“It’s Gerard,” a male cried in a French accent. “Caleb needs help. We came up against a larger group of vampires than usual and—”
“Are you fighting them now?” Jared cut in.
“No. We managed to defeat them. But Caleb nearly lost an arm and a leg. Both are barely attached.”
“It’s only a flesh wound,” Caleb called in a British accent in a tribute to Monty Python’s The Holy Grail that made her smile.
Jared glanced at Tessa, his reluctance clear.
She motioned for him to go.
“I shall be there shortly.” As soon as he pocketed his phone, he reached for her shoulder. “I’ll return you to network headquarters first.”
Shaking her head, Tessa backed away from his touch. “No, thank you.”
“You aren’t supposed to hunt alone,” he reminded her gently.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve hunted with Sean often enough lately to handle myself with any vampires I may encounter.” She motioned to the quiet campus. “And it looks like nothing is happening here anyway.”
“Nevertheless—”
“I’ll be fine, Jared.” Touching his arm, she gave his big biceps a friendly squeeze. “Really.”
He glanced down at her touch. And she could’ve sworn a flash of gold lit his eyes for a heartbeat before they returned to a brown so dark that it was nearly black. “I don’t believe you’ve ever called me by my name before.”
Surprised, Tessa released him. “I haven’t?”
He shook his head.
Was that why he was often more reserved around her? “Well, I’ll be fine, Jared. I was thinking about heading to Sean’s place anyway, to see how he and Nicole are doing.”
“Shall I teleport you there?”
“No. I’d rather run it. I want to be outside a little longer.”
He frowned uncertainly. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Go heal Caleb. His joking around doesn’t mean he isn’t in pain.”
He took a step back. “You have my number?”
“I don’t think so.” After removing her cell phone from an inner pocket of her coat, she unlocked it and handed it over so he could add his name and number to her contacts list.
Jared studied her as he returned it. “As you will. Where is the nearest area without security camera coverage?”
She pointed to the building next to them. “Behind that building, under the trees.”
Offering her another of those charming half-bows, he tapped the screen of his phone, brought it to his ear, and strode away.
“Yes?” Gerard said.
“It’s Jared. Stay on the line.” All the eldest immortals—Seth, David, Zach, and Jared—could trace phone signals to their sources and teleport directly to anyone they spoke to.
Tessa would love to know how that worked.
Jared glanced back at her when he reached the corner of the building.
Smiling, she tossed him a little wave.
His lips curled up in an answering smile as he slipped out of view.
Tessa’s smile lingered as she turned away and studied the pretty campus. Her spirits felt lighter tonight. Lighter than they had in a long time. She even laughed again, imagining Jared turning into a cow and moseying into a herd so he could be in one of his beloved movies.
She would wager a month of her former earnings that he had done so more than once.
Quiet embraced her. Or as much quiet as there could be with her enhanced hearing carrying a cacophony of nearby conversations to her ears.
Tessa had intended to do as she’d told Jared: run to Sean and Nicole’s house and check on them. And yet, how long had it been since she’d been alone?
Not alone in her apartment with guards outside and vampires roaming the hallways, able to hear everything she said or did outside the bathroom. But alone-alone.
When she thought about it, the answer surprised her: not since Gershom had transformed her.
Perhaps she should take a moment to enjoy it.
Tessa meandered along the path until she reached a bench. A dusting of sunflower seed shells littered the pavement in front of it, where an industrious squirrel must have coaxed a meal from someone.
Sinking onto the bench, she leaned back, sighed, and let peace infuse her.
For once, tortured memories didn’t inundate her. Instead, her thoughts kept returning to Jared. She liked him more without the careful reserve. His face and voice animated, he had imparted a history of filmmaking that had utterly captivated her.
Was that all she had to do to get him to talk her ear off? Bring up films?
She grinned. Maybe she should talk him into having a movie night with her. She could have the network deliver some fun snacks to her apartment, and the two of them could kick back and relax on her sofa while they watched his favorites on her big-screen TV.
A gentle mist began to fall.
Smiling, she turned her face up to the sky. Even this was nice.
Splat. A large raindrop plonked onto her forehead, breaking apart into droplets that bounced into her eyes.
Grimacing, she wiped them. Another sizeable drop splooshed on top of her head. Her shoulder. Her other shoulder.
Hmm.
The sky opened up, a wall of water racing down to pound the ground. And Tessa.
She laughed as it instantly drenched her hair, water rolling down her face and dripping off her nose and chin. The long coat she wore kept her back and shoulders dry. The network always provided immortals and their Seconds with top-quality garments. But everything exposed where the coat parted in front already looked like she’d gone for a swim. Even her feet soon sloshed in her sneakers as rain pounded them and her socks wicked up the moisture.
“I guess I should’ve worn boots tonight,” she murmured, unperturbed.
Feeling cozy and warm while sitting in a chilly downpour was surreal.
Nice, but surreal.
Tessa glanced around. If any vampires hunted tonight, this would probably send them hightailing it back to wherever they stayed. Not that she needed to hang around and wait for any. She wasn’t required to hunt yet and didn’t feel the need to, thanks to the distraction Jared had provided.
She might as well head for Sean’s place.
Rising, Tessa stepped onto the sidewalk and launched into a comfortable jog.
She had never run in the rain before. Either she had been too cold or her parents had called her inside so she wouldn’t get muddy and track it all over the house. She found it rather freeing. Exhilarating. And far more entertaining than running on a treadmill in the sterile lab on sublevel five.
She should mention it to Bastien. She didn’t know the immortal black sheep well, but his dedication to helping the vampires housed at network headquarters was heartwarming. A run in the rain might be a fun diversion for Stuart, Miguel, and the other vamps.
Water swiftly pooled on the sidewalk, creating satisfying splashes with every footfall. One should never be too old to play in the rain, she thought with a grin. Which, of course, brought Jared to mind. He was one of the oldest beings on Earth. Did he ever play in the rain?
He’d lived such a strangely isolated life that she doubted it.
Then again, he had appeared in movies as a cow, she thought with a grin.
The sky lit up as branches of lightning crawled through the clouds above. A long, loud rumble of thunder followed.