Adele

We reached the half way point just before dawn. It consisted of a medium sized town with a lot of empty strip malls. I fortified myself with coffee and a pile of breakfast sandwiches from a fast food place. We'd agreed not to stop, to drive straight through, which meant no sleep for me. While I polished off my food, Davian pulled the hatchback we'd stolen into a car dealer lot he spotted off the highway.

"What are you doing?"

"Time for a new ride." He smiled at me and went to the chain blocking the driveway. Lifting it up in the middle, he snapped it with a quick jerk of his hands. The metal screeched and then clanged against the pavement.

Looking back at me, he said, "Why don't you find a place to park this thing? We need it out of the way."

Nodding that I'd heard him, I got out of the car to go around to the driver's seat. While I eased the car toward an empty spot at the back of the car lot, Davian headed for a sleek Porsche SUV painted bright red. 

I parked the tin can we'd been rattling around in at the back of the lot. Before leaving, I wiped down the steering wheel and the doors with the hem of my shirt. My fingerprints weren't on file and I doubted Davian's were, but it seemed important to keep it that way. Trouble liked following me around too much for me to think nothing would happen if law enforcement got a hold of my fingerprints.

I headed for Davian and his Porsche at a trot. He already had the engine running, so I jumped into the passenger seat. "Are you sure stealing a car that costs more than most houses is such a good idea? What about that?" I pointed to a black, four-door sedan a few spots over. "No one would look twice at that."

Davian shook his head. "It's almost dawn and we need a good vehicle. One that can go fast, and," he tapped the tinted windows, "can keep out the sun."

I blinked, registering the tinted windows for the first time. "Oh. I didn't think of that."

"That's the prerogative of the living." He turned and climbed past the back seat into the far rear of the SUV. "Do you mind driving? The windshield isn't tinted."

"Yeah. Sure." I moved over, thankful that the SUV was at least big enough that there was room to maneuver inside. Fitting into the hatchback had required miserable origami-like folding of my limbs.

"You know where you're going?"

I nodded and put the car in drive. "Yep. It's a straight shot north and then east now."

"Good." There was a tearing sound and I looked in the rear view mirror to see Davian pulling up the carpeting in the cargo area.

"I'll be under here if you need me."

"What if the police see us? Pull us over?" I turned right, heading for the highway.

"Just drive faster. This car will outrun almost anything. Keep going. Don't stop until we get there."

Great. My life choices had led me to grand theft auto and police chases. All I needed was a sawed-off shot gun for the shoot-out.

"And if I lose the speed chase?"

"Run," he said.

"What about you?"

"I'll manage," he said, although we both knew he would be trapped while the sun shone.

"If it comes to that, just get out. I'll cover you somehow," I said.

"I don't want you to put yourself in danger."

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but danger is kind of my personal stalker. I mean, have you met me?"

He chuckled.  "You have a point, but I'm not going to be why you get hurt. So, just run. I'll figure something out. Just be safe, Adele. If you're okay, then I'm fine, too."

My heart did a little pitter-pat at that and then I got annoyed. "Stop thinking that the only thing that's good for me is you leaving me behind."

"That's not what I mean."

"It's what happens. Over and over again." I shook my finger at him. "If we get caught by the police, your ass better be running away, too."

"Or what?"

"I'll drag you with me."

"Point taken. If it goes bad, we run together." He saluted me. "Got it."

"Good." I floored the accelerator and zipped into the merge lane for the highway. Time to see what this Porsche could do.

***

The miles rolled under us and no one noticed we didn't belong in the fire engine red Porsche SUV. There weren't too many people on the roads, and I made good time. Davian had gone quiet in the back once we hit the highway. I could wake him up if I absolutely needed to, but he wasn't much of a day walker.

Missing his company, I scanned the radio stations, looking for a distraction. Out in the middle of nowhere, my choices were a country station or a grunge marathon. I went with the country, my fingers tapping on the steering wheel. The day passed in a bass beat and deep voiced men singing about love gone wrong.

Oh, tell me about it. It was like I'd found my personal theme song station.

At dusk, Davian woke and joined me up front. Smoothing his hair back from his face, he asked, "How'd it go? Where are we?"

I looked at the car's clock. "A few hours away."

"You made good time." He turned down the radio and fiddled with the settings so the bass thumped in the back.

"I didn't stop." I watched him in my peripheral vision. He had a sexy case of bed head that made me want to pull over and drag him to the back of the SUV so I could do bad things to him. But there was no time for that now. I forced myself to focus on the road.

He pulled his phone out. "Let's find out how much of a head start we have on Zion." Tapping his finger on the screen, he said, "Looks like he's still in the City Oscura."

"How do you know?" I craned my neck to see his phone.

"I arranged for some people to keep an eye on him. They say he hasn't left yet. Now that it's night, he'll probably head out by plane."

"There's no airport in Huntsville."

"He doesn't need one. He'll parachute in."

"What?" My mind tripped over the idea of vampires jumping out of planes. Things like vampires were not supposed to drop out of the sky.

"Yeah. It's a thing he does."

"How about you?"

He shrugged. "Only if absolutely necessary. I'm not big on heights."

"Me neither."

"We probably have about four hours before he shows up."

"That means he'll be there early. The meet is at midnight, right?" I glanced at the car's clock. Time was going faster than I liked.

"Zion's not stupid. He'll case the warehouse and put his men in position."

"That's going to be a problem."

He shook his head. "No. I expect it. We'll be ready."

I bit my lip. So many things could go wrong. "I'm not sure my alpha will show."

"He'll come. They want revenge, right? They won't let me stop them."

"You sound so confident."

Davian nodded. "I've played this game a few times. I know how it goes."

"And Zion? Does he know how it goes?"

"He thinks he can't lose. But he's wrong." He handed me the phone. "Call your alpha and tell him it's time."