Chapter 8
Benjamin adjusted his bow tie and forced himself to take a few deep breaths to calm himself.
Catalina’s unwillingness to tell him the truth had riled him up.
She didn’t strike him as a cool-as-a-cucumber cat burglar.
She’d looked too nervous for that. That same nervousness had colored not only her cheeks but also her voice.
Or maybe that was just another act, and she was trying to play the innocent again so that she could wiggle herself out of the situation she was in.
Maybe she thought that she could manipulate him.
In any case, something didn’t make sense, but right now, he didn’t have the time to get to the bottom of it.
He had to get back to his post, or somebody would get suspicious.
Upon entering the foyer of the Preston mansion, Ethan, who stood at the foot of the stairs, looked at him.
“Anything the matter?” Ethan asked.
“No, everything’s fine. Just thought I’d forgotten to lock the car. You know how it is,” he lied.
“Senior moment? You? Well, I guess you are getting old.”
Benjamin forced a chuckle, glad that Ethan didn’t suspect him of lying. “Last time I checked, you were only a year younger than I.”
He caught a glimpse of Lydia walking toward them from the back of the house.
“And you’d better not mention age in front of Lydia. She’s older than both of us,” Benjamin warned.
“My lips are sealed,” Ethan claimed, just as Lydia came within hearing range.
“You guys taking a break or something?” she asked. “’Cause you might wanna keep an eye on the alcohol. Caught one of the waiters shoving a bottle of Dom Pérignon into his backpack.”
“Crap,” Ethan exclaimed. “What did you do with him?”
“Not much,” Lydia claimed with a grin. “But he might wonder later why his pants are wet.”
Ethan rolled his eyes, then whispered under his breath, “You used mind control on him to piss himself?”
Lydia shook her head. “I didn’t. I simply told him I’d crush his balls if he didn’t put the bottle right back where he found it.”
Benjamin had to grin. Lydia was a fierce woman, the oldest among his hybrid vampire friends.
And while she looked like a supermodel with long blond hair, a body to die for, and a voice like an angel, she knew how to handle men and put them in their place.
She was still single, though she didn’t lack admirers, vampires and humans alike.
She was probably just choosy, or enjoying the variety.
Just like he had. Until now. Which brought his mind back to the subject of the sexy thief he’d handcuffed to his car.
He couldn’t wait for this damn party to be over.
But the night was young, and in addition to the piano player, who entertained the guests, and the never-ending flow of alcohol, the Prestons had also set up a silent auction to benefit some charity whose name he couldn’t remember.
With Ethan back guarding the side entrance of the house, he left Lydia in charge of the front entrance and wandered into the salon.
Dressed in his tuxedo, he didn’t look any different than the rest of the men in attendance, except for the fact that most men were a good thirty to forty years older than he was—or rather than he looked.
After all, he’d stopped aging at the age of twenty-one like all other vampire hybrids.
For years he’d tried everything he could to make himself look older, mostly so that he would be taken seriously by the clients he was assigned to.
But after a while, he’d given up on that endeavor and just let his work speak for itself.
He had almost nineteen years of experience as a bodyguard and security expert under his belt, and once his clients saw what he did, their fears of him being too young for this kind of work were assuaged.
As he made his way through the salon, he let his gaze roam over the partygoers.
The women wore lots of jewelry: rings, necklaces, and earrings so heavy he was surprised their earlobes didn’t droop down to their waist under their weight.
He’d never quite understood people’s fascination with jewels.
In the vampire world, where thanks to immortality and compound interest many of the men and women of Scanguards were rather wealthy, nobody showed their wealth outwardly.
Sure, many of them owned large homes in good areas of San Francisco, and some liked fast cars, but that’s where the display of wealth ended.
Their blood-bonded mates rarely wore more than a beautiful ring.
They didn’t even need that to be assured of their mates’ undying love. Because a vampire’s love was forever.
He shook off the thoughts and concentrated on his job.
