obviously needed.
But he couldn't. Dunleavy had been treating him as a fool for some time now, and until he was sure who was friend and who was foe, he couldn't afford to trust anyone. Even a woman who got to him in ways he couldn't even begin to describe.
'What game are you playing? Or was it simply an attempt to gain my sympathy, and perhaps my trust?'
'I'm not playing anything.' Yet her gaze slid from his, confirming her lie.
'Then why did you make the statement that that woman is the image of you?'
She licked her lips, but she still refused to meet his gaze. He tucked a finger beneath her chin, bringing her gaze back to his. Her eyes were big and round, the green almost consumed by warm amber. It was a far prettier color.
'Give me the truth.'
'Not here,' she said softly. 'Please, just trust me for a few minutes more.'
Almost against his will, he leaned forward and lightly kissed her lips. She tasted as sweet as the finest wine and, somehow, so very familiar. 'You think I trusted you earlier?'
'Didn't you?'
Her breath was enticingly warm against his mouth, but he resisted the temptation to kiss her again and said, 'No.'
She blinked and pulled her chin from his grasp. 'If you want answers, vampire, you'd better start trusting me. We both know you cannot force the answers from me, because your telepathy isn't working right now.'
'And how would you know that?'
'Because the same magic that has robbed you of your psychic skills has robbed me of my… skills.'
Skills? Why would she use that word rather than magic? 'Meaning this barrier you mentioned earlier?'
She nodded, her nostrils flaring, as if she was as acutely aware of the smell of blood and death that surrounded them as he. She ran a slightly trembling hand across her forehead and said, 'Look, can we take this discussion elsewhere?'
'In a moment.' He wasn't quite ready to go, simply because he wanted to keep her unnerved. He had a feeling it might be the only way to keep her out of trouble and out of harm's way.
She stared at him for a moment, and he could have sworn he heard her swearing at him, even though her lips never moved.
'Did you find anything else?' she finally asked. 'Is there any clue as to how the murderer got in here?'
'There's a connecting door. It leads into another whore's rooms.'
'Have you checked it?'
'Yes. There's a window.'
She frowned. 'I didn't see any stairs other than the one at the side.'
Amusement ran through him. 'Dunleavy is a vampire. Two stories is not much of a leap for us.'
'Oh. Yeah.' Her gaze skated across the room before coming back to his. 'Nothing else?'
'Other than the fact there didn't appear to be a struggle of any kind.'
'How…' she stopped, swallowing. 'How can you tell that in all… this?'
'No blood or skin under the fingernails.'
'Oh.' She went even paler, if that was possible. 'Can we go now?' she asked quickly.
He relented and stood to one side. She ran out. He caught up with her as she stopped in the middle of the road, sucking in great gulps of night air.
'You don't appear to have a strong enough stomach to be hunting the likes of Dunleavy.'
Her smile was slightly bitter. 'Monsters don't bother me as much as some of their deeds.'
'Then why hunt monsters?'
She snorted softly. 'Because the man I love insists on hunting them.'
'And he lets you? The man is a fool.'
She looked at him, a strange sort of smile touching her lips. 'He's not a fool. He just made a good choice.'
'If you were mine—' He stopped abruptly. He had no right to be saying such things when Christine lay rotting in the ground, her death not yet avenged.
'Let's get you back home,' he said coldly.
Her gaze searched his for a moment, and then she picked up her skirts and began walking. 'I'm not staying in that house tonight.'
The thought of her staying at one of the hotels made him cold. 'Where then?'
His voice was sharp, and she looked at him, amusement playing across her lush lips. 'I've arranged to rent a room from one of the rangers.'
'And will the ranger be there?'
'No. He's staying at the Wheaten Hotel.'
'Good.'
She chuckled softly. 'For a man who doesn't trust, and who claims to have no interest, you're acting a little proprietary.'
He was, and he had no idea why. 'You appear to be the only decent woman in this town. I have no wish to see you hurt, that's all.'
Her eyes twinkled almost merrily in the darkness. 'Then you'll accompany me to my new lodgings?'
His gaze went to the surrounding hills. Dunleavy was out there somewhere. As was Kinnard. If he was escorting this woman, he wouldn't be out there finding them and exacting revenge. But, on the other hand, she appeared to have at least some of the answers he needed. Answers that just might help in catching the fiend.
He met her gaze again. 'If you promise to answer my questions.'
'I'll answer them, but I don't promise that you'll like or understand the answers.'
More riddles. This woman could have been vampire trained. He glanced at her house, noting there was no movement or life inside. 'It's safe,' he said, stopping at the door. 'I'll wait here.'
She didn't argue and was back within a few minutes with two heavy bags. He grabbed them both, slinging one over his shoulder and carrying the other. 'Where to?'
'Five houses down from the corner of King and Prospect.'
Which was about as far away from the center of town and the drunken miners as you could get without straying into the hills. At least he wouldn't have to worry about louts harassing her while he was off hunting Dunleavy.
They walked through the dark streets in silence, though the night itself was far from quiet, with the miner's revelry singing through the darkness.
The ranger's house was in better shape than most in this town, though like the rest of the houses on this street, it could have used a good coat of paint. He followed her up the steps and stopped.
'I cannot go inside,' he said, offering her the bags.
'The ranger gave his permission for you to cross his threshold.' She opened the door and tossed the bags inside.
He raised his eyebrows. 'I'm not sure it works secondhand.'
'There's only one way to find out.' She stepped to one side and waved him through.
He frowned, but walked forward. Nothing slapped against him with the force of a hammer. Energy did caress his skin as he walked through the door, but it was a warning that the barrier was in place, nothing more. And at least it meant other vampires could not cross this threshold without invitation. He walked into the middle of the room and turned around.
'I have lived several hundred years and never knew an invitation could be granted from a distance.'
She smiled as she closed the door and flicked on a switch. Brightness bit into the gloom. 'Proving that even old vampires can learn something new.' She picked up one of the bags and made her way toward the dust- covered table. 'You want to take off your shirt so I can tend to that wound of yours?'
'I came here for answers, not medical help.'
'So you'll get your answers while I tend to the wound.' She patted the back of a chair. 'Sit.'
'I will not sit, and I do not want the wound tended. Why did you say that woman resembled you when she
