Chapter Twenty-One
Trixie had let Viktor down. She could see it in his eyes even though he smiled reassuringly as he sat across from her in the stretch limousine. She had never ridden in one before. The back part had two benches facing each other. Though their lives were in danger, she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was riding in a freaking white limousine with the pack alpha and the city’s most dangerous vampire. Two of the hottest men on the planet.
Ruby would never believe her.
The vehicle rode smoothly while both males glared daggers at each other. Werewolves had piled inside the limo on either side of Viktor, still in their shifter form. It left her feeling like a sardine.
“Viktor, I presume.” Chris, a.k.a. Betty’s ex-boyfriend, rested his arm over the back of their shared bench.
“You are correct.” Viktor’s gaze washed over her as if making note of every scrape and bump on her exposed skin. What he didn’t know was that all of them had been self-inflicted in her so-called fancy escape.
“I’m Chris Jenkins, the—”
“I know who you are.” The vampire struggled against his chains, but the alpha growled and rested his hand back on her neck in a veiled threat.
“Easy boys.” She gestured slowly for Viktor to relax. “I’m fine.” She aimed that directly at him. “The scrapes are from my dumbass roll.” Not to mention the bruises on her ass.
“She’s a fledgling, Christopher. Only a couple of days old and very delicate. You best be very careful.” One didn’t need to see Viktor’s fangs or vampire strength to understand his own threat.
“I go by Chris.” The alpha’s hand remained on her neck but it was gentle, as he stroked his thumb along her carotid. “So, only a few days old. I knew you were human when we met. Were you turned against your will?”
Viktor snarled but stayed on his side of the limo.
“Viktor saved my life. If he hadn’t turned me, I’d be dead.”
The oxygen seemed thin and she couldn’t catch her breath. There was way too much testosterone in the air. She cracked the window open.
Chris raised an eyebrow in question to her action.
“Claustrophobic.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m faster than you and not in the best of moods. Don’t make the mistake of trying to jump out.”
According to Betty, he was never in a good humor.
“Dude, seriously, did you miss the delicate comment made by Viktor?” They were driving at least fifty miles an hour. “I don’t care to leave pieces of me on the road.”
The shifters on either side of Viktor stiffened and glanced at each other with ears back. They apparently didn’t like her tone. However, treat her like a numbskull and she’d return the favor.
Chris gave her a tolerant smile. “I see why Betty likes you.”
Yeah, because they could both be bitches when they wanted.
The alpha turned his attention back to Viktor. “I understand you are the real master of the city.”
Her vampire quietly assessed the alpha. She squirmed as the silence grew longer. Finally, Viktor nodded. “I monitor the city’s vampire nest. Not the day to day events, but they answer to me.”
Chris nodded. “Good. Where do you make your home then?”
“Why?” Viktor asked.
At the same time, she responded, “New Port.”
Viktor frowned in her direction.
She rolled her eyes. “You were featured in a magazine. I’m sure Chris knows how to Google. It’s not exactly a secret.”
She scaled back, tired of the games. While they drove through the city, they could have been trying to find the dhampir.
“You didn’t attend the mating ceremony of the alpha’s only son. I thought relations between vampires and shifters in New Port were better than here.”
“I was otherwise occupied.”
Like chained in a dragon’s dungeon. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep her mouth shut.
“The New Port nest’s leader went in my place.”
She blinked. Paulo had been at the wedding? There’d been so many people. So many supernatural types, she had been overwhelmed. Paulo hadn’t even hit her radar. Viktor would have and she wished he could have seen her in the only gown she owned. She had rocked that dress.
Ken had footed the bill for the wedding. Something about shifter rules and him being more dominant than Betty. Whatever. It worked for her, otherwise Trixie would have shown up as maid of honor in a paper bag. She was that broke.
The limo slowed to a stop and the shifters dragged Viktor out. Chris offered her a gentlemanly hand and helped her exit the car.
She paused outside the vehicle. They stood in front of a brick building that resembled her craptastic apartment. Rusty metal fire escapes lined the alley walls, ladders connecting them. The windows were all intact but the paint peeled. Huge chunks of missing paint chips exposed the aging gray wood underneath. She glanced at the fancy expensive limo as she crossed the uneven and cracked sidewalk to the entrance.
Chris caught her. “I don’t own the car. The driver owns a limo rental company and he is pack. He lets us borrow one when needed.”
“Oh.” What else could she say? The alpha in New Port was rolling in dough. She’d assumed all shifters were rich. Honestly, the only poor werewolf she’d met was Betty and she’d come from Riverbend. Who was Trixie to judge Chris? She lived paycheck to paycheck on a tightrope budget. If she and Ruby were lucky, they could buy a nice steak to share once a month.
Keeping her mouth shut, Trixie followed the alpha as he climbed the stairs to the top floor. If she’d been human, she would have been gasping for air by now.
Only three of the shifters had joined them. The way Viktor glared at the werewolves made her realize he was thinking of beating the shit out of them and escaping.
Chris unlocked the door and gestured for everyone to enter.
She hesitated. “Chris, what is the point of capturing us?”
When he answered, it was aimed at Viktor. “I think we have a common goal. Maybe we can help each other out.”
“Then why the chains?” This time Viktor did show his fangs.
The alpha chuckled. “I heard rumors that you liked them.”
Trixie spun to face Chris. “You can’t be that stupid. Do you have a death wish?” Like a paper barrier, she stood between two super predators. “Play nice.” She used her sit-and-lay-down voice that she’d learned as an animal control specialist.
Viktor met her gaze and she nodded to the unasked demand in his eyes. Sure, Chris wasn’t going to win werewolf of the year, but he could have hurt Viktor. Well, maybe not, but he could have killed her easily. Someone needed to start trusting the other if they were ever going to get anywhere.
Chris tossed a key to Ryan, who unchained Viktor.
Hey, the voice had worked. Who knew?
Her sire scanned the small and sparsely decorated apartment. She bet he knew every escape access point once done. “I will listen.” He crossed his arms, legs spread apart, his presence taking up most of the living room.
Chris went to the connecting open kitchen and pulled meat and bread from the fridge. Absentmindedly, he started the process of making sandwiches on the counter facing the living room. “Go change,” he spoke to the other werewolves. “I’ll be fine.”
The werewolves went into what must be the only bedroom and closed the door.
Viktor raised his eyebrows. “You sound so sure.”
“I have her.” He winked at Trixie. “I’m young, but I’m not a fool. You said it yourself—she’s delicate for a vampire.” His hands moved with a hypnotic grace as he made five sandwiches at the same time. Cheese, meat, mayo—
“Can we stop threatening to kill me?” She stood across the counter from Chris. It was L-shaped with two stools on one side. “You’re very practiced at this.” She pointed at his sandwich making skills.
The other wolf shifters exited the bedroom. All of them in human form and lean with muscled tension. They wore matching sweatpants and T-shirts. She had hung out with enough shifters to know that stashes of clothes were kept for packmates to borrow.
Chris handed out the food as they passed the kitchen. “I have to be. Hungry shifters are dangerous shifters.” He folded his arms and grinned “I also own the sandwich shop on the river shore.”
Viktor pressed behind her, his hard chest aligning with her spine. “How nice.” He circled his arms around her in a possessive hug. “Which of my goals were you referring to?”