“There,” he said, spotting the flash of her cap.
“No, there.” Tenzin tugged on his arm. “She gave the hat to someone else. Watch the way she walks. The way she holds her handbag. Caps and scarves are too easily discarded. But humans have a far more difficult time changing their stride.”
“Got her.”
They walked more quickly, following the pretty human into one of the large pedestrian streets lined with shops. Flying lights spun above them as street vendors shouted out to the children holding their parents’ hands, tempting them with flashing laser pointers and spinning whirligigs. Ben almost lost sight of her, but she ducked down a side street and caught her heel in a crack of the pavement. She paused and threw a cautious glance over her shoulder before she dove into the alley.
She’d definitely spotted them.
He felt Tenzin floating a little off the ground, and he squeezed her hand. “Not here.”
She muttered something under her breath, but followed him. She probably wasn’t able to see the woman, but Ben, being almost a foot taller than her, hadn’t lost their tracker.
“Was this part of your plan?” he asked. “To draw some attention?” They were getting closer to the alley.
“Yes. I was expecting someone else, though.”
“Kesan?”
Her head whirled around. “How—”
“Who else knew we were retrieving something in Kashgar? I was mad at the time, but really, we hadn’t been in town long enough for rumors to have reached the VIC. Kesan tipped someone off. And whoever is running Kashgar would be smart enough to send more than three guys after you. So Cheng’s guy tipped someone off, but he didn’t want them to succeed.”
No one had come out of the alley, and no one else had entered. It might be a shortcut to another street. It might be a passageway between buildings. It might be a trap.
“Is anyone looking?” she asked in a whisper as they turned the corner. It was utterly and completely black. The unnatural glow of the city lights had thrown the space between the buildings into deep shadow.
“If they are, it’s too dark to see anything.”
There was a fluttering at his side and Ben knew she’d taken to the air. A few minutes later, there was a scuffling sound. Then Tenzin marched out of the alley with the unconscious young woman thrown over her shoulder.
Ben sighed. “So I’m supposed to carry her back to the car like that? Do you want me to get arrested?”
“Don’t be silly.” She hovered a few feet off the ground. “Take the car. Drive to the docks. I’ll meet you there.”
“Okay, but—”
She was already gone.
“Tenzin!” he hissed, looking for a trace of her in the shadows. “Tenzin?”
Ben sighed and walked out of the alley, grabbing his phone and wondering if there was any way to put a GPS tracker on a vampire.
Two hours later, Ben was sitting in the car, staring at the locked chain-link fence surrounding the destination his GPS had led him to. Not surprisingly, the port of Shanghai was massive, and he had no idea where he was. The phone rang. He was hoping it was one of Cheng’s people, but he saw his uncle’s number pop up instead.
He picked up and phone and answered. “Hey.”
“Ah. Excellent. You’re not dead,” Giovanni said, the slight echo telling Ben he was on speakerphone. “Injured?”
“Nope. Kinda lost. But no major injuries so far.”
“Yes, she forgets the entire world doesn’t see things from a bird’s-eye-view at times.”
His head fell back on the headrest. “So she’s always been like this?”
“As long as I’ve known her, yes.”
“And you worked with her for how long without killing her?”
His uncle chuckled. “No one forced you to go, Benjamin.”
“I know.” He looked around the empty parking lot. “I guess it’s more interesting than spending every night at clubs and hooking up with… actually, clubbing sounds pretty good right now.” He scraped a hand along his jaw. “I miss air-conditioning. And Mexican food. I’d kill for a really cold beer.”
“When will you be home?”
“As soon as we get this cargo on the ship. Which is supposed to be tonight. I’ll call the airline in the morning.”
“Let us know when you’ll be back.”
“Will do.” He yawned. “What time is it there?”
“Six in the morning. I’ll be going to rest soon. I was just wondering how you were doing.”
Well, Gio, I’ve lost all my possessions, I’m pretty sure I still smell like rotten carrots, and I stabbed a vampire in the eye while he was trying to kill me. Then I practically assaulted one of your oldest friends when she interrupted me having a sex dream about her.
“It’s been… great,” Ben said, clearing his throat. “Now, if I can just find Cheng’s docks, it’ll be even better.”
“Why don’t I have Caspar text you or email you Jonathan’s contact information? He always keeps a human secretary close by. He’d be the one to help you. So, you’ve met Cheng?”
“Yep. And Jonathan’s number would be great.” Ben did a mental fist pump. What was he thinking? He should have called Caspar to begin with.
“What did you think of Cheng?”
“He looks like a pirate. I’m considering sending him a parrot for Christmas. Or Chinese New Year. Whatever. Hey, could you get me that number?”