Page 21 of Crimson Storm

Then I draped the pendant around my neck again, feeling instantly better with it resting in its usual spot against my sternum.

When we reached the San Francisco city limits, Shane finally spoke again. His voice was tense. The full impact of what he’d seen had probably registered now that the shock of seeing his uncle die was wearing off.

“Do you know where to find shelter?”

Like I’d actuallytellhim where we would be hiding out.

Yes, he’d been decent to us during this whole horrendous experience. He’d wanted to help us escape.

But that was before we’d killed his uncle in front of his eyes. Chances were good he was feeling a whole lot less charitable toward us now.

“It’s not your concern. Just get us to Nob Hill. I’ll give you turn by turn directions from there.”

If only the sun had set already. While it was up, I had to fight daytime drowsiness. A few times during the drive, I nodded off and jerked awake again.

If I were to fall soundly asleep like my friends, there was no reason to believe Shanewouldn’tdrive to a police station and deliver the three of us like a neatly wrapped gift box.

When we reached Sutter Street, I leaned forward a bit to give him instructions. “Okay, try to find a spot somewhere along here.”

We both kept our eyes peeled as we cruised past classic brick and terra cotta buildings, glass office towers, street-level eateries, and a beautiful art deco hotel.

When my friend Larkin’s apartment building came into sight, I was thrilled—and a bit shocked to be honest—to see an open metered spot in front of it.

“There,” I practically yelled, pointing to it.

“I see it.” Shane maneuvered into the spot and parked.

Larkin and I had become close friends when we’d both lived in LA. I’d visited her in San Francisco many times after she’d moved here.

Naturally I hadn’t had the opportunity to call her since getting out of the Safety Center, but I knew she’d help us. Maybe she’d even lend us her car for the trip to LA. It was outfitted with sunshields and surround-view cameras for daytime driving.

“We’ll get out here,” I said. “It’s a few blocks away.”

“I’ll help you with them,” he said.

“No. No thank you. I can handle it.”

My plan was to cover my friends and myself with the blankets, watch Shane drive away, then dash inside the apartment building and drag Kelly and Heather to the elevator. Somehow.

He peered into the back seat. “How? They’re dead asleep, and you’re about to pass out yourself. I know you’re strong, but you can’t carry them both. The sun’s still up. Your blankets could slip or something.”

At that moment, the sun came out from behind a cloud and cast brilliant golden rays down on the street and sidewalk around us.

It might as well have been a flashing neon sign reading “Danger Ahead.”

My gaze bounced from Shane’s face to the apartment building’s sliding front doors and back to him. He was right. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized how stupid it would be of me to allow him to drive away.

He could go directly to a police station and tell them about his uncle’s death—and exactly where he’d dropped off the vampires responsible for it.

I had to be smart about this. We were no longer respectable VHC employees. We weren’t run of the mill vampires. We were escapees, and now we’d murdered a human. Well, it was self-defense, but no one would believe that.

The police might already be looking for three vampires who fit our descriptions. There was a chance Terry’s neighborshadseen us—or that he’d awakened and found his brother’s body.

I heaved a resigned sigh. “Okay, you’re right. I need help getting them into the building.”

Shane rolled his eyes. “Duh. Just tell me which one it is.”

He must have read my wary expression because he added, “I’m not going to turn you in, Abigail. I never wanted any of this to happen. And I know what happened to Glenn wasn’t your fault. Or theirs. He held you prisoner. He starved you. You can trust me.”

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