I can fight them, but you could easily be hurt. You have to leave. Immediately. I’ll follow as soon as I can.
Fear for her tinted the edges of his thoughts black and though his looks were all for the blonde, his thoughts were all for Sam. Even after he’d released her hand and she was hurrying down the corridor, he was with her. It was only after the doorman had handed her into a cab and she was a mile from the hotel that their mental link withered.
As Cole’s emotions and thoughts faded, Sam clutched the folds of her skirt so tightly the bugle beads hurt her palms. But as Cole ordered, she took the cab to a hotel he’d named and slipped out the back to the hotel next door where she took a different cab.
His words chased each other around and around in her head.
Falcon may have you followed. Be careful. Please, God, be careful! Go to the pier in Modesto. There’s a restaurant near the end of the boardwalk. Go there and wait for me.
More than his words, it was his emotions that were intensely troubling and made her chest hurt. The cab was stuffy with the intensity of Cole’s emotions. Sam found breathing increasingly difficult. His feelings invaded her body and wouldn’t be dislodged. She couldn’t shake it off no matter how hard she tried; the last impression she’d received had been unremitting fear for them both.
* * * *
Sam was getting rather pissed. She was tired of the quick surreptitious glances and curious stares of passing onlookers. She didn’t care how it looked for a lady in a fine evening gown to stand about waiting on the Modesto boardwalk. It was no excuse for rudeness. She might be from Hicksville, Texas but her manners were better than that.
The third person who asked if she needed any help with a condescending note to their question received the death glare in such intensity that no one else dared approach her.
She didn’t want their help. She didn’t want their anything. She wanted Cole.
She was too worried to do much but pace beside the rail of the patio of the restaurant Cole had directed her to and softly curse Falcon Matthews with every profanity she’d ever learned while helping her dad on the rigs.
She had already worked her way through all the English ones and was now well into Spanish. A particularly inventive one she’d picked up from an old gape-toothed roust-about by the name of Jorge Rodriguez had a busboy at the restaurant looking at her with profound respect. It was from the more Mayan section of the language, and was obviously not something he expected a gringo male to know. Hearing it issuing from a white female had him staring with round-eyed wonder.
Sam ignored the busboy and looked out at the Pacific. She muttered another curse. She shouldn’t have left Cole alone. She should have stayed with him. It didn’t matter that he’d mentally begged her to leave. She shouldn’t have listened. She regretted leaving Cole alone with Falcon more with each passing second. She knew he was afraid Falcon would hurt Sam, but his fear shouldn’t enter into it; it was her own emotions and will that should have dictated her actions. Sam didn’t care if Falcon was some big, bad, nasty villain. She sighed. That was a lie. Actually she did care. The blonde was every bit as deadly as Cole feared and he was alone with her and her hit men. Sam wanted him out of that hotel room every bit as much as she wanted to be gone from Falcon’s danger herself.
Sam couldn’t help remembering Falcon as both a human and a vampire. It was true she’d been vicious and homicidal once she’d been changed but she’d been just as bad when she was a normal human. Sam could understand why Cole was afraid of what Falcon could do. She could even understand why he thought Sam wasn’t a match for Falcon and wanted her to run. Cole was used to dealing with romance-novel types, and Marie Desiree invariably wrote sweet, soft, rather helpless heroines. Falcon ripped them apart easily, but not a one of them was anything like Sam and it was time Cole realized that. She might be afraid but she wasn’t helpless. He should have let her stay to share whatever came. If he was hurt or killed, Sam had no inkling of how she’d handle it.
Besides, Falcon was only a human right now and if Cole could take care of the bodyguards, Sam was pretty sure she could kick Falcon’s perfectly toned ass without too much effort. Falcon hadn’t grown up rough and ready on the oil fields of the Permian Basin like Sam had. Sam had fought and scrapped for just about everything she owned and she had used her fists more than once in her life. She was more than prepared to snatch that piece of jumped-up trash bald and stomp her blonde ass right into the ground. Maybe that made Sam a redneck girl but it also meant that she didn’t stand by and let the people she cared about get hurt. If Falcon hurt Cole, Sam would find a way to kill her.
