Free Summit at Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 3) by Jaz Primo Page B

she closed his door, appearing in the driver’s seat mere seconds later.
    The velocity of her movement made his head swim.
    She wheeled the car around to head in the direction opposite from where Paige had gone and propelled them back towards Mableton. Caleb worried for his friend as he studied the rear view through the side mirror, hoping that Paige would be okay.
    I know Paige is capable, but we don’t have any idea who our stalker is.
His experiences in London had only emphasized that there were very dangerous vampires lurking in the world.
    Katrina surveyed him with a hint of concern and reached out to caress her fingertips soothingly along the side of his face.
    “Did you enjoy your ride for the most part?” she asked to distract him.
    He cast a furtive glance at her. “Sure. I mean, it was surprising how different riding with her felt at night versus daytime.” It seemed prudent to avoid telling her how alarmed he had been as they had sped through the night
sans
headlamp.
    She sensed some evasion in his response.
    “Do you remember the last time that I was speeding you away in my car following an unexpected encounter?”
    He eyed her suspiciously, easily recounting when they had raced across town from the restaurant where the renegade vampire, Chimalma, had nearly trapped him last winter. It felt like an eternity since that dangerous encounter. Finally, he recalled, “Yeah, that was a bucket load of fun too.”
    She stifled a smirk at her mate’s dry wit.
He’s so adorable when he’s flustered
.
    “Well, unlike then, you’re not in any danger this time,” she explained. “It’s not beyond expectation that a curious vampire might just be traveling through town. Having declared my claim to Mableton and part of Atlanta earlier this spring, there were bound to be those who would take pleasure in flaunting their unannounced defiance when traversing my territory.”
    Caleb acknowledged the possibility, but doubted that this was the case. Vampires didn’t usually strike him as recalcitrant teenagers out to thumb their nose at authority.
    Vampires usually do everything for a reason.
    “Maybe,” he replied in a dubious tone.
    Katrina wasn’t entirely convinced herself. She slipped her cell phone from her purse and called Devon Archibald, a vampire indebted to her employ as restitution for his poor judgment in nearly killing Caleb as wayward prey. She called upon him from time to time to help patrol and secure her territory.
    Following her brief chat with Devon, she focused on Caleb with a confident expression. “Devon’s going to patrol our area first and then around your campus. He’ll let us know if something, or someone, turns up.”
    Caleb suddenly realized that they had already arrived at the gate entrance to their addition.
Wow, we must have been racing back here
.
    Once in the estate, Katrina went to their sublevel chamber to finish some emails and call Alton while Caleb retrieved a Coke from the refrigerator and sat at the kitchen bar to reflect on the evening’s events. He wondered what could have been of so much interest that another vampire would care about him and Paige so much.
    After finishing his cola, he felt restless and went out to stand on the front porch to wait for Paige’s return. The fog had begun to clear, revealing large patches of the night sky.
    “Nice night, but you’ll have to move further away from the house lights to stargaze properly,” rumbled a deep baritone off to Caleb’s left.
    He turned in the direction of the voice and saw Devon’s hulking figure just a few feet away. The ebony-skinned vampire stood with his muscled arms folded before him. His gleaming white teeth were exposed in a wide, self-satisfied grin.
    Caleb nodded at the imposing figure, having recently acquired an appreciation for the vampire who had once tried to make a meal out of him. Following their recent trip to England, Caleb and Devon had discussed the works of Shakespeare, which Caleb had