“I’ll be fine, Ben.”
He didn’t like the idea of her being trapped in the back of the truck, but then, he pitied anyone who tried to break in. Tenzin was still dangerous, even at noon. The truck came equipped with curtains for the front windows, so he’d be able to sleep on the bench in relative privacy. It was probably a better plan than trying to find a hotel or some other lodging on the road.
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll look for a rest stop once it starts to get light. I’m getting pretty tired.”
He’d had a total of six hours of sleep in the past twenty-four hours. Not the worst he’d ever clocked, but not ideal, especially when he was navigating foreign roads in a truck he’d never driven before. One hundred fifty kilometers out of Ürümqi, he was feeling it, and he could see the sky starting to lighten.
“Next place,” Tenzin murmured. She’d been silent for most of the trip. Usually, when they were together, it was a nonstop back-and-forth of jokes and stories. Now…
“I’m sorry,” he said, spotting a sign for what looked like a travel plaza. Two trucks in front of him were exiting the highway, so he followed them.
“About what?”
“About earlier. I was trying to help, but I know I messed things up.”
Her voice was slightly warmer when she answered. “This can be a very dangerous place. I’m trying to protect you.”
“I know.”
“It would be easier if you were vampire.”
“Not gonna happen,” he whispered.
“You’re too young to make that decision.”
It was an old argument. One he’d been having off and on with her since he was seventeen. One he didn’t feel like having at the moment, so he let it drop.
Ben pulled off the road and found a place to park among the other trucks at the road stop. His was not the only delivery truck on the lot, though most were the larger diesel trucks that filled the highway. Still, they were in Xinjiang, so the mix of faces was diverse enough to warrant no second looks when he went in to use the bathroom and grab a bowl of noodles to fill his stomach. There were truckers there, but also many other travelers. Even a Westerner with a small group of Han Chinese, who looked like they were dressed for business.
No one spared him a glance.
He made it back to the truck and handed Tenzin the tea he’d bought for her.
She was grinning. “Look what I found.”
He took a long drink of water and climbed in the truck.
“What’s up?”
“Cheng’s people are quite clever. That is what is up.”
She tugged the curtains closed and pulled away the back cushion on the passenger’s side, revealing a hatch about the size of a large dog door.
“What is that?”
“I checked in the cargo area, but you can’t see it from there. A false wall! It’s been welded in place. You can’t access it from the compartment, only from the driver’s area.”
“A smuggler’s hatch? Nice.”
She shrugged. “It’s always good to have some places that remain invisible from prying eyes.”
“Will the crates fit in there?”
She shook her head. “It’s about the width of a twin bed, if not narrower. And only accessed by this door. You could fit something small, but it’s made for hiding a person.”
“Or persons,” he said grimly, knowing that more than one vampire was involved in human trafficking.
Of course, a lot of humans were involved in that, too.
“Cheng quit that business many years ago. He does still move some people discreetly, but only those who want to be moved.”
He didn’t really want to hear about Cheng.
“It’ll be a perfect resting place for you,” he said, “as long as you don’t mind crawling inside.”
It was pretty small, but then so was Tenzin. She grinned and handed him her cup of tea, then slipped through with the practiced ease of a cat burglar.
“Comfortable in there?”
“It’s cozy.” She stuck her head through and he handed her the tea. “There is a fan. It’s well ventilated. Completely lightproof.”
“Good.” He knew she could take care of herself, but he still hadn’t liked the idea of her in the more easily accessed back while he was sleeping. “Escape routes?”
She pulled back, and he heard her shuffling around. “One in the floor and… if I had to, I could punch out the welds on this wall. They’re not solid.”
“Of course they aren’t,” he muttered. “You do realize that this is Cheng’s truck. He knows that compartment is there.”
“I don’t sleep, Benjamin.” She stuck her head through the hatch. “I’m hardly vulnerable during the nighttime, and I’m not worried about humans during the day.”
“No?”
“Cheng doesn’t trust anyone who can be manipulated by amnis.”
“Ah.” Please don’t get chatty about Cheng.
She disappeared back into her bolt-hole. Ben locked the truck doors and cracked the windows, thankful that the air in the mountains was cool and dry. Stuffing a duffel bag under his head, he stretched out as much as he could. His knees were bent, which he knew he’d pay for in the morning, but he didn’t have many options.
“I may not trust Cheng,” Tenzin continued in a muffled voice, “but he’s still quite possessive. He might try to kill me, but he wouldn’t let anyone else do it in his territory.”