Her expression turned dry. “Well, I would have kept the apartment locked.”

“I don’t care. Locks aren’t good enough. You’re not staying.” He looked over his hand at her. “Come with me while I take Diego into town. We can stay at my town house for a day or two, and you can meet the rest of my attendants.”

Hesitating, she thought it over. As much as she did love the estate, she had spent all of her time there in fear of Malphas finding her. The thought of spending some time in the city did have appeal.

San Francisco might have its dangers, especially for someone who was penniless and on the run, but this time around, a visit should be quite different. Maybe she could even shop for some new clothes that would fit her properly.

Also, she might not know exactly where she and Xavier were headed, but if it turned out they were together for any length of time, it would be good to get acquainted with his people in the city.

“I’d like that,” she told him.

His expression lightened. “I’m glad. We have a couple of hours until sundown.” He added softly, “All I can think of is what I would like to do to you while we wait, but I’m afraid I have other things I need to attend to before we can leave.”

Her gaze fell to the opening of his shirt, and she gave him a slow smile. “Can’t they wait?”

While it wasn’t making love, his intake of breath was immensely satisfying. He growled, “I would love nothing more than to put them off, but I have to see if Gavin can edit the recording of Julian and Melisande on my phone.” He paused, and when he continued, he sounded very serious. “And I found out a few hours ago one of my operatives has gone missing.”

Her playfulness vanished. “Oh God, I’m sorry. You must be worried.”

“I am.”

She wasn’t sure she should ask—she didn’t know what any of the boundaries were, in this new, unknown place they had come to—but she went ahead anyway. “Is it . . . anybody I know?”

His expression darkened. “I’m afraid so. It’s Marc.”

Shock rippled through her. She hadn’t expected him to answer her so readily, or that she would actually know the person involved. “But he just left.”

“I know.” He moved suddenly, a sharp, quick movement he stilled almost at once, but it was another telling slip and indicated the strength of his worry.

A powerful urge gripped her. She wanted to help him so badly, she ached with it, but there was nothing she could do.

Except for one thing. She could support him.

She stepped away from him. “Go. Do what you need to do.”

Still, he lingered, and the tender expression in his eyes as he looked at her was worth everything she had gone through over the last two months. “What about you?”

“I might nap. I’m definitely going to take a proper shower, and eat the snack Diego left for me.” She smiled. “And I’ll miss you.”

He took one of her hands, lifted and turned it, and pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist.

What a difference six weeks made. The first time he had made such a gesture, she had been frozen with fear. Now, warmth suffused her.

“Until later,” he said against her skin.

Touching his temple, she stroked his hair.

He straightened, and after another final, hard kiss, he left.

Without the intensity of his presence, the room felt cold and empty, and her feet were freezing. Slipping on her shoes, she explored quickly. Xavier had already left, and the rest of the apartment was silent and empty. The door to Diego’s room was closed.

She stared at it thoughtfully, tempted to knock and ask how he was doing, but although they had shared a few conversations, they weren’t close, and she wasn’t a confidant of his.

In the end, she respected the silent message in that closed door, ate all the food on the plate by the nightstand, collected her toiletries and clean clothes, and went to take a shower.

Antiquated though Evenfall might be, at least the water was hot.

• • •

The farther away Xavier got from Tess, the darker his mood grew. As he strode down the hallways, he checked his messages. The only news he’d received was from Raoul, from a few hours ago:

M missed check in. Instructions?

And his brief reply: Wait. Let me know if you hear from him.

Marc was the best of his new recruits. Not only was he smart and capable, but he was also steady-natured and had proven himself to be reliable. Xavier had given Justine to him as his assignment, with strict instructions to maintain a low profile, protect his identity, use extreme caution and avoid direct engagement.

But as more time passed and still no word came, the probability that something had happened to Marc grew greater. By the time Xavier reached the IT section of Evenfall, which was located in a concrete reinforced area off the underground garage, he was scowling.

Earlier he had notified Gavin he would be stopping by, and the younger Vampyre was waiting for him. Gavin was just under two hundred years old, but he had been turned when he was barely out of his teens. With a snub nose, red hair and freckles that had never faded, he had been nicknamed “Opie” by his coworkers.

Xavier handed his cell phone over, and Gavin got to work.

“So, I heard you brought a new attendant with you,” Gavin said. “A female one. It’s her, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.” Xavier leaned back against a table as he watched Gavin extract the recording.

“Are you going to bring her down here, so I can meet her?”

His expression turned wry. Gavin hadn’t even met Tess yet, but he appeared to have developed a crush on her. “I’m afraid we don’t have time this trip. But I will be sure to bring her next time.”

“What’s she like?” Gavin’s tone was elaborately nonchalant.

Defiant. Devious.

Delicious.

He didn’t say any of those adjectives aloud. Instead, as his silence grew too long and Gavin lifted up his head to look at him curiously, he finally settled on “Unforgettable.”

The other Vampyre’s eyebrows lifted. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were falling for her.”

He leaned against a nearby table. “Why do you think you know better?”

“Xavier, for as long as I’ve known you, I think you’ve had a total of maybe three relationships, and those were all shallow and ended after just a few months.” The younger Vampyre gave him a sidelong, curious glance. “Son of a bitch. You are falling for her, aren’t you?”