His heartbeat was marking him as prey, and there was no way of explaining his unconscious reaction. Because it wasn’t from fear. Fear was something he’d trained away for many years. It was from something far more complicated.
Tenzin’s eyes met his for a moment, but he couldn’t read their expression. It was dark and fleeting. Then her smile curved again, but it was false. Something inside him screamed and beat at the facade. Tenzin stepped closer and placed a hand on his cheek, rubbing her thumb under his lower lip absently. His pulse spiked again.
“Go wait for me in the truck,” she said in soft English. “We’ll only be a minute.”
He pulled away from her and walked to the delivery truck, not understanding exactly what had happened. He climbed into the driver’s seat and slid it back, surprised that Cheng’s vampire had even fit in the truck to drive. Then he sat back and stared at the dashboard while his thoughts raced.
Tenzin and Cheng? Who was Jonathan?
Why the hell had she smiled at him like that, and why did the falseness of it grate against his nerves?
Tenzin and Cheng?
“He owes me a number of favors…”
Now Ben was wondering what kind of favors they traded.
He shook his head. It didn’t matter. It was none of his business. But he couldn’t forget her smile.
It was more like an hour, and not the minute she promised, before Cheng’s associate opened the truck door for Tenzin. She didn’t hesitate as he’d seen her do with vehicles in the past. She lifted herself into the cab and settled on the passenger seat.
“I will see you in Shanghai, Kesan.”
“Are you sure I cannot send my driver with you?”
“Quite sure.”
“Safe travels. We will see you in the city.”
Then the door was closed and Ben didn’t have time to wonder at her ease getting into the truck. He started the engine and pulled away, pretending to be the professional he was supposed to be. Pretending not to notice the stiff set of her shoulders beside him.
They made it all of five blocks before she said, “Pull over.”
He pulled over.
“What the hell was that?”
Now that tone was familiar.
He put the truck in park and sat back but didn’t turn to her.
“Explain yourself, Benjamin.”
He shrugged.
“I gave specific instructions before we left the hotel. Stay back. You’re a driver. Not important. Don’t make yourself visible.”
“I know.”
“But you just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
He said nothing. She was right. Even though it grated at the adolescent pride he knew was a weakness, he should have followed her instructions and made himself as inconspicuous as possible.
“Now you are visible. A person, not just a human who belongs to me. Kesan knows you are not only a driver. You are a driver who speaks Latin. Which he might speak, by the way, as Cheng’s first is a former English clergyman. He also knows you speak Mandarin, because of the way you reacted to what I said about Cheng. What were you thinking?”
He hadn’t been thinking. Clearly.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t? Because your heartbeat told Kesan that you were either frightened, angry, or reacting to something else. Frightened and angry are the worst options, so now he thinks I’ve brought my young lover to China into the territory of his master, who has never been known to share well with others.”
“And what, exactly, would he be sharing?” Ben muttered.
She was on him in a heartbeat. Clutching his chin to force his face to her as she bared her fangs.
“Your presumption irritates me. Do not forget who I am, Benjamin Vecchio.”
Ben stared at her, unblinking, and his pulse didn’t trip. It had been a long time since he’d seen her this angry. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but she cut him off before he could speak, jerking his chin to the side as she sat back in her own seat. He could still feel the edges of her nails in his neck.
“I don’t want to hear your explanation. I expected better from you. You’re too smart to act this stupid, Ben. Don’t let it happen again. For now, we play things as they stand.”
“And how do they stand?” he asked, putting the truck back into gear.
“Cheng will dismiss you. He pays little attention to any humans. That is what Jonathan is for.”
“Jealous former boyfriend, huh?” He tried to control the flush of anger he could feel on his cheeks, but knew she probably scented his blood rising.
“Boyfriend is a ridiculous human term for the three-hundred-year-old water vampire who controls the Shanghai Group. And what Cheng is to me is none of your business. Drive.”
He didn’t say another word until they got back to the hotel. Then it was terse questions and quick answers. Weapons were packed. Supplies were stowed. He checked out even though they only had a few hours of driving before dawn. It would be enough to start out of the city; Ben only hoped they could find daylight shelter along the road.
An hour after they’d left the lights of Ürümqi behind, he asked her, “What are you going to do during the day?”
“I think the safest route is to stay in the back of the truck. Find a petrol station or a way station where you can rest. If you sleep in the front, no one will look in the back. I won’t sleep anyway, so as long as I stay out of the light, I’ll be fine.”
“Is there a vent back there?”