Argeneau Family - The Immortal Hunter Part 6

Dani's eyes widened in dismay at this news, and she sat up on her knees to peer out the winds.h.i.+eld at the dark road ahead.

"Don't panic," Decker said firmly, noticing her anxiety. "I'm sure we'll find somewhere to stop before we run out."

"And if we don't?" she asked anxiously.

He didn't answer. Instead he turned and leaned forward in his seat to peer out at what lay ahead.

They rode in silence for a couple of tense minutes, and then Decker straightened, eyes squinting briefly before he let his breath out on a relieved sigh and said, "There's a sign up ahead."

"I see it." Justin nodded, relaxing a bit in his seat as he added, "An off ramp in one kilometer."

Dani squinted, trying to see what they claimed to, but all she saw was dark highway and taillights. She spent another moment straining before she could make out the green sign ahead, and it was a moment after that before she could read it in the intermittent lights of the cars preceding them and see that it was indeed an off ramp. Dani then sank back on her haunches, thinking that either the men had been lying to try to keep her from panicking, or she needed to get her eyes checked.

The moment they exited the off ramp, Dani rose up on her knees again, relieved when she spotted the gas station ahead.

"There's a restaurant right next to it," Justin pointed out as he steered them up the road. "If-"

"Jesus, Justin," Decker said with disgust.

"I was only going to say that if Dani wanted to use the washroom, I'd drop her there, get gas, and come back for her," Justin said dryly, "This might be her only chance until we need gas again."

"Oh," Decker said with a sigh and closed his eyes. Dani took that opportunity to take a good look at the man in the illumination cast over them by the parking lot lights. She hadn't been able to really look at him before this tonight. Not in good light and not even in bad. It seemed to her that every time her eyes had moved his way it was to find him staring back, so her gaze had continually slipped away, gaining just an impression of a handsome man before she looked elsewhere. Now, however, with his eyes closed, she was able to really look at the man Nicholas had a.s.sured her she was safe with. He was a very handsome man, she thought as her eyes traveled over his straight nose and firm jaw. He had an interesting mouth, with a thinner upper lip but a full, sensual lower lip. However, he was-at the moment-extremely pale, unhealthily so. It reminded her of the wound he'd taken and made her worry that he'd lost more blood than she'd thought, or that it was infected.

"However," Justin added, distracting her, "now that you've mentioned it, if she wanted to grab me a burger or something while she was in there, she probably has the time and-"

"Bricker," Decker barked, silencing him.

Dani bit her lip, amused despite herself by the exasperation in Decker's voice. It was like riding with the odd couple in this van.

While Dani had been staring out the window for most of the ride, she hadn't been completely lost in thought. Half of her attention had been on the brief spurts of conversation the two men had held. She hadn't comprehended all of what they said, she suspected they spoke in code a lot to avoid her understanding, but what she had picked up on was that Justin and Decker were complete opposites.

Justin appeared to enjoy the sound of his own voice and chattered a lot, while Decker was more quiet, speaking only when he had something to say. Justin had claimed at one point to love city life, enjoying the variety and the nightclubs, while Decker had responded that he preferred the peace and quiet of cottage country where he apparently had a second home. Justin enjoyed action movies and sitcoms, while Decker had said he didn't watch much of such things, preferring a good book and cozy fire.

Dani too preferred reading to television, and a cozy fire in a cottage beat out city life for her any day of the week despite-or perhaps because of-the fact that she'd been born and raised in a city and that's where her practice was. She'd also found herself in sympathy with Decker when it came to his obvious exasperation with Justin. It seemed apparent to her that Justin- who seemed younger even though they looked the same age-was deliberately taunting Decker and intentionally exasperating him.

"Dani?"

She let these thoughts slip away and glanced to Decker in question.

"Do you want to stop to use the facilities?" he asked.

Dani hesitated. She didn't really have to go to the bathroom, but knew it might be a good idea anyway.

Besides, it would be an opportunity to call her parents and the police, so she murmured, "Yes, thank you."

Decker nodded. He glanced around as Justin pulled into the restaurant parking lot, but then turned back to look at her again.

He was going to get a crick in his neck from constantly turning to look back at her if he didn't stop that, she thought absently, and said, "You look pale. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he a.s.sured her, waving away her worry. "I just need to feed."

"Then maybe you should get something to eat while we're here," Dani pointed out. She was too worried about her sister to be hungry herself, but could understand if Decker and Justin didn't feel the same way and they would be in the restaurant anyway.

"I'm not hungry," he answered contrarily, his gaze s.h.i.+fting to peer out the winds.h.i.+eld as Justin slowed to a stop.

She was about to ask which it was, that he needed to feed or that he wasn't hungry when Justin distracted her by saying, "We'll pick you up as soon as we're done getting gas."

Dani hesitated, but then nodded and s.h.i.+fted across the floor to the door, her gaze sliding to the tarp-covered bodies as she went. While dead bodies didn't normally bother her, these ones were really starting to creep her out. She'd be glad to get away from them, Dani decided as she reached for the door handle. Before she could touch it, it began to move and the door slid aside to reveal Decker. She'd been so distracted she hadn't noticed him getting out of the front seat to help her disembark.

"Thank you." Dani accepted the hand he offered and gripped it as she got to her feet in a bent position and jumped to the ground. A sharp crack and skittering sound made her glance around to see what she'd dropped, and her eyes widened with alarm when she saw her phone lying on the pavement, its back off and lying several feet away beside the battery. She must not have gotten it all the way in her pocket earlier, and the jolt as she'd landed had dislodged it.

