Blake's Pursuit (Scanguards Vampires, #11)(9)

“Not really. Vüber only operates during daytime.”

Lilo furrowed her forehead. “Why? That doesn’t seem like a very good business model.”

He smiled involuntarily. Vüber didn’t exist primarily to make money. It had been created as a convenience for the vampire population of San Francisco and the Bay Area. “We commissioned a study and found that most attacks on professional drivers are committed at night, but that the majority of rides are needed during daytime. So we decided to create a division which maximizes fares, yet minimizes attacks on drivers.” It wasn’t exactly the truth, but it was a reasonable explanation, one he hoped Lilo would buy.

“I’d never thought of that. That’s actually very… uh, considerate of the company.” Now she pointed to the cell phone in his hand. “Is she showing up?”

Blake looked back at the app and saw that the wheel had stopped spinning. Not found, the screen told him. He lifted his eyes and met Lilo’s hopeful gaze. Wordlessly, he shook his head.

She sighed, and he could sense the disappointment rolling off her. “I guess that would have been too easy.”

He logged out and opened up his messenger app. He pulled up a contact, before handing the phone to Lilo.

“Type in your cell phone number,” he said, starting the car.

“What for?”

He pulled into the street and merged into the light evening traffic. “If the intruder still has it, I might be able to find him by triangulating your phone.”

She sighed. “I know how it works. But why would you do that? The police will take care of that.”

“By the time we get to the station and get somebody on the case, he may have already ditched your phone. It’d be too late.”

Accepting his explanation, she typed something into the app and handed him the phone. He took it and kept one eye on the traffic, while he forwarded the number, before dialing Thomas’s number.

Scanguards’ Chief of IT answered immediately. “What’s up?”

“I just texted you a cell number. Can you try and track it right now?”

“I suppose it’s urgent and can’t wait,” Thomas replied, a smirk in his voice.

“You guessed right. Call me when you have something.”

“Sure thing.”

The call disconnected. Blake placed his phone in the cup holder and gave Lilo a sideways glance. “We’ll know very soon if it’s switched on and he’s still got it.”

She nodded. “Do you do this a lot? I mean…” She pointed to the phone. “…find missing phones and track down burglars?”

“I do whatever is necessary.”

“You said you worked in security. What kind?”

From the corner of his eye, he noticed her studying him. Fair enough. Now that the initial shock of being attacked had subsided, she was bound to have questions. “Personal security.”

“You mean like a bodyguard?”

He nodded.

“You mentioned you work for the same company as Hannah. She never said anything about working for a bodyguard company.”

He could feel the suspicion rolling off her. At least it meant she had her wits about her, though he didn’t relish the fact that he had to give her more explanations. The less she knew about Scanguards the better.

“Different divisions, remember?”

“Yeah, you said. Still doesn’t tell me much.”

“There isn’t much to tell.”

“Funny, I had a feeling you’d say that.”

He tossed her another sideways look. Her don’t-bullshit-me expression was easy to read. It was time to pacify her.

“Listen, Lilo, the company I work for deals with highly sensitive issues. Our clients demand confidentiality. That’s probably why Hannah never told you much about her work. But let me assure you, we take care of our employees. And when somebody goes missing, like Hannah, we don’t just rely on the police to find that person. We use all our resources.”

He stopped at a red light and let go of the steering wheel, reaching for Lilo’s hand. Only when he felt her warm skin against his and heard her suck in a breath, did he realize what he was doing. But it was too late to withdraw now. He squeezed her hand, enjoying the tender touch for a brief moment.

“We’ll find Hannah. Alive and well. I promise you that.” Though he had no right to make such a promise. For all he knew, Hannah could already be dead. But he couldn’t share his worries with Lilo or she would fall apart. He needed her to remain strong.

“I hope you’re right.”

For a moment, their gazes locked. He saw concern in her eyes. He’d do anything to wipe that expression from her face and see her smile instead. There were so many things he wanted to see on her face: laughter, joy… he inhaled… arousal. He eased his torso across the divide between the two seats. She looked so vulnerable… so tempting.

The vampire in him was drawn to her blood. And the man was drawn to her beauty and the strength he’d sensed during their initial argument. She was no pushover—no damsel in distress. Far from it. She was the most fascinating woman he’d ever met. A woman with the most tempting lips…

Honking from behind him made him jerk back and let go of her hand.

Fuck!

What had he been about to do? He’d only met her less than an hour ago. And he wasn’t the kind of guy to paw at a woman just because she was hot. And, damn it, Lilo was hot! But that was besides the point. He wasn’t into one-night stands, hadn’t been in years. He liked to get to know a woman first, before becoming physical—though in his twenties he’d been the opposite. He’d been the wham-bam-thank-you-Ma’am type. But that had changed with age and his mounting responsibilities as Chief of Hybrid Security. Now he liked to take things slowly. So why the f*ck had he leaned in as if to kiss her?