then her knapsack shifted, and she reached a hand to one of the straps to secure it. She backed away from them. “I, um, I need to make that call.”
She continued to back away a few more steps, then turned and literally fled into the small lounge.
Sebastian glanced at Nadine. “I hope you are right about her.”
Nadine gave him a bemused look that stated she currently had her doubts as well. “Me too.”
Chapter 4
Wilhelmina rushed into the employee lounge, a relieved sigh escaping her as she saw the room was empty. Thank God. She started to sag back against the wall, her heart pounding and her knees weak. But at the last moment, just as her back would have connected, squeezing the backpack between herself and the wallboard, she caught herself.
Pushing straight, she reached for the straps of the pack and eased it off her shoulders. She placed the large sack on the floor, watching as the nylon rippled and undulated like a living thing. Of course, the creatures inside were alive. And judging from the squeaks and clawing, they were also more than a little upset. The woman at the pet store had looked a little upset, too, when Wilhelmina had asked to buy all of their rats, and then had stuck them in her knapsack. Oh well. This had to be done.
“Sorry, guys,” she murmured to the bag, “but you can’t be any more distressed than I am.”
The last person she’d expected to be in the bar was Sebastian. She’d just assumed that the great Sebastian Young didn’t make an appearance until the place was bustling with his next round of human victims. After all, that was the importance of the nightclub for him, wasn’t it?
Wilhelmina hadn’t expected him to be sitting right there at the bar, watching her with those intense, golden eyes.
She’d been prepared for the rest of the waitstaff, and how quickly she was going to have to race through the bar, so they didn’t sense the animals in her backpack. She’d almost blown it when she’d seen Sebastian and their eyes met. It was a sheer miracle that she managed to keep her footing when she’d tripped. And then he’d called her, and she’d been certain that he’d sensed the rats. But he hadn’t. Her hope that the waterproofed knapsack would buy her a little time had worked. The scent of the rodents hadn’t easily filtered through the rubberized material.
But she knew she didn’t have much more time. The werewolves’ sense of smell was very keen. She needed to get this done, fast.
Creeping back to the doorway, she looked both ways to make sure no one, especially Sebastian, was around. The coast was clear. She ducked back into the lounge and hurried over to the backpack.
As she unzipped the nylon, a fountain of rats sprang from the growing gap. They scrambled over each other and over her hands, their little claws scratching her skin in their desperation to escape.
“Sorry, guys,” she whispered again. “But you’re free now. Scurry wherever you like.”
The dozen or so rats seemed to take her at her word and scuttled away, heading to the corners of the room rather than exposing themselves to the middle. She watched them for a second, feeling a strange connection to them. She’d lived much the same way for most of her life. Clinging to the edges, trying to remain unnoticed. Never exposing herself to the world. That was how she’d survived.
But she was putting herself out there now. She rose suddenly feeling less nervous and more positive that this was the right thing to do. The brave and strong and honorable thing to do.
She unzipped the side pocket of her bag and pulled out her cell phone. The number for the New York health department, which she’d gotten before she left her apartment, appeared in her call list. Arrowing down to it, she hit Send and the phone began to ring.
“Hey, there.”
She nearly dropped the phone as she quickly flipped the cover shut, just as a faint hello sounded on the other end. Trying to appear calm, she turned to look at the speaker, knowing exactly who owned that deliciously velvety voice. Sebastian leaned in the doorway, watching her with a troubled frown.
“Hi,” he said, his voice oddly soothing. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
She blinked at him, again stunned that anyone, preternatural or not, could look that dazzling. And combined with that voice…. She blinked again.
Sebastian’s frown deepened, and he stepped into the room. She shifted, realizing she’d been staring. For how long, she didn’t know. Long enough for him to sense the rats? Had they had time to scurry away?
She glanced down at the bag, which was unzipped and wide open in the middle of the floor. She didn’t want him questioning her about the now empty pack. Returning her eyes to his, she hoped he didn’t follow her glance. His intense eyes were locked on her face, watching her.
Taking what she hoped was a subtle sidestep, she positioned herself in front of the knapsack. With her heel, she nudged it under a chair. The zipper clanged on the metal of the chair leg, and for a moment, she feared it was one of the rats squeaking. Before the cause of the sound registered, she raised a hand to her mouth and coughed loudly, dramatically.
Sebastian stepped even closer, reaching out a hand to pound her on the back, but she jerked away, falling rather unceremoniously onto the chair under which she’d just hidden the bag.
“I’m fine,” she assured him quickly, wanting him to leave. She was afraid the rats weren’t dispersed enough and could still be detected. Not to mention, she was too aware of how close his body was to hers. His leg practically brushed her bare knee. She gave their near touch a sidelong glance, then forced herself to meet those intense eyes of his.
“I’m fine,” she said again, pressing a hand to her chest. “Um, allergies.” Then she offered him a forced smile. “I—I really must make that call.” She held up the cell phone, still clasped in her other hand.
He studied her, but this time there was an emotion she didn’t quite understand in his eyes. And for a split second, she could have sworn his gaze had dropped to her lips. Of course, he was probably noting that her smile was labored. She was quickly discovering she could never make a living as an actress.
Then his golden eyes narrowed and before she could think to react, he reached forward and caught her hand.
“What happened?”
She glanced down at his finger stroking over her skin, and it took her a moment to realize he was tracing the faint marks from the rat’s claws on her pale skin.
“Oh that,” she said, searching for some excuse, but her mind couldn’t focus on anything but the slightly roughened pads of his fingertips like suede on her skin.
“They look like cat scratches,” he said, looking back up to her eyes.
“They are,” she said, immediately grasping his excuse. “I—I have a cat.”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow to that. “Cats and vampires don’t mix. We freak them out.” His fingers caressed the small welts again. “But I guess you’ve learned that.”
“Yes,” she said again, forcing another smile. Or at least she thought it was a smile. She couldn’t be sure,
