Page 90 of The Vampire's Thirst
The truck and four passengers headed into what Thorn called the Whorl.
“What the hell?” Chiara shrieked as her stomach flip-flopped like tossed salad.
Fin giggled, apparently crazy enough to enjoy the sensation. She heard Dax growl and Thorn shout, “Yippee ki yay.”
Her hand clasped to her abdomen, Chiara bounced against her tight seatbelt when the truck landed upright. “A little warning would have been nice.”
While the words slipped from her lips, a lot of big men wearing black and armed with swords or knives surrounded the She Beast. Their expressions were grim as if they’d survived hell.
Not more trouble. They deserved a break.
Dax must have heard heroh, shitgasp because he secured her against his bloody T-shirt. “Relax. We know them. Firebrand escort.”
Thorn tapped the button to roll down his window. He spoke to the most brutish but handsome man Chiara had ever seen. “Brak, good to see you. Hey. You look like shit.”
If this was the guy looking like shit, she couldn’t imagine what he looked like all cleaned up and dressed in his Sunday finest. He was huge with dark, thick hair bushed off a masculine face but curling at his neck. His olive skin and tight tee pegged him for a Greek god.
“You don’t look so good yourself, shifter. We ran into a few Arisen Dawn crazies heading your way into Livingston. We sent their spirits to Angor, swept up the area, and still obliged Kole by providing you with extra muscle. Thank me later with a good Scotch and an easy female.”
Dax stuck an elbow out the window on his side. “Let’s compare war stories later. We need to secure the females.”
Chiara leaned forward to get a better view of their escorts. Disheveled hair. Torn and blood-stained clothing. Wounds. Bony protrusions. Tired eyes.
Except for the big guy. He looked energized.
Brak poked his head in the window, a wide grin revealing brilliant white teeth. His clothes were slightly wrinkled. His black hair was slicked back, curling on his neck, not a piece out of place. His olive skin, kissed by a Mediterranean sun, was unmarred. His only flaw was a slight crook in the bridge of his nose, but it could have been broken years ago. Not today. And it sure didn’t detract from his looks. “Nice to see you all in one piece. We’ll hop in the back. Your safe ticket to the stronghold.”
When the men catapulted into the back end, metal clanged against the truck bed. Brak pounded the top of the cab twice, signaling a good-to-go.
Thorn stepped on the gas, and they sped through a city with tall buildings, noisy traffic, cars and buses, streetlights, road signs, and walkers going every which way.
Fin twisted around, eyes wide. “Just like home.”
The shifter rested an arm on the back of her seat. “Covenkirk. Normally we would have taken the portal inside the stronghold but no can do with the truck. We’re a little security conscious at headquarters. It’s just a short spell down the road.”
At top speed, Thorn wove through traffic.
When somebody honked, Dax flipped them off. “There it is.” He signaled thumbs-up to the guys in the truck bed.
Chiara’s mouth gaped when a huge brick building surrounded by a giant iron fence rose suddenly in front of them, materializing out of nothing.
Thorn tapped his wrist. An ornate gate decorated with a Phoenix emblem swung outward, and they sailed through toward an underground garage. Again, the shifter tapped his arm. A roll-up door opened silently as if well oiled.
Chiara angled around to watch it slide down once they were clear. The men in the back leaped over the side after Thorn pulled into a space.
Dax dropped to the ground. Brak slapped her vampire’s shoulder before pulling him into a man-hug. As big as Dax was, his friend topped him by at least five inches. “We couldn’t find you. Thought you were doing your Lone Ranger routine. The commander and Tyr were pissed until they heard you were ass deep in trouble.” Brak paused to offer Chiara a hand, his eyes surveying her with a slow head-to-toe crawl. “Lovely female. I’m all yours.”
Dax growled.
Chiara smoothed her skirt and fluffed her dark curly hair.I must look a mess.But she accepted his help, bouncing from the backseat. “Thanks.”
“No problem. You just stick with me, and you’ll be fine.”
Dax shouldered Brak aside. “She’s already fine, carnal demon.”
Chiara snapped her gaze toward the vampire, her brows drawn tight. Why was he behaving so strangely?
Putting a possessive hand on her lower back, Dax led her toward a door. “Let’s go.”
