“Keep the speed steady. I think.” I tightened my hold on the wheel and slid across the divider line so I could steer better. Not that it helped. The two trucks pulled up on either side of us, pinning the little car between them. They pressed us like a waffle maker squishes batter. The screech of metal was almost as loud as the high-pitched screaming that erupted from both of us.
“This is not going as planned!” I yelled. “Kitty puke on cookie sheets!”
The road beneath us changed, going from smooth pavement to huge bumping potholes. Each dip and valley sent our heads bouncing into the ceiling of the car. “Slow down!”
“Brake?”
“No, just less speed.”
Too late. Dahlia hit the brake, and the tiny car squealed as it slowed and the two trucks that had flanked us ripped past. The screech and tear of metal as they slid away from us made me shiver, my skin crawling with the vibration of bending metal as much as with the shrieking sounds. My eyes rolled, and I fought to stay in the moment.
“Out, get out quick!” I pushed her toward the door.
“It’s stuck!”
“You’re a vampire! Kick it open!” I yelled back.
“Right.” She booted the door and sent it flying off its hinges. She tumbled out, and I was right after her. “Come on, this way.” Dahlia bolted off down the rocky pothole-strewn road. I hurried after her, running hard.
The two trucks were ahead of us, backup lights on. We ran past them. I caught a glimpse of a long red beard in the driver’s seat of one truck. Damn it, what had Santos done, gathered up every Viking vampire he could find? This was not going to play well in my favor.
“How far?” I yelled.
“The checkpoint is at the start of the Grind,” she said as I caught up. Like we were out for an evening jog and not running from two oversized trucks driven by vampires who probably would kill us as soon as look at us.
“That doesn’t actually tell me how far,” I pointed out.
“Far.”
I pressed my lips together and tried not to think about how stupid I was to imagine this would go my way. I mean, after the catastrophe that was my life, why did I think this would be any different? I was a useless, pride-filled heathen. Dahlia and Tad were right not to believe I could do this on my own.
The words were not mine, but my mother’s, and they struck a fire inside me that burned away the words of my past. I was not useless, and I would not be forced into a corner ever again. I reached out and grabbed Dahlia’s arm, slowing her.
“They won’t have the stuff with them to hurt me; we need to face them.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” Her eyes were wide, dilated in the deep darkness.
I tugged her to a stop. “Pretty sure.”
“Alena, we can make it.”
“No, I want them to take us there. We are strong enough to do this, Dahlia. We aren’t weak-willed, shrinking flowers that need to be rescued. Despite your name.” I smiled and she shook her head.
“You’re crazy.”
“Maybe. And you’re my best friend.”
She laughed. “Crazy’s best friend? Not a title I was aiming for.”
Two sets of overamped headlights raced toward us.
“They’re going to try and run us over,” Dahlia said.
“Then jump out of the way,” I said. “They would have some sort of walkie-talkie system, right?”
“Yes, why? What are you thinking?”
There was no more time for conversation. The trucks slowed as they approached us, but they didn’t turn their lights down. Dahlia blinked and her eyes watered. “Assholes, those lights mimic UV light.”
“Get behind me. I’ll tell you if we have to fight.” She did as I asked, putting her hands on my shoulders and dropping her head so her forehead touched my back.
The trucks were both turned off, the engines grumbling to a halt, but the lights remained on.
“You know,” I called out, “you’ll drain your batteries if you leave the lights on like that.”
Viking number two was the first one to step out. I smiled at him. “You look like someone I met the other night. He was mean to me. It didn’t end well for him.”
“You killed my cousin, you brassy bitch. You think you can take us on our own turf?” He strode toward me, and I drew in a slow breath, hating what I was about to do. To be fair, the snake in me approved wholeheartedly.
I pushed power into my words, filling them with seduction of the highest caliber. “You don’t want to hurt us. You want to take us to Santos.”
He stumbled midstride and shook his head. “I . . . no, that can’t be right.”
