I chortled and looked at Christian. “Like our memorable trip to Washington?”
Christian winked at me but didn’t comment on the infamous spoon fiasco that left one man dead and a house torched. He turned the onyx ring on his finger. “At what hour is he expecting us?”
Viktor tossed Christian the keys. “He does not know you’re coming. It is never good to have a routine with jobs such as these. When you are near his home, send me a message and I will alert him that you are en route. Is this a problem?”
“No sweat,” I said, nonplussed as to why Viktor would hand us such a straightforward assignment.
“Says the adrenaline junkie,” Christian quipped.
“Maybe you should just stay home. Go bite a few holes in the water hose with your fangs and make a sprinkler for Hunter to play in. I got this.”
“With your atrocious driving, I’d be surprised if you made it there in one piece. Or would you rather I drive so you can strap yourself to the roof while we hit the freeway?”
Viktor ambled to the door and gripped the knob. Before opening it, he glanced over his shoulder at us. “Some days I cannot tell if it’s hate or love between you two.”
Christian flashed him a wicked smile. “That’s what makes it interesting. I can’t tell either.”
* * *
I watchedChristian adjust the passenger seat after he climbed inside the van. “Everything loaded?”
“Aye. All five boxes. That’s a shiteload of weapons.”
Once we hit the main road, I accelerated past the speed limit until we entered the edge of the city. “Why is Viktor giving us such a boring assignment? Aren’t we supposed to be the hired assassins on the team?”
“You seem vexed that you can’t always be putting a knife in someone.”
“He’s made it clear that Wyatt and Gem are intelligence and Claude and Blue are the trackers. Shepherd and Niko are not only healers but also backup. That means you and I are the killers who do all the dangerous shit. And yet here we are, driving a delivery van.”
“Has it ever occurred to you that thisisthe dangerous job?”
“Come on. Viktor’s gotta be getting some juicy offers after what we did for the higher authority during the blackout. He’s holding out on us. We’ve had one big case since, and that one was too easy to solve. The Vamp was practically sucking on people in front of 7-Eleven. This is child’s play.”
“I once knew a lad who washed windows for a living. Great view, fresh air, privacy—a man couldn’t ask for an easier task. Until the harness breaks and you plummet thirty stories to your death. Never underestimate the perils of a simple job.”
“Brushing a shark’s teeth is inherently dangerous. Washing windows has enough security measures in place that the chances of falling are slim.”
“Are you afflicted in some way?” Christian rested his arm on the door. “They don’t have men who brush sharks’ teeth. If so, I’d be the first in line to watch that.”
We hit a bump, and Christian reflexively threw his arm in front of me.
“You should wear a seat belt,” he grumbled, retracting his arm.
“I thought you were just trying to feel me up.”
“Speaking of that, it didn’t occur to you to put on a brassiere? You can’t just walk around the city, flashing your knockers to every man with a set of eyes.”
“You mean a bra? I hate to break the news, but you’re living in the twenty-first century. It’s a woman’s prerogative to dress how she wants.”
When I abruptly hit the brakes, his arm flew out again. I barked out a laugh at his chivalrous gesture.Not bad… for a Vamp.
“Jaysus wept.Will you keep your foot on the gas? I don’t feel like plucking a box full of knives out of my back.”
“Are you a red or a white wine kind of guy?” I turned a corner and smiled at him so he understood why the sudden change in topic. “You’re pretty quick on the reflexes, Poe.”
“I get my practice around you.”
When I reached a stoplight, I decided to buckle up. My truck didn’t have a shoulder belt, so I’d gotten used to disregarding the safety rules of the road.
