Page 65 of Vengeance of the Gods

“I drive military vehicles three times this size. I think I can handle following the directions on the little screen in your pocket and pay attention to the speed signs.” Bridger crossed his arms and raised his brow.

“Bridger,” she scolded, looking over her shoulder. “If we get caught near this dead cop, we’re fucked. We need to go.”

Quickly, he slid by her and ducked into the driver’s seat, already adjusting the seat to his height. “Then you better hurry up and get in the car.” He shut the door, leaving Vega to huff and puff before stomping around to the passenger seat.

It took her a second to explain what all the buttons and gadgets did, but Bridger figured it out quickly. He just didn’t realize how touchy the brakes and gas pedal were and rocked them back and forth for a bit until he got the hang of it.

Vega refused to get in the backseat, arguing she wasn’t tired and was too wired to sleep, but it wasn’t long before she rested her head against the window and her breaths turned shallow.

The highways stretched on for hours, and the GPS, as Vega had called it, didn’t make much noise. Bridger rode in silence, the only sound being the repeated words of the last man the curse had consumed, echoing in his mind.

“Oh, what you two could have been.”

24

Vega woke to the sun shining in her eyes, a bright gleam coming in from the snow on the roads.

She looked over at Bridger, who was rotating the wheel to turn into a park with a sign at the road she’d know anywhere.

Holy shit, they’d made it. Her eyes grew wide as they finally adjusted to the light. “Fuck, how long did I sleep?”

“The rest of the way.” Bridger’s eyes were rimmed with red. He was more tired-looking than Vega had seen him in years.

All that sex and fighting had done him in… No, bad Vega. We aren’t thinking about the sex.

“You have arrived at your destination,” the GPS said in her robotic voice.

“Damn, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to⁠—”

“It’s okay.” He cut her off, smiling as he followed her directions to the corner of the park where she and Arlet always abandoned the car. “You needed to sleep. After all, we’re about to break a fifty-five-year-old curse. You probably needed all the rest you could get.”

They had no idea what they were getting into. Vega wasn’t even sure if she understood what she was supposed to do next.

All signs pointed to the portal being the curse, but what if it was more than that? What if there was something she’d missed?

“What’s our plan when we get back to Tolevarre?” she spewed, staring right into Bridger’s eyes. She still didn’t trust him fully, and as badly as she wanted to, as annoying as it was to be close to him and feel the hum of their bodies calling to each other, Vega couldn’t believe him until the decision had been made—until Bridger made it clear whose side he was on.

Of course he was on her side right now. He had to be. He had to make it back to Tolevarre—but when they got there, would this be a setup?

The worry had been floating in the back of her mind since he’d first shown up.

The days blended together. Vega couldn’t even remember how long ago it’d been.

Three days? Four? What day was it?

“What do you mean?” he asked, gripping the steering wheel and tensing at her question.

“You know what I’m asking, Bridger. What’s your plan when we get back and Marlena inevitably comes after me?” She was almost too nervous to ask, but she forced the words out anyway.

She had to make sure she wasn’t walking into a trap—had to be prepared.

“Are you going to fight with m—with the rebellion,” she corrected, not wanting this to be about her. “Or was this all a lie?” The anxiety in the pit of her stomach rolled, giving her a momentary queasiness she had to swallow like bile.

The silence between them felt deafening. Vega found herself counting the seconds before Bridger spoke.

Twenty-two. Twenty-three.

“I told her I would—” he started but never got the chance to finish because pain shot through Vega’s chest, tearing a scream from her throat that pierced her own ears.