Courage, or at least a semblance of it, reestablished, she was about to say 'screw it' and head back to the hotel to rescue him when she felt an electric buzz in the back of her mind. She turned instinctively in the direction she knew Cole would appear. His tall form was easy to spot as he hurried through the other pedestrians. Rushing up to her, he grabbed Sam, lifting her off her feet as he hugged her tightly. There were smiles on the faces of several of the restaurant patrons when he set her back on the sidewalk. The expressions of tolerant amusement on their faces made it clear her impatience was now understandable. The women’s expressions were particularly empathetic. They’d be impatient, too, if they were waiting for a man that looked like that.
“Thank God, you’re all right!” Cole said as he held Sam close to his chest.
She returned the sentiment but then thumped him lightly on the sternum. “So do you want to tell me what’s going on? What happened? You were freaking out when I left and you still are.”
He took her hand and led her into the restaurant. Only when they were seated and Cole was assured that Sam was all right did he finally explain what was going on. “You were in grave danger back at the hotel. I knew I had to get you out of there as quickly as I could. I can’t have you near Falcon. If she suspects we’re lovers, she’ll kill you or have one of her men do it.” He took a deep breath. “She won’t accept that I could be attracted to any other woman. Thank God she’s not a vampire yet. If she’d smelled or sensed that we’d been together, I doubt you’d have left alive.”
“I wouldn’t make bets on that,” Sam said crossly. She knew he was probably right, but she didn’t like admitting it. “I know you’re worried about me, but you don’t need to be. I’ve taken care of myself for a long time now and I’m not as easy to walk on as you or Falcon think.” That sounded more the way she wanted him to see her. It didn’t matter that it was nine-tenths pure Texas bullshit.
Cole shook his head. “She’s utterly vicious and completely immoral.”
Sam sighed. She knew he was right. They were both far too upset for any sort of rational discussion right now, and she certainly didn’t feel like arguing with him. They needed time to calm down before they got any deeper into Falcon’s threat.
“Well, we both made it out.” She ran a hand over his cheek. “So what now, Cole?” she asked.
She knew what she would do if she was alone, but she wasn’t sure what he had planned—or if he even had a plan. So far they’d been flying by the seat of Cole’s perfectly tailored tuxedo pants. She didn’t exactly approve of that. Sam liked to be organized and she liked to be in control, two things that she hadn’t really experienced in over three days. It was starting to eat at her nerves.
“We don’t go back to the hotel, for one,” Cole answered decisively. “I told Falcon I wanted to take her out to celebrate her return to me. I convinced her to change into something more formal.” He paused while the waiter set their drinks on the table. When the man moved away, Cole continued, “Luckily, I’m far enough back in time that she hasn’t moved in with me yet. She had to go back to her suite to change clothes. As soon as she was gone, I grabbed what I could and left. I’ve hidden the Maybach; it’s too easy a car to spot. I have a rental.”
He ran his hand through his hair, disordering the locks. A few strands fell across his brow. If anything, he looked better than he had before
he mussed them. Cole’s perfection was a constant source of amazement for Sam. He wasn’t thinking of how he looked at the moment though. He was still very concerned about his former lover. “I think I have everything we bought you, so she won’t have any clue you’ve been living with me. I’d rather she didn’t know you exist at all but keeping our liaison secret is the next best thing.”
Sam frowned and fiddled with her highball glass. “So you want me to go into hiding? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Well, I was hoping you’d wouldn’t mind staying with me even if it is in hiding.” There was open appeal on his face.
“With you? So you’re hiding, too?” She took a deep breath and asked the question she hoped would end some of her confusion. “Why are you hiding?”
