“Thanks, that’s great. But you proved yourself in Kilmer, so I already knew you’re kick-ass in a crisis.”

Shannon flushed with pleasure at my comment, but she shrugged it off. “So we’re set?”

“Let’s move,” he said.

As we went down the stairs, I studied him. There were faint lines of weariness and pain about his eyes, though nothing I would’ve noticed before. He led the way to a vehicle parked on the street a few houses down. Kel had been smart enough not to cover their gate, which caused a lot of trouble here. It was so annoying to back out, only to find some asshole had blocked you in.

His ride wasn’t a macho SUV. Instead, it was a nondescript sedan in black or midnight blue—hard to tell in the dark. He loaded our bags into the trunk with an ease that belied the fact that he’d nearly been eviscerated; that injury suggested an opponent who had some skill with knives. I had a particular horror of blades. Over the years I’d handled a number of them, and they never told a happy tale.

“Shotgun,” Shannon said, and climbed into the passenger seat.

The back was fine with me. It had been a long-ass day, and I wouldn’t mind taking a nap. Butch whined, so I put him down to do his business. We’d given him dinner and a drink before leaving the apartment, so he should be good for a while yet. Afterward, I picked him up and tucked him back in my purse, where he snuggled in.

When I opened the right rear door, Kel put his hand on my arm to stop me from climbing in. “Why don’t you drive?”

I couldn’t have heard him correctly. “Really?”

He pitched his voice low, so Shannon—who was already in the car and fiddling with the radio—wouldn’t hear. “The healing takes a lot out of me. We need to get to Catemaco, but I don’t know how much longer I can stay alert.”

I remembered how he’d practically gone catatonic after the fight with the warlock. Yeah, it wouldn’t be good if that occurred with him behind the wheel of the car, especially one that contained Shannon, Butch, and me. While Kel might be able to recover from anything, the rest of us were all too human and fragile.

“Okay,” I said. “Will you have something to eat before you pass out?” I glanced at Shannon’s dyed-dark hair. “She wanted to impress you.”

“That’s absurd.” In the half-light, I could almost swear his mouth pulled into the hint of a weary smile. “But yes, I’ll eat the spaghetti if it will make the girl happy.”

I smiled at him. “Thanks.”

“One more thing, Corine.”

Oh, I was sure I didn’t like where this was going.

“When he fell, I took his weapon, an expertly crafted dagger. I thought you might handle it once we’re in Catemaco.”

Lovely. Something to look forward to. He took my silence for assent and slid into the car. I made sure Butch was comfortable in the back with Kel before rounding the vehicle and hopping into the driver’s seat. The car had GPS, which would make our lives easier. Though I knew the general direction of Catemaco—and that it wasn’t too far from Veracruz—I had never been there.

After buckling my seat belt, I programmed the address Shannon provided into the device and drove into the dark.

Hard to Handle

Once we left the highway, the night turned dark as sin. There were no lights on the narrow road that led to Catemaco. My companions were both out, so I had to trust the GPS knew what it was doing. If it didn’t, there was no telling where we’d end up.

I drove past signs for cigars and giant lake shrimp, but none of the stalls was open at this hour. Though it wasn’t quite midnight, it was certainly late enough for everyone else to be off the road. I had seldom been more relieved than when I made the last turn, and the gizmo claimed that the hotel Shannon had chosen lay a mile and a half up ahead on the left. Surprisingly, it was a nice place.

Floodlights illuminated the careful landscaping, and tall trees shaded the parking lot. It was a big, bright blue building with the name spelled out in flowers. I pulled into a space near the lobby, and turned the key in the ignition. As I stepped out of the car, I could taste the soft, clean air, so different from the city.

Shannon stirred as I pulled my bag out of the car. I slung the duffel over my shoulder, and then opened up the rear door. Butch hopped down, sniffed a few things, and then trotted over to the nearest tree. It was dark, so I didn’t worry about what was he doing, or the mess he might leave behind. He was a small dog—how bad could it be?

My guardian was still unconscious. I hovered, unsure whether I ought to touch him, but I couldn’t leave him in the car, either. Though it seemed self-serving, we might need him, and he couldn’t defend us from the parking lot. At last I set my hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. It took two tries to get him to open his eyes, and when he did, they looked oddly sunken.

But despite appearances, he came alert in an instant. “We’re here, I take it?”

I nodded. “I’m going to see about a room. It might be best if you stay outside while I do.”

Kel glanced down at his white, bloodstained shirt. “I think so too.”

“Do you have anything else to wear tomorrow?”

“Yes—my bag is in the trunk. I just didn’t think it was worth slowing us down.”

“Good call,” Shannon said. “Am I allowed to come in with you?”

“Of course.”

I whispered Butch’s name and he came trotting out of the shadows wagging his tail. He’d no doubt sniffed everything nearby, and if there were anything to fear in the vicinity, he would’ve communicated that. Which meant I strode into the lobby with all confidence, despite my wrinkled clothing and gummy eyes.

