It might have been me, but I thought I detected a note of insincerity in his voice. Me, I wanted to throw my arms around this Ted and thank him for interrupting what could have been a very dangerous moment.
A tall skinny man climbed down from the trailer and gave a grinning reply. “I’m missin’ my shows because of you, buddy. Hope I didn’t interrupt nothin’ between you and that gal. Two of you looked awful cozy.”
“No!” It escaped me with all the denial of a condemned soul. “Nothing going on here!”
Ted laughed and walked around to the damaged side of the car, poking his head inside and wrinkling his nose at the sight of the blood.
“Sure…I can see that.”
Bones arched a brow at me in silent challenge, causing me to look away. Then he clapped his friend on the shoulders.
“Ted, old chap, the car is yours. Just need to get a piece out of the boot and then we’re golden. Drive us to the place, we’ll be done by then.”
“Sure thing, bud. You’ll like the back. It’s air-conditioned. Some boxes to sit on, or you could ride in the car. Come on, now. Let’s put this baby to bed.”
Ted opened the back of the trailer. It was equipped with stabilizing clamps to fasten a car onto. I shook my head in admiration. Bones really had thought of everything.
When Ted lowered the steel ramp on the back, Bones jumped into the Mercedes and drove it straight onto the clamps. After a few adjustments were made, the car was secure. Then Bones left to get his motorcycle, returning in a few minutes to put it in the trailer on its side. When he was finished, he grinned down at me.
“Come on, Kitten. Your taxi’s waiting.”
“We’re riding in back?” Frankly, the thought of being alone in a confined space with him frightened me, and not for concern of my arteries.
“Yeah, here. Old Ted doesn’t want to risk being seen with me. Values his health, he does. Keeps our friendship a secret. Smart bloke.”
“Smart,” I muttered as I climbed into the trailer’s interior. Ted closed the door with a decisive click and sound of a lock turning. “I envy that.”
I refused to sit back in the car where my blood stained the seats and a body lay in the trunk. Instead, I was as far away from Bones as the tight interior of the truck’s trailer could manage. There were crates toward the front, filled with God knows what, and I huddled into a ball on one of them. Bones perched contentedly on a similar box as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
“I know this isn’t a concern for you, but is there enough oxygen in here?”
“Plenty of air. Just as long as there isn’t any heavy breathing.” His brow arched as he spoke, while his eyes told me loud and clear that he hadn’t overlooked an instant of our earlier moment.
“Well, then I’m safe. Absolutely safe.” Damn him for the knowing twist of the lips he gave me in reply. What would I have done if he’d moved closer before? If he’d separated that last inch between our mouths? Would I have slapped him? Or…
“Shit.” Oops, said that out loud.
“Something wrong?”
That half smile still curled his lips, but his expression was serious. My heart started to beat faster again. The air seemed to close in around us, and desperately I searched for something to break the tension.
“So who’s this Hennessey you were asking about?”
His expression became guarded. “Someone dangerous.”
“Yeah, I gathered that. Sergio seemed pretty scared of him, so I didn’t think he was a Boy Scout. I take it he’s our next target?”
Bones paused before answering, seeming to choose his words.
“He’s someone I’ve been tracking, yes, but I’ll be going after him alone.”
My hackles rose at once. “Why? You don’t think I can handle it? Or you still don’t trust me to keep this secret? I thought we covered this already!”
“I think there are certain things you’d do well to stay out of,” he replied, evasive.
I switched tactics. At least this topic cut the strange mood from earlier. “You said something about Sergio being Hennessey’s best client. What do you mean by that? What did Hennessey do to whoever hired you? Do you know, or did you just take the contract on him without asking?”
Bones let out a soft noise. “Questions like that are why I won’t tell you more about it. Suffice it to say there’s a reason why Ohio’s been such a hazardous place for young girls lately. It’s why I don’t want you chasing after vampires without me. Hennessey’s more than just a sod who bleeds someone when he can get away with it. Beyond that, don’t ask.”
“Can you at least tell me how long you’ve been after him? That can’t be top secret.”
He caught the snippiness in my tone and frowned. I didn’t mind. Better to be arguing with each other than, well, anything else.
“’Round eleven years.”
I almost fell off my crate. “Good God! He must have a real fancy price on his head! Come on, what did he do? He pissed off someone rich, obviously.”
Bones gave me a look I couldn’t decipher. “Not everything is about money.”