“Don’t you already know?” he countered. “Do you seriously think I’d send you away while I remained to play out some sham with Falcon?” He took a long sip of his scotch. “I’m not going back to her,” Cole said firmly. “I can’t. I can’t go through that again. Of all the things I have a chance to live over that is the one part of my life that I won’t.” He tossed off what was left of his drink and held out his hand. “Will you walk with me?”
* * * *
As they walked south along the beach, Sam stared out at what she could see of the ocean. The darkness reduced it to little more than gentle whitecaps on dark water. Dirty lace on black satin, the waves rolled with a slushy swoosh onto the dark beige of the beach. The autumn sun had set long ago but its warmth lingered in the sand. It felt pleasant under her bare feet as she and Cole walked hand in hand above the high water line.
“So what do you think of your first view of the Pacific?” he asked as he swung her strappy little high heels from one crooked finger. His shoes were tucked under his arm, his socks neatly stored inside. His bare feet and ankles showed where the pants of his tuxedo were turned up several times. Sam had given up being surprised that even his feet and ankles were cute.
“It’s...not what I expected,” she answered. It seemed he wasn’t ready to talk more about Falcon just yet. She could go with that flow for a while. She figured he would get to it when he was ready. If he took too long, then she’d give him a little push. But for now, he could set his own pace. “I thought it would be more like Cancun or Florida. This looks more like South Padre.” She thought for a bit. “In fact, South Padre looks better.”
He smiled crookedly. “Most people are disappointed with their first view of California beaches though this stretch is very nice. It doesn’t look the way it does in the movies or on television. The sand isn’t as white as they thought it would be or the water isn’t as blue.” He stared out at the night-darkened waves. “Of course you need to see it during the day to judge that accurately.”
His grin grew, and there was a twist of self-deprecation to it. “Though being a vampire, I generally avoid it in the daylight. You know I’m not the sort of vampire to go poof like they do in the movies, but all that sun is uncomfortable and I can’t say I enjoy it.”
Sam laughed a bit. It was okay if he wanted to make jokes. Cole wasn’t noted for being big on discussions of his personal feelings. In fact, she’d been surprised at how open he’d been with her since they’d met. She supposed their unusual connection made it easier for him. Right now, he was having a hard time, and so she was willing to let him work himself up to it.
“That’s a shame. It looks like it would be a fun place to swim.” She grinned. “I wouldn’t mind taking a swim with you. I bet you’re cute in a bathing suit.” She could talk nonsense just as well as he could.
White teeth glowed brighter than the lights of the hotels on the bluff above them as he smiled at her. The golden halogen lamps lining the walk bordering the broad stretch of sand lent his pale skin a false tan. “I’m cute with or without a swimsuit,” he assured her. He leered down at the expanse of bosom exposed by her low cut gown. “And I don’t need daylight to swim with you.”
“Cole Grayson!” His wish was so strong she got a flash of his thought. “Get that idea out of your head! I am not going skinny dipping with you on Muscle Beach!” She glared at him in mock warning hoping he’d smile. “There are people all around here!”
“True, that wasn’t one of my better ideas,” he said apologetically. He took the time to survey her from head to toe and back again. “All that beauty of yours would be devastating to the onlookers,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “Several would doubtless be overcome completely. They’d probably have to call in paramedics.”
She shook her head at his overblown compliment and humorously exaggerated ribald expression. “You’re crazy.” She hugged his arm a bit tighter. He seemed to welcome the contact. His bout of nonsense exhausted, he fell silent.
The waves made soft sounds, filling the air with the scent of sea and salt, as they walked further and further from the boardwalk.
They had turned and headed back toward the pier before Sam finally spoke again. “So are you going to tell me why we’re in Santa Monica?” She figured Cole had taken all the time to think he should. He needed to go ahead and talk now. She wasn’t going to let him bury whatever was going on in his head. He had too big a habit of submerging the sort of things that ate at his soul. In the end, so much of him had been eaten away that he’d welcomed the fire that consumed what was left.
