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She dragged a hand through her hair. Damn.
"Oh, look! Raccoons." Tino moved toward them.
She grabbed him. "Don't. They might carry disease. Rabies or something."
Tino looked up at her, his eyes wide. "You're trying to protect me?"
"Yes, of course."
He smiled. "I know why Howard likes you so much. You're just like him. He keeps me safe, too."
"Does he?" He'd mentioned last night that he kept people safe, but could he really be trusted, when he was the one who'd made her birthmark burn?
"Howard's been keeping me safe all my life," Tino said. "He's a really nice guy."
"Is he . . . special like you?"
Tino scratched his head. "Well, sorta."
The animals suddenly scattered.
"What happened?" Elsa's blood ran cold when a half dozen feral pigs ran onto the road, their hooves clattering, their eyes glued on her.
She gulped and pulled Tino behind her.
"They look mean," he whispered.
They sure did, with their sharp tusks pointed right at her. She clenched her fists to keep from trembling. What to do? She could call on her cell phone, but it could take a long time for help to come. Visions of the little boy getting gored with a tusk flitted through her mind.
"I'll distract them," she whispered. "You run for home as fast as you can."
"No." Tino wrapped his little arms around her. "They'll hurt you. I won't let them hurt you."
"There's nothing you can do - " She gasped when everything went black.
Chapter Nine
Howard was in the security office wondering if he should drive into Cranville and accidentally bump into Elsa. Would she suspect it wasn't accidental? Did it really matter, as long as he saw her again?
Somehow he needed to gain her trust. Once her fear was gone, her desire could take over. And then she would be his.
He grabbed another donut, when something on one of the four surveillance monitors caught his eye. Tino, materializing in front of the school with . . . Elsa?
"Holy crap!" He dropped the donut on the desk and ran for the front door.
Dammit, he should have checked to make sure Tino had returned to his room. What was the boy thinking, showing off his skills like that? And Tino had no way of knowing he could successfully teleport another person. It was something the adult Vamps did, but they had years of experience. Centuries of experience. Tino had not only committed a serious security breach but he'd also put Elsa's life in danger.
Howard wrenched open the front door and spotted her collapsed on the ground. "Elsa!" He charged down the steps and skidded to a stop beside her. "Are you all right?"
She blinked up at him, a dazed look on her face.
He scowled at Tino, who knelt on the other side of her. "What have you done? You know you're not - " He stopped when he noticed the tears in Tino's eyes and the trembling of his little chin. "Are you all right? What happened?"
"I don't know," Elsa whispered, "but I think he saved our lives."
Alarmed, Howard looked at her pale face and then the tear rolling down Tino's cheek. "Don't worry. You're safe now." He patted the boy on the shoulder. "Can you walk, big guy?"
"Yes." Tino rose to his feet, wiping his face.
"Good man." Howard slipped his arms under Elsa and straightened, cradling her against his chest.
She gasped.
He froze. "Are you hurt?"
"No. I - I'm too heavy to carry."
He scoffed. She'd scared him for nothing. "Do you weigh over five hundred pounds?"
She huffed. "Of course not!"
"Then you're not heavy." He jogged up the steps to the front door, then glanced at Tino. "Can you get the door, big guy?"
Tino smiled, apparently liking his new nickname. "Sure." He pulled open the door and followed them inside.
Elsa gave Howard a sour look as he carried her down the hall. "I weigh less than two hundred," she grumbled.
His mouth twitched. She felt solid and strong, but soft and womanly at the same time. And her scent was driving him wild. "I think you're perfect."
Her face flushed a pretty pink. "Where are you taking me?"
"To the clinic to check for injuries."
"I'm fine, really. I was just a little dizzy when - " She gave Tino a worried look. "I need to know what happened."
"So do I." Howard stopped in front of the clinic. According to the hours posted on the door, the nurse was on lunch break now. That was lucky. Tino was guilty of a serious security breach, and Howard wanted to keep the matter as private as possible.
The door was unlocked, so Tino was able to open it. Howard looked around as he carried Elsa inside. There was a row of five beds, then an office in the back with a window. He peered through the window and spotted medical equipment and a locked medicine cabinet.
"Are you going to put me down?" Elsa asked softly.
"Do I have to?" His gaze locked with hers. Her eyes searched his, reflecting the confusion she had to be feeling. He leaned closer, studying her. Yes, he smiled. The desire was still there.
She looked away, her cheeks pink.
He set her carefully on a bed. "Do I need to check you for injuries?"
"No." She glanced at him, then mumbled, "Unfortunately."
Stifling a grin, he sat on the bed next to hers. "So tell me what happened."
"I think you should tell me. How did I magically appear in front of the school?"
"Start at the beginning," Howard said. "What were you doing with Tino?"
She sat up with an impatient huff. "I was walking him home from the gatehouse."
He turned to Tino, who was standing between the two beds, looking guilty. "You went to the gatehouse? Alone?"
He ducked his head. "You wouldn't go see her, so I thought I should bring her here."
Howard sighed. More matchmaking. "You are definitely your mother's son, aren't you?"
Tino considered that solemnly, then nodded. "Yes." He shifted his weight. "I wanted to do like you and come up with a stragedy."
"Strategy?"
Tino nodded. "And everything was going just like I planned. Except for the animals. There was a bunch of them following us."
"On the road?" Howard asked. Woodland creatures might cross a road, but they rarely traveled down it en masse. He turned to Elsa. "What kind of animals? How many?"
She shrugged with an exasperated look. "Deer, rabbits, squirrels, a few raccoons. Maybe thirty in all."
"But then they all ran into the woods." Tino waved his arms dramatically. "And these huge pigs came out with big tusks like elephants!"
"Feral pigs?" Howard sat up. "How many?"
"About a hundred!" Tino exclaimed.
"About half a dozen," Elsa said quietly.
Howard jumped to his feet and strode to the door. Ever since his trip to Alaska, he and his inner bear had been eager to let loose a can of whoop-ass. "I'll take care of them."
"What?" Elsa stumbled out of bed. "But I need some answers. How did I get here?"
"Hmm." He paused at the door. "The age-old question: how did we get here? There are several theories - "
"I'm serious!" She swatted his arm, but he only smiled in return.
"We'll talk when I get back." He stepped into the hallway.
She grabbed his arm. "You're not going after the pigs, are you? They're dangerous!"
"I don't want them close to the school. We have some young children here." He glanced at Tino. "Why don't you take Elsa to the cafeteria for lunch?"
Tino nodded, smiling. "Okay."
Howard smiled back. The little boy had probably saved their lives. Amazing that at his young age, he'd managed to teleport another person. He tousled Tino's curls. "You did great, big guy."
Tino beamed with a wide grin.
He turned to Elsa, who was watching him with worry in her eyes. "Will you wait for me?"
She gave him an exasperated look. "I need some answers."
"I understand." Although he had no idea how he was going to explain. It would be difficult for sure. Taking care of the feral pigs seemed easy in comparison.
"Wait for me." He ran toward the front door.
Elsa barely tasted her grilled cheese sandwich. She'd called Alastair to let him know she'd be late returning. He'd wanted to know what was going on, and she hadn't known what to tell him. It was all too bizarre.
