Two
Rylee waited right where the man had left her. There was no mistaking that he’d assessed the situation and decided to play along. At least, for now. The only light left shining was the one leading to what she assumed was a waiting area for customers. Had it not been for the plexiglass window on the wall next to the door, she wouldn’t have been able to see a thing.
The rumble of the motorcycle had her heart pounding. If the vamp had figured out she was there, it would rip that man’s throat out and then come looking for her. She held her breath, not releasing it until the engine revved and gravel spattered against the garage door.
A long workbench with tools scattered over the top lined the back wall. The smells of oil, metal, and exhaust clung to the air even though an industrial fan did its best to suck it out. It wasn’t fancy, but it would do. If she were lucky, she could convince the owner to let her hang out until morning. She doubted there’d be a soft surface for her to sleep on, but she’d slept on a cement floor before. She’d survive. At least there had to be a bathroom in here somewhere. As much as she enjoyed roughing it from time to time, she appreciated indoor plumbing.
She took a deep breath. Might as well be ready with a killer smile. She’d stand a better chance if she softened the guy up right from the start. Tugging her helmet off, she shook out her hair, letting the long strands free, before hanging her helmet on the handle. She caressed the cool bike like a lover playing her man’s body. Her fingers stroked the pink fuel tank before sliding over the soft leather seat, still warm from where she'd been straddling it moments before. From what she could tell, it hadn’t suffered any damage during that wild ride.
“Care to tell me why a vampire is chasing you?”
She jumped back at the deep baritone only a few feet from her. How the hell had he snuck up on her like that? Part of the reason she was so good at retrieval was that she never missed a damned thing—like a grown ass man coming into a room.
One dark eyebrow quirked up as he crossed his arms over the vast expanse of his chiseled chest. The gray Beatles T-shirt covering it did nothing to hide his form, something she appreciated. The sleeves barely contained the bulging muscles as he flexed. Yummy with an extra helping of caramel sauce.
He took a deep breath and froze mid-step. His nostrils flared, and he narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?” he asked.
A second later, his momentary pause forgotten, he came closer.
“You can call me Kate,” she said, resisting both the urge to back up and the need to get closer.
“I could. But I asked for your name.”
He didn’t stop until no more than a foot separated them.
Swallowing what little saliva she had left, she looked up at him. She stood five-foot-six—an extra two inches added for her boots—and he was still at least six inches taller. “Rylee,” she croaked out, shocking herself with the admission. She’d meant to say, “Kate,” hadn’t she?
“That’s better. Now, why don’t you tell me what’s going on so we can get out of here before that vampire figures out I lied and comes back to have a snack?”
***
Unwilling to risk raising suspicion in case anyone else showed up, Niko had snuck in through the back and come up the hallway leading from the bathroom. He was glad he hadn’t shut the window earlier when it had drizzled.
The first thing he needed was the woman’s story. From there, he’d decide what to do with her.
Tall and slender, with curves in all the right places, she was his walking wet dream in black leather. Every part of her, from her form-fitting jacket to the ass-hugging pants and all the way down to her knee-high, buckled boots stirred something primal inside him.
She took her helmet off and hung it on her bike, shaking a mass of light brown hair free, and with it, the sweetest smell he’d ever had the pleasure to experience. His wolf came to full attention. His blood flowed south, making his cock ache. Mine, the beast grated at him in his mind.
Her lie soured the air, but not enough to dull her underlying scent. Niko sure as shit wasn’t going to call her anything but her actual name. He asked again.
“Rylee,” she whispered as she peered up at him.
Rylee. That suited a badass biker chick a hell of a lot better than Kate.
“I’m sorry to have involved you. The less you know, the better off you’ll be,” Rylee said with a straight face.
The absurdity of her trying to protect him had him barking out a laugh, startling them both. “How about you try again?” She may believe every word she’d said, but that wasn’t going to fly. Not with him. Not where she was concerned. Both he and his wolf agreed. They would keep their mate safe from any enemy. Including a filthy vampire.
She gave him a smile that lit her entire face—except her eyes. She was good. “If you could point me to the nearest hotel, I’ll bunk down for the night and be out of your hair.”
Stubborn. Okay, he could deal with that. “Nope, still not the right answer. One more try,” he suggested expectantly. He didn’t want to get Jaxon involved, but if a vampire was going to terrorize the town he and the Wassookeag pack protected, he needed to know why.
“I’m in Dexter to meet someone to help me with a job,” she finally admitted. “The vamp is here to try and stop me.”
Now they were getting somewhere. And even better, he liked where this was going. “I hear Blue Creek is lovely this time of year,” he said, watching her reaction to the words. If she was the one Aric Wolfe had given him the heads-up about, his tracking job was looking better by the second.
Rylee’s eyes widened. A smile blossomed on her face, this time making a dimple appear on her right cheek and her eyes sparkle. “It really is. And the locals are very friendly.”
He stuck his hand out, resisting the urge to pull her body flush against his. “Niko Garcia, tracker extraordinaire. Pleased to meet you. Looks like we’ll be working together for the next little while.”