Protector (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 5) (17 page)

“Thanks, Miguel,” Alex said, and he meant it. That wasn’t just “some” information; it was extremely valuable information. And it might just lead to someone finding those bastards.

“No problem. If I find anything else, I’ll let you know, but that’s all I’ve got for now.”

“It’s plenty. Thanks again.”

Miguel hung up then, and Alex set down the phone. Caitlin gave him another one of those expectant looks. He loved how one of her brows was just slightly more arched than the other, giving her a sort of charmingly quizzical expression.

“So someone saw them in a car?”

“Yeah, a stolen Challenger.” Speaking quickly, he filled her in on Miguel’s side of the conversation.

“And when he says ‘your guys’ are going to be paying extra attention, he means the de la Pazes in Tucson?”

“Well, them and the people we actually have on the police force.” Both her eyebrows went up at that reply, and he continued, “We have a couple of clan members with the Tucson P.D., and then more in the Phoenix area. It’s kind of cheap insurance to make sure any witchy things we don’t want noticed get swept under the rug. Don’t you do that in Jerome?”

“Not really,” she said. “I mean, Roslyn’s older sister Jenny worked in dispatch for the Cottonwood police department for a while, but she decided she really didn’t like it that much, so she quit. I think the Wilcoxes might have some of their family in law enforcement, though. I can’t remember for sure.”

Alex figured if the de la Paz family was canny enough to make sure a few of its members were carefully placed in the local police and sheriff’s departments, then you could bet the Wilcoxes would have done the same thing. Simple insurance. He wasn’t sure why the McAllisters hadn’t done something similar, but maybe they figured they were isolated enough in their little hillside town that such measures weren’t necessary.

Lifting his shoulders, he said, “Well, it just means we have some eyeballs in places that count. I don’t know if that’s going to be enough, though. It depends on how often they might crawl out from wherever it is they’re staying.”

Caitlin didn’t appear to like that notion very much. She seemed to slump in her chair, and some of the hopeful light went out of her eyes. Alex was about to reach out to her, maybe to lay a comforting hand on her arm, but the waitress showed up right then with their food, so that was the end of that idea.

They ate quietly after that, Caitlin apparently preoccupied with her own thoughts, while Alex worked at the problem in his own mind, attempting to see if there was some angle he hadn’t thought of, something else the clan members back in Tucson could do to track down where that stolen Challenger had been taken. Other than blanketing every street lamp and stop sign with “stolen car” signs, or maybe taking out a bunch of Craigslist ads, he couldn’t think of anything. And even that wouldn’t really work. All it would probably do was alert Matías and his boys that the de la Pazes were closing in on them.

As he and Caitlin were winding down to eating the last of their sandwiches, she finished chewing and asked, “How far is it from here to Pasadena?”

He paused to think about the route, then replied, “Couple hundred miles, I think. So…around three hours left to go.”

A nod, and she ate the rest of her pulled pork before lifting her napkin to her mouth and dabbing at it, then wiping off her hands. Actually, for as messy as that sandwich looked, she’d done a pretty good job of not getting it all over herself.

He finished his sandwich as well. Since they’d paid for the food when they ordered, all he had to do was dig in his wallet and get out a five for the tip. After he laid it on the table, he asked, “Ready?”

For a second, Caitlin hesitated. Then she said, “Yes, I’m ready.”

Unfortunately, she didn’t sound very sure of herself.

S
pending
this much time with Alex — being in the car with him for hour after hour — was turning out to be more difficult than Caitlin had expected. She seemed to be acutely conscious of everything he did, even if it was something as mundane as asking her if she wanted him to turn on the heater as the night deepened and the drive across the desert became increasingly chilly. The sound of his voice, the way his strong fingers wrapped around the steering wheel…everything. She even fancied she could detect the faintest hint of whatever aftershave he used, something very light, sort of citrusy. Clean-smelling.

Are you trying to drive yourself crazy?
she thought with some irritation, shifting in her seat for what felt like the hundredth time. It wasn’t the Pathfinder’s fault; the car seats were extremely comfortable. No, it was only her, reacting to Alex in a way she knew was just wrong.
Wrong.
Bad enough that they’d kissed, when they should have been focusing all their energies on locating Danica and Roslyn and bringing them home. But that kiss seemed to have kindled a fire in Caitlin, and she had no idea how to put it out.

He’d been quiet, although whether that was because he was trying to focus on the unfamiliar roads, or because he’d sensed that she really didn’t want to talk, she didn’t know for sure. And was it actually that she didn’t want to talk, or was just worried she’d say exactly the wrong thing?

At least it wasn’t dead quiet in the SUV; as they were leaving Blythe, he asked if she minded if he turned on the radio. She’d said that was fine, and since he chose a station that played the rock and alternative music she liked, it helped to fill the silence without being too intrusive. The problem was that even the music couldn’t distract her from the man sitting just a foot or so away from her.

And what was she supposed to do when they got to Pasadena? She’d already agreed to share a hotel room, so there was no backing out of that arrangement.

