Blake's Pursuit
Page 7
Blake pressed his lips together and nodded, frowning. “Good thing I got here in time. Well, you’d better get dressed and pack up your things. You can’t stay here now.” He rose.
She shot up from the couch. “I can’t just leave. I need to stay here. What if Hannah comes back? With my phone gone she has no way of contacting me.”
“It’s not safe here.” The sharp edge in his voice brooked no refusal.
And riled her up instantly. “Because of a burglar? It happens all the time in large cities. I’m not some country bumpkin who—”
“It’s got nothing to do with that,” he interrupted and glared at her. “This was no random burglary. That guy is gonna come back. And I don’t want you to be here when he does.”
Her heart started to thunder and in the back of her mind something tried to push to the surface. “Why do you think that?”
“I work in security. I have a gut feeling for this kind of stuff. Trust me on that. This guy was looking for something specific.” He motioned to the contents of her handbag. “Why take your phone, but not your wallet? What burglar leaves behind cash and credit cards?”
Lilo followed his gesture. He was right; her wallet lay on the armchair, open. She could see that the money was still in it. And then she remembered what the burglar had said to her while he had her on the couch.
“He asked me where it is,” she said out loud.
“Where what is?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what he was talking about. He pressed me down on the couch and said: Where is it? That’s all. Then you came in.”
“Do you have anything valuable on you?”
“No. Just my computer, my cell phone, which I can’t find, and my wallet. I have no jewelry on me. Nothing of value to anybody but myself. I travel light.”
Blake nodded and glanced around, his eyes falling on the computer on the table. “Is that yours?”
“No. That’s Hannah’s. I tried to get in to check her emails, but it’s password-protected.”
“That’s fine. We’ll take it with us. I’ll check whether she left her cell phone or anything else that could give us a clue to where she is. In the meantime, get dressed and pack your things. You’re coming with me.” His voice was commanding, as if he was used to his orders being followed without question.
“But I have to go to the police and report her missing.”
For a moment, he just looked at her, studying her face. Then he sighed. “Fine. We’ll stop by the police on the way.”
She hesitated, instinctively pulling her bathrobe more tightly around her. “I don’t know you…”
“I understand that. But if I really wanted to hurt you, I could have done so a million times.”
She looked into his blue eyes and saw the sincerity there. Slowly, she nodded. He was right. “Okay, give me a few minutes to get my stuff together.”
And to calm down and recover from the shock of being attacked—and then rescued by a man who could make the heart of any woman flutter. Even hers.
6
While Lilo got dressed in the bedroom, Blake used the time wisely and searched the place for anything that could help pinpoint Hannah’s whereabouts. He also sent a text message.
Now he hoisted Lilo’s suitcase into the trunk of his Aston Martin, a gift from his 4th great-grandparents, Rose and Quinn, after he’d totaled his BMW four years earlier—and a way for them to tease him. After all, in his twenties he’d seen himself as his British namesake, Bond, and tried to pick up girls with 007’s signature greeting. How pathetic he’d been back then. Now he was so much more—more than he’d ever dreamed he could be. A member of a group of vampires who had made it their mission to protect the innocent.
Blake placed Hannah’s computer and tablet in a bag next to Lilo’s luggage. He hadn’t found Hannah’s cell phone, which could turn out to be good news. If she had it on her, and it was switched on, it would be easy to track: the Vüber app had a built-in GPS. He wouldn’t even have to contact his IT crew to triangulate the phone.
Blake walked around the car and got in on the driver’s side. Lilo was already sitting in the passenger seat. He unlocked his cell phone and opened the Vüber app. As a Scanguards manager, he had the administrative version of the app on his phone, which allowed him to locate various Vüber drivers and identify them by name, something a regular user couldn’t do, in order to protect the drivers’ anonymity.
“What are you doing?”
He glanced at Lilo, before tapping the app and entering Hannah’s name.
“Hannah’s phone has an app on it that shows where she is, so that people who are interested in hiring her know how close she is.”
