The Immortal Hunter(24)

Much to her dismay, he pocketed her cell phone and closed the van door, then caught Dani's arm and urged her toward the restaurant entrance.

"If you'll give it back, I can fix my phone," Dani said as he hustled her into the building.

"Later." Decker sounded distracted and his gaze slid over the people standing in lines at the tills as they moved past them. He escorted her around to the hallway leading to the washrooms and then gave her a little push toward the ladies' room door, saying, "I'll meet you out here when you're done."

Dani pushed her way reluctantly into the bathroom. It seemed she wasn't making the call this time... if she could make it at all. The phone looked fine other than the missing battery and backing, but if something had been jarred loose inside... She frowned over the possibility as she automatically joined the line of women waiting for a free stall.

"Why is there always a lineup in the women's washroom?" a redhead in front of her complained, drawing her attention. Dani stilled as she saw that the woman was punching out a text message on a cell phone.

"I don't know. I bet the men's room isn't this busy," a brunette responded, and then glanced at the message her friend was sending, and asked, "Telling Harry we're going to be longer than expected?"

"Yeah," the first woman said.

Dani was considering asking to use the woman's phone when she heard the low murmur of Decker's voice from the hall. It was followed by a high, feminine giggle. She glanced curiously in that direction, but the door was closed. When the male murmur she was sure was Decker's came again, she strained to hear what he was saying, but all she could make out was a low rumble of sound and then the female voice said what sounded like "broom closet."

"Hey miss? You're up."

Dani glanced around to see that the redhead was gone, only the brunette remained.

"I don't have to go. I was just keeping Sally company," the woman said when Dani glanced to her with confusion. "The third stall's free though."

"Oh, thanks," she murmured, and moved past her to the third stall. Dani went inside, quickly did her business, and then hurried out, hoping to catch the redhead and use her phone before she left. Unfortunately, Dani stepped out of the stall just in time to see the two women exit the washroom, laughing over something as they went.

Sighing, she moved to the sink, her gaze sliding around the room. It was as Dani washed her hands that it occurred to her that she might be able to borrow someone else's phone to make the call. She had a five-dollar bill and coins in her pocket, change from the grocery store. She could offer it to someone for the trouble. Unfortunately, there was no longer a lineup of women waiting for the washrooms. She turned off the tap and moved to the hand dryer, watching the stalls, waiting for someone to come out so she could ask.

The first person to step out was an older woman who, when asked, said apologetically that she didn't bother with "those things." The second was a middle-aged woman who said hers was in her purse at the table. Since she wasn't carrying a purse, Dani supposed it was probably true. She was about to ask a third woman who was stepping out of a stall with her purse on her arm, when the bathroom door opened and a dark-haired woman paused with it ajar to ask, "Is there a Dani in here?"

"Yes," she said turning to the door with surprise.

"There's a guy out here in the hall wondering what's taking you so long. He was afraid he'd missed you while he was in the men's room."

"Oh." Dani hesitated, her gaze sliding to the girl she was going to approach about having a phone she might use, and then back to the woman at the door. The dark-haired woman raised her eyebrows, still holding the door open, obviously expecting her to rush right out. Grimacing, Dani decided now obviously wasn't the time and moved toward the door. As she started past the woman, she glanced up to murmur, "Thank you" and then paused with surprise.

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's blood on your neck," Dani informed her. "Just here."

When Dani pointed to the side of her neck, the woman gave a wry laugh and released the door to wipe at it. "Damned blackflies. They were crazy bad up at the cottage this weekend."

Dani opened her mouth to tell her that it didn't look like a blackfly bite to her and that there were, in fact, two of them a little more than an inch apart, but before she could, the woman said, "You'd best get going. It's not smart to leave a man as good-looking as that one waiting. He might decide he'd rather have a woman who doesn't keep him hanging around cooling his heels."

"We're not a couple," Dani said at once.

The dark-haired woman raised her eyebrows doubtfully. "Well, he sure seems to think you are."

Dani flushed, but merely moved past her and out into the hall to find Decker pacing as he waited.

"Oh, there you are." He smiled at her a bit tensely and then caught her arm to lead her up the hall. "I was beginning to think I'd missed you and that you'd already headed out to the van, but didn't want to leave in case you hadn't."

"There was a line," she said.

"Oh." Decker shook his head. "They must put half the bathrooms in ladies' rooms that they put in men's rooms. We never have lines, and I'm always hearing the complaint that women's washrooms do."