Romatech. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t believe Phineas was absolutely trustworthy.

But how well could she trust him? He was the Love Doctor, the Blardonnay Guy. Hundreds of Vamp women would gladly throw themselves at him. She rolled over and punched a pillow. Lucky Phineas. He could see his brother whenever he wanted. She didn’t dare even contact her sister.

She must have dozed off, for when she next looked at the bedside clock, it was almost four. The cabin was totally dark. The bathroom door had been shut. And the water was running.

Phineas was back. And taking a shower. She pictured him the way he looked in the commercials with a towel wrapped low around his hips. And his chest, his glorious chest would glisten with droplets of water. A tiny rivulet would sluice down his chest, right between his man-boobs—

Her breath caught. The water had turned off. She slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the edge of the loft.

The moon, now low in the sky, shone through the windows, softly illuminating the room below. He’d moved the couch back a few feet to cover up the trapdoor to the basement. And he’d moved the chairs back, too, so the whole arrangement would look normal.

The bathroom door opened, and the light switched off.

Her heart pounded, and she took a deep breath to try to stay calm. She didn’t want him to hear her racing heartbeat.

He moved into view, and her heart stuttered. He was wearing a towel, just like in the commercials. Oh God, his shoulders really were broad. And his back . . . so strong and muscular. She bit her lip. If only he would turn around so she could see his chest.

Suddenly, he yanked the towel off and rubbed it over his head. She gasped. His rear end was showing!

He stiffened and turned his head slightly.

She slapped a hand over her mouth. He must have heard her gasp. But oh my God, when he had stiffened, it had caused the muscles in his buttocks to flex. It was about the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.

“Brynley?” He turned toward her with the towel lowered to cover his groin.

She scrambled back onto the bed and held her breath. Her heart was beating too damned fast. He was going to hear it.

“Good night, Brynley,” he said softly.

The cabin was quiet. She strained her ears, but heard only crickets chirping outside. And an owl hooting.

She eased back to the railing and peeked over. The room was empty. He must have teleported into the basement.

She crawled back into bed and lay there, staring at the ceiling. If she had the nerve, she’d shove the couch aside, open the trapdoor, and jump down into the basement. Straight into his arms.

But she couldn’t. She squeezed her eyes shut, and the vision of his naked back and buttocks filled her mind.

With a moan, she pulled the covers over her head. Easy to resist, she’d told him. What a big fat liar.

She’d never wanted anyone as badly as she did Phineas.