“The four of us are of no interest to you,” he said. “You don’t remember seeing us, and you will make no mention of us in your reports.”
I didn’t have to see his eyes to know that he’d turned on the high beams again. That much was obvious from the way the cops’ gazes went unfocused, staring straight through us as we slipped past them and into the night.
When we were around the next corner, out of earshot, Rans turned on Len. “Did you drive here? The helpful answer to that question is ‘yes,’ by the way.”
Rans and I had taken a cab to get here, and he had a point. I didn’t think even the most open-minded cabbie or Lyft driver would dare take us on board with all the torn clothing and the blood smearing us. Though in a pinch, I supposed Rans could have compelled them to.
“Yes,” Len said, sounding like someone running very close to the end of his tether. “Tristan’s car is around the corner.”
“Good. Keys, Tristan?”
Tristan obediently felt around in his pocket and came up with a keyring, proffering it to Rans. Len grabbed it from him.
“You’re both bleeding, too,” he said gruffly. “I’ll take all three of you to a hospital.”
Rans snorted. “Yes, brilliant. Take the vampire to a human hospital. The lack of a heartbeat should go over a treat, if nothing else.”
Len looked completely out of his depth, and who could blame him? After a moment, he tried again. “Look. I used to be an EMT. Tris and Zorah are still hurt. I think Zorah’s is just a graze—”
“No,” Rans interrupted, “They’re both fine. Zorah, luv—with all that energy you pulled, you should be nearly healed up by now, yes?”
I blinked stupidly.
“Uhh—” The realization that I’d been shot—by, like, a bullet—jolted through me unexpectedly. That... should have been higher up on my list of things to worry about, probably. No doubt it would have been, but the initial pain had quickly faded from burning agony to an uncomfortable tingling, and then to a deep itchiness. It was irritating, but it paled when compared to the drama that had been going on around me.
I craned around to examine the furrow in my shoulder under the light from a nearby streetlamp. Just like the cut in my palm had done the night Rans passed out after I took too much of his animus, the injury was scabbed over in mere minutes. It looked like something that had happened a week ago, at least.
“Erm... yeah. It’s fine now,” I observed in a faraway tone. “Shit.”
Len took my arm, examining it as well. He shook his head, but recovered faster than I had.
“Doesn’t matter,” he insisted. “She’s obviously still in shock.”
“And I’ve still got three silver bullets lodged in my torso,” Rans shot back, “so if we could get someplace safe and private before the sun burns out and the universe descends into the chaos of entropy, that would be really useful.”
With difficulty, I pummeled my brain into something resembling working order. “Not your place though, Len. Not Guthrie’s, either,” I said, thinking of the female demon’s parting words.
I’ll catch up, she’d said. I was pretty sure Guthrie wouldn’t appreciate having a demon invade his home... at least, not a full-blooded one. I was even more certain that I didn’t want Len and Tristan to get any more entangled in this mess than they already had.
“A motel is fine,” Rans said. “The less reputable, the better. Now go and get the damned car, already.”
Len hesitated for only a moment longer before hustling Tristan off in the direction he’d indicated earlier. I stared after them until they disappeared around the corner.
“If that lad were smart, he’d run for the bloody hills,” Rans added under his breath.
TWELVE
I SHOOK MY HEAD. “Len won’t ditch us. That’s not the kind of person he is. And besides, his boyfriend’s head is still floating in vampire la-la land.”
“My influence over him would wear off on its own, eventually.” He turned and took my arm, wobbling ever so slightly as he did. Worry entered his tone. “You are healed, aren’t you, Zorah?”
“I’m okay.” I put a hand on his shoulder, trying to steady him. “What about you, though? Can’t you... I don’t know... shift into mist and leave the bullets behind, or something?”
He shook his head. “I’m form-bound until I get this silver shite out of me. It’s embedded too deep, and it’s not like lead; I can’t just will it out of my flesh. Your mate said he trained as an EMT. And after the last thirty minutes, I expect he’ll be happy enough for an excuse to jam a knife in my back once we get somewhere a bit more private. He can pull the bullets out for me, and then I’ll be right as rain.”
All at once, I became acutely aware that I was standing on the sidewalk of an upscale residential road, wearing a latex dress and thigh-high boots while my shirtless male companion dripped blood onto the concrete.
How was this my life now?
“Will you be okay until then?” I asked.
He shrugged a shoulder. “Some of that silver is closer to my heart than I’d like, but I promise not to check out on you before we get to the motel. I’m well aware of what’s at stake.”
Of course he would be, even if I’d forgotten all about it during the excitement. If he died, I died.
“That wasn’t why I asked,” I mumbled.
He caught my chin and pulled me into a quick kiss.
“I know it wasn’t, luv,” he said, once he’d pulled back. A car engine rumbled
