But vain? No, she didn’t think so. He was a creature of habit who took his human facade very seriously. If she hadn’t seen him practicing his martial arts with water whipping around him like it was an extension of his own limbs, she’d never have believed he was anything but a very handsome, very successful executive.
“Do you ever regret it?” she asked.
A lone street lamp lit up the car as they turned at an abandoned intersection, and she saw him blink. Then she felt the whisper of his fingers as they tucked a curl of hair behind her ear.
“Occasionally.”
The neon lights of the casino still glowed. Cars still populated the parking lot. And Natalie could hear the telltale sounds of the electronic slot machines drift from the casino doors as they parked the Camaro out on the far side of the lot. She could see a few men gathered near a group of dumpsters, and most of them were smoking. She got out of the car and looked at her phone. It was three in the morning already.
“Are we going to have enough time before sunrise?”
Without warning, he was at her side. “I’ll manage.”
She’d never thought about it before. The sun rose when it rose. But Baojia had to know exactly how much time he had. His life depended on it. They started walking toward the men and she got out a camera that was stuffed in her purse. It was a compact digital with high resolution that could shoot in raw format. The best camera she could get for the size. It had come in handy more than once.
“You really don’t need that,” he said.
“Why not? And they haven’t called the police yet?”
“I have really good eyes.” He nodded toward the men. “And they know to call me first.”
As they approached, the men glanced at them, then looked away. Without a word, the men stubbed out their cigarettes and walked away from the dumpsters; none of them looked at Baojia twice.
“Why are they going?”
“They’re not needed.”
Natalie put a hand on his arm and he halted immediately. “Baojia, if this isn’t related c’spato the other girls—”
“Then I will tell the casino manager to call the human police, who will investigate thoroughly and receive full cooperation from all employees of the casino and everyone else in our organization.” His face was still severe, but she noticed a slight softening around his dark eyes. “Further, if this is an employee—Luis said no one recognized her, but I will check—her family will be well taken care of.”
It was the best she could hope for; she knew it. “Okay.”
“But if this is what I think it is, we’re not calling the police.” He glanced at her phone. “Don’t even think about it. I’ll lock you up someplace very secure. You know I will.”
Her eyes narrowed and she shoved her phone back in her pocket. “Fine.”
“Now, stay here while I take a look first.”
“Don’t take too long.”
He smiled. “Bossy. And trust me, I’ll be fast.”
Natalie could have sworn he just disappeared. One moment he was standing in front of her, the next he wasn’t.
“That’s so weird.”
“I heard that!” He was standing near the dumpsters, looking at something on the ground behind him. “Stay back for now. I need to… get a sense of things.”
He darted around, a blur that slowed occasionally so she could make out his form. Trailing around the parking lot. Disappearing into the desert only to appear as a flash under a streetlight again. Natalie glanced around nervously. Wasn’t he afraid of others seeing him?
As if he could read her mind, he appeared at her side, straightening the cuff of one black sleeve. “I don’t worry about people around here. They see what they want to see.”
“Is it a vampire? Did a vampire kill her?”
“Yes.” He looked at her with a hint of trepidation. “You’ve seen dead bodies before?”
She walked toward the dumpsters. “I’m not squeamish.”
“Natalie.” He was still standing near the car as she turned to face him. “This was not your fault.”
Her eyes widened and her heart raced as she turned back to the dumpsters. She started running. By the time she’d reached them, he was already there, bending over the girl. Natalie recognized her immediately. It was the waitress from Bar El Ruso, the one who had been so nervous, the one Natalie had pressured to talk.
“Oh, dammit.” The waitress could have been sleeping. There wasn’t a mark on her that Natalie could see. But her lips were blue and her skin was ghostly pale. “Her name was Socorro,” Natalie said hoarsely. “She said her name was Socorro.”
“This was not your fault.”
“Well, we definitely know Ivan has something to do with all this.”
His eyes were grim. “I guess we do. And he left the body on Ernesto’s property for me to find. Which means he knows I’m aware of it, too. I suspect he’s done his own digging into your background, so he’ll have found out what you were working on.”
She shook her head, walking away to stare down into the girl’s lifeless face. “I need to get back to the city. My notes are at the office. I need to—”
“You’re not going back to the city.” His voice was clipped. “Not until this is over.”
Natalie spun around, glaring at him. “Listen, mister. I know you think you’re protecting me, and I know Dez and Matt said you were trustworthy, but you’re not my boss. You’re not my father. And cy ftanding you have no right to tell me what I can and can’t—”