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He gives me a smug smile and puts on his leather jacket.
Fucking hell, I think as I get up. I am never going to get used to that.
“You’re a fucking great person to have around,” I tell him as we leave the restaurant, trying not to feel guilty about skipping out on the bill.
“I’ll make this situation worth your while, sweetheart,” he says to me, putting his arm around my shoulders briefly and giving me a strong but affectionate squeeze.
I gulp, my heart doing something silly in my chest.
Then he lets go of me as we head out the door, grinning at me over his shoulder as he holds the door open for me.
“Thanks,” I tell him, my voice cracking a little.
We step down into the parking lot and look around. The Super B is just a few feet away. I glance at Max’s eyes, the flames slowly disappearing.
“Your eyes are going back to normal,” I tell him, the green coming through.
He nods. “Yeah. I don’t reckon she stuck around. Perhaps we’re too intimidating for her.”
“There’s no way she’d know what I am, right?”
He glances at me as we walk toward the car, getting out his keys. “I don’t know. I have my theories.”
He unlocks the door and gets in, leaning across to unlock mine. I slide into the seat as he starts the engine. “What theories?” I ask as we drive out of the parking lot, Max handling the car at a respectful small-town speed.
“I think she can read your thoughts, just like many others can,” he says. “They might be doing the same with me, too. Perhaps I draw them near, but they don’t know who they’re looking for. Maybe they scan brains.”
I shudder. Brain scanning does not sound like fun.
“Or maybe it’s my eyes. Guess I should invest in a pair of sunglasses. All I know is that my eyes never used to do that.”
“A side effect from Hell.”
“So it would seem.”
He pulls the car back onto the 101 and we head over a bridge, leaving Florence behind. “So where are we staying tonight?”
“I figured we’d just drive until I get tired.”
“You haven’t booked a hotel?”
He glances at me. “It’s the off-season. We’ll just show up somewhere.”
“Yeah, but there are only so many good hotels.” I’ve done roach motels before, no thank you.
“We’ll find a nice one, don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”
“Yeah, but the less you reserve ahead of time, the more we’ll end up in an only one bed scenario.”
He rolls his eyes. “Then I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“You better.”
The funny thing is that I’ve stayed in a hotel with Max before. Right before he died, when he was in Manhattan helping me and Perry look for Dex, he stayed in my room as soon as Dex came back. Of course, it wasn’t weird back then, we had two beds, and it would have been the same as if I’d been sharing a room with Dex. You know, they’re both kind of like big brothers, and now Dex literally is.
It’s dark when we see signs for Port Orford and Gold Beach. Feels like we’ve been driving in a dark winding forest for hours.
“Well, Blondie?” Max asks. “Where do you want to stop?”
“Gold Beach,” I tell him, looking at the map. “It’s on the Rogue River. It’ll have more options.” I quickly swipe through Yelp, looking for places to eat. There’s a lot of seafood and chowder places that don’t seem so fun anymore, but there’s a steakhouse that has okay reviews. “And let’s go out for dinner. I could drink a whole bottle of wine.”
“Sounds good. I could too…” He trails off, and I look to see his eyes locked in the rearview mirror, flames dancing in them again.
“Seriously?” I ask, craning in my seat to look behind us. There’s no car, nothing behind us.
Oh shit, what if she’s hiding in the backseat and she’s just going to pop up like a jump scare?
“There’s a car back there,” he says, which makes me calm down for a split second. “The headlights are off.”
I stare back into the darkness. “Do you think it’s the old lady?” Obviously it’s a demon because of his eyes and the fact that no sane person would drive around in the dark on this road with no headlights.
He doesn’t say anything for a moment, then brings his eyes to the road. “Hang on.”
Then he slams his foot on the gas and the car bursts forward, throwing me back in my seat.
Oh fuck.
Max keeps his foot down, the car going faster and faster, the road zipping us tightly around corners. I watch with wide eyes as the speedometer keeps getting closer to eighty, which on any road, let alone this two-lane highway, is asking for trouble.
“Max!” I cry out as we go up on two-wheels, peeling around the corner, his hand moving fast on the gearshift.
