Page 44 of Vengeance of the Gods

His hand struck out like a snake, snatching his phone from Bridger. His laugh was strained, nerves making his throat bob. “Oh, it’s fine. Just glad you’re okay.” He returned her smile with one that might have made her weak in the knees in another life.

“Thank you. Sorry about your phone. Have a good day!” Grabbing Bridger by his coat pocket, Vega yanked him away from the shuttle, sporting a fake limp.

When they were out of earshot, Bridger turned to her. “You dirty little crook.” The shuttle rolled away, leaving the lot for its next destination. “Is that another trick you learned in one of your lives?”

Vega grinned, her fake limp disappearing. “No, that’s from the original life.” Her smile softened at the memory. “We used to make Khort so mad by cheating at cards.” She hummed a short laugh. “I’d sneak them up my sleeves, and Marlena would hide them with her invisibility.” It felt like someone else’s life now, not her own. “I watched Arlet do it a lot in the time we spent together on Earth, but I think it’s something she picked up from me and Marlena when she moved in with us.”

Bridger wagged his finger at her. “I always knew you were a bad influence, Vega Caelum.”

Vega flipped him off, pulling the car key out of her pocket. She pressed the lock button, hoping it would beep somewhere close by.

They wandered the aisles silently, pretending to be lost, until a beep finally drew their attention to a covered parking section and shiny, new blacked-out Cadillac Escalade.

Vega opened the backseat to make sure there wasn’t anything weird or out of place. She searched everywhere she knew of an AirTag to be stored and let out a breath when she found one tucked between the third-row seats.

Bridger watched her the entire time. “What are you doing?”

Vega closed the back door and hid the AirTag under the parking curb.

“Getting rid of a tracking device. What are you doing?” She returned his question.

“Watching you get rid of a tracking device,” he deadpanned, sliding into the passenger seat.

As soon as Vega started the car, Bridger pressed every button he saw. The overhead light turned on, shining directly into his eye. “Ow.” He squinted and turned it off. He blasted the heat, but the car hadn’t fully warmed back up, so it blew cold air out instead.

“Gods, stop fucking touching things.” Vega slapped his hand out of the way and fixed the controls.

She hadn’t expected his hand to wrap around her wrist and definitely didn’t expect Bridger to pin it to the center console, not after she’d warned him to keep his hands to himself earlier. Her eyes shot up to his.

A muscle in his jaw jumped before he spoke. “You touched me first.” His matter-of-fact tone made Vega try to snatch her arm from his hold.

It was no use. Bridger was stronger than her even without any powers.

“I get you’re angry with me, Vega.” The way he said her name while fired up made a flood of an unwanted desire drown her senses. She fought and fought, not ready to let it win. “I even agree you have every right to be mad at me, but there’s one thing I must remind you of.” He leaned in, bringing his face closer to hers. “I’m still the commander of Tolevarre. Watch how you talk to me.”

They locked eyes and Vega couldn’t ignore the growing tension between them. Her body was drawn to him, while her brain and heart tried to keep her in line.

“New rule. Let’s keep our hands to ourselves. How’s that sound?” He finally let her go.

Vega brought her arm to her chest, rubbing where his hand had been—not because it hurt, but because she thought she could still feel his searing touch long after it was gone.

Every nerve ending in her body lit like a match, and Vega caught herself leaning into the heat of the blaze Bridger had set.

18

Snow covered the roads by hour seven of their drive. Bridger couldn’t even see the car in front from the raging wind and white snowfall. “Okay, I’ve stayed quiet up until now, but I think it’s time to stop for the night.”

Vega’s knuckles were white, her grip on the wheel tight. “We have to get to the portal,” she argued—imagine that.

He shook his head. “Correction. We have to get to the portal alive.”

They’d passed car after car in ditches or in the process of losing control. Bridger didn’t want to be either of those things.

Vega answered too quickly. “Last time I checked the radar, it showed we were halfway through this part of the storm.”

Bridger didn’t get the chance to reply as red lights came rushing towards the front of their SUV. Vega jerked the wheel to avoid crashing into the other car.

He held on to what Vega called the “oh shit” handle, realizing how accurately named it was as they slid into a ditch, whipping them both around until they came to an uncontrolled stop.