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“You can’t. It is with the C2 implant.”
Silence. None of them had the skills to take out a C2 implant from her brain.
”I’ll come with you.” He refused to give up. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, think about what would happen to her if Dmitri got his hands on her again. This time Dmitri wouldn’t be fooled by her acting. “The cars have tinted windows to protect us. You can drive, and I’ll stay in the back.”
“And when we have to stop for gas? What then?” Leah argued. “What if they toppled the car? You already said there won’t be enough cover for you. If we get caught in the open, if anything happens to the car, you’d…” She swallowed. “You’d die.”
Julian turned to Marek. “Do you have a map? Where are we?”
Marek pulled out his phone. The display popped up. They were in the middle of nowhere. Just a dot at an empty lot on the map.
“Zoom out,” Julian ordered. The image zoomed out until he said, “Stop. Tristan, how far is the drive to Phoenix?”
“Four hours,” Tristan replied.
They’d make it before sunrise. “We’ll go there instead.” Julian sent Leah a hard glare when she tried to argue. “I’m not letting you out of my sight again. Phoenix is large enough that we can lose the Hunters underground even if they can track you. If we’re lucky, your tracker won’t be strong enough to send up a signal when we’re underground.”
It wasn’t perfect and would add another day to their journey back to Vegas, but it was the best option.
Finally, Leah nodded. “We shouldn’t take Emily with us. One of you should take her to Vegas.”
“I’ll do it,” Devon volunteered.
“Please be gentle with her. She’s terrified of vampires. Have humans look after her once you’re back, and don’t touch her if you don’t have to.”
Devon nodded.
“Take Aidan with you,” Julian said, not that he didn’t trust Devon. The man was as ancient as himself, but if the Hunters had another trap waiting, then two were better than one, especially since they now had to care for a human.
“Good. We will see you back in Vegas.” Devon and Aidan trotted to the jeep a few feet away.
Leah watched Devon gently settle Emily into the backseat and prayed she’d made the right decision. There was no going back now, and she’d help Emily once they were safely back in Vegas.
“She’ll make it,” Julian said, sensing her thoughts.
“I hope so.”
Leah strode to the SUV with Julian behind her. Marek was already in the driver’s seat with Rowan riding shotgun. As she reached to open the back door, white-hot pain stabbed her in the head. She lost her footing and would have banged her head against the door if Julian hadn’t caught her.
“Are you okay?” Julian asked, then stiffened.
Leah had to blink twice before Julian’s face came into focus. That was when she felt the warm blood leaking out of her nose. For a terrifying second, she thought Dmitri was attempting to control her again, but something felt different. The pain was less intense, less of a burn, and more of a pounding in her head.
“Yeah, I’m fine. The last few days must be catching up to me.” She wiped away the blood with her sleeve and took a deep breath.
Julian opened the door, watching her like a hawk. Dizzy, she slid into the car with his help. He followed her in and shut the door. He wrapped an arm around her waist. Leah put her head on his chest and sighed.
It felt so natural, leaning against him, taking in his strength and scent. It almost made the pounding pain in the back of her head disappear.
For a second, she thought she must be dreaming. He’d really come for her, even though he’d known it was a trap.
“Thank you.” She sat up and pressed her lips against his in a brief but loving kiss. “Thank you for saving me.”
He studied her, serious and intent. When he stroked her face, she leaned into his touch.
His lips touched hers in a tender kiss, one that brought tears to her eyes. She blinked them away rapidly. Embarrassment colored her cheeks. They weren’t alone, after all.
“You don’t ever have to thank me for anything,” Julian whispered. “I will always come for you.”
