Well,he could.
He watched her warily. She didn't say anything, but suddenly her eyes got a faraway look as if she was remembering what it was like back in those days. She looked at him and then… then she did something he really wished she hadn't done.
"Stupid joke," she said again.
And then she smiled.
A true, genuine, thousand-watt smile that lit up her gorgeous face and did something strange to his insides.
He suddenly wondered what he could feel pounding at the back of his eyeballs and then realized it was his heartbeat, which had increased to double speed.
"Yeah." She continued to smile and shook her head. "Those were some good days."
He swallowed. His mouth felt very dry all of a sudden. Then he cleared his tightening throat and shifted positions in the seat. It was damn hot in the truck, and he pulled at the constrictive T-shirt material around his throat.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Her smile slowly disappeared, and she turned to look at the road. She licked her lips, and he found himself unable to look away from her mouth.
"Hey, watch it," she snapped.
He turned his attention back on the road and swerved out of the oncoming traffic lane.
Focus, Quinn, he told himself.Snap out of it.
Janie Parker wasn't some beautiful girl he was thinking about taking out for dinner and a movie. She was the enemy, and if he forgot that, then he was going to be in big trouble.
This was not good. Not good. Being in such close quarters with Quinn was making her feel very uncomfortable.
She could drive with Lenny for hours. Days even, and she didn't feel like this. Other than his cologne being a little on the overpowering side, the big guy was a decent travel companion. He made conversation about innocuous things like TV shows or the weather. Even when he recited his poems, she didn't feel as awkward as she did driving with Quinn.
She just wanted this over with. Get the Eye. Take it to the Boss. Save her sister. And then turn her back on Quinn and never see him again.
Ever.
It was somewhat ironic that she'd started dating the guy who'd tricked her into working for the Company because of his slight resemblance to Quinn. With that dark blond hair and broad shoulders, and… she glanced over at Quinn to see his biceps flex as he turned the wheel. She shook her head.
She'd dreamed about every inch of him. Well, every inch that she'd seen. For the rest she'd just used her imagination.
She had a really great imagination.
It was obvious that he hated her. She could see the disgust in his eyes for what she'd become. The thought filled her with anger, but she repressed it. She was doing what she had to do. She didn't care what anybody thought.
Quinn pulled off to the side of the road and got out of the car without saying anything. The area wasn't exactly well populated. It was desert for miles in every direction. She could see the peaks of theSuperstitionMountains in the distance. The sky was blue and bright, and she knew it made his eyes water, because she watched him reach under his dark sunglasses to rub them. BlazingArizona midafternoon . Not a good place for your average vamp.
She opened the passenger side door. "So where's the Eye?"
He shot her a look, as if she were an annoying child who asked the same question over and over again.
"Tell me what you want it for," he said.
"I don't know or care what this thing is, but it's a pain in the ass so far. Let's just find it and get it over with."
He frowned. "You don't even know what it is?"
She shook her head.
"So you're working for somebody."
"You should be a detective. A vampire detective. Is that a little cliché?"
"The Eye is a very powerful thing. Whoever has you after it is up to no good."
She rolled her eyes. "I don't really care."
"You don't care that if you get it and hand it over you might be doing the wrong thing?"
"The wrong thing? Since when are you such an expert on what's right and wrong? You're a damn vampire now."
He ran the tip of his tongue along the edge of his fangs and gave her a look that made her think he wanted to bite her.
"The Eye will grant one wish, once every thousand years."
"I already told you I don't care what it is or what it does. But I want it now."
"Tell me why."
"Because—" She pressed her lips together and glared at him. She didn't want to tell him about her sister.
It was none of his damn business and would only complicate matters.
Her cell phone rang.
She smiled at him and held up a finger. "Hold that thought, handsome." She moved a little away and pulled her phone out of her pocket, flipped it open, and held it to her ear.
"Parker here."
"Parker." The Boss's voice slid across the line, sending a chill down her neck that made her cringe.
"Hey there, Boss." She moved farther away from Quinn and walked a few more yards off the side of the road. "What's up?"
"What is your status? Have you the Eye in your possession yet?"
"Don't you already know? I thought you used your seers to keep tabs on us."
"Of the two seers I have under contract, one is on vacation and the other… passed away just this morning."