You shouldn’t have asked for separate beds,
she told herself, and that thought had to be the craziest thing that had crossed her mind yet. She’d barely known the guy for two days. And now she was okay with sleeping with him? That was just…no. Never mind that she’d never slept with anyone. Her big dark secret. She’d come close a few times, but always something in her held back, told her it wasn’t the right time. Her boyfriends hadn’t been too thrilled with her, that was for sure. In fact, the guy she’d been dating at Northern Pines — a civilian — called her a “cock tease” right before he dumped her. But she hadn’t been teasing him. She’d
thought
she wanted to, had told herself that the whole situation was ridiculous and that it was time to lose that unwanted virginity. She wasn’t some
prima
holding out for her consort, after all. At twenty-one, she thought she was way overdue.

And yet…she still couldn’t make herself take that final step. Until now. Well, she hadn’t taken any steps, beyond that one kiss she and Alex had shared, and yet she wanted to. The intensity of that desire shook her. She’d never experienced anything like it before. For some people, it might have been enough to throw aside any remaining reticence they might have possessed. But could she do it? Could she take that final step?

She was afraid of the answer, but in her heart, she knew exactly what it was. Never mind that it was truly insane to be considering such a thing when her friends were being held captive by an insane warlock, when she’d only met Alex the day before yesterday. What did she know about him, really? A few things about his family, about where he worked and how a few of his dreams had been thwarted. She knew he was attracted to her. But how deep did that attraction go? As deeply as hers did?

They’d passed through the outskirts of Palm Springs, and Caitlin had barely noticed, she was so preoccupied. It wasn’t until they crested a hill some miles past the desert town, and the bright, glittering lights of the inland suburbs were laid out before them, that she realized how much ground they’d covered. Surely it couldn’t be that much farther to Pasadena.

But it was, as mile after mile passed by in the dark, the freeways around them widening and yet at the same time growing more and more congested, even though it was far past what she would have thought of as rush hour.

She must have let out a sigh, because Alex said, “Not too much more. Maybe another half hour.”

Half an hour until she was alone with him in a hotel room. So many thoughts and questions had been chasing themselves around in her head, she couldn’t keep them straight anymore. She nodded, then blurted out the first thing that rose to the surface of her mind. “So what’s with your house, anyway? Does being a store manager really pay that much?”

Even though he’d been keeping his eyes on the road pretty much the whole time, he swiveled his head toward her and gave her a startled glance. “Um…what?”

“I’m sorry,” she said at once, mentally kicking herself. Yes, she’d been wondering about the house ever since the first time she set foot in it, but did she really need to have asked that question? “It just — I’m a dork. Never mind.”

He actually grinned. “I don’t think you’re a dork.” Something in the way he said the words sounded almost like a caress, and Caitlin found herself daring to hope that maybe she hadn’t completely screwed up. “Actually, I suppose it’s sort of an obvious question. My grandfather — my dad’s dad — passed away a few years ago. He left each of us grandkids a chunk of money. So I bought the house…and this car.” Even in the darkness, she could see the teasing glint in his eyes. “Are you after me for my money, Caitlin?”

“Very funny,” she retorted, and he chuckled, albeit somewhat grimly.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

She wondered who those other girls had been, the ones who’d seen a guy in his mid-twenties with a solid job and a house that was already paid for, and thought he was a great prospect. Obviously, none of them had gotten their claws into him, but still. Alex was an amazing person. The house and everything else didn’t even factor into it. Caitlin knew she’d feel the same way about him even if he was living in a crappy studio apartment and driving a ten-year-old pickup truck.

“Don’t worry,” she told him. “We McAllisters may not be as rich as the Wilcoxes, but we do okay. I get my own stipend every month — and I work two part-time jobs. I’m completely self-sustaining.”

“Two?” he said. “And go to school full-time?”

“Well, I tutor, so that’s not like going to a regular job, and the other one is only ten to fifteen hours a week. It’s not like I’m doing a full-time gig or anything.” She knew she should leave it at that, and forced herself to keep from mentioning her other source of income.

“Still.” He seemed to think for a moment. “I put in a few hours a week at the store while I was in college, but that was it. My parents didn’t want anything interfering with my education.”

“You were doing a double major. It makes sense that you wouldn’t have much time left over for a job.”

“I suppose.” Another one of those quick glances in her direction before he returned his focus to the busy freeway around them. “What are you majoring in, anyway?”

“English.” Utterly boring, she knew.

“Really? What do you want to do — teach?”

“If I have to. But really” —she took in a breath, deciding she would tell him and see if he laughed— “really, I want to be a writer.”

“Seriously?” Someone cut right in front of him, so he didn’t have the luxury of looking over at her. In fact, she thought she heard him mutter a curse in Spanish under his breath before he went on, “What kind of writer?”

“Oh, you know.” She sort of flapped at the air dismissively, then told herself if she’d been foolish enough to confess her dream to him, she might as well go all the way. “Novels. Fantasy novels.”

He didn’t laugh. “That’s cool. Are you going to write about witches?”

“No,” she replied, trying to sound severe but not being terribly successful about it. “I know they say write what you know, but….”

“But familiarity breeds contempt?”

