Page 31 of Redeemed
Then he’s gone, torn jacket, uncombed hair, and all.
And Connor and I stare at each other like we don’t know what the fuck to do next.
Chapter Eleven
Trajan
NOT SO LONG ago, I was ready to walk into the sun. I had reached a point where this life I’ve led for some one hundred fifty years no longer seemed worth the effort. Then I met a wolf named David, and he convinced me to give it one more try. Then Connor returned from the dead, and I had another reason to live.
But Jacques Betancourt would have me destroy everything that had given me hope. And for what? To prove I am his dog, that I’ll come when he says come and fetch when he says fetch.
And to kill when he says kill.
No. This time he’s pushed me too far. I will not kill Connor, even if it means I must face the sun myself.
So, grasping at the little spell of sanity before Jacques’ voice resumes its awful chant, I leave the hotel where we’ve been hiding—although since David’s magic hacky sack has been stolen, we haven’t been all that well hidden.
I stride through the darkness, fumbling with my phone. David’s usually in charge of organizing Ubers, but I do have the app. I arrange for a pick-up; my destination is Stone’s warehouse, where I’ve parked my Land Rover. My plan is to make my way to the Ten, and from there head for the desert.
The town of Joshua Tree is small, but they used to have a hotel with vampire-ready rooms. Twentynine Palms is bigger and not much further east. I’d once had to stake out a Chupacabra who’d lost a poker game with Jacques, then tried to run out on his debt.
Chasing a goat sucker in human form through any town is enough to turn you off to a place.
Further east is more desert, and while I can admit destroying myself might be necessary, I’m not ready to give in yet.
So I settle on Joshua Tree and ride out on a wave of crazy. Jacques is back in my head, cajoling and ordering and generally making me want to drive a stake through his heart. The further I go, though, the quieter he gets.
Thankful for small blessings, I turn off my phone and drive on in the darkness.
The LA sprawl goes on and on, and some two hours after leaving my lovers, I turn onto Highway 62. The sky is huge and studded with stars. There are no streetlights out this far, but my night vision is more than up to the task. I pass shadowy stands of windmills, shrubby scrub, and, finally, the tortured silhouettes of the trees that give the place its name.
The town of Joshua Tree hugs the highway and the cross streets don’t travel very far before they fade into gravel and dirt. The population is low, although a continuous stream of tourists visiting the national park gives the town a reason to exist.
I park in front of the High Desert Motel, a two-story walk-up with white walls and a red roof. The office is lit up like Christmas, as if the owners are afraid late-night guests will need blinking colored lights to find their way in.
Since my phone is turned off, I don’t know what time it is, but I’d guess two a.m. Jacques’ litany of commands is a distant drum beat; if I think about the number of stars or the heavy desert silence, I barely hear him. I already miss David and Connor, a tiny pinprick of pain that also acts as a distraction.
One way or the other, I’ll keep Jacques out.
The woman at the front desk snarls when I walk in. She’s greasy in a way that feels deliberate and the place stinks of wolf. Maybe she’s hiding a passel of packmates somewhere. “Evening.” I keep my voice calm and my hands visible. “I’m wondering if you’ve got a vampire room available.”
The snarl turns into a laugh. “You got a permit?”
Andnowshe’s fucking with me. “Nope.”
She shrugs her bony shoulders. “Place this small, we can’t have some random bloodsucker waltzing in and expecting a free meal.”
“You’re big enough to have a hospital. If I stay long enough, I’ll see about some expired blood from their blood bank.”
Her lips curl the way mine want to. “Gross.”
“Coming from someone who smells like an unwashed wolves’ den, I’ll take that under advisement.”
She raises both hands like she wants me to back off. “No need to get nasty.”
I shrug. “So do you have a vampire room or not?” There are a few more places I could try, but I’ve stayed here before so I know they’ll have what I need.
A windowless room, a bed, and a door that locks.