The foyer was small, but immaculate. Beyond a glass wall I could see the restaurant, now closed for the night, and beyond the interior dining room, more tables sat beside the pool. At the front desk, the man looked tired, but he perked up when I started the registration process.

Our business didn’t take long. I told him we needed a room with two double beds, and I wasn’t sure how long we were staying. Judging by the dearth of cars in the lot, that shouldn’t be a problem. And indeed, it wasn’t. I paid for a couple of nights, and he gave me a key.

“You have a room on the second floor,” he said in Spanish. “Lake view.”

I nodded, listening to the rest of the amenities. Butch knew to stay in my bag until we left the lobby. I praised him and scratched his ears as I slid behind the wheel. After moving the car, I led the way to the stairs, and then Kel took point. He checked the place out thoroughly before motioning us up.

The room surprised me in a good way. It was large with a balcony facing the lake. Perhaps it was sparsely furnished in contrast to American hotels, but I preferred the sense of space. And we still had a TV, a desk, and a bureau, along with a mirror outside the bathroom. Not that I imagined we’d be spending that much time in here.

“You want a shower?” I asked Kel.

“Please.”

I could wait until morning. When the water cut on, I set the chain and the dead bolt on the door and changed into my pajamas. Shannon was doing the same. She really was a remarkable girl.

“I’m thinking we take the bed by the inside wall,” she said. “If I was trying to break in here, I’d come through the balcony. The other door has a steel core, and those are good, heavy locks.”

I followed her train of thought. “So if someone does try to get in that way, it won’t be quiet, and Kel will have a chance to get between them and us.”

“Exactly.”

God, I was tired. I slid into bed and curled onto my side. The double bed was big enough—and Shannon was small enough—that we shouldn’t bother each other. My eyes closed.

I had the sense of being out of my body, light as air; I had to be dreaming. As I floated, the darkness melted away, coalescing into a combination of red-velvet brothel and roadhouse chic. This was Twilight, run by a woman named Twila, who ran San Antonio. Anybody with a gift who arrived in her demesne and planned to stay had better ask her permission. I’d been here before.

I’m dreaming.

The bar was nearly full, rowdy and loud. The music banging in the background I recognized as the Dropkick Murphys, an interesting choice for a joint in Texas. Jesse Saldana sat on a bar stool, nursing a beer. I recognized the bartender, a pretty woman in her forties who sported a ponytail. Jeannie. I’d met her myself. On this occasion, Saldana looked none too cheerful, thumb rimming his mug in slow circles.

“I don’t think she trusts me,” he said.

She served a draft and collected money from a guy I didn’t recognize and then answered, “From what you’ve told me about her, I’m not surprised.”

“She was hurt tonight.” He took a long pull from his beer. “Don’t know how bad. I was about to call her when she e-mailed me. No mention of the pain. Just ‘I’m taking an unexpected trip; don’t worry.’ Like I can help it.”

Jeannie gave him a kind look. “Sounds like she has issues with authority, hon, and like it or not, that’s you.”

Shit, they’re talking about me.

“So what do I do?”

“Show her you care, and you’re willing to do whatever you can. But trust takes time. You can’t demand it.”

“I know,” he said sadly. “I just have this feeling she’s in deep, and it’s going to get really bad before it gets better.”

She touched him lightly on the hand. “There’s nothing worse than seeing someone you care about suffer.”

The despair in his face astonished me. I didn’t know he felt this way, or maybe I only wanted him to. This was just a dream, after all. Not a true thing. Right? Nobody seemed to notice me; I might as well be a ghost. Wishing I could comfort him and explain why he couldn’t be involved further, I touched Jesse on the shoulder, and he spun around, dark eyes haunted.

Shannon nudged me awake. The sun shone brightly through the curtains, patterning the tile floor. “You okay? You were whining in your sleep.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” I swallowed a moan as I slid out of bed. No point in telling her what I’d dreamt. I was pretty sure it was just a guilty conscience anyway.

A shower woke me up fully. I dressed in whorls of steam, so my clothes felt damp and sticky when I stepped out of the bathroom. I put down breakfast and a drink for Butch. The crunch of him enjoying his kibble sounded, but I didn’t have to worry about waking the other two; they were both up before I stumbled into the bathroom.

Shannon stood on the balcony, her eyes wide with awe. “Look at the pool!”

Sometimes I forgot how young she was. But in all fairness, it was impressive. From our vantage point, the waters gleamed azure; there was a pale blue waterslide and a stone waterfall. Flowers bloomed in the center, lending the impression that we’d awakened in some tropical paradise.

The lake itself caught my eye. It was so big I couldn’t see the opposite shore, and it lapped right up to the edge of the property; the land behind the hotel was a narrow slice. There was no pier, but I could see a place where the boats presumably pulled up. Down some distance, there was an earthen hut and a small swimming beach.