“Remo’s an ass; he’s almost gotten us killed,” Dahlia called out from behind me, her hands still gripping my shoulders tight. “We don’t want to work with him anymore. It’s obvious Santos is stronger.”
“You see?” I added, “You can take us to Santos. I mean . . .” I took several steps closer to him until I could touch him. I fought not to recoil, but I knew that my touch on him would heighten my ability to influence him. I ran a fingertip down the center of his chest. “A big strong vampire like you wouldn’t be taken down by a couple of girls, right?”
He grinned, flashing his fangs. “Of course not.” He agreed so fast I stood there, not sure what to say. That seemed too easy.
And suddenly I understood my ability to manipulate that much better. I couldn’t force him to believe something he didn’t already think was true. He truly believed he was stronger than two women, I could see it in his eyes almost as if it were spelled out in thick blue frosting. I leaned into him, as if I were unable to stand on my own two legs.
“And we’re so tired. Could we use the gondola? Our tiny feet and weak muscles could never handle that big hike.”
He swept an arm around me and scooped me into the air. “Well, that’s obvious. Come on, both of you.”
I turned my head so he couldn’t see me and grimaced at an openmouthed and staring Dahlia. That had worked better than I’d thought. I batted my eyes up at Viking Boy, and he leered—yes, actually leered—back. I fought not to shudder as he lifted me into the oversized truck, his hands sliding dangerously close to my ass.
“I wouldn’t do that. Santos wants her untouched,” Dahlia said. Viking Boy jerked his hands off me as though I’d electrocuted him. Score another point for the girls’ team.
Dahlia climbed in and the truck started up. Only once we were going did I realize the other vampire hadn’t gotten out of the second vehicle.
Dahlia looked out at the other truck too. It didn’t move an inch as we cruised over the dirt road and farther toward the base of the mountain.
I blinked several times, heavily, at Dahlia. As in, What do you think?
She shrugged and shook her head and mouthed, Guard.
Of course they wouldn’t leave their entrance road unprotected.
Viking didn’t speak to us as he drove, though his hand kept wandering over my upper thigh. I kept brushing him off while saying, “No touching,” heavily weighting the words with my siren power. Or whatever it was called. The fact that he kept trying told me I was probably right about my guess in terms of the person I was trying to influence already believing my words. The whole Jedi mind trick only worked when they already wanted something along the same lines of what I suggested. Which is why the seduction worked so well on most men, since most men saw me only as a piece of ass.
My theory also explained why turning off the seduction was such a crapshoot.
His hand gripped my thigh, and I shoved it off. “I said enough.”
“You want it, baby. Santos doesn’t have to know.” He took his foot off the gas, and the truck rolled to a stop.
I leaned sideways, pressing against Dahlia. “Any suggestions?”
“I think he’s going to have to learn the hard way, just like his cousin,” she said.
That’s what I was afraid of. I really didn’t want to hurt anyone. But I didn’t feel like b
eing groped by the big vampire either.
CHAPTER 9
I lifted my legs up, keeping them closed at the knees as I slowly drew them to my chest. Viking Boy’s eyes widened, and I realized something.
He was dumb as a stick if he thought I was going to spread my legs for him right there in the truck with Dahlia right beside me. What an idiot.
I kicked out as hard as I could with both feet, driving them into his chest. The feeling of things breaking, of my foot going right through his rib cage and hitting his heart, was unreal—unexpected. He flew backward, out the open window and into the darkness without a sound. I slid over into the driver’s side and started the engine back up. My hands shook on the ignition, forcing me to try several times to get the engine turned over.
“You think he won’t come after us?” Dahlia grabbed the back of the seat and stared out where we left him.
I shook my head and struggled to breathe past the horror. “No, he won’t be coming after us.”
“How do you know that?”
I grimaced. “One of my feet went through his chest.” The warm blood trickling down inside my shoe was enough evidence. That is, if I’d ignored the feeling of his chest spitting open.
