Page 103 of Road Trip with a Vampire
Zelda:Is incapacitated code for “staked”?
Peter:Not in this case. I lost your dagger when two huge vampires jumped me.
Peter:I’m sorry about that.
Peter:Fortunately, when you transferred that dagger to my pocket, you also transferred your little bag of incapacitating powder.
Shit. I’d been wondering where that had gone.
Peter:I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was out of options, so I threw a bunch of it in their faces. I had plenty of time to get the hell out of there before they came to.
Despite myself, my heart ached at the thought of Peter fighting off vampires who were only angry with him because of me.
But did that mean I wanted to see him again? I didn’t know.
Zelda:Well, I need my car back
That much was true, at least.
Zelda:If you drive it to my hotel for me, I’ll give you twenty minutes to explain.
It seemed only fair. More than that, though—I found I really did want to know the real story behind Peter Elliott. Even if, in the end, it would only break my heart.
Peter:I can do that. Where are you staying?
Zelda:The Mallory on College Boulevard
Peter:Got it. And thank you for giving me a chance to explain.
Peter:I should be there in forty-five minutes.
Peter:Would you feel safer if we met in the hotel bar?
I thought about that. On the one hand, meeting him in public would be safer for me if he was thinking of trying something funny. On the other, if we were in public, defending myself, if that became necessary, would be harder than it had to be.
Zelda:Let’s just meet in my room. I’m in 501.
Peter:I will see you soon.
That settled, I set my phone down on the bedside table.
And waited.
According to my phone, Peterknocked on the door to my room exactly forty-five minutes after we’d finished texting.
I let him stand in the hallway as I checked my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My hair was a mess, but my face and outfit were mostly on point despite the evening’s chaos.
Good. Let Peter eat his heart out while he was here.
On my way to the door, I placed my remaining dagger and the bag of transporting powder prominently on the entryway table. I wanted him to see them right when he walked in so he’d think twice before trying anything.
Taking a deep breath and reminding myself I could do hard things, I opened the door.
My breath caught at the devastation on his face.
No.I wasnotfalling for this again. Peter had been paid to mess with me and crack my safe. And he’d lied to me from the beginning. I would not be taken in by his sorrowful expression—no matter how handsome he looked being all sad.
I’d told him I’d give him twenty minutes. That was all he would get.
