"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said. "As you can see. I was in the shower."
Ramsay pulled his head back and checked the room number again. "I'm looking for Dr. Hollanda Lang. Maybe I have the wrong room."
"You have the right room," the dark woman said. "She's not here."
Ramsay fumbled out his identification. "My name's Ramsay," he said. "Sheriff, La Reina County."
"I am Lupe," said the woman. "I was told you might be along."
"Told? Told by whom?"
The woman shivered. "Do you mind if we go inside? I'm getting a chill standing here."
Ramsay stepped into the room. Lupe closed the door behind them. He looked over the impersonal motel furnishings, searching for some sign of Holly Lang. Aside from a blue overnight case beside the bureau that might have been hers, he could find nothing.
"Where is Dr. Lang?" he said.
"Why is everyone so interested in finding that woman?" Lupe said. "Won't I do?"
"I don't want to play games. If you know where she is, please tell me."
Lupe pointed up into the foothills that rose immediately behind the motel. "She's up there."
"Up there, where?"
"She's with a friend of mine."
Ramsay took a step toward her. "Let's stop wasting time. I want to know where Holly is, and I want to know now."
Lupe clutched the towel to her breast in mock fright. "And what will you do to me, Sheriff, if I don't want to tell you? Give me the third degree?"
With an effort Ramsay brought himself under control. "I think we'd better talk to the local authorities. They're investigating a couple of deaths at the carnival, and they might want to ask you some questions."
The woman's green eyes lost their playfulness. "I don't think you want to have me arrested. Not if you want to see your Holly again."
Ramsay ground his teeth. "Where is she?"
"I told you - with a friend of mine. His name is Derak."
"Should the name mean something to me?"
"He is from Drago."
Ramsay stiffened. "And you?"
"Yes."
"Jesus." Unconsciously his hand brushed the jacket pocket that was heavy with the silver bullets.
"I see you are beginning to understand. She will not have been harmed yet, but if you want her to stay that way, you had better be nice to me."
"What about the boy, Malcolm? Is he with them?"
"If he is not, he soon will be," Lupe said. Ramsay moved toward the door. "Where are you going?"
"To organize a search of these hills."
"A search?"
"Men, helicopters, whatever it takes."
"That would be a mistake. Your men and helicopters did not capture Derak the last time. They are no match for him. All they can do is make him angry. And then what do you suppose he might do to your Holly?"
Gavin stood indecisively halfway between the woman and the door.
"There is another way," Lupe said in a throaty voice.
"Well?"
In a sinuous movement she pulled away the towel and let it fall to the floor. Gavin stared at the smooth naked body.
"Come make love to me and I'll tell you about it." she said.
"Are you crazy?"
The green eyes flashed. "No. I'm hungry. Last night I had a boy. He just gave me a sharper appetite for a man." She opened her arms. "Come. Let me show you what a woman like me can do for a real man."
For a moment Gavin was actually close to accepting the challenge. The woman's body was wonderfully inviting, and the faint musky smell of her made him feel a little drunk.
He shook off the impulse. "I'll bet you're something." he said, "but strange as it may seem to you, I'm not in the mood. See you."
He turned and walked to the door. As he gripped the knob she called to him.
"Wait."
He turned back. She reached down and picked up the towel but made no effort to cover herself. "I'll take you to them."
He eyed her suspiciously. "Why would you do that?"
"Because I don't want her to be one of us. That's what happens, you know, when someone is bitten and doesn't die. They become... what we are."
"So I've heard," Gavin said.
"Lately I have been Derak's woman. I don't want to share him."
"All right," Gavin said. "Get dressed and let's get started."
The first half hour was rough going as the slope grew steeper and there was no usable trail through the heavy brush. Lupe, in spite of her soft shoes and leather outfit, moved easily up the hill while Ramsay struggled. He was breathing hard by the time they reached a trail that angled up the hillside at a more gentle grade.
Lupe was waiting for him as he topped the rise onto the trail. She contrived to brush her breasts against him. "Want to rest? Or something?"
"No, I'm fine. Let's go."
She made a face at him, but they continued up the trail. After another hour they were making good time. The trail forked, each leg angling up the hill in a different direction. Ramsay turned to Lupe for a decision. She suddenly cried out and fell to her knees. She rolled to a sitting position, clutching her right leg.
"What's the matter?" Gavin said.
"It's my ankle. I stepped on a rock and I heard something pop in there. It hurts."
Gavin knelt beside her and took the leg gently in his hand. He eased the soft leather shoe off her foot. Lupe grimaced.
"Do you think you can walk on it?" he said.
"I don't know. It hurts really bad."
He ran his fingers gently along the skin of her leg from knee to instep. There was no irregularity that might indicate a broken bone. In spite of the urgency of the situation, he was aware of the smooth feel of her flesh.
"Maybe it's higher up," she said. "Above the knee. Why don't you feel there?"
He turned and saw she was grinning at him.
"Go ahead," she said. "Feel my leg. It's already getting better."
"Damn you," he began, but before he could say more, Lupe grasped him behind the neck and pulled his head down into a steamy kiss.
He pulled away, a little bit surprised at her strength. "Will you for Christ's sake cut it out?" he said.
She leaned back on her elbows, looking at him. "What's the matter? You do like women, don't you?"
"I like women just fine," he said slowly. "And I like sex with women. But I like it with the woman I choose and at the time I choose. Now quit crapping around and let's go."
Lupe did not move. Her eyes flashed angrily. "I'm not good enough? You've got to have a lady doctor, is that it?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but the words died when he saw what was happening to Lupe. Her mouth opened in snarl to show strong canine teeth. Hair sprouted from her face. Her body jerked in a convulsion as she tore away her leather clothes. Claws pushed out of the ends of her fingers as the hands stretched and blackened. She rose, standing on the powerful hind legs of a wolf.
Ramsay looked up at the creature that now stood a good head taller than he. All resemblance to the beautiful seductive woman was gone. What remained was a deadly, ravenous creature covered with glossy black fur. He pulled the revolver from his holster.
"Get back!" he said. "Silver bullets."
Lupe, or what had been Lupe, gave a deep-throated bellow that echoed faintly of the woman's derisive laugh. She came at him.
Ramsay hesitated for a near-fatal moment. He could not erase the image of the vibrant, sexy woman who had been there a moment ago. The oversized hands caught him, the claws digging through his jacket into the flesh of his back. The creature's jaws creaked open. The teeth came down toward his throat. Her breath stank of carrion.
Ramsay pulled the trigger. The sound of the gunshot was muffled against the huge body of the werewolf. She gave a shriek of mingled pain and shock. The grip of the claws relaxed and she staggered backward.