Crimson Storm

by Amy Patrick

  Noticing the man as well, Shane nodded in understanding. “Go on back to the truck. I’m going to wash up and grab some bottled water and snacks, and I’ll meet you out there in a minute.”

  “I’d rather wait for you,” I said. But the hand-washing man was now looking directly at me.

  Did he recognize me? Maybe it was just the skimpy outfit. He probably thought I was one of those women who hung around truck stops looking for “customers.”

  I had a decision to make—follow Shane’s suggestion and take the chance he’d ask someone inside the truck stop for help—or stay here to watch him while this guy and who knew who else watched me.

  “I’ll see you outside,” I said and left the bathroom.

  Back at the truck, Heather was returning the gas nozzle to its hook. She was clearly surprised to see me returning alone.

  “Where’s Shane?”

  “He’s getting some food and drinks. He’ll be out in a minute.” I paused then added, “I hope.”

  “You trust him that much?” she asked.

  “Not really but I didn’t have much choice. A man was staring at me in there.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Did he recognize you?”

  “I’m not sure. It might have been because I look like a prostitute. Or maybe it was because I was in the men’s room.”

  “What?” she asked, laughing and looking far more relaxed now.

  Before I could explain, she said, “Oh, here he comes.”

  I whirled around, halfway expecting to see Shane accompanied by a highway patrol officer or at least a couple of burly truckers, but he was alone.

  Without a word, he opened the cab’s back door and got inside.

  I looked at Heather.

  “Okay then,” she said.

  “Okay then. Let’s get back on the road and get out of here just in case that guy did recognize me.”

  19

  Spooning

  The fresh tank of gas would have lasted beyond dawn, but of course we had to get off the road before the sun came up.

  We’d made good time, which in some ways was good, but bad in another way. We had made it through Utah and into Wyoming, which had a policy allowing individual businesses to choose whether they wanted to serve vampires or not.

  The first few hotels we stopped at had signs reading “No Vampires” prominently displayed in their front windows.

  “I don’t think we can make it to the next exit before sunrise,” Kelly said, sounding worried.

  “There’s a rest stop in two miles,” I said. “We’ll park there and sleep in the back.”

  I had moved to the front seat to keep Kelly company for a while, and Heather now rode in the back with Shane. As it was still dark, the curtain between the two areas was open.

  Shane was obviously awake and had heard us because he responded.

  “You know, if Kelly gave me a few pointers, I could drive during the daylight hours while you three sleep back here. We’d get there in half the time.”

  “No.”

  I didn’t have to even consider my answer. The thought of the three of us unconscious and vulnerable while he drove us anywhere he wanted sent shivers down my spine.

  “We’ll all stay in the back together. We can get underway again at darkfall.”

  Shane gave me a disappointed look. “I would think you’d trust me after the truck stop.”

  A twinge of guilt tweaked my chest. “I’m sorry, but the past few weeks have shaken my trust in humanity a bit.”

  “I’m not ‘humanity,’” he said. “I’m me. There’s a difference.”

  “Not from where I sit,” Heather said sleepily.

  Then her tone turned teasing. “What’s the matter? Don’t want to spoon with three hot vampire chicks? There are a lot of men who’d kill to be in that position—or die to.”

  I couldn’t help it. I laughed at her terribly inappropriate joke, but Shane didn’t. In fact, he appeared to be sulking.

  Sobering, I said, “We just can’t afford to take any chances, okay? We have to get where we’re going. I have to protect my friends.”

  “I could be your friend,” he said, “if you’d let me.”

  We parked at the rest area, and Shane used the restroom before we locked ourselves back inside the big rig and closed the light-blocking curtains, sealing the Velcro strips that held them together.

  The conditions were a bit cramped. Still, we were safe. Curtis’s truck had been the perfect choice of vehicle for interstate travel.

  My friends and I decided to take shifts, two of us sleeping while one stood guard over the truck and our human passenger. Because I’d slept some during the night hours, I took the first watch.

