Chapter Fifteen
She clung to the chick bar as Viktor broke all the laws of physics as they sped out of town. He drove like an immortal. Technically, she was one too, but her brain registered itself as still human. She might survive a crash, but she’d feel every broken bone and ruptured organ. “Viktor, I understand the urgent need to leave New Port.” The dragon could do more damage than a car crash, she was sure. “I don’t want Eoin catching us either.” He would toss us both in the dungeon this time, complete with matching chain work. She hadn’t come from medieval times and hadn’t developed Viktor’s amazing coping skills to deal with dark, dank dungeons. “But I don’t want to go to human jail either. I doubt they have sunlight proof cells. Slow down.”
He gave her the side-eye. “Like a human jail cell could hold us.” He chuckled.
“I’m glad I amuse you, but I’m serious. Slow the fuck down before you cause a sonic boom.”
This time he tossed his head back with a laugh. It was a musical sound. Deep and hearty and very masculine. “Nothing would please me more than to comply, but we are on a tight schedule.” He tapped the clock on the dashboard.
She stared at it, waiting for her mind to comprehend the cryptic reference. Nope, not happening. “I give up. Why am I staring at the time?”
“Sunrise. Your existence will revolve around when the sun sets and rises. We have just enough time to reach Riverbend and find shelter. If I hurry, we will have a better cushion to find shelter for the day.”
“Oh…” She glanced at the starry sky. They had had a busy night. Flying to the castle from her apartment, escaping said castle, and a pit stop at the club. The last one, she could consider a waste of their time, but Paulo had helped her realize Viktor had a real thing for this pink haired woman. A flame she needed to stoke. Somehow. She wished she could reach out to Ruby, but her sister hadn’t texted her with her new number. Trixie had never needed to text Ruby so bad. Her sister would know how to get Viktor naked in thirty seconds flat. Her, she would probably scar him for life with her ideas of seduction.
“Have you ever seen what happens to a vampire caught in sunlight?” Morbid, she knew this, but if she was going to make it as a vamp she required some basic knowledge. All she had to go on were bad movies.
“No, or I would be dead myself, but it is not pretty.”
“How do you know?”
“I know.”
She ground her teeth. He wanted her to blindly follow his orders, but that’s not how she had been raised. She questioned everything, otherwise she’d be dead by now.
Uh, well, shit, she had died. So maybe she wasn’t so smart after all.
“The screams,” he spoke softly.
She jerked in her seat. “Did you say screams?”
“I heard them. My companions.” The glassy, black stare of a shark turned toward her. “This is one rule you cannot bend or break. No matter how old you are, the sun will destroy you.” He sighed, returning his attention to the late night deserted road. “It turns us to ash. This is a fate I would not wish on my worst enemies.”
“Sorry.” She placed her hand on his thigh, resisting the urge to pry for more details. She wanted to know everything about Viktor, but she had forever to figure him out. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” Silence rubbed her raw. He looked lost in thought, not good ones, and she had caused it. “So, we’re racing against the sun?” She did her best to fill the void.
“Always.”
She left her hand where it was, enjoying the tense muscle under her palm. An electric charge ran between them, resulting in an attracting force, and this time she didn’t pull away. “How did you travel between cities before cars?”
“What makes you think I’m that old?” Dark memories swept away, he turned his full focus on her.
She hid her smile. “You’ve hinted at your magnificent old bones being so indestructible.”
He snorted.
“You say things like word of honor and do things like open my door like a gentleman. Makes me think you’re old.” She caught his scowl. “Uh, older. Not that you look old.” Hell, he looked barely legal. It was his confidence and expectation that everyone do his bidding that aged him. He was so beautiful it made her brain cells die. She hoped she’d grow immune soon because she’d be a vegetable within a week.
There was that smug smile again. Almost as if he could read her mind. “No offense taken. I am old. The oldest vampire in New Port, Riverbend, and South Harbor Beach. These are all my territories.”
She regretfully pulled her hand off his leg so she could turn and see him better. The moonlit shadows clung to his hair, veiling his body. “Vampires claim land like shifters?” She felt no urge to lay claim on anything but Viktor, but she was still new to this lifestyle and not being human.
He scrunched his nose. “Not land, but people. Think of it as a hunting ground. The more populated the area, the more vampires it can support.”
