Page 44 of Lucas
His words repeated in my head. He wasn’t addicted to my blood—just me. Not the words every girl wanted to hear, but not every girl dated a vamp. I grinned and glanced at him, but he didn’t notice me.
He didn’t seem bothered by our fight the night before. I’d been childish about him taking blood from me, but I was getting that itch. The one I got every time I thought about my past. My mistakes. There was a time when that itch was enough to make me want to run. I didn’t feel that anymore. Not since Lucas. The itch just created different side effects, making me cranky and stubborn.
In the end, he’d taken more blood than I’d expected. It had been an erotic moment. An odd thing to say, but there it was. The only question was whether my past would make him look at me differently.
I glanced over again then dropped my gaze to the phone in his hand. He hadn’t made the call.
“Are you waiting for a particular reason?” I asked.
“What?” He glanced at me, then down at the phone. “No. Maybe.”
“Like a Band-Aid.”
He gave me a curious stare.
“You know. When you need to remove a bandage, it’s easier to rip it off fast.”
“You didn’t do that with my bandages.”
My cheeks warmed, and I kept my eyes on the road. But I felt his on me. “Special case.”
He chuckled. “I see.” He dialed the number then looked out his side window. “It’s me. I’m alright. We ran into some trouble, but we’re back on the mission.” A long pause. “Yes.” A sigh. “No, we have a lead on Fiona.” Another long pause, and he ran a hand through his hair. “I understand.” He heaved another sigh. “Fayetteville, Tennessee. We should be there by morning.” Another long pause and, this time, his hand fisted for a brief second before releasing to rub his thigh. His tone held a note of irritation. “We know what we’re doing. If you want to do that, that’s your call. You know where we’ll be.” He hung up and dropped the phone in the console.
“That didn’t go so well.”
“He wants us to go to New Orleans and meet up with Bella and Jacques.”
“And you don’t agree with that.”
“Why drive all the way there just to turn around and double back? It’s a waste of time.”
“Did Sergi agree with that reasoning?”
“It doesn’t matter. Devon gave me the assignment. Sergi was assigned to monitor the situation, not make decisions when he doesn’t have all the information.”
“Alright.” I wasn’t privy to how the cadre worked, but Lucas didn’t report to Sergi. This had been Lucas’s passion since first hearing about the book. He knew what he was doing.
Lucas took my hand and squeezed. “I wasn’t the youngest in my family, but I was the youngest male. Perhaps I’m just as rebellious as you.”
I grinned and squeezed back. “Now, that’s something I can work with. What do you want to do about the rental?”
He picked up the paper map with all their notes. “We need to make a detour. It’s a bit out of the way, but we can pick up a new car, and I can get some blood. After that, we’re going dark. Bella and Jacques will have to use their tracking skills if they want to find us.”
I snorted. “That won’t take long.”
“I know. But at the moment, I’m not in the mood to make everyone else’s life easier.”
“So,why did we drive all the way here just for a new rental?” I crawled out of the car. I’d driven non-stop since morning, only stopping to eat and pee, and my legs refused to work.
Lucas had slept most of the way, and the blood I’d given him the night before continued to heal him. But he wasn’t strong enough to wield a dagger or sword. And if he could, he wouldn’t have the necessary speed required to fend off more than a single vamp.
“We’re not getting a rental. Can you get me some water and maybe some fruit, if they have it?”
The convenience store was busy with humans, so it should be safe enough to go in alone. “What are you going to be doing?”
He was already striding toward the street, and he yelled over his shoulder, “I won’t be long.”
There he was going off on his own again. I doubted the vamps were aware of our location, but I wasn’t born yesterday and wouldn’t be surprised again. And that thought lasted about a minute as Lucas jogged across the street and walked into a local bank.
