swat at a rash of black gnats buzzing around him. “If the sun were shining, you’d be fried before you reached the porch.”
Zach looked like he believed it.
“ Hell, this is pleasant,” Reilly went on, enjoying his cocky companion’s discomfort. “When I was a kid, we didn’t even have air-conditioning.”
“ You’re shitting me?”
Reilly laughed and shook his head. He glanced back at the vehicle that had followed him out of Los Angeles, watching the old woman and her two companions pile out of the minivan. Between the vampire/Abe Lincoln look-alike, the white gloved priest, and Chloe, he couldn’t say which of the three was the strangest.
“ Welcome to Diablo Springs,” he said.
The air held a fetid smell that brought home a million memories. Hot summer nights swimming with his brother, Matt, in Danny Green’s aboveground pool. They’d frozen water in milk jugs and floated them in a vain effort to cool it off. They’d slept on cots in the backyard, braving the bugs for the chance of a breeze. They’d learned the sun could be an enemy. And so could a lightning storm.
As Reilly grabbed his bag from the back of the SUV and looked up at the rumbling, mottled sky, lightning split the clustered darkness, and the sharp scent of sulfur joined the loamy smells in the air. The rain seemed to evaporate before it reached earth, leaving a thin steam that made the skin sticky and the air thick.
The trio huddled beside their van like preschoolers outside a haunted house. Then Chloe LaMonte stepped from the circle and headed toward Reilly. She moved with the grace of a 1950s movie star, her steps very sure, especially for a woman of her age. Her eyes glowed like embers in the muted light.
She stopped at his side, followed closely by the vampire guy Reilly guessed to be her bodyguard or an adopted son... or maybe her significant other. Hard to say. He easily topped Reilly’s own six foot two and looked like he might never have seen the sun. He wore a plain black T-shirt and black cotton slacks. Next to the colorful Chloe, he looked like he’d missed his own funeral. He wished he could remember the guy’s name.
“ Nathan,” Chloe said in her soft, mysteriously accented voice. “Do you feel them?”
“ Christ, they’re eating us alive,” Zach said, swatting at the bugs.
Abe the vampire frowned at Zach, but Chloe didn’t even spare him a glance. “I know you do. You sense them. You’ve always sensed them.”
“ I sense we’re going to get hit by lightning if we don’t get inside.”
Her grin was smug. He gritted his teeth.
“ We’re late,” she said, unconcerned with his prediction. “Not too late, but late. Let’s go in.”
Reilly gave one more glance at the flashing police lights out at the dried-up springs and then followed Chloe and Abe up the walkway. The priest and Zach fell in step behind him.
Chloe paused on the porch, looking at him expectantly as he joined her. “No one home?” he asked.
She gave a shrug that managed to look European and convey absolutely nothing. “You go first,” she said. “You’ll have to face ... is it Faith?” She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “No, it’s Grace, isn’t it?”
“ Gracie?” Reilly glanced at the front door and then back to Chloe, more disturbed by Chloe mining the name from his memory than anything the peculiar woman had said up to this point. He hadn’t seen Gracie Beck in years— not since the night he’d lied to protect his brother. How many nights since had he wished he could do it all over? Do it right? But there were no do-overs in life.
Chloe gave him an enigmatic smile. “Gracie, yes, of course. You didn’t really think you were through with her, did you?”
Reilly was flat-out dumbfounded. “I think you’ve got your wires crossed, Chloe. Gracie hasn’t been back to Diablo Springs since she ran off. And I never really knew her that well in the first place.”
“ Perhaps,” she said, her
Zach looked like he believed it.
“ Hell, this is pleasant,” Reilly went on, enjoying his cocky companion’s discomfort. “When I was a kid, we didn’t even have air-conditioning.”
“ You’re shitting me?”
Reilly laughed and shook his head. He glanced back at the vehicle that had followed him out of Los Angeles, watching the old woman and her two companions pile out of the minivan. Between the vampire/Abe Lincoln look-alike, the white gloved priest, and Chloe, he couldn’t say which of the three was the strangest.
“ Welcome to Diablo Springs,” he said.
The air held a fetid smell that brought home a million memories. Hot summer nights swimming with his brother, Matt, in Danny Green’s aboveground pool. They’d frozen water in milk jugs and floated them in a vain effort to cool it off. They’d slept on cots in the backyard, braving the bugs for the chance of a breeze. They’d learned the sun could be an enemy. And so could a lightning storm.
As Reilly grabbed his bag from the back of the SUV and looked up at the rumbling, mottled sky, lightning split the clustered darkness, and the sharp scent of sulfur joined the loamy smells in the air. The rain seemed to evaporate before it reached earth, leaving a thin steam that made the skin sticky and the air thick.
The trio huddled beside their van like preschoolers outside a haunted house. Then Chloe LaMonte stepped from the circle and headed toward Reilly. She moved with the grace of a 1950s movie star, her steps very sure, especially for a woman of her age. Her eyes glowed like embers in the muted light.
She stopped at his side, followed closely by the vampire guy Reilly guessed to be her bodyguard or an adopted son... or maybe her significant other. Hard to say. He easily topped Reilly’s own six foot two and looked like he might never have seen the sun. He wore a plain black T-shirt and black cotton slacks. Next to the colorful Chloe, he looked like he’d missed his own funeral. He wished he could remember the guy’s name.
“ Nathan,” Chloe said in her soft, mysteriously accented voice. “Do you feel them?”
“ Christ, they’re eating us alive,” Zach said, swatting at the bugs.
Abe the vampire frowned at Zach, but Chloe didn’t even spare him a glance. “I know you do. You sense them. You’ve always sensed them.”
“ I sense we’re going to get hit by lightning if we don’t get inside.”
Her grin was smug. He gritted his teeth.
“ We’re late,” she said, unconcerned with his prediction. “Not too late, but late. Let’s go in.”
Reilly gave one more glance at the flashing police lights out at the dried-up springs and then followed Chloe and Abe up the walkway. The priest and Zach fell in step behind him.
Chloe paused on the porch, looking at him expectantly as he joined her. “No one home?” he asked.
She gave a shrug that managed to look European and convey absolutely nothing. “You go first,” she said. “You’ll have to face ... is it Faith?” She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “No, it’s Grace, isn’t it?”
“ Gracie?” Reilly glanced at the front door and then back to Chloe, more disturbed by Chloe mining the name from his memory than anything the peculiar woman had said up to this point. He hadn’t seen Gracie Beck in years— not since the night he’d lied to protect his brother. How many nights since had he wished he could do it all over? Do it right? But there were no do-overs in life.
Chloe gave him an enigmatic smile. “Gracie, yes, of course. You didn’t really think you were through with her, did you?”
Reilly was flat-out dumbfounded. “I think you’ve got your wires crossed, Chloe. Gracie hasn’t been back to Diablo Springs since she ran off. And I never really knew her that well in the first place.”
“ Perhaps,” she said, her
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