Page 91 of Fangs and Fudge

As soon as he was gone, I turned on my tracking and called Shepard.

“There’s no need to waste time and resources. I declined lunch, and Cross is gone. Vena and I will load up Sierra and bring her back to the compound. My tracking is back on.”

I hung up the phone before he could answer, not ready to hear whatever he had to say. Vena and I had betrayed his trust by taking Sierra and again by showing him how affected I was by Cross. While who I liked was absolutely my business, it was wrong to flaunt my connection with a vampire when Shepard was doing everything in his power to keep the hundreds of thousands of people in the greater D.C. area safe from them.

“Let’s go,” I said then glanced at Sierra. “We should have had Cross carry her to the car before he left.”

Vena nodded. “Especially since he said only Shepard can wake her.”

Scanning the area, Vena walked across the room and over to a large dusty box. She flattened it and brought it over.

“Roll her onto it,” Vena said.

“Easier said than done,” I groaned at the dead weight.

Between the two of us, we rolled Sierra onto the box and dragged it to the car. It took some time though.

“What now?” I asked.

Vena eyed the backseat. “We get her upper body in; then I’ll go to the other side. I’ll pull, you push.”

“Even if we manage this, someone is going to call the cops on us. It looks like we’re moving a dead body.”

“Then let’s hurry.”

Groaning and grunting, we stuffed Sierra into the car and were on the road to Shepard’s place.

“Ready to go toe to toe with Shepard when we get back, or should we dump Sierra at the door and run?” Vena asked as she drove.

“We only got out of there with Sierra due to the element of surprise. With him waiting for us, we won’t get Sierra out of the car before he sees us.”

I had been half right. Shepard was standing in front of the door and watching as Vena parked.

Before I could help Vena with Sierra, he had me cornered against the car. He was not happy. Behind the fury in his gaze, I saw his fear.

“You broke Sierra out of my house and met with a vampire,” he said, a low growl coming out with every word.

“You weren’t getting anywhere with Sierra,” I said. “And when will you finally admit Cross isn’t like the other vampires? He can be trusted.”

“I’ll trust him when he’s dead.”

“If you can’t trust Cross, then trust me.”

He shook his head slightly. “You stole Sierra from my house after repeatedly refusing to prove you’re not under Cross’ thrall. Do you really think I should keep trusting you?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do.”

Regardless of how right he was, the stubborn set of his jaw pushed me over the edge. We’d had the same argument too many times. If he wasn’t going to cave, then I was. Anything for peace.

“I’m tired of this.” I pushed him back, well aware that he let me. “You want me to prove it? Fine.”

I yanked off my shirt and threw it at his face. He pulled it away, his gaze skimming over my bare shoulders and barely concealed heaving chest as I went for the button on my shorts.

Vena caught my hand. “Let’s just take a minute to cool off. You don’t need to give the whole place a show.”

“Who cares? It’s not like I ever plan on coming back here after,” I snapped.

She glanced over her shoulder at Shepard. “Everyone thinks Everly is the nice one…until she’s not.”

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