Mirabeau simply stared at the girl, several thoughts striking her one after the other. First, she now knew who the girl was. The reference to a sister and Decker meant this was Stephanie McGill whose sister was Dani McGill, Decker Argeneau Pimms’s life mate. The girl was a new turn, having been mortal until this last summer, when she’d been kidnapped by a rogue vampire. Every rogue hunter close enough to be of help had been called in to search for the girl, including Mirabeau and her partner Eshe. The kid had been found eventually, but not before the rogue, a no-fanger, had turned her. Fortunately, Stephanie had turned out Edantate rather than a no-fanger. While Edantates had the slight impediment of being unable to grow the fangs most immortals enjoyed, it wasn’t a serious problem now that blood came bagged. No-fangers, however, had that impediment plus a distressing insanity that led them to perform horrible atrocities on the mortals they all depended on to survive. It was for that reason that no-fangers were always hunted down and killed.
Her second thought was that the kid had managed to read their thoughts. It wasn’t surprising to her that Stephanie had read the man’s thoughts since Mirabeau had already picked up on the fact that he was mortal. She couldn’t have explained how. She’d simply sensed it. But it was rather startling that she’d been able to read Mirabeau, herself. She was the girl’s elder by more than four centuries. Stephanie shouldn’t have been able to read her thoughts, at least not if she’d been guarding them which, Mirabeau acknowledged, she might not have been doing. She would have to take care to do so, Mirabeau decided, her mind already moving on to the third thought.
While she’d stood pondering the mortal and noting his physical attributes, she’d been vaguely aware that he was doing the same in return. However, from what Stephanie had said, he had been standing there contemplating having sex with her, or lusting after her as the teenager had so charmingly put it. The thought made Mirabeau smile as she peered back at the man again.
After four and a half centuries, she’d been sexually active for a long time, but she’d found the urge to communicate on such a base level waning this last century. It was good to know she could still lust after a man, and it was always nice to know he lusted back. Perhaps after this assignment she could convince him to—
“Tiny McGraw.”
Mirabeau’s eyebrows rose at the name. It was one she’d heard a lot from Marguerite Argeneau. The woman had mentioned Tiny at least once every time Mirabeau had visited with her since the woman’s return from California, where she’d first met the private detective. Frankly, Mirabeau had grown tired of hearing the name. That thought slid away as a hand suddenly appeared before her at waist level. She automatically placed her own in it, but her eyes widened when her much smaller hand disappeared inside the catcher’s mitt-sized hand that closed warm and strong over her fingers. The man had huge hands, she noted silently, and instinctively glanced down to his feet to note that they too were extremely large.
Jesus, she thought faintly, the man must have a mammoth—
“Oh God! Stop before you make me puke,” Stephanie gasped, then started making gagging sounds to the left of them.
Mirabeau closed her eyes, embarrassment briefly struggling with anger. Anger won out, and she snapped, “Then stay the hell out of my head.”
“I’m not in your head. You’re practically shrieking your thoughts at me,” the girl shot back.
“Er…I’m guessing you’re Mirabeau La Roche, and you two know each other. Or should I make introductions?” Tiny asked uncertainly.
Mirabeau sighed with disappointment at the sense of loss when he released her hand, but then forced herself to straighten and act like the enforcer she was. “Yes, I’m Mirabeau. But no, Stephanie and I have never met. I do know who she is, though. I’ve seen her around the enforcer house,” Mirabeau explained. She then raised her eyebrows. “I gather you’re my backup to deliver the package?”
“Yes, yes, he’s your backup,” Stephanie interrupted impatiently, then added, “And I’m the package. So can we get moving now? It really stinks down here.”
Mirabeau turned narrowed eyes on the girl. She supposed she should have realized what the assignment was the moment she’d recognized the girl. However, she hadn’t. Now she stared at her as the true horror of this situation sank in. She was to deliver Stephanie to Port Henry, which meant at least ten hours trapped in a vehicle with this rude, mouthy teenybopper. She should have cottoned onto that sooner. She’d overheard Lucian, Dani, and Decker talking about the girl’s future at the enforcer house a couple of times. Lucian had insisted that the girl wouldn’t be safe anywhere but at the house with the enforcers around to watch out for her. Dani had insisted that Stephanie be moved, that the girl was miserable there with nothing to do but think of all she’d lost. She needed to have friends, finish high school, and have as normal a life as possible.