Page 37 of A Touch of Crimson
“Yes way.”
“Who’s crazy enough to build a landing strip on a mesa? If the pilot overshoots, you’re toast.”
His mouth twitched, making her long to see him smile again. “Come on.”
He led her to the airport’s small parking lot, where two sleek dark town cars awaited them. Jason and Damien climbed into the back of the first vehicle, while Elijah slid into the front passenger seat of the second one.
“Saint George, huh?” she said as Adrian opened the door for her. “I’ve never been to Utah before.”
“It’s a beautiful state.” He took the seat beside her and shut the door. The cars rolled into motion. “The southern half has some gorgeous red rock formations.”
“Where are we headed?”
“Not far. A little town called Her-ah-kun.”
Lindsay frowned. “Her-ah-kun? Weird name.”
Again, he almost smiled. “It’s spelled like ‘hurricane.’”
A storm. Oh man…
Resolve strengthened her. The city’s moniker couldn’t be a coincidence, not on top of everything else that had happened to her since she’d left Raleigh.
As they descended into the city, Adrian grew still and silent, but she felt his volatility gathering force with every mile that passed. His best friend was dead. As stoic as Adrian appeared, it was clearly a loss he felt deeply. His pain humanized him, made him more man than angel. It also made her wonder where he sought comfort when he needed it, or if he internalized everything. Surrounded by angels who would die for him, he still seemed so alone.
She set a hand on the seat between them and surreptitiously linked her pinky finger with his. Although he gave no outward sign of it, Lindsay felt the surprise that jolted him. He caught her hand in a fierce grip, his gaze trained out his window. She draped the top of her canvas messenger bag over their joined hands, shielding the contact from the rearview mirror’s reflection. He gave a quick squeeze of gratitude.
Oddly moved by being a source of comfort to him, Lindsay contemplated the closeness that had already developed between them. They were opening up to each other in ways they didn’t with others they’d known longer. Why? Why had Adrian planned on taking her to his home last night? A restaurant would have been the wisest choice to prevent her from discovering his secrets. And why was he so intimate with her? So tender…
And why did she let him? Why wasn’t she more guarded with him, as she was with everyone else whose path she crossed?
She stared sightlessly at the passing vista, wondering why she seemed to attract the strange and weird. Why did she move so fast when she was only human? Her dad had taken her to the doctor for every runny nose and minor rash. She’d had her share of dental and bone X-rays, routine blood work, and even a CAT scan when she’d gotten a concussion from falling off a friend’s backyard playground. There was no medical explanation for her abilities. But she was undeniably different, and her anomalies were fostering an affinity between her and Adrian. She couldn’t decide if that was a blessing or not.
They pulled off the road and into the parking lot of a small country hardware store. As the car slid smoothly into a marked space next to the vehicle carrying Jason and Damien, Lindsay looked around to gain her bearings.
“We’re here,” Adrian said, before exiting the vehicle. Her door opened, and Elijah stood there, tall and impressively intimidating. Although he was a muscular man with broad shoulders, he wasn’t oversized, yet his presence made him seem so. Like Adrian, he clearly was someone you wouldn’t want to piss off.
Stepping out, Lindsay took a deep breath and scanned her surroundings. Hurricane seemed to be a small, one-main-street sort of town. In addition to the hardware store, there were a couple of fast-food establishments, one chain grocery store, and a couple of mom-and-pop shops.
The wind whipped through her hair, screaming. She gasped and took a step back from its vehemence. Elijah caught her arm to steady her.
Adrian was beside her before she could catch her breath. “What do you feel?”
She shivered. “This place crawls.”
“A nest, perhaps?” Damien said, joining them.
“I don’t know what that is.”
“A group of rogue vamps,” Adrian explained.
Great. Just what she’d always wanted. “There are definitely more than a few.”
Damien looked at Adrian. “You weren’t kidding. She’s hypersensitive.”
Adrian gave a curt nod.
She pulled herself together. “Do we want to dig around now? Or wait for reinforcements?”