  Shane, who’d also slept most of the night, was wakeful now.

  “Do you really think I’d turn you in?” he asked quietly.

  I studied his face in the dim gray atmosphere of the sleeping cabin.

  “No. Not really,” I admitted. “But there is always a chance. Contrary to some reports, vampires can’t read minds. And apparently, a lot of people hate us.”

  “I don’t hate vampires.” There was a long pause. “I loved one once actually.”

  “What? You had a vampire girlfriend?”

  “I did. We worked together at a movie theater when I was in high school. Her name was Marjorie,” he said.

  “I remember you said you were in love once. Why did you break up?”

  His fond expression soured. “My parents forced me to end things with her.”

  “Oh. They didn’t like vampires?”

  “They didn’t know anything about them at the time,” he explained. “But then they saw some bite marks on me. They freaked out. I told them I had no intention of turning, that I was perfectly safe with Marjorie and really happy, but their minds were made up. They basically threatened to kick me out if I didn’t stop seeing her.”

  He lifted his shoulders and let them fall. “So I did.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, and I was. It wasn’t so long ago I’d been under the complete control of my parents. I also understood how hard it was to give up someone you loved because your hand was forced.

  “Maybe it’s not too late for you two. Did you ever look her up after they... you know... died?”

  At least I assumed his parents were dead. He’d hinted at it and told me he’d gone to live with his aunt and uncle.

  Shane shook his head. “I did, but she’d moved on. She had a serious boyfriend. A vampire. I decided not to rock the boat, to let her be happy. He was probably better for her anyway.”

  The look in his eyes turned speculative. “Have you ever been in love? Or wait—do you have a mate?”

  Blushing for no good reason, I said, “I don’t. I don’t even really date. There was a guy once. It didn’t work out.” To say the least.

  “Well maybe it’s not too late for you. I mean if he still lives in this place we’re going...”

  “No, it’s over. For good. He’s made an eternal commitment to...” I’d almost slipped and said Imogen’s name. “...someone else.”

  Shane nodded thoughtfully. “Well, when you’re ready to move on, you’ll have no shortage of opportunity I’m sure. You’re a beautiful girl. Any guy—vampire or human—would be lucky to have you.”

  A tingly sense of pleasure mixed with hot embarrassment. For one thing, I wasn’t used to receiving compliments. For another, he was completely wrong.

  “Thank you. I’d never date a human though.”

  His brow creased. “I didn’t peg you for a human hater.”

  “No. Not at all. I’m not. It’s just... not safe.”

  How could I explain to him the temptation produced by the smell of his blood? Or the terror I felt whenever I thought about the possibility of inadvertently hurting someone I loved? It had kept me away from my birth family and humans in general.

  One slip-up could mean death for them. And what had happened to Josiah and his family was always with me.

&n
bsp; I couldn’t risk it happening again to another guy I cared for or called a friend.

  Suddenly hyper-aware of his heartbeat, I scooted farther from Shane.

  He must have sensed my discomfort because he said, “It’s okay, you don’t owe me any explanations. I mean, in a couple of days, we’ll never see each other again, right?”

  I nodded, speaking quietly. “Right. You can drop us off and get back to your life.”

  “Yes. My wonderful life,” he quipped.

  “I’m sorry about all this,” I said. “Forcing you to come with us, the handcuffs.”

  “Yeah, I could have lived without those for sure. They rubbed my wrists raw.”

  He held his arms out to me, and I looked down at his wrists. Sure enough, the flesh there was reddened and abraded. A couple of spots were even bleeding.

  Oh God.

  Fierce thirst hit my throat like wildfire. The truck stop hadn’t sold blood bags, and I’d had nothing to drink since that defrosted blood bag at Larkin’s apartment yesterday.

  My fangs did their irritating involuntary response thing, sliding from my gums and pushing past my lips. My stomach growled loudly.

  Instead of cowering in fear or looking horrified, Shane actually laughed. “Oh, sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have dangled chum in front of the shark. You must be thirsty.”