I pursed my lips and focused on the road in front of me even while my mind ranted at me. Sounding rather like my mother.
Murdering monster, you are evil and going to hell. It doesn’t matter that he was touching you; it wouldn’t matter if he even raped you. This is punishment for all your sins, you know that. When will you learn to just lie down and take what is your life? Stop fighting.
“I will not.” I bit the words out as I clenched the steering wheel, the shaking in me subsiding.
“Won’t what?”
I sucked in a quick breath and held it to stave off the tears that threatened. “Nothing. Let’s get this over with.”
I put the truck in park and cut the engine. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I really didn’t. But I wasn’t going to let anyone take advantage of me anymore. I’d done it my whole life, let people walk all over me. Because it was the right thing to do. No more. I wasn’t going to do it anymore. Starting with Santos.
I squared my shoulders and hurried to where a low gondola waited. Up the platform we went and climbed into the small box. Dahlia grabbed the controls and hit the button on the speaker box. The soft static of an intercom floated through the airwaves.
“Password,” said a disembodied voice.
“Shit balls, I didn’t think they’d bother.” Dahlia scrunched up her face. “Now what?”
“Just hit the button again.”
She did and the voice came back.
“Password.”
“Looks like we’re hiking,” she said.
“No, I want Santos to wonder how we got up here, how we used his gondola.” I thought back to my last negotiations with the bankers for money to add new equipment to the bakery. About how I’d had to use what leverage I’d had. I’d bluffed, told the bankers I’d withdraw all my accounts and go to their competitor, who’d already offered me what I wanted. Of course, it wasn’t true, but the bank manager hadn’t known that.
I hit the intercom button and leaned forward. “Then you can tell Santos his personal guests left because you couldn’t be bothered to bring them up.”
I let go of the button and put my hands on the railing. Willing the gondola car to start moving.
The voice didn’t come back, and Dahlia shook her head. “It was worth a try, but I think we’d better . . . hey, we’re moving!”
I smiled as the gondola shivered and rose in the air. Mind you, maybe they had a way to cut the lines when we were high in the air, hovering over some bottomless pit. I put a hand to my head. “I’ve got to learn to stop thinking sometimes.”
“What’s the plan from here on in? Good cop, bad cop?”
I shook my head. “No, we both hate Remo. He tried to force himself on me, and beat you up for protecting me.”
She shook her head and made a circling motion around her face. “Won’t work. I’m not beat up at all.”
I grimaced. She had a point. I put my hands to my head, thinking. There had to be a way to convince him . . . slowly a smile spread as the idea grew. Dahlia stared at me. “I don’t like that look, Alena. It’s devious. And you aren’t devious.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Not devious, honest. I gave you some blood, and you healed super fast.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you really want to play that card? I mean, if he knows your blood can do that—”
“He’ll be even more willing to keep me alive if he thinks I have something to offer him more than my ability as a weapon.” I nodded, already happy with how it would pan out.
“And if he uses that damn snake oil shit on you, what then?”
The thought of being burned that badly again had occurred to me, I’d just been ignoring those particular thoughts. In the bakery business, I learned my lessons quick. Apparently not so much out here in the Super Duper world. “If he tries, we’ll have to deal with it then.”
“That’s what I thought; you don’t really have a plan.” She shook her head, sighing under her breath. “I’m going to lead, you stay behind me. We don’t know if that oil will burn me, and if it does, you can heal me up. I can’t heal you.” She gestured for me to stay behind her as she spoke.
I spluttered a protest, feeling like the pan of spun sugar she was afraid would melt in the rain. “This whole thing was my idea; I’ll lead.”
She grabbed my arms and her eyes hardened. “You aren’t as tough as you think you are, Alena. Strong, yes. But you don’t have the killer instinct to survive. Even with the Viking back there, you felt bad. I could see it. And no matter what happened with Achilles, you were lucky to face him with all of us helping.”
