Wanted: Undead or Alive

teleport her away.

The bushes parted and a dog padded into the clearing. He was big, yellow, and dirty, but his most striking feature was the hat strapped to his head. It looked like an old leather football helmet, crowned with a layer of aluminum foil that gleamed in the light of the campfire.

“Oh, the poor thing,” Brynley murmured. “He’s had a head injury?”

“Nope.” Digger regarded the dog fondly. “My Jake is sharp as a tack. He’s what you call a receiver.”

“For a football team?” Phineas asked.

Digger broke into laughter, slapped his thigh hard, then coughed when the cloud of dust reached his face. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard! Dogs don’t play football!”

Phineas exchanged a look with Brynley as Digger started to laugh once again.

“He’s got to wear that hat to keep them from talking to him,” Digger explained. “First, they tried talking to me, but I was too wily for them.”

“Them?” Phineas asked.

“Them aliens, boy! The ones mutilating all the cattle around here. They’ve been using my Jake as a receiver.”

“What do they say to him?” Brynley asked.

“How the hell would I know? You think I can talk to a dog?” Digger snickered. “I ain’t crazy, you know.”

“Right,” Phineas murmured.

“So I’ve been hunting those little devils, so they’ll leave my Jake alone.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Brynley said.

“We should be going now.” Phineas retreated, taking Brynley with him. “So you can get back to your hunting.”

“You don’t want to hunt together?” Digger asked with a hurt expression.

“Sorry, but we prefer to be alone,” Phineas explained. “Newlyweds, you know.”

Digger chuckled. “I got you. You two are making more hay than hunting. Well, I’ll see you around.”

“Nice to meet you.” Brynley mounted her horse. Phineas mounted, too, ignoring the painful twinges in his rump and thighs. He waved at the old man.

“Be careful,” Digger called after them. “Them nasty aliens are close by. I can feel ’em.”

Phineas rode down the path alongside Brynley. Neither said a word until they were sure Digger wouldn’t hear.

She pulled her shirt up to her nose and sniffed. “I may need to change clothes. And shower.”

“I could teleport you to Phil’s place. I’ll come back to watch the horses while you clean up.”

She smiled. “That’s very sweet of you. Thanks.”

Sweet. He was starting to hate that word. Why didn’t she see him as sexy and desirable? Why couldn’t she ache for him the way he did for her? Was it because she considered them horribly, dreadfully mismatched?

It was true what he’d said earlier. Her father would never accept him. A poor guy from the Bronx. A vampire.

Brynley could have any man she wanted. A rich rancher. An Alpha wolf. She could have wealth, land, and security. Why would she give all that up for him?

“Thank you for coming to the rescue,” she said quietly.

“Huh?” The pain in his rear was rapidly becoming unbearable. Maybe he should walk the rest of the way. “What rescue?”

“You rescued me from Digger’s advances.”

“Oh. No big deal.”

“You’re a sweet—”

“Don’t say it!”

Her eyes widened. “Are you angry?”

Yes! Digger could tell I’m in love with you, and you can’t! “It’s nothing. I . . . I need to get off this damned horse.”

“Okay.” She pulled the horses to a stop. When he dismounted, she gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s normal to feel sore the first few times.”

“I’m fine.” He gritted his teeth and walked stiffly beside her. “I’m just annoyed that we’re not finding anything about Corky. I don’t think she would hide out here. It’s too primitive. She’d use her vampire mind control to take over a ranch or ski lodge.”

“You may be right,” Brynley murmured.

“And I’m wondering about those dead cows. Digger said they were drained of blood. We should check that out.”

“You think Corky would feed off cows?”

“If she was desperate enough, yeah.”

“But why mutilate them?”

“To hide what she did. When Malcontents feed off humans, they slit the throats to conceal the teeth marks.”

Brynley nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll have Trudy help me bring the horses back to the cabin during the day, and then tomorrow night, we can go to the Carson ranch and ask Nate about the cows.”

He glanced up at her. “Nate?”

“Nathan Carson.” She smiled. “He’s an old friend. And a mortal. A really sweet guy.”

Phineas ground his teeth. Sweet Nate was probably rich. “Did he want you, too? Like Digger?”

“No.” She gave him an exasperated look. “Not every man who sees me wants me.”

“Some men are fools.”

She shook her head. “Nate is plenty smart. His brother’s a problem though. If we’re lucky we won’t run into Kyle.”

“What’s wrong with Kyle?”

She was silent a moment. “He did want me.”

“Shit,” Phineas muttered. She could have her pick of a million men. Why would she ever choose him?

Chapter Eleven

“Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” Brynley sang to herself as she rolled out her sleeping bag.

He’d run away again.

Over an hour had passed since they’d arrived at the trailhead campsite where Trudy would meet her in the morning. After helping Brynley take care of the horses, Phineas had teleported her to her brother’s cabin so she could shower and change. He’d returned to the camp to babysit the horses, and then, thirty minutes later, he’d teleported to the cabin to bring her back here.

He didn’t stay. He claimed he needed to shower, too, and he needed to drop by Romatech for some bottled blood and to see how his brother was faring. He also wanted to see if Angus was sending anyone back to the States to help them with their search. She suspected he didn’t want to continue the mission alone with her.

I ain’t never seen two people so in love. Digger’s words had haunted Brynley ever since they’d left his campsite.

The old man was crazy as a loon, so maybe she shouldn’t read too much into it. Still, she wondered how strong Phineas’s feelings were for her. He’d been quick to pretend they were married when Digger had shown interest in her. He’d held on to her and kissed her brow. Last night he’d admitted he was physically attracted to her. And tonight he’d said that he liked her.

But love? Could he ever love her? She didn’t know.

And she sure didn’t know how she felt about him. Yeah, she wanted to jump his bones, but that wasn’t love. That wasn’t something you based a long-term commitment on. And yet, when Phineas had claimed they were