  I nodded. “It’s okay. I am, but you’re not in danger. I got used to being thirsty in the Safety Center. Feedings were once daily, and the rations were small. I can go for a while without blood when I have to.”

  He glanced over at my sleeping friends. “What about them?”

  “I’m sure they’re thirsty too. Maybe when we get to Nebraska we’ll start seeing some signs along the highway for vampire-friendly exits. We can get off at one and buy some blood bags.”

  “Yeah, I think I saw a billboard a little while ago about a place that had them at one of the next few exits,” he said.

  “Good. That’s perfect.” I yawned loudly.

  He chuckled. “Am I boring you?”

  “No. I’m sorry. It’s really hard for us to stay awake when the sun is up. We can do it in an emergency, but when there’s no threat or reason to stay awake, it’s tough.”

  “No, I understand. I remember Marjorie being like that. I was just kidding. You can go ahead and sleep you know. I’m not going to try to bolt.”

  “I know that. I do need to wake one of them to take a shift though before I doze off. Not for my sake—I believe you—but it’ll make them feel safer.”

  “Sure,” he said, sounding displeased despite his words of agreement. “I understand.”

  I woke Heather for her shift then slumped into a dreamless sleep, resting deeply in spite of the crowded conditions in the truck’s rear cabin.

  My incarceration had also taught me to sleep in uncomfortable circumstances. Our cots at the Safety Center had been narrow and hard with a thin blanket and no pillow.

  When I awoke sometime later, I blinked a few times and looked around in confusion.

  Where am I?

  The Safety Center was so much warmer than usual.

  Oh, it wasn’t the Safety Center. I was in the truck. We were on our way to the Bastion.

  Butterflies swam in my belly at the mere thought of the place. Of him. I clutched my ever-present pendant, feeling the familiar contours of the tiny dagger and the smooth roundness of the orb in its hilt.

  What would Reece do when we arrived? What would he say? Would Imogen decide to get theatrical and send him personally to carry out the death sentence she’d threatened me with if I ever returned?

  Perhaps she already knew I was on my way home. I’d been told that as my maker she could always sense my location.

  That knowledge had given me many moments of fear over the past months—anytime I was alone at home or walking somewhere in the city.

  She could have sent Kannon or any of the other Bloodbound after me to grab me off the street and forcibly return me to the Crimson Court. But she never had.

  And contrary to Heather and Kelly’s hopes, she hadn’t sent anyone to rescue us when we’d been arrested and held in the Safety Center.

  As far as I could tell, my “mother” had washed her beautiful, terrifying hands of me. If we’d had any choice whatsoever, we wouldn’t be putting ourselves at the mercy of them again.

  Speaking of hands, I hoped Shane’s were beginning to heal and he’d rested more comfortably without the cuffs on this time. In the dim light, I couldn’t separate his shadowed form from that of my friends.

  “Heather,” I whispered to keep from waking him and Kelly.

  No answer. Had she dozed off too?

  “Heather,” I said more loudly, and this time a drowsy, “Hmmm?” sound came in response.

  “Did you fall asleep?”

  “No,” she said, sounding confused. “Oh, wait. I think so. I’m sorry. Everything was so quiet and cozy back here.”

  “It’s okay. I wonder what time it is?”

  Moving carefully so as not to jostle our still-sleeping companions, I parted the curtain slightly to peek through the windshield and check the position of the sun. A pinkish-purple glow lit the sky.

  “It’s almost sunset. We should wake them and get ready to go.”

  I could hear Heather move, slowly at first and then a rapid, panicky sounding motion. She sat straight up.

  “Where’s Shane?”

  20

  Slow Night

  “What do you mean?” I demanded, trying hard to keep my pulse steady.

  “He’s not here,” Heather said. “He’s gone.”

  “That’s impossible. We would have heard him get out. The sun would have burned us when he opened the door.”

  “Not if he hung a blanket over the doorway,” she said, ripping down a blanket that had been hung over one of the doors.

