Page 24 of Silent Nights and Vampire Lights

I couldn’t believe they would offer us their truck and put themselves on the line for us. “Why would you do this? These aren’t nice men.”

Mae smiled sadly. “I told you, I was married before. I barely escaped. Someone helped me once, ensured I was able to get away and not have any trouble. I had a second chance thanks to that Good Samaritan. It’s my turn to pay it forward.”

Holly leaned around me. “You shouldn’t get involved. They could hurt you.”

Harold gave a dark laugh. “Let them try. I have a shotgun, and I’m not afraid to use it. Besides, our son and grandson both work for the police department. They’re already on alert for these men. We’ll be just fine. You take care of yourselves.”

“We’ll make sure you get your truck back,” I assured them.

Harold looked at Holly who was talked with Mae quietly. “You just take care of her and keep her safe. That’s what matters.”

He moved past me to talk to Holly about his temperamental truck named Lola. I really didn’t want to ask why she was named that, because it sounded like a stripper’s name to me.

Mae lowered her voice and drew me aside. “I brought extra orange juice for Holly. She’ll need it to replenish her energy levels. There should be enough protein there, too. If you need anything else, let me know. I’ll prepare a basket for you to take on the road.”

Suspicion grew at her words, and I eyed her for a moment. “Thank you, Mae. How did you know we needed extra protein and orange juice?”

She gave a smirk. “Who do you think helped me escape my previous husband? He was the only one who saw what was going on, was the only one strong enough to stand up to the bully.” She rested a hand on my cheek. “Why do you think I knew to put black-out curtains on your windows? You’re safe here, Nicholas. We’ll keep you safe until it’s time to leave. Oh, and thanks for not feeding from Harold. I don’t think his heart could take it.”

Well, I’ll be damned. She always knew who I was.

She paused for a moment, as if considering her next words. “Are you taking her to your home, with other vampires?”

I nodded. It was the only way to keep her safe. Besides, the mating bond was forming, and I couldn’t imagine living without her.

Mae frowned. “I had hoped you wouldn’t say that. Vampires have come a long way since they revealed themselves, but many still don’t like humans. Is she safe with your family? Can you trust her with them?”

Mae’s words hit me like a stake through the heart. I was being naïve if I thought I could protect Holly. I was a visitor in Grimm Mawr. My father and my cousin, Hugo, who ran the town, had made their feelings about outsider humans perfectly clear long ago. Blood servants were fine. They had ties to the clan, but outsiders were dangerous and to be avoided at all costs, eliminated if they could not be avoided. I had no standing in the clan, and Holly would not be protected, even as my mate. I had to go home. I was tired of being on the road and not being safe, but Holly could not come with me. Until I could find a safe haven for both of us, Holly and I could not be together.

Holly

Ihad driven pickups in my life. You couldn’t live in rural Pennsylvania on a farm without driving one at least once in your life. Heck, I’d learned how to drive on my grandfather’s fifteen-year-old Chevy. And I was no stranger to snowstorms either. The roads were messy, but at least thereweren’t a lot of people driving, so it made it easier to see if anyone was following us.

Snow swirled around the tires as we drove. The roads might have been plowed, but flurries still fell gently and made pretty patterns on the pavement. Plow trucks passed us in either directions, keeping the roads clear and salted, but it appeared most people heeded the advice of the governor and stayed home. Hopefully, the hit men had found a deep hole to hide in for a while.

Nick hadn’t said much after the Birnbaums left us that morning. He watched me eat, forcing food on me until my stomach almost burst, while he picked at the food. He didn’t want to talk about next steps. He watched the weather reports with a distant expression throughout our breakfast, then bundled me into bed. I expected him to create space between us. The intimacy of the prior evening seemed broken. Yet he climbed in bed and gathered me close, falling into a deep sleep almost immediately. I thought sleep would be elusive, but encased in his arms, warm and cozy, I followed him quickly, only waking when he shook me much later.

I couldn’t drive fast with the road conditions, but we didn’t encounter much traffic, so that offset the speed issue. Soon, we crossed into New York State, and the traffic remained sparse. We had left the snow far behind, and true night had fallen, leaving us in darkness and silence. Nick was focused on his phone, texting someone periodically, but he dodged my questions about who it was. Dread filled me.

I flipped the radio to a Christmas music station, and Nick flipped it off immediately. I glared at him and turned it back on. He turned it off.

“I can’t stand the silence. Either we listen to music, or you start talking.”

“It’s safer to focus on your driving,” he countered.

“The roads are fine. And if we stay in silence much longer, I’m going to fall asleep, and we’ll drive right off the road. Not safer,” I argued.

He turned his dark eyes on me, looking so remote and cold that I shivered. “Fine. We’ll find a place to stop for something to eat.”

“That wasn’t my point.” Where had the sweet and sexy Nick from the previous night gone?

“I need to make a call, anyway.”

I shrugged. “You’re not driving. Make the call.” He gave me a flat look, and I turned back to the road, feeling deflated. “Oh. It’s about me.”

I had hoped that last night had changed his mind. That maybe he was going to bring me with him to his home, but clearly I had too much baggage for his family. I couldn’t really blame him. It was one thing to bring a friend home for the holidays. It was another to bring someone who had mafia hitmen following them. That would be kind of a downer for the festive season.

I cleared my throat. “There’s a sign for food and gas up ahead. Do you want to see what they have?”

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