Gena looked at her packed bags once again. She’d contemplated leaving all night. Well, ever since Marcus had stormed out.

Was he expecting her to leave while he was gone? Was he hoping that he’d never have to see her again?

Tough shit for him, thought Gena. He told her he would help her and he had answers for her still. Besides that, he still hadn’t paid her.

Mia was long gone by now. She’d offered to wait for Marcus to return, but Gena refused. The psychic had already done more than enough. Gena could tell Mia was concerned for her safety, but, despite his violent outburst, Gena did not believe Marcus would hurt her. At least not physically.

Mia had described what she’d seen in Gena’s head. The interrogation and how the woman in the vision had been murdered. She also explained that the vampires seen in the vision were searching for Marcus.

It was a fascinating story, but Gena still didn’t know what it had to do with her. Mia had believed Gena and the woman in the vision were somehow the same person, but that made no sense.

Even Mia said she didn’t believe in reincarnation, but she believed that the same soul could inhabit two bodies during different lifetimes. Which sounded a lot like reincarnation to Gena, but she was too freaked to pry any further.

So now Gena was left with more questions than answers and a missing vampire. She had no phone to track him down with and no way to contact anyone else who could help her.

She wasn’t completely stuck. She did have her car downstairs and a bit of cash left. She could always just find another place to stay for the rest of the night. She’d leave Marcus a note about where to find her. Screw him if he thought she’d just twiddle her thumbs while he was off having some sort of crisis.

Resolved to get the hell out of the apartment, she figured she should find her car first. She’d been a bit overwhelmed during the trip to the penthouse and hadn’t been paying close attention to where the vehicle was parked.

She knew it was in the parking garage below the building and she knew it was a short distance from the elevator; she just couldn’t remember what level it was on. She left her bags and Lady in the penthouse. She’d come back for them after she found the car. She did make sure she took her purse, complete with keys, silver dagger, and gun. A girl had to be safe.

About twenty minutes later, Gena pumped a happy fist in the air. Success! Of course the car was on the last level possible, but she was just happy she found it. Even with her car, she couldn’t go too far, considering she no longer had legal insurance and the car was registered to a dead woman, but it would have to do.

Gena wasn’t sure what made her do it, but she had the strangest urge to open the back door, as though an invisible force pulled her hand to the handle, and the door opened. The inside of the car looked as she remembered. She leaned forward and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

As she was about to turn to collect her things and Lady, something caught her eye. At first she thought she saw her phone, but she remembered she’d tossed it when she realized that having the phone of a dead woman was pointless.

She reached down and picked up the cell phone. It was a newer phone that probably cost a lot of money, but it sure as hell wasn’t hers. She hit a button on the side and the screen lit up. There was no password, so she had free access to everything on the phone. The battery was low, but there was still power.

After going through a few of the contacts, things made a lot more sense. The phone belonged to Ryan. This must’ve been how he found her at Hope’s apartment, and he followed her to Fang.

An uneasiness filled her as she realized Ryan could know where she was even now. He could’ve traced his phone straight to the penthouse.

Gena glanced cautiously over her shoulder, feeling like a wimp for even being afraid now after wandering alone in the parking garage for the past half an hour.

At the sight of a male figure behind her, she let out a small scream and the phone fell out of her hand. Her fear was short-lived as she realized it was only Marcus standing behind her. Only now he had a huge grin on his face after seeing her jump.

As her heart struggled to get back to its normal rhythm, a scowl covered her face. “You’d better not make it a habit to sneak up on women in parking garages, or your balls are going to get up close and personal with a Taser.”

He raised a brow. “Oh really? When did you get a Taser?”

“Well, maybe not a Taser. I do have a purse full of silver,” she pointed out.

“For all the good it was doing you.”

“My lightning-fast instincts saw you and out of the goodness of my heart, I didn’t stab you. You’re welcome.” She grinned.

Marcus smiled back at her.

“Don’t give me that smile,” she told him. “I’m pissed at you.”

Marcus looked to her car. “Pissed enough to leave?”

She shrugged. “You left. Why shouldn’t I be able to?”

To her surprise, Marcus agreed with her. “You are free to leave whenever you choose. You’re no prisoner. However, the vampire world is in a great state of unrest and it’s dangerous out after dark. I think you’d be safer with me.”

Gena felt the urge to argue with him, purely because she was still pissed, but he made a lot of sense. Besides, she was aiming to go an entire week without getting killed again. “Why did you run out?”

“Did it really look like I was running?”

“You were definitely running from something.”

Marcus winced. “I guess I’m not helping my badass image,” he said, jokingly.

“You’re changing the subject.”

“Yes, I was,” he agreed as he took a step closer. “You weren’t supposed to notice.”

She remained silent and waited to hear what he’d say next.

“I agree we need to talk, but I have something to take care of first. I want you to come with me. I want to show you something and we can talk then.”

Somehow he seemed to get even closer as he spoke, and Gena had to keep herself from moving away. She took a steadying breath. “As long as you promise to answer all my questions.”

“I promise,” he said. Before she was aware of what was happening, his mouth was on hers. This kiss was different than the one they had shared the night before. His mouth was soft and his hands gently cupped her face.

She stood still but didn’t fight him. His soft tongue gently nudged her lips as she opened for him. She moved her hips toward his and felt the satisfying bulge of his erection against her and let out a soft moan.

Before she could go any further, he pulled away. She wanted to ask why, but stopped herself. She was the one who set boundaries. He might be taking that first step over the line, but she was the one who was dragging him past that line and toward the closest bed available.

One look at the harsh planes of his face told her just how little he wanted to stop. He wanted her to be sure before they went too far. Just the fact he was waiting for her made her want to throw him in the back of her car, strip him naked and have her wicked way with him.

Forcing her hormones under control, she took another calming breath.

“We can head out now,” he said as he bent down.

She held her breath as he knelt at her feet and picked up the phone she’d dropped as he startled her just moments before. He held it up to her. “You dropped this.”

For a moment, she was lost as she stared at the beautiful man kneeling before her. Then she snapped back to reality. “It’s not mine. I found it in my car, though. That’s Ryan’s cell phone. I think he used it to track me to Hope’s and then followed me to Fang. He could know I’m with you now.”

Marcus’s grin was positively wicked. “I sincerely hope he tries to find you now. I would enjoy a few minutes alone with the man.”

Although Gena didn’t particularly wish ill to Ryan, it made her feel better that Marcus had her back. She hesitantly smiled back at Marcus as he took her hand and they left together.