“She told me she was working as a driver. So this is a competitor of Uber?”
“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 shot up from the couch. “I can’t just leave. I need to stay here. What if Hannah comes back? With my phone gone she has no way of contacting me.”
“It’s not safe here.” The sharp edge in his voice brooked no refusal.
And riled her up instantly. “Because of a burglar? It happens all the time in large cities. I’m not some country bumpkin who—”
“It’s got nothing to do with that,” he interrupted and glared at her. “This was no random burglary. That guy is gonna come back. And I don’t want you to be here when he does.”
Her heart started to thunder and in the back of her mind something tried to push to the surface. “Why do you think that?”
“I work in security. I have a gut feeling for this kind of stuff. Trust me on that. This guy was looking for something specific.” He motioned to the contents of her handbag. “Why take your phone, but not your wallet? What burglar leaves behind cash and credit cards?”
Lilo followed his gesture. He was right; her wallet lay on the armchair, open. She could see that the money was still in it. And then she remembered what the burglar had said to her while he had her on the couch.
“He asked me where it is,” she said out loud.
“Where what is?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what he was talking about. He pressed me down on the couch and said: Where is it? That’s all. Then you came in.”
“Do you have anything valuable on you?”
“No. Just my computer, my cell phone, which I can’t find, and my wallet. I have no jewelry on me. Nothing of value to anybody but myself. I travel light.”
Blake nodded and glanced around, his eyes falling on the computer on the table. “Is that yours?”
“No. That’s Hannah’s. I tried to get in to check her emails, but it’s password-protected.”
“That’s fine. We’ll take it with us. I’ll check whether she left her cell phone or anything else that could give us a clue to where she is. In the meantime, get dressed and pack your things. You’re coming with me.” His voice was commanding, as if he was used to his orders being followed without question.
“But I have to go to the police and report her missing.”
For a moment, he just looked at her, studying her face. Then he sighed. “Fine. We’ll stop by the police on the way.”
She hesitated, instinctively pulling her bathrobe more tightly around her. “I don’t know you…”
“I understand that. But if I really wanted to hurt you, I could have done so a million times.”
She looked into his blue eyes and saw the sincerity there. Slowly, she nodded. He was right. “Okay, give me a few minutes to get my stuff together.”
And to calm down and recover from the shock of being attacked—and then rescued by a man who could make the heart of any woman flutter. Even hers.
6
While Lilo got dressed in the bedroom, Blake used the time wisely and searched the place for anything that could help pinpoint Hannah’s whereabouts. He also sent a text message.
Now he hoisted Lilo’s suitcase into the trunk of his Aston Martin, a gift from his 4th great-grandparents, Rose and Quinn, after he’d totaled his BMW four years earlier—and a way for them to tease him. After all, in his twenties he’d seen himself as his British namesake, Bond, and tried to pick up girls with 007’s signature greeting. How pathetic he’d been back then. Now he was so much more—more than he’d ever dreamed he could be. A member of a group of vampires who had made it their mission to protect the innocent.
Blake placed Hannah’s computer and tablet in a bag next to Lilo’s luggage. He hadn’t found Hannah’s cell phone, which could turn out to be good news. If she had it on her, and it was switched on, it would be easy to track: the Vüber app had a built-in GPS. He wouldn’t even have to contact his IT crew to triangulate the phone.
Blake walked around the car and got in on the driver’s side. Lilo was already sitting in the passenger seat. He unlocked his cell phone and opened the Vüber app. As a Scanguards manager, he had the administrative version of the app on his phone, which allowed him to locate various Vüber drivers and identify them by name, something a regular user couldn’t do, in order to protect the drivers’ anonymity.
“What are you doing?”
He glanced at Lilo, before tapping the app and entering Hannah’s name.
“Hannah’s phone has an app on it that shows where she is, so that people who are interested in hiring her know how close she is.”
“She told me she was working as a driver. So this is a competitor of Uber?”
“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.”