"My phone!" she cried with alarm, and, afraid the battery and phone back would be run over, she rushed to grab them first and then turned around to find Decker straightening from collecting the actual phone itself.

"It doesn't look too bad. I'll put it back together while you use the ladies' room," he said, holding out his hand for the items she'd rescued."It's okay, I can do it." Dani moved back to him intending to take back the phone.

"Decker, we have to move," Justin called from the driver's seat.

Decker hesitated, and then turned to the van and said, "Go ahead. I'm going to throw some water on my face."

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. "d.a.m.ned 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."

"A lot of women suspect that very thing," Dani a.s.sured him as they weaved their way through the queuing people in the open area in front of the tills.

Decker actually chuckled, drawing her curious gaze his way, and she couldn't help but notice that much of his earlier pallor had gone. His cheeks were almost rosy. Apparently getting out of the van and splas.h.i.+ng water on his face had helped. That or he had a fever, she thought as he ushered her out of the restaurant. When he drew her to a halt on the sidewalk and glanced around to see where the van was, Dani quickly reached out to place the back of her hand against his cheek.

Decker gave a start and caught her hand as he glanced at her in surprise, and she quickly explained, "I was checking to see if you have a fever."

He relaxed, but raised his eyebrows. "And do I?"

"No. You feel fine," she admitted.

"You sound disappointed," Decker said with amus.e.m.e.nt.

"No, of course not," Dani said and then admitted, "I'm just a little surprised. You weren't looking nearly as healthy earlier, and I was positive infection was setting in, but you look fine now and don't seem to be in pain."Decker shrugged. "I'm not. I'm a fast healer and have a hearty const.i.tution."

Before Dani could respond, the van slid to a halt in front of them and Justin leaned out the window. "Finally! I thought you two had set up house inside or something. Get in. We have to get back on the road."

Dani didn't resist when Decker caught her hand and led her around the van. He opened the front pa.s.senger door, but rather than get in, turned to catch her arm as she made to move past him to the back door. "I'll ride in the back. You take the front this time."

Glad not to be in the back with the bodies, she murmured thank you and allowed him to help her step up into the van. Decker closed the door as Dani did up her seat belt and then opened the back door and climbed in. Justin pulled away as soon as he'd slid the door closed, heading for the on ramp to the highway.

"What the h.e.l.l is this?"

Dani glanced around at that irritated question from Decker and found him peering down at two large bags, two small bags, and a carton with three large drinks in it that all sat on the floor between the two front seats.

"What does it look like? It's food," Justin said dryly.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I just can't believe you hit the drive-through," Decker muttered.

"I didn't. I had the drive-through girl bring it to me while I filled up at the gas station next door."

"How did you manage that?" Dani asked with surprise.

"I... used my charm," he muttered, and then added dryly, "Though I wouldn't have bothered had I realized you guys were going to take so long. I could have gone through the drive-through twice in the time it took you to use the washroom."

Dani looked to Decker to find him rolling his eyes at this claim, and then Justin said, "Can someone unwrap a burger for me and hand it over?"

"You got enough food for an army here, Justin," Decker said with disgust as he pulled out a cheeseburger and began to unwrap it.

Dani didn't comment, but it really was an incredible amount of food for one man, and she had to wonder how he managed to keep in such good shape if he regularly ate like this.

"It isn't all for me," Justin rea.s.sured them. "I figured as soon as you saw my food, you'd find your appet.i.tes, so I got you each a burger, fries, and a drink. The rest are burgers for me. They're easier to eat while driving than anything else." He paused and glanced down at the food before saying, "Where is that burger?"

"Here." Decker held up the now half-wrapped burger.

Removing one hand from the steering wheel, Justin took it with a murmured thanks and then proceeded to eat the thing in two bites. Dani watched the process with amazement. She'd never seen anything like it. He was a human trash compactor.

Her gaze turned to Decker to see him shaking his head at the display. It was obviously something he'd seen before.

"Can I have another please?" Justin asked. "And maybe one of those drinks?"

Dani leaned over to retrieve the drink while Decker set to work unwrapping a second burger for Justin. She didn't hand it to him, but set it in the drink holder on his side."Thanks," he said, and picked up the drink, then paused and glanced worriedly to the second cup holder on her side. "You'll have to get the stuff out of your cup holder before you can use it."

Dani didn't ask what stuff. She knew he meant the bug and tracker, but she didn't have to remove them either. Decker did it for her, reaching in to scoop them out with one hand, as he held up another freshly unwrapped cheeseburger with the other for Justin to take.

"Watch the food," Justin cried, almost sounding panicked at the possibility that Decker might kneel on one of the bags.

"I'm watching," Decker said with exasperation as he dropped the two gizmos in his pocket and settled back on his haunches.

He glanced down at the bags of food and asked, "One of these is for me?"

"Yeah," Justin said around a full mouth. "Try it, you might like it."

Dani glanced curiously from one man to the other. He made it sound as if Decker might never have eaten a burger before, which just seemed ridiculous. It was hard to imagine anyone never having at least tried a burger. Well, perhaps if he'd been raised a vegetarian, she supposed, but if he was a vegetarian he wouldn't be unwrapping the burger he'd just pulled out of the bag and be taking a healthy bite out of it.

She watched his face, noting the expressions that flitted across it, and would have sworn he really hadn't had one before. "Are you a vegan or something?"

Decker glanced at her with surprise. "No. Why would you ask that?"

"Well, it's like you've never had a burger before."

"He hasn't," Justin informed her. "Decker usually sticks to a liquid diet."

"Justin Bricker," Decker gasped, sounding as shocked as he was horrified by the revelation.

Ignoring him, Dani asked, "You mean protein drinks?"