Her words could not have shocked me more. “You really don’t think I can do this either, do you?”
Her eyes were soft and filled with pity. “No, I don’t. I love you to bits, but I don’t think you have it in you to make the hard decisions, and in this world, that will eventually get you killed. And maybe all those people around you killed too.” She let me go and smoothed her wild curls back, though they just sprang up again. “Follow me, Alena. Let me do the heavy lifting.”
Hot, angry tears burned the edges of my eyes. No one thought I could do this on my own. It was no different than my family when I’d wanted to open the bakery. They’d tried to stop me, tried to tell me I wasn’t capable. Except for Yaya, that is. She had always believed in me.
The gondola lurched and hopped along the cables. Dahlia grabbed the railing to balance herself. I stood in the center of the tiny box, swaying slightly but riding it out.
“Don’t be angry.” Dahlia looked over her shoulder at me. “Please.”
“Don’t tell me what I’m capable of,” I snapped. “Just don’t.”
She shrugged and stepped back from the railing. “Fine. You want to lead? Then lead. Try not to get us both killed.”
Her words were covered with a layer of heat that I’d never gotten from her before.
We locked eyes, and I didn’t back down. I was not weak. I wasn’t, and I’d prove it.
I took a step forward as the tiny boxcar slowed and bumped against something. I moved so I was right in front of the sliding door. It opened, and I walked through with my head held high.
In front of me was a huge wooden mansion, three stories tall, and it sprawled over the top of the mountain and into the trees so I couldn’t see where it ended. Windows glittered like dark eyes staring out at us, winking in the torchlight like leering old perverts, beckoning us closer. I shivered, not liking the imagery or where it took my thoughts one bit.
I steeled my back. No matter how little Dahlia believed in me, no matter how little Tad believed in me, I knew I could do this. I had to, if not to prove them wrong, then to prove to myself that I wasn’t the anchor holding my friends down. That I could protect myself and them when the crunch time came
.
The open path ahead of me was lit with torches on either side, and I strode between them. I snapped my fingers back at her. “Keep up, Dahlia.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and then hurried to do as I’d suggested. I didn’t want to make a scene of things. But she was wrong; I could do this.
Even if I was terrified that I would screw it up and get us both killed.
A roll of fog curled up around my ankles as I walked, and for a second I thought I was shifting.
“Theatrics, he loves a show,” Dahlia breathed out.
I didn’t react, just kept moving. The thick cover rolled up in front of me, and I kept moving into it, as if I didn’t care that—I slammed into a body, nose to nose.
Yelping, I bounced back from the fog and hit Dahlia, and the two of us tumbled back onto the ground, limbs tangling. So much for a strong first impression.
Her eyes narrowed, and she pinched her mouth shut as I struggled to get upright as fast as possible. “Great intro,” she mumbled.
I looked up to see Santos emerge from the fog, rubbing his nose. A giggle full of nerves bubbled up in my chest. “You know, you should tell people you’re trying to make a big show of things. I thought it was a test of courage, not your entrance music, so to speak.”
Dahlia let out a soft groan. “Don’t irritate him further.”
Santos lifted an eyebrow, and again I got that sense I knew him from somewhere, like I’d met him before all of this. I pushed to my feet and held a hand out to Dahlia. She didn’t take it, and I turned away from her.
“Tell me,” Santos drawled, his words humming along my skin, “did you come to surrender?”
“Not exactly.” I tucked my hands behind my back, then brought them around the front and finally folded my arms. “I . . . Remo is not who I thought he was. He tried to force himself on me.”
“And I give a shit, why, exactly?” He smiled. “How do you know I wouldn’t do the same?”
Oh dear, this was going downhill faster than if someone had indeed cut the gondola cables. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. What could I say to that?
“Because we know things about him and his operation.” Dahlia stepped up. “Perhaps we could trade information for protection.”
Fangs and Fennel (The Venom Trilogy #2) Page 11
