“Wait,” he said, coming up beside her. He wasn't the least bit out of breath. “Where are you going?” he asked, in an irritated tone of voice.
Anna didn’t stop. Instead, she walked right by him as he stared at her incredulously. Pulling her cell phone out, she checked it for a signal. “What's it to you, Shayne?” she called back, without stopping. “I'm doing what you've been asking for since last night. I'm getting out of the picture. To hell with you and your high-handed attitude. It's pretty clear to me that you don't want to be bothered with me anymore.”
He jogged up to her again and grabbed a hold of her arm, pulling her to a stop. Swinging her around, he bent down to look at her face underneath the streetlight. He tilted her chin for a better look. She had dark circles of exhaustion underneath her eyes, and her skin was extremely pale. The usual pink tint to her cheeks was completely gone. It was then he noticed her pupils were still dilated. It was obvious, even to him, that she was going to drop at any moment.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were worse?” Shayne growled at her. She swayed and glared at him but didn’t respond. Another private plane took off, and the noise was deafening. She gasped as she placed her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the sound.
Remorse flooded his body. She’d been placed in his care, and he was failing in his duties with her. He was letting foolish pride get in his way of her care, simply because she hadn’t demanded a night in his bed. In his pride and arrogance, he had forgotten the serious head injury she had.
His past experiences with women had obviously made him a conceited ass. He was used to women throwing themselves at him, desperate to have him in any way they could. Now, the joke was on him, as he wanted her in any way he could have her. Instead of taking care of her and trying to impress her, he was spending his time strutting around like a self-righteous ass, simply because she hadn’t inflated his overly inflated ego.
Shayne didn’t understand what it was about Anna, but he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Her rejection of him had stung deeply. He'd spent the night brooding about her and their lovemaking. By far, it was the best he ever had. How could she act like nothing had happened?
Rolling his eyes, he realized Arch wasn’t going to be pleased with him at all. Hell, he wasn’t pleased. It was time to pull his head out of his ass and get back on track.
Clearly tired of his delay tactics as he considered his position, Anna pulled her arm away from him. “The hell you say,” he muttered, in protest, his face settling into hard lines as he grimaced. With one smooth action, he swung her up in his arms, bag and all. “I’m sorry,” he growled, scanning the parking lot for their ride. “I haven’t done a good job keeping you safe, and I know I haven’t made a good companion to you throughout all of this. If you will give me another chance, I’ll try to do better.”
Underneath the harsh, artificial lighting, Anna glared at him. “That will do, at least for now,” she said. “Don’t do it again, though.” She began to shake from the cold temperatures and pain.
Her body felt unnaturally hot in his arms, and he feared she was getting sicker. “We were supposed to have a ride here,” he informed her, as he looked both ways. “Heads are going to roll when I get a hold of the asshole that’s late.”
Suddenly, a loud squeal of tires burst through the quietness of the night. A vehicle approached quickly, but Anna looked too weak to care. Her eyes had closed, and she made no efforts to hold onto Shayne in any way. He doubted she had the strength to do so.
As the vehicle drew closer, it got louder and louder. Anna groaned in pain. Shayne just barely held back a curse.
With its brakes grinding in protest, it drew to a stop next to them. Shayne’s body stiffened in outrage at the sight of their transport, as his arms gripped her tighter.
“Please tell me that’s not our ride,” Anna croaked, without opening her eyes. “The noise is killing my brain.”
Shayne didn’t immediately reply. He couldn’t. He was speechless. He stared in horrified fascination. A pink ice cream truck idled in front of them, as smoke rose from its tires. It had a large windshield and a giant ice cream cone across the top. Children’s music blared out from the speakers located on both sides of the cone, so loud Shayne’s teeth ached.
“I’m going to kill Arch,” Shayne muttered, just as the folding door opened. A large clown with an orange wig stepped out, with a big smile on his artificially white face.
“I’m going to kill him, too” Shayne snarled, watching the clown approach.
“Sorry I’m late,” the clown said sardonically, stopping in front of them. “The damn truck wouldn’t go faster than forty miles per hour. He smiled, his teeth extremely white against his reddened lips. “My name is Jon. I’m your chauffeur for the night.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Shayne hissed. “Where is our suitable transportation?”
Jon shrugged his massive shoulders. “We’ve got a bunny ranch lost in a sinkhole that runs straight to Hell, a demon-possessed human who drove his vehicle through a movie theater packed with people, and a group of demons on a killing spree. I am the only one who could make it, and this is my ride for the night.” He smirked at the look on Shayne’s face.
“Why the hell are you dressed in a clown costume?” Shayne asked, indignantly. Jon was an endurer as well. He was about the same height as Shayne, with
