Page 33 of Expose Me

I raised my gun and shot him in the head.

The bullet made his head jerk back. He gave me a deep frown before spitting it out to the side.

“That’s for letting me get stabbed with a rusty pipe.” I glared at him.

He stopped right in front of me and ground his teeth, looking like he was reconsidering his no-killing rule.

“I couldn’t let them get the Onuei,” he said, clearly forcing a calm tone. Like I was the one being unreasonable.

“Ugh! Whatever.” I hobbled around him and started dragging my soggy, bleeding, tired ass towards the exit. It was slow going and every step was agony.

I heard Zey’s footsteps catching up behind me, but I still nearly shot him again when he knocked my feet out from under me. I hadn’t been expecting it, and I certainly hadn’t been expecting not to eat gravel. Instead, I found myself in his arms.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I wrapped my arms around his neck to steady myself. It felt good to be off my injured leg, but it still hurt when I got jostled.

Zey stared straight ahead, setting a fast pace. “It will take them a long time to recover, but we still need to be as far away as possible when they do. Preferably on the other side of a body of water.”

I wanted to argue, to demand he put me down. But I wasn’t going to get far on my own, and I was freezing from all the rain. It felt nice to have his warmth seep through the drenched clothing. There was no way in hell I’d ever tell him he was right though, so I just kept my mouth shut and let him carry me to the exit.

The rain started to ease up as we walked out of the now busted gate—a resounding end to the violence behind us.

With the threat removed, the adrenaline drained from my body, and I started to feel every ache and pain as shivers shook my bones. I summoned a thick bandage and pressed it against my wound as hard as I could handle. It would have to do until we could get somewhere safe. I also summoned a potion that would dull the pain and downed the horribly bitter liquid in one go. I should’ve stocked up on healing potions or vampire saliva with my last pay. But I’d been in meetings in the safety of our House zone and hadn’t been expecting to be sent on any dangerous missions.

Zey carried me for the hour it took to walk back to the nearest town. He didn’t slow his pace, didn’t struggle with my weight, didn’t even breathe heavily.

We “borrowed” a car that was parked behind the bar where I’d purchased my food earlier. I was not confident in Zey’s ability to drive, but I was in no state to do it myself.

I leaned my head on the window and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, we were crossing a bridge. It was still dark, but I assumed there was a river flowing below.

“We should cross a few rivers if we can.” My voice was hoarse. I reached for my cell, hoping it had survived the drenching and fighting. “I’ll have a look at a map to see—”

Zey placed a gentle hand on mine, stopping my search and my words. “We have crossed three bodies of water already.”

Shit. How long was I out?

“OK, then. Then we should ... um ...”

“Find somewhere safe so you can rest and tend to your wound?” He glanced at me and frowned. “It is still leaking blood.”

“Yeah. Human bodies tend to leak blood when they’re punctured.” I intended for it to sound sarcastic and accusing, but it just came out sounding weak. Shit. Maybe Iwaslosing too much blood.

“Do you have another friend nearby who can assist us?”

“No. I hardly have any friends,” I mumbled, then pointed to an upcoming turn. “Turn here and follow those signs.”

For once, Zey did as he was told, pulling into a motel just off the main road. He parked in a dark corner of the lot as I summoned some vials. I closed my eyes and lost another chunk of time, waking to him opening my door and lifting me out.

Apparently, he’d got us a room, and before I knew what was happening, he carried me into it. He went to place me on one of the two queen beds.

“No, no.” I pointed to the only other door in the beige and green room, faintly lit by one crooked lamp. “Bathroom.”

He changed direction and took me into the bathroom, depositing me on the edge of the tub. I winced when he turned the light on, but it helped to rouse me a little.

A trail of blood led out the door. Not good.

I summoned a first aid kit, then peeled my soaking wet jacket and top off my aching body. Zey stood in the corner and watched me struggle to balance while I undressed. I nearly fell backwards into the tub as I tried to pull my pants down, but he shot forward and caught me.

Wordlessly he pulled me to my feet and crouched down. I held on to his shoulders, whimpering as he peeled the pants over my injury. He helped me out of the pants, boots, and socks, then left me standing there as he turned on his heel and left the room.

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