The time dragged on like it always did when he was waiting for something better.
Once more, he switched posts with Lydia, who then roamed the salon as he’d done before.
Everything was going smoothly. Just as it should, because what were the odds that there would be two thieves trying to rob the same house during the same event?
Finally, an end was called to the silent auction, and slowly but surely, the first guests left. Now both he and Lydia were working at the front entrance. When the guests were all finally gone, he and Lydia went to the back of the house, where the catering staff was busy cleaning up.
“I’ll have you two deal with the staff, alright?” Benjamin said, looking at Ethan and Lydia.
“Got somewhere to go?” Lydia asked.
“No.” He searched for a plausible explanation. “I guess I’m beat. Coming off a ten-day assignment and jumping right into the next gig was probably not my finest idea.”
There, that should be a good enough explanation.
“See you later, old man,” Ethan teased.
Benjamin gave him the finger, grinning, and left to say his goodbyes to the Prestons. They were in the salon.
“Mr. and Mrs. Preston?” Benjamin said, approaching. “I’ll be heading out. Lydia and Ethan are supervising the catering staff and will make sure all areas are secure before they leave.”
“Thank you so much, Benjamin,” James Preston said with a nod.
“Good night,” Elizabeth Preston added.
Benjamin was glad to leave and headed for his car.
The fog was thick now, and the air was cold.
He didn’t feel the cold. His vampire body wasn’t as susceptible to extreme temperatures as a human body.
When he reached his car, he noticed that the passenger door wasn’t completely closed. Had Catalina opened it to get some air?
He made the last few steps to his car and opened the passenger door completely.
A clanging sound echoed in the night: the rattling of metal against the textured wood trim on the interior of the door.
The cuffs were hanging there on their own, one of them open, the other still attached to the door handle.
Catalina was gone.
He cursed and ran a shaky hand through his hair.
“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”
How had he been so idiotic to think that a woman who’d tried to break into a safe with lockpicks wouldn’t know how to pick the lock of the handcuffs?
Sure, he’d taken the lockpicks off her and put them into the interior pocket of his tuxedo, but he hadn’t checked if she’d had anything else on her with which she could open the handcuffs.
He slammed the door shut and walked to the driver’s side. He slunk into the seat there and let out a frustrated breath.
Think, man, think!
He had to find her. But how? All he knew about her was her first name. He could go back to the caterers and ask the supervisor for her contact info, but then he’d have to give a reason why. Besides, if she was smart, she hadn’t given the catering company her real name and address.
What else did he know about her? She drove a rusty old car. He closed his eyes, thinking back to the previous evening and the moment when his mother had parked Catalina’s car, because Catalina had been in shock after nearly getting run over by a taxi.
He hadn’t consciously tried to memorize her license plate.
However, during his training as a bodyguard, he and his fellow trainees had learned various methods of memorizing and recalling important information.
It was ingrained in him, and he’d used it without even thinking of it.
He concentrated on Catalina’s car again.
Something about an animal. There it was: L10N4U, Lion for you. Her license plate.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tapped on a stored number. It rang only once before the call was connected.
“Hey, Benjamin,” Eddie said cheerfully. “What’s up?”
“I need a favor. Could you please run a license plate for me? I’m not near a computer right now.”
Because if he were, he could log into the system himself.
The governor of California had given Scanguards access to the DMV database years ago.
Before that, Eddie and his mate, Thomas, who were both brilliant computer geniuses, had hacked into the system if they needed information. Now, things were much easier.
“Sure, shoot.”
“L10N4U.”
“Give me a sec.”
There was the sound of Eddie tapping on his keyboard.
“Here it is. A Catalina Vargas. Lives in the Tenderloin.”
“Address?”
“I’ll send it to your cell.”
“Great. Thanks!”
“Anything I can help you with?”
“You already have.”
He disconnected the call before Eddie could ask any more questions. Moments later, a ping sounded, and he scrolled to his text messages. There it was: Catalina’s address. He started the car.