She did chuckle a bit at that question. “‘Contempt’ is a strong word. And it’s kind of hard to write fantasy without writing about magic, too. It’s just a really different kind of magic.”

“So have you written anything yet?”

And now she was about to divulge her biggest secret…well, except that whole thing about still being a virgin. “Yes. Three novels so far. I finished the third one in December while I was on winter break.”

“That’s impressive.” He did sound impressed, and Caitlin relaxed slightly.

“I’m still editing it, but it should be ready to go next month sometime. And then I’ll have that trilogy done and published, and I can move on to the next one.”

“Wait,” he said. “You mean you already have a publisher?”

Oh, boy. “Not exactly. These days, you can upload your work directly, you know? I’m in an online critique group to get feedback, and I trade tutoring with someone who’s studying graphic design at my school, so she does my covers. I’m not selling a lot yet, but I make a couple hundred bucks every month.”

“Wow.” His admiration didn’t seem at all feigned. “I had no idea.”

Neither do my parents,
she thought. The books were published under the pen name of C.J. Marsters, and her royalty payments directly deposited into her checking account, so no one knew — except Tracie, the graphic design student who was brilliant at typography and Photoshop manipulation, and not so great at writing term papers.

“I don’t talk about it, really,” she confessed. “Even Danica doesn’t know, and we’re roommates. She just thinks I have to write a lot for my classes, and since I’m an English major, it makes some sense.”

He changed lanes, edging over the right, and she realized he was getting ready to exit the freeway. So they were almost at their destination.

It wasn’t until they’d pulled off onto a feeder road that ran parallel to the highway and were waiting at a red light that he asked, “Are you ever going to tell them?”

“Eventually.” She hesitated for a moment, watching houses that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Jerome pass by outside the window. This part of Pasadena appeared to be fairly old. “It’s just — if I say anything now, they’ll think I’m taking time away from my coursework. And I’m not. I’m really careful about that. And also…I guess I’m hoping I’ll start making some real money from it, once I have my trilogy done, and then they’ll have to take me seriously.”

“You really think they wouldn’t?”

“Did your parents, when you said you wanted to go into local television instead of working at the store?”

“Ouch.” He shook his head. “No, not really.”

They turned left then, passing back over the freeway and into a much more commercial area. An impressive-looking building fronted the street they were currently driving on, and Alex turned again, this time onto a much smaller street so he could head into the hotel’s underground parking garage. When he took the ticket, he looked at the prices and winced. “Twenty bucks a night just to park? We really are in the big city.”

“If it’s a problem — ” Caitlin began, and scrabbled in her purse for her wallet.

“It’s not a problem. It’s just highway robbery.” He took the ticket from the machine, and the automated gate arm in front of them lifted.

At least there was a parking space not too far from the elevators, so Alex pulled in there and turned off the engine. It only took a minute or so to unload their luggage, and then it was time to check in.

By then it was past ten o’clock at night, and the lobby was almost deserted, except for the woman behind the front desk and a bored-looking bellhop standing duty by the sliding doors that opened on the street. He gave the two of them the side-eye as they passed, and Caitlin wondered if he was annoyed that they’d parked themselves in the garage instead of using the valet service out front.

No time to worry about that, though, because Alex had moved purposefully to the front desk and was giving his information to the woman there, along with his credit card. Caitlin waited off to one side, trying to look as if she checked into hotels with guys all the time. All right, not
all
the time, but at least she didn’t want to give the impression that she was doing something illicit.

The transaction settled, Alex turned back toward her. “Looks like the elevators are down that hall. We’re on the tenth floor.”

She nodded, mostly because she didn’t know what to say. All of the easy dialogue they’d shared during those last few minutes of the drive melted away as if it had never existed. For each floor the elevator ascended, she could feel her throat constricting and her stomach tightening just that much more. It didn’t help that they were standing fairly close to one another in case someone else got on the elevator, close enough that she thought she could hear the beating of Alex’s heart. Or was that hers, hammering away in her chest?

The room was large and clean, with a fairly spectacular view of the downtown Pasadena area. Caitlin went to look out the window and stared down at all the lights sparkling beneath them. How big was Pasadena, anyway? Bigger than Tucson? Smaller? She had no real sense of scale, because everything felt big to her, compared to where she’d come from.

“What do you think?” Alex said, coming up to stand next to her and look out at the night cityscape.

“It looks pretty from up here,” she replied cautiously.

“True, but unless you want the whole world looking in, you might want to close the drapes.” He reached up and grabbed a sort of plastic wand hanging from the heavy outer curtains and pulled them shut.

Right. She should have thought of that. But she’d never stayed in a hotel in her life — up until this past summer, when she transferred to Northern Pines and moved into the apartment with Danica, she’d never even ventured farther afield than Prescott. Her whole life had been spent in tiny Jerome and the small towns of the Verde Valley.

“So…when do you think we should visit Simón tomorrow?”

If Alex was surprised by her abrupt change of subject, he didn’t show it. “Not until after ten. Maybe closer to eleven, just in case he isn’t a morning person. That gives us plenty of time to sleep in.”