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“A vampire killed me,” I reply.
Jane only eats a slice of her pizza before getting the rest to go. I leave a hefty tip for our kind server, despite knowing I have a limited amount of cash, and then carry her pizza box out the door, never letting her stray from my line of sight.
The city is more alive now, with musicians singing on every corner and drunken women clamoring down the streets. I stay close to Jane’s side, fearing the crowd will separate us if I give her too much space.
Jane glances at me sideways. “Do you have a car?”
Sighing, I shake my head. “But we’re getting one.”
She stops mid-step, turning to face me completely. Fear registers on her face, and for a moment, I’m confused. “You aren’t going to kill someone and steal their car, are you?”
Not anentirelybad idea, but I assume she doesn’t want that outcome. I don’t particularly want to murder either, but dosing someone with my venom and making themgiveme their ride wouldn’t be terrible… I shake my head. “We’ll rent. But first,” I size up the upcoming intersection, following the roads on all sides for as far as I can see. “We need to leave a false trail. Go in circles for a bit.” A tall, white bus passes by, its taillights blaring red. “How do you feel about public transportation?”
After paying both of our fares, we ride the overcrowded bus for two miles. Then we take a short walk, make it to the next bus stop, and do the same all over again. This goes on for so long that Jane’s eyes begin to droop.
She’s leaning her head against one of the metal poles when I finally concede. We’ve done this dance for long enough that Rune’s people will be caught up for at least a day when they start to track us.
I touch her shoulder as to not startle her. “Hey, Jane?”
Her head snaps up, tired eyes widening. “Huh?”
Poor girl. She hasn’t slept since yesterday morning. A wisp of her blonde hair falls out of place. I have to restrain myself from tucking it back into place.
She’s a witch. She has to be using some sort of blood magic on me.
I clear my throat. “Can I borrow your phone?”
Her brows lift, but her lids droop again. “Don’t you have one?”
“I ditched it. Tracking devices, and such. Can I use your phone or not?”
She slips her hand into her jacket pocket, pulling free a clunky smart phone. “Here, the password is an L.”
I enter the password, connecting the dots until they make an L shape. The screen brightens, revealing a purple and pink background made up of swirling, artsy clouds.
Using her search engine, I find the nearest car rental location and memorize its address. Luckily, they’re open twenty-four seven.
She doesn’t notice as I slip the phone back into her pocket.
10
Jane
Somethingsoftprodsmyshoulder, rousing me from sleep. “Jane. Jane, we’ve arrived.”
It takes great effort to open my sleepy eyes as the bus rattles along. My vision focuses just before it jolts to a halt.
“What?” I blink twice, twisting my head toward the voice.
Samuel’s sable eyes come into view. “We’re here,” he repeats.
“Here?” It takes me a moment to remember what Samuel said earlier. We’re getting a rental car so we can escape the city and travel somewhere else, far away.
This all feels a little wrong, like I’m being taken captive by a stranger. It would be true if Samuel hadn’t saved me, or if he used any sort of force to get me to come with him. But he hadn’t needed to. Vampires arereal, and I believe him when he says someone dangerous might come for me.
Samuel’s hand snakes around my arm, lifting me to my feet with little resistance. “The rental shop is around the corner.”
I follow him down the aisle, stumbling over bags left unattended by our fellow passengers. Samuel descends to the pavement and extends his hand out once he’s there.
