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the bodyguard and kept her original. She pulled the key ring from her purse and handed it to Dirk. As they got close, he unlocked the driver's side door. "Get in. I'm going to see what happened to your
protector
. If I don't come back in five minutes, or you see anyone that you don't know, start the car and get the hell out of here." He reached into the pocket of his coat, pulled out a business card, and handed it to her, along with her keys. "If you do have to leave, don't go home. Call this number and talk to either Admiral Winslow or Mac Knight. They'll know what to do."
    She climbed inside the car and then took the card from him, gazing at it skeptically . "I really don't think this will be necessary. I'm sure Mr. Yarbro is around here somewhere."
    "I'm sure he is, but is he dead or alive?"
    When she started to protest, he held up his hand. "Look, I'm not going to argue about this. Do I have your promise that you'll leave?" He gave her a stern look.
    "Okay, okay. I promise."
    He started to shut the door but she stopped him. "That was you I saw the other day, wasn't it? In the alley?"
     
    It seemed to her that a gleam lit his eyes, but he neither admitted nor denied it. All he said was, "Lock the door." Then he slammed it shut, ending any further conversation.
    For a long second, he stared at her and she held his gaze, expecting him to tell her something more. Then he tapped on the window and she belatedly realized what he was waiting for.
    As soon as she locked the door, he raised his hand, fingers spread wide. "Five minutes," he mouthed, then turned and walked off between the parked cars until Bethany lost sight of him. She was alone—again.
    Only this time was different. This time she wasn't standing out in the open, midway between her car and the elevator. Before he left, Dirk had seen that she was safely tucked away, with a means of escape. It was more than her own bodyguard had done and that realization irritated her. Then Dirk's words echoed in her head,
Is he dead or alive
? And she immediately felt guilty.
    Dirk crossed to the far side of the garage, moving silently and staying hidden from sight. There had been two vampires lurking in the stairwell when Bethany and her bodyguard had stepped out of the elevator. The one had made enough noise to catch the bodyguard's attention and then led him on a merry chase, no doubt with the intent of leaving Bethany alone—an easy target for the remaining vampire. Neither had counted on Dirk being there.
    He'd entered the stairwell, drawn his sword, and dispatched the vampire lurking there before it could attack, but in doing so, he'd made noise and Bethany had heard him. It was good that she was wary, he told himself, but  seeing the frightened look in her eyes as she'd stared into the stairwell, he'd felt compelled to go to her. To reassure her, he'd argued to himself, not wanting to pursue the thought that there might have been another motive.
    She had seemed so lost and vulnerable standing there, he'd had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her, but the harder feat had been to leave her. She was safer in the car than standing in the middle of the garage and Dirk was pretty sure that he'd removed the most immediate threat to her, but the bodyguard's continued absence bothered him.
    As if his thoughts had summoned him, Dirk heard the sound of running footsteps long before he caught sight of the missing man. Ducking behind a parked car, Dirk watched him come into view, appearing unharmed, and Dirk briefly wondered what happened to the vampire he'd been chasing. Finding that creature, however, was a secondary concern. The first priority was to see that the bodyguard returned to Bethany and the two left, unharmed.
    Between his SEAL training and enhanced changeling abilities, it took little effort for Dirk to trail the bodyguard back to Bethany without the other man knowing he was there. He watched the man climb into the car and remained hidden until the