My lips lifted a little. “Thank you.” I leaned over when he flicked me a glare, and I kissed his cheek, earning a rumbling huff from his Vampire that was damn adorable, before settling into my seat and back against my door, hand on the door handle. My gaze met Vivian’s mouth — where her fangs would come from. “Any questions?”
Her head cocked. “No.” A long pause. “Not right now.” One side of her lips lifted into a grin, showing me one of her fangs, which were descended. “But I would love to hear more about you.” Her finger flicked at Antonio. “And not from him this time.”
Perfect.
Not only was I going to have to sleep with one eye open from the looks of it, I was now going to have to remember my life’s story — the completely fabricated one. And sell it. I nodded, not flinching, and turned back around in my seat, murmuring, “Everyone, buckle up.” While they grumbled because they were crammed in, doing as told, I stared out the window, quickly recalling everything Antonio had said that day at lunch. Even though I knew Ezra was ticked off, I placed my hand in his as I pulled the Hummer back onto the road and began telling his parents lie after lie about a life I had never lived, thankful they weren’t Shifters.
“Lily!” Ezra barked loudly.
My eyes jolted open as my hands fisted on the steering wheel. “Shit.” I jerked the wheel to the right, getting back into the correct lane. “Sorry, sorry.” I rubbed my eyes swiftly, squinting into the dark night.
Ezra’s hand was instantly on the back of my neck, massaging my tight muscles. “Sweetheart, it’s time to find a hotel if you’re not going to let me drive.”
“Yes, please do so, before you kill us all,” Vivian murmured dryly, releasing her grip from Ezra’s headrest in front of her. “I do realize Ezra’s driving history has scared you from letting him behind the wheel, but in his defense, he never once fell asleep while driving.”
Again, I mumbled, “Sorry.” And yeah, it was a little growly, a smidge grumpy. “Antonio, how far until the next town?” Hell, I wasn’t even sure what state we were in any longer, my mind half dumb with exhaustion.
“I can’t navigate for you,” Antonio stated, patting my shoulder. “The Elder’s only here to watch out for your safety while you’re searching for the Prodigy.”
Through a yawn, I said, “Ezra?”
“Oh sure, you’ll trust me to navigate…but not drive?”
I growled a little. “Dammit, I’m too tired to fight right now.” My grin was feral. “Or I could pull over on the side of the road and shift. I wouldn’t mind sleeping out there in the trees. How about you?” Yeah, it was a little mean.
“Remind me again why you’re in love with her?” Cahal drawled, cracking his neck.
“Fuck off, Dad,” Ezra muttered. “She’s grumpy at night when she’s tired and I’m grumpy in the morning when I’m tired.” He pulled the atlas out from between the seats — the navigation system had long ago been disconnected by a spell — and kissed my cheek. When I growled a little, feeling irritated and also a little mollified, he chuckled, “It’s a fair trade.”
“If you say so,” Cahal muttered, not sounding convinced.
Vivian hummed, “The hell with fair. I’d run if I were either of them.”
Antonio muttered, “It’s like they turn into poltergeist when they’re tired.”
All three hummed in mutual agreement behind Ezra and me.
“I would rather not hear another word from the damn peanut gallery right now.” I growled low, my eyes flashing. I swerved the SUV back and forth in quick jerks, making everyone in the back seat grunt as they repeatedly smacked into each other in their closed-in state. “Or I’ll do this all the way there.” I swerved a few more times for good measure.
Ezra lowered his hand from the ‘Oh, shit’ handle when I drove normally again, chuckling quietly when not one peep came from the back seat. “God, I love your ass.”
“Whatever,” I grumped, turning the radio up to loud and the air-conditioning to full blast. “Just find me a damn town with hotels to choose from.”
Twenty minutes later we turned off a ramp, and I headed for the first shithole I could find. When Cahal and Vivian started to argue, pointing at the finer establishments, I jerked the car back and forth again, then relented when they shut up, explaining, “Those places have cameras all over them. If you want to do anything Mystical — like Ezra drinking — and have no problem being caught on film, I’ll let you out over there, otherwise, we’re sleeping where I pick.” They stayed mute. “Silence is mother-fucking-sweet.”
Ezra grunted.
When I stopped the SUV in front of the lobby, I leaned over, opening the glove compartment. Fiddling with the top section of it, I found the groove I had put there last year, and gave it a good jerk. My secret compartment opened, and the contents almost spilled out onto the floor, but Ezra leaned over, quickly helping me, and rumbled, “What the f**k is this?”
“It’s safety,” I muttered. “And besides, you can’t go in there flashing everyone because even a dump like this has cameras in the lobby, so I’ll have to take care of it.” I shuffled through a few IDs until I found one with a picture of me with brown hair. The coloring wasn’t perfect, but it would do. When Ezra grabbed the rest from my hand, rifling through them, getting more pissed with each one he flicked past, I decided this argument could wait until later and quickly lifted one of the small rolls of cash he had sat on his lap. “I’ll be back. Everyone, stay put.”
And…I should have known Ezra wouldn’t listen. Before I had even opened the lobby door, he was directly beside me. I took a calming breath, not wanting to argue with him right now, with the person behind the counter in full view. Ezra opened the door for me, placing a possessive hand at the small of my back as we walked inside. The place smelled like cat piss — somehow that was what these places always smelled of — but the clerk was friendly enough for the midnight shift.
Well, until her expression turned apologetic as she informed us they only had one room left. Apparently a classic car show was in town, which did explain the parking lot filled with antique crap-mobiles, but still…that just sucked. Then the clerk cheerfully told us the room had two double beds. As if that made it any better with the group traveling with us.