Page 50 of Defying the Relic Hunter

“Not at all. All I ask is you’re careful,”Ethan said calmly.

Whoa! Something was up.“You too, sugar.”

“Can I tell Uncle Saul Granny Annabel will release his men from hibernation?”

I threw a pleading look at Granny.“Please.”

She nodded and vanished.

“Consider it done.”

“Thank you, my love.”Ethan pressed a ghostly kiss on my mouth and was gone. I sagged back against the seat.

Xenia let out a shaky breath. “Quinn apologized and babbled on about how much he loves me.”

“Ethan did too. They’re planning something.”

“I’m afraid so. Coletti warlords are never this agreeable.”

I tapped on the glass partition. “Let us out here.”

The driver quickly pulled over in front of a military surplus store.

I swiped my bracelet over his card reader and climbed out. “Let’s get our supplies and retrieve the stucco warriors, before the shit hits the fan.”

We hurried inside the surplus store. Xenia stopped in front of a vintage poker slot machine and stared at it in utter fascination. “How do you play it?”

“You have to feed it some credits and pull that metal bar,” I said.

Xenia swiped her bracelet over the scanner and pulled the lever. The machine went crazy.Cha-ching-ching-a-ling!Cha-ching-ching-a-ling! Lights flashed wildly and old American coins poured out.

“Holy shit! You won the jackpot!”

Xenia hopped up and down in excitement. “I’ve never won anything before!”

An older woman hurried over to us. “Congratulations! You just won twenty-five thousand dollars in old currency.”

My eyebrows shot up. “But you can’t spend old currency.”

“I can’t?” Xenia’s voice was full of disappointment.

“Nope.”

The woman shrugged. “Would you settle for ten thousand credits in merchandise?”

“I would,” Xenia said.

An hour later, we were outfitted with camouflage uniforms, laser pistols, enough explosives to start a war and a 2005 Hummer.

“Do you know how to drive a stick shift?”

Xenia shook her head. “Since I can teleport, there was no reason for me to learn how to drive.”

“Watch and learn.” I climbed in the driver’s seat and fired the Hummer up. The engine rumbled loudly.

“I’ve never owned a car before,” Xenia said, stroking the seats.

“The Hummer was really popular back before the war.” I pulled out on the busy street.

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