“That’s disturbing on so many levels.” Hunting sounded like something other people did. Those who lived in rural areas with pickup trucks. She’d always been more of a salad person. “You need three cities to hunt?” Damn, that was some appetite.
That grin again, the amused one with a sharp edge. “Why not? I like variety.”
She stared at him. Not sure what to say without being insulting.
He winked.
“You’re pulling my leg.”
“I am not touching your leg. You were touching mine.” He nudged his thigh against hers. “You can again if you want.”
“Only when you behave.” She fisted her hand. She wanted to, but she wasn’t sure she’d stop at his leg and they were driving at the speed of light.
“I have three cities because I am strong enough to control them. I police the population. I think that describes my role best. Keep the vampire/human ratios at a manageable level. Make sure there are no unnecessary killings…” The dead look returned to his eyes.
“It can’t be an easy job.”
He leaned forward, his attention taken by something ahead.
She followed the direction of his glare. “Oh-oh, looks like a speed trap. We’ll be pulled over for sure.” She raised her eyebrow and smirked.
Viktor shook his head. “I blurred the officer’s mind. He did not notice us.”
Now, she leaned forward. “We can do the Jedi mind trick? When will you teach me to use mine?”
“In a few decades. Power comes with age.”
She flung herself back. “That’s not fair. You get mind blurring and I get to suffer with broken bones. Only the old get all the cool tricks.” She enjoyed his tight-lipped response. “But you don’t look old.”
“Can you imagine young vampires with such powers? I would have to kill them all to keep our existence secret. Age and experience is needed with such responsibility.”
“You told me you couldn’t read minds.”
“I did not lie. I can influence people. Make a human inattentive or a shifter jumpy. It is more of a suggestion—the strong willed can fight me.” He visibly relaxed in his seat and ran his hand over her knee. “But I am disappointed that I cannot turn into a bat or fly.”
“I guessed that when I fell from the castle wall.” Instead, Viktor had curled his body around hers, preparing to take the brunt of the fall. She was so glad they had set Nick free so he could stop their fall. That impact, according to Viktor, would not have broken him, but she was sure it would have hurt. She leaned across the seats and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for not leaving me behind.”
A loud pop startled her enough to cry out.
The car swerved out of control. Viktor slammed his arm across her chest, pinning her to the passenger seat. “Hold on.” With one hand, he steered the spinning car, regaining some control. Back and forth, he guided it across the lonely road. Gas, brake, then gas again until they rolled to a bumpy stop on the dirt shoulder.
He continued to pin her to the seat and glared out of the windshield. “That was close.”
She clutched his arm with as much fierceness. “I thought we were going to eat asphalt.” She rubbed his limb. “I’m good. You can let me go.”
His gaze narrowed as he faced her. “I meant, we were close to making it to Riverbend.”
“Good.” She glanced at the time. “Because sunrise is soon.” She didn’t want to experience being a marshmallow over the campfire.
He crossed his arms and shifted in the seat, silent in thought.
“What was that popping noise?” They were stopped in a rural stretch of land between cities, surrounded by forest. No other traffic passed them. Probably due to the hour. The car appeared intact from where she sat.
Viktor charged out of the vehicle and she followed. He stood by the passenger side front tire. “A flat.” Thick shredded rubber surrounded the rim.
“Wow.” He regained control of the car driving on that? If it were her, they’d have been accordioned against one of the many trees lining the road.
Viktor squinted at the sky. “If we work fast, we might reach Riverbend in time.”
She swallowed. Sunbathing no longer sounded appealing. “Point me to the jack. You get the spare out.”
“You know how to change a tire?”
“My skills aren’t limited to hotwiring cars and catching stray dogs.” Steeling rims had paid the rent a few times. “It’s disengaging car alarms that I have trouble with.” And that was how her short profession as a thief had ended and she learned that jail food tasted worse than Ruby’s cooking. Thank goodness for a tolerant judge and a stern probation officer.
Viktor popped open the trunk and handed her the jack kit. “Looks like the spare is underneath. Can you loosen the bolt to lower it?” He pointed at the floor of the trunk before kneeling to look under the vehicle. “Fuck that dragon.”
She paused as she fitted the tool to the bolt. “What now?” She did her best to ignore the dark forest on both sides of the road. She had seen a horror movie with this exact scene and she could swear she saw movement in the underbrush.
Viktor scooted out from under the car. “There is no spare.”