“Why are we here and not somewhere else? We could go anywhere in the world. If I’m remembering correctly, you have a plane and know how to fly it. So why Santa Monica instead of New York or Chicago?” She tilted her head. “Or Hong Kong as far as that goes!” If Cole wanted to hide from Falcon, they could have taken his fancy car and been halfway to San Francisco or Las Vegas by now, preparing to head out for anywhere in the world.
“You know why.” His voice had gone flat and all amusement had fled from it.
A quick search of his memories showed that he liked this stretch of beach with its laidback atmosphere and its everyone-is-welcome attitude. But there was more than that. He was doing more than just hiding her from Falcon.
She frowned up at him. “I don’t know all of it. I know how you feel about this place, but I don’t know your reasoning. I’m not completely inside your head right now.”
He was quiet for a bit longer, staring at the sand as they walked along. He finally looked up at the lights of the city above the beach. “There’s a little hotel up there.” He pointed up the steep hill just beyond the strip of businesses that bordered the beach. “It’s old and cramped and the floors squeak. And over the years I’ve often wished I was staying there instead of the Regent Beverly Wiltshire.”
She tilted her head and waited for him to continue.
“It’s a lovely place. There are flowers everywhere,” he said softly and there was a wistful character to his voice. “Bougainvillea climb all over the balconies and there are birds-of-paradise blooming beside the walks. The other guests stop and talk to you. There’s no room service. You have to go down to the office to get coffee if you don’t want to make your own, but the staff will ask you to stay and chat if you do.”
“So why weren’t you there instead of where you were?” she asked. “It sounds real nice.”
“I honestly don’t know. It’s where I want to be.”
“Well, we could always check in, you know,” she said pragmatically. Honestly! That whole romance-novel-hero mentality could make a man do the stupidest things.
“You wouldn’t mind?” he said in surprise. He pulled her hand up to his lips and then turned her to face him. “As I said, there’s no room service and the baths aren’t marble. But you can watch the sun set over the ocean and the breeze smells like salt in the mornings.”
Hope was plain on his face. She could see it even in the dimness. “I wouldn’t mind. It sounds wonderful.”
“Oh, it is. I love it. I used to stay there all the time. Before.”
She didn’t have to ask him before what. She knew he meant before he met Falcon just as she knew exact
ly the hotel he meant. Thanks to their shared memories she could find it as easily as he could. A black metal gate guarded a steep staircase and led up to a series of old buildings decorated with surfboards and ambiance.
“Do you want to talk about why you don’t stay there any more?” she asked, though she knew the reason. He might claim he didn’t know but he was well aware of the turn his life had taken when he’d agreed to tie himself to Falcon. She wasn’t sure he could admit it aloud, though. It was hard for a man like Cole to confess he’d been duped by someone he’d given his heart to.
He was stronger than Sam had given him credit for and more honest. He didn’t bother to pretend confusion or ignorance about the situation. He simply kissed Sam’s hand again and nodded. “I know I don’t have to tell you, but yes, I think I would like to talk.” He drew a deep breath. “It’s one thing for me to know that I have had no life experience that you don’t know about. It’s different to willingly discuss something when I’m not entirely sure what your reaction will be.”
He began to walk slowly along the warm sand, her shoes swinging from one hand while he held her other tightly. She squeezed his fingers slightly in encouragement and remained quiet.
“I like that about you,” he finally said. “You can chatter on about nothing to my endless amusement but when I need you to be quiet, you are. How do you know which I need?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know; I just do. My daddy was like that. I inherited it, I guess.” They walked in silence, the small sound of their steps overpowered by the surge and retreat of the waves. She reevaluated her earlier decision. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”
“I know that,” he answered. “That’s another extraordinary trait you have. But I do want to talk about this.”
Vampire Encounters - Second Chances Page 9