  So much for the steady pulse. Mine skyrocketed, and a whirring noise filled my ears. I couldn’t believe it.

  After our “heartfelt” discussion this morning and all his declarations of wanting to help, Shane had ditched us.

  Maybe I’d scared him off by talking about how thirsty we all were.

  “How’d he even manage to do all that with the cuffs on?” Heather asked.

  Wincing in shame, I lifted the restraining device with the edge of a blanket and held it up for her.

  “I left them off. Because I decided to trust him. Like an idiot.”

  “I can hardly point fingers,” she said. “I fell asleep on my watch. I just can’t believe we didn’t wake up when he got out.”

  “We’re all low on blood,” I said. “Our senses are dulled, and it makes the exhaustion worse.”

  “You can say that again. Maybe it’s a good thing for the human that he did leave. I have to admit he was starting to look pretty tasty last night. He smells good too.”

  “Yeah, he does,” I admitted. “Wake up Kelly. It’ll be dark any minute now. We need to get going as soon as possible in case Shane decided to report us.”

  I feared it might already be too late. When the sun went down and we climbed into the front cab, there very well might be a squad of police cars surrounding the truck.

  Just then the back door opened. Heather cringed back instinctively to avoid the light, but there was none. It was dusk.

  Shane stood outside the truck, smiling up at us.

  “Good evening, ladies.”

  He came back.

  I could hardly believe it. Why? Why hadn’t he run? Had he just gotten out to go to the bathroom? That possibility had never occurred to me when I’d learned he was missing. I was sure we’d seen the last of him.

  Shane climbed into the back of the truck and shut the door behind him. Now that I was no longer in shock, I noticed he held a plastic shopping bag.

  Reaching inside it, he withdrew a blood bag and then another and another. “Breakfast is served.”

  My jaw dropped open, and not because I was about to bite him. “You went out to... b
uy blood?”

  He chuckled. “I couldn’t sleep. You three were out cold, and I figured I could use a stretch of the legs, so I walked to the next exit—the one I saw on that billboard, remember? The truck stop there had a refrigerated case of blood bags. I figured it would save us time today—and also save my neck—if I got some ‘supplies’ for you.”

  Heather grabbed at one of the bags with greedy hands, and Kelly, who’d awakened at hearing all the chatter, did the same. I took the third one from him more slowly, nearly catatonic with disbelief. And relief.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  He chuckled again. “Tell the truth. You thought I ran off, didn’t you?”

  “Honestly? Yes. Why didn’t you?”

  “Why is it so hard to believe I legitimately want to help you?”

  “Because it is,” I said. “I mean, we didn’t exactly get off to a great start, and I had you in handcuffs—until yesterday. You must have some ulterior motive for staying with us.”

  Shane’s expression froze for a second. I’d offended him. It wasn’t like he was some sort of double agent trying to discover the location of the vampire resistance stronghold.

  I was about to apologize when his usual sense of calm returned. “I guess I can’t blame you if your time in the Safety Center made you suspicious of humans. My Uncle Glenn was part of the reason, and I’m sorry for that. You know I feel bad about what he and Terry did to you, and I told you about my past connection to Marjorie. Just call me... an ally.”

  I studied his face, looking for signs of duplicity. There were none. Just Shane’s sweet brown eyes looking back at me.

  Suddenly I felt silly for thinking the worst of him. Even more than that, I was profoundly grateful to have something to drink. “Thank you for coming back. And for the blood bags.”

  “You’re welcome. So... we should get going, huh?”

  I nodded. “Yes. I think you should ride up front with Kelly for a bit since we’re close to the Nebraska state border.”

  Later tonight, we’d cross through Iowa and Illinois as well. The first few state line checkpoints had been no problem. The agents on duty had given the truck—and Kelly and Shane—bored once overs before waving them through. But during our training at the Bastion, our survival instructor Eudora had told us the checkpoints got more and more rigorous the farther east you went.