If the clock turned back and she had to do it all again, knowing she'd wind up in that alley– shit, did it always have to be an alley? –she'd do it.
"For the record," she said, "I don't appreciate it when my friends are threatened." She smiled, showing her fangs. "I don't appreciate it one damn bit."
Lucas nodded. "Message understood."
"When I get back to L.A., I expect to find Sean unharmed. He'd better be."
"He is."
She grunted. "Don't ever threaten him again, wolf. Got it? Ever." She didn't trust the wolf. Not as far as she could throw his furry ass. And that would be about ten feet. She still wasn't sure how she'd wound up in his house and as soon as he got his butt out of the room, she planned to grill Adam.
A vampire hiding with a pack of wolves. That just had bad news written all over it.
But, then again, any of Nassor's goons who happened to be searching for her and Adam sure wouldn't expect to find them rooming with the wolves.
"So I guess we have a truce, vampire," Lucas said, voice soft. "For now."
Maya's head tilted back. "I guess we do." Weak truce though it was.
She watched him stalk to the door. "Lucas."
He glanced back at her.
"Tell me, when you were having a grand old time destroying Temptation, did you happen to kill a tall, too-pretty vampire with blond hair? He would have been hurt already, shot in the back."
She'd missed his heart, dammit. But there hadn't been a choice when she'd fired.
The ass**le had been between her and escape.
"Torrence." Lucas spit out the name. Ah, so he knew about the vamp leader. "Bastard got away."
Hell.
"I'll find him," the wolf shifter said. "He's the one who took Jordan. I'll find him-and I'll peel the skin from his bones."
Nice visual. Maya knew the guy meant every dark word. No empty threat from the wolf.
"Easy, wolf. That bastard is mine," Adam said. "Keep your claws to yourself."
Lucas just shook his head, then left the room with his shoulders tense and his back tight with tension.
Uh, oh. A pissing match for death rights.
She'd put her odds on the dragon.
Maya faced Adam fully and found him staring at her with narrowed eyes. "What?"
"He wants you."
A choked laugh slipped past her lips. Damn. That had been the absolute last thing she'd expected him to say. "Uh, I think he wants to kill me."
"No." Definite. Angry. "I could smell his lust. He wants you."
She hadn't smelled a hint of arousal from the other guy, but-
Adam's senses were sharper than hers.
She rubbed her temples, aware of a steady, dull throbbing. "Well, I doubt it was anything personal. I mean, show a guy a pair of br**sts and he usually gets horny."
"What?"
She looked at him then, really looked at him. The hard set of his jaw. The tight lips. The narrowed eyes. "Slick, are you jealous?" Of a hairy wolf? He didn't answer, just stared at her with glittering eyes.
Well, well. First worry, now jealousy. Wasn't the dragon just full of surprises? A smile began to tilt her lips.
Adam moved in a flash, his fingers clamping around her arms. "Don't play with me, Maya. You don't want to rouse the beast."
Maybe she did. A heady excitement swept through her. Adam had been at the edge of his control with her before. What would it be like to see that power completely unleashed? To push him over the edge? Oh, but she wanted to find out.
Maya lifted her hand, trailed a sharp nail down his cheek, and watched his eyes flare with arousal. "You didn't finish what you started earlier," she murmured.
His fingers tightened around her. "Maya…"
She liked the way he said her name. Liked the hunger she heard in his voice.
It was a pity that she'd have to leave him soon.
But maybe, just maybe, she could have one last, wild ride with her dragon.
She parted her lips, wanting to feel his mouth on hers, to taste his breath on her tongue.
He stepped back. Drew in a deep gulp of air. "There's-I came in here-because Cammie wants to see you."
"Cammie?" She felt like she'd just been doused by icy water. "Why does she want to see me?"
As a rule, she wasn't exactly good with the kiddies.
She'd saved the girl. Gotten her back with her uncle. End of story.
"She won't talk to me," Adam said, running a hand over his face. "She gets quiet every time I go near her." His lips twisted. "She just talks to that boy, and she keeps asking about you."
"Uh, what about me?" She'd probably scarred the kid for life. Dragging the girl through that hellhole, shooting a vampire in front of her-oh, yeah, not exactly scrapbook moments.
He shrugged and looked a bit helpless. "I-I don't know. She just wants you." His voice hardened.
"So I told her I'd get you."
Ah. Now this was the Adam she knew so well. The hardass. The do-what-I-say dragon.
Lucky for him, she was curious about the kid. Maya found her boots. Finished dressing. Her gaze scanned the room. "Where's my gun? My knife?" She'd sure feel better if she were armed in this den of wolves.
"The wolves didn't feel too safe leaving the gun and the silver bullets around you."
Smart of them.
Adam bent down, drew her knife from his boot. "But I kept this for you."
The blade had been cleaned. It glinted, beautiful and deadly. Her fingers closed around the hilt.
"Thanks." Who said the way to a girl's heart was candy and flowers? She'd take weapons any day.
She tucked the knife away, already feeling better. Claws, teeth, and a blade. Yeah, she was getting back to her old self.
Which meant that, pretty soon, it would be time to hunt.
And time to leave the dragon behind.
Damn. Why did that thought make her ache?
CHAPTER 15
Adam watched Maya creep into Cammie's room. His vampire looked nervous as hell and she kept glancing to the left and the right-like she expected to be attacked.
By a nine-year old.
Cammie sat on the bed, dressed in a pair of pale blue pajamas. When his guards had arrived-
they'd flown in the minute he had Cammie safe-they'd brought Cammie's clothes with them. And for an instant, the girl had smiled. An instant.
Cammie looked up at Maya's approach and her eyes widened.
"Uh, hi, kid." Maya rubbed her palms over the front of her jeans.
Cammie stared at her, swallowed, then cast a quick glance over at Adam.
"Hey, beautiful," he said, forcing a smile. Cammie talked to him, but only when she absolutely had to do so. He was worried about the tension he sensed in her, the fear that bubbled below the surface.