Page 35 of Protecting His Vampire Mate

“Look, I get it. But the thing is, you do need this. And I can’t let a couple of dumbasses with more guns than sense take this away from you.”

“But the hunters—”

“Are only human. We’re more than that. We’ll be fine.” I paused, an idea occurring to me. “I’ll call Ethan and have him check the mirror. That would give us some warning, at least, as to what type of threat they might pose if we don’t leave town. And maybe how to avoid it.”

Bryan frowned at me, biting his bottom lip. He seemed to consider my words. Reluctantly, he said, “I could call my maker, maybe? See if she’s ever heard of any hunters matching these guys’ description.”

I let out a breath, feeling relieved. The last trace of my anger left. And I felt strangely scrubbed raw and new.

Things had changed. I now understood more about where Bryan was, emotionally speaking, and what he needed. And while I knew I couldn’t fix him, I could sure as hell see to it that he got what he needed out of this situation. Especially now that I knew we weren’t just here for kicks. This was far more serious than I had imagined. Pulling this off—helping him prove to himself that he was still good—was a matter of life and death for Bryan.

How could I not help with that?

“That’s great,” I nodded. “We’ll call her later and see if she knows anything. But we’re going to Portland.”

Bryan’s eyes widened a little. “Portland? That’s like two hours away.”

“An hour and a half. And that’s where Lee Chamberlain’s wife is. Poppy did a locator spell earlier to help us find her. She’s apparently staying with her sister. And if we’re still working this case, we’re going to need to go question her.”

“Tobias—”

“Let me help you do this. Please, just trust me.”

Bryan hesitated for a long moment, his eyes searching mine. But, at last, he nodded. “I do. So, yeah. Okay, we’re still doing this.” He let out a long breath, like he was trying to steady himself. But then he brightened a little. “You know, maybe I can finally get a good cup of coffee. Ooh, and maybe we could stop off at Voodoo Donut? They’ve got a maple bar that has a strip of real bacon on it. It’s super weird, but also delicious.”

I smiled and shook my head, relieved at his sudden enthusiasm. “I grew up knowing vampires existed, but it’s still weird to me that you guys tend to eat human food, even after you’re turned. You literally don’t need to eat anymore.”

“Sure, we don’t technically need to eat human food, but we still can. But, I mean, why would you give up something you enjoy if you didn’t have to?”

“You enjoy bacon maple bars, huh?”

“They’re totally delicious, I promise.” Bryan flashed me a sudden smile that almost—but not quite—reached his eyes, seeming cheered by the prospect of forward momentum. Or maybe it was just the idea of leaving Poplar Creek and getting both of us away from the hunters. In fact, now that I considered it, it was almost certainly the latter.

He added, “This is great. Let’s go. Right now.” He paused. “I’m assuming Poppy gave you an address?”

I nodded, eyeing him. “I know where I’m going.”

“Then let’s hit the road.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN || BRYAN

The drive to Portland was easy and surprisingly… almost fun. I played music from my phone and Tobias drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in time with the beats, as if he knew every single song by heart. This was confirmed for me when I noticed him lip syncing the refrains from all of my favorites, so unconsciously that I doubted he was even aware he was doing it.

Until, of course, I started singing along.

Becoming a vampire hadn’t improved my singing voice any, despite the enhanced hearing, and I was extremely off-key. Then Tobias joined in at full volume, until we were singing together at the top of our lungs. And that was when I discovered that he was just as terrible of a singer as me.

Which probably sounds pretty awful. But it was kind of perfect, because neither of us had to be the least bit self-conscious about it. We could just cut loose and be terrible together. For the entire drive, I didn’t worry about hunters, or my bloodlust, or ghosts.

I had agreed to head to Portland the moment Tobias suggested it because I wanted to get my warlock as far away from those hunters as possible. In my efforts to plead for his understanding of why I was really doing this—and, more importantly, why I was so broken that whatever kept trying to happen between us never could—it seemed I had somehow accidentally convinced him that I had to stay the course, no matter what. Even at the cost of his safety. And now he seemed even more dead set on doing this with me, hunters be damned.

But still, with my admission, something had changed between us.

A part of me had expected him to realize how broken I was. Or how hopeless this thing between us was. Or maybe both. I had expected him to finally give in when I had explained with full earnestness that I had a hole in me now and I was here doing all of this because I was trying to do something even remotely good with it. It probably would have caused most guys to back away slowly. Or maybe not so slowly.

But that’s not what had changed between us.

What had changed was now that he understood where I was coming from, he seemed even more relentlessly determined to join me for the ride. Certain that we needed to do this. Ironic, given the fact that now I had more than just a sliver of doubt about what we were doing.

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