She dropped to her knees and scanned the undercarriage. “That’s impossible. Who does that?”
“A shifter who has wings and can carry a car.” Her sire leaned against the vehicle’s side and slid to sit next to her.
“Viktor.” Panic pitched her voice higher. She crept closer to him. “We won’t reach Riverbend now.” Her heart was a tattoo in her chest.
“Come here.” He held out his arms and guided her into a hug. “We will find shelter. I did not reach this age because I lack the intelligence to problem solve.”
His arms were strong and gave her an anchor to cling to as she scanned the forest for a cave or cabin or a trash can with a lid. “You never answered my question about how you traveled between cities before cars.” She twisted to face him.
“Like everyone else. By horseback or carriage or my own two feet.” He tucked her hair behind her ears, his gaze steady as if admiring her face. “When there was no shelter available, we would bury ourselves in the ground.”
“Say—” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “Say what?”
“That is where the myth of us being dead came from. Someone must have witnessed a vampire digging their way out of the ground.”
Oh, it was fun fact time. Not. “You want to bury me in the ground.” She paused. “With bugs. I mean, what do you do if one crawls in your ear. Is there wiggle room? Are we going to hide in the same hole? What if it rains? We can’t dro—”
He pressed his finger across her lips for silence. “Have I not taken care of you so far?”
“Yes.” He’d done nothing but take care of her since she’d awakened as a vampire.
He rose to his feet in a fluid motion, a grace that spoke of deadly stealth and agility. It stole her breath. With less poise, she scrambled to her feet as he bent to assist her. They collided midway, his hands supporting her elbows and his hair a veil around their faces. She couldn’t move, caught in his dark gaze, she had no desire to retreat from his hold.
An amused smile tugged at his lips as if he knew exactly what kind of effect he had on her.
She licked her dry lips.
His gaze darted to the movement, riveted by the small gesture.
She deliberately took a step back. This wasn’t the time or place and she didn’t want to distract Viktor from saving their collective bacon before it was sizzled. “What do we do?”
“Place the vehicle into neutral gear.” He closed the trunk and rolled up his sleeves, resting his hands on the car. “When I push, steer toward the tree line.”
“Why?” She didn’t see any path or dirt road.
He scowled. “Do it.”
Trust. She was supposed to blindly trust this person she just met yesterday.
He pushed the sedan, flat tire and all, onto the wild growing grass strip separating forest from road.
She did as ordered. What could she say? He’d survived centuries. She hadn’t lived thirty years yet.
He kept the momentum until they were well into the forest, packed between the trees, under the canopy.
She scanned the tree tops. “I don’t think the foliage is thick enough to block out the sun.” She didn’t think such a forest existed.
“No, but they will provide shade so the trunk stays cool.”
She spun to face him. “Did you say trunk?”
He popped it open again and tossed the contents on the forest floor. He paused when he came out with a bugle. “The dragon has this but not a spare tire.” He shook his head, muttering under his breath in what sounded like Russian. Once done, he gestured to the empty space. “Climb inside.”
The bottom went out of her stomach. “You’re going to close me inside?”
“I can dig you a hole.” His grin could have cut glass. “I am sure the bugs will not mind.”
She sat on the edge of the trunk. “This is fine, but I hate enclosed spaces.” She crawled inside and lay on her back.
Viktor followed. “I will keep you distracted.”
“There’s not enough room for both of us.” She was tall and had to bend her knees to fit. Viktor was even taller. Not to mention the width of his shoulders.
“Nonsense.” He wedged himself inside, shoving her against the inner wall. “See, like sardines.” With that, he closed the trunk lid.
“How are they supposed to get out?” She peered in the dark, allowing her eyesight to adjust.
The iris of Viktor’s eyes glowed with an inner light. A predator’s gaze. “I will break the lock from within.” He said it as if they should do these things, like break locks, every day. Silly her.
“Can you see in the dark?”
“Yes.” He groaned and adjusted his legs.
“Is this another talent that comes with age?” Her vision had improved a lot but she wouldn’t say she could see well in the trunk.
Viktor squirmed again. “Trixie, your knee.” He tapped her leg. “It is crushing my family jewels.”
“Your what?”
“My balls.”
She gasped and hit her head on the lid. “Sorry.” With a little contortion, she managed to shift her position. Now, she was on top of Viktor.
He rested his hands on her ass. “Much better.”