It was one of those bright afternoons with lots of haze, as if the sun were still lying in bed with the covers half on. Both Viktor and Christian wore black knit hats, and Christian made sure to correct me when I called them beanies. Apparently in Canada, they’re tuques. He never missed an opportunity to educate me.
I walked behind Christian to shield myself from the biting wind. His unbuttoned trench coat opened, the tail flapping behind him. The landing strip must have been on the other side of the main building, because I could hear a plane engine sputtering. I spotted a few hangars, but Viktor had no interest in scouting the property.
Sheets of metal covered the main building—no windows that I could see. It looked more like a warehouse, and when we reached the glass door, we hustled inside.
“Wow. I wasn’t expecting this,” Blue muttered.
Inside, absolute luxury. It reminded me a little of a casino, only not garishly decorated. The outside of the building was deceptively dull, and I’d expected the inside to look like the waiting room at the DMV. The greyish carpet beneath our feet had circular patterns, and it appeared to cover the entire room. Straight ahead on the far side were tall windows that spanned the entire wall and gave a view of the planes taxiing from the runway. On our immediate left, two men were typing away on computers at an S-shaped counter. Maps covered the wall behind them, and a flat-screen television had the local news on. They gave us a cursory glance, so Viktor and Christian went to have a chat with them.
I scoped out my surroundings—a survival instinct I’d picked up long ago. The building was rectangular and all open. The only area well lit was the eatery on the right side. There were leather couches and chairs in the center, but it looked like the left side was where people liked to hang out. It had a bar, but not the kind you sit at. People just took their drinks back to the tables. The lighting was also dim, and there was a jukebox and the television for entertainment. I always found it amusing how jukeboxes were standard in most Breed places. It was an attraction that set them apart.
Blue and I strode to the windows ahead. A flush of heat prickled my skin, so I unzipped my jacket, my gloves still tucked in my coat pockets.
I counted fourteen heads, excluding workers. Everyone was gathered in small groups, coats strewn over the backs of chairs, gloves on the tables, and drinks in hand. A few of them gave us stony looks, leaving me to wonder if they were locals who came in for the drinks or passengers waiting on a ride.
Hopefully none of them were the pilots. Especially the big fellow in the red flannel shirt, who was trying to entertain the crowd by blowing on empty bottles.
We reached the windows and admired the view of the airfield. I watched a little white plane speed along the runway, going left to right until it lifted off.
I turned around, my back to the glass, and scoped out the room once more for Vampires. “Do you think they’d risk bringing a woman here with all these people?” I asked quietly.
Blue tucked her hands into her coat pockets. “I bet they come at night. Probably load her right onto the plane.”
“So the plan is to rent a plane and sit around? I wonder if that won’t draw attention.”
“Jaysus wept!” Christian said, his voice rippling through the quiet room. He glided toward us and gave Blue a sour look. “I’ve been driving for hours, and I’m thirsty, lass. Where’s my drink?”
She narrowed her eyes. “File a complaint.”
“That’s not very nice,” he said, talking loudly so everyone could hear him. “We have time to kill, and your father’s worked himself up an appetite.”
Her eyes slanted over to Viktor, who was still at the counter. “Is that so?”
“Why don’t you be a dear and fetch him something to warm his belly. I don’t need a hungry man flying our plane. I’d like to get to our destination in one piece, if you don’t mind.”
She strode off toward the café, playing the role he’d just laid out.
“You’re awful spirited,” I remarked, noticing his altered demeanor. It was almost… pleasant.
He smiled warmly and swaggered off to one of the round tables by the café.
A brawny male—who could have been a lumberjack with his bushy beard and twinkling eyes—appeared next to me. “I haven’t seen you in here before.” His eyes slid up and down my body like a thirsty tongue. “What’s your Breed?”
I grinned at him. “That’s kind of personal.”
He puffed out his chest. “I’m a grizzly.”
“I just bet.”
He jerked his chin toward the café. “So what are you doing with the likes of a Vamp?”
I glanced at Christian, who was sitting at the table, pretending to be enthralled by a ketchup bottle. “He’s my personal driver.” I angled toward my lumberjack. “Found him working at a bus station, poor thing. Seemed like a waste of talent.”
“So you’re an important lady, huh?” He brushed his finger down the sleeve of my coat. “I’m Diesel. Is your pretty little friend over there a Shifter?”
“I didn’t know mating season was open.”
He gave a boisterous laugh. “It never closes around these parts. Can I buy you a drink?”
“Maybe later. I’m going to sit with my crew for a while. We’ve been on a long drive and need to stretch our legs and eat.”
“Your name?”
“You’ll have to find out later.”
He lifted my hand and kissed the top, his eyes flashing up. “You can count on it, mystery lady.”
When I turned away, I wiped the back of my hand on my sleeve and pulled out a chair in front of Christian.
“Bus driver?” he ground out.
I shucked off my coat and let it drape over the back of my chair. “I’m just being friendly. Guys don’t like to be rejected. If I said no, his buddies would move in for a shot. Now he’s got dibs, and you know how Shifters are all territorial and shit. How long do you think this’ll take? Maybe they beat us here.”
Christian leaned in and lowered his voice. “I charmed one of the men at the front desk. They run this airport and book all the flights and rentals. Asked him if he ever gets any pretty young girls around here, especially Vampires. He said occasionally, but couldn’t give me specifics.”
“Smooth. Won’t it look suspicious if we’re here all night?”
Christian chuckled and tucked his chin in the palm of his hand. “Look around, Raven. This is what they do for recreation out in the wild. Open twenty-four hours a day, and they have slot machines in the adjoining room by the bar. If you want to sleep here for the night, there’s a building next door where they offer up to three bedrooms. The occasional blizzard requires it.”
“Do they work the desk all hours?”
“Are you langered? They’re not Vampires. They have set working hours and then have a nighttime assistant who serves drinks. I think it’s one of their daughters. The café closes at ten, so there’s not much for her to do except book any flights that come in.”
Blue returned with a large tray. She set three bowls of chili in the center of the table along with packaged saltines. “I’ll be back with the drinks.”