He gave a tight-lipped smile. “I’m proud of you. Never doubt it. But don’t even think about leaving me. I’m supposed to go first. You hear me? You’re immortal.”
“You know immortality isn’t a guarantee. Everyone can die. I just don’t want to leave things unsaid no matter who goes first. And I made arrangements with Viktor a while ago. If anything ever happens to me, what money I have goes to you. It’s not a lot; I have a habit of giving most of it away. Don’t refuse it. If you do, you’ll piss off my ghost. Nothing would make me happier than seeing you use it on yourself. I don’t care if you buy a new house, go on vacation, or buy another damn bike.”
Crush stood, his long grey hair hanging messily over his shoulders. “I don’t want another bike. I want my baby girl.”
When his eyes glistened with tears, I gripped his left arm where he had a dagger tattoo with my name going across a banner. “I guess neither of us can make promises we can’t keep. I’ll do my best to stay alive only if you do the same. Now get your ass in bed. Do you want something to read?”
“A few car magazines would be nice.”
“I’ll check around. Guess what wedohave?” I collected his tray. “Sherlock Holmes. Probably the whole damn collection. I know how you like those books. If you want to walk around, just stay on the third floor. If Harley runs downstairs, don’t worry about it. Someone will find him. And don’t forget which room is mine. Put something outside the door. It’s easy to get lost around here.”
Crush took off his shoes and got into bed. “Got any toenail clippers?”
“Absolutely not. If I find toenail shrapnel in this room after you leave, I’m setting your brown chair on fire.”
CHAPTER13
“What the Jaysus are we doing in here?” Christian eyed a display of raccoon heads. Not real ones, just toy merchandise sold in the seventy-five-thousand-square-foot convenience store.
“It’s the only place nearby I could find open. Plus I’ve never been here. Did you see all the pumps outside? I bet there’s enough gas underground to blow us to the moon.”
“That and the three hundred chili dogs warming under the heat lamps,” he added.
Rebel’s was a mega-sized convenience store that was mostly a tourist attraction. They had everything, including the biggest bathroom I’d ever seen at a gas station. Legend had it that Rebel’s used to be a small rest stop run by a bunch of bikers, but if that was true, the owner had sold his soul to a raccoon mascot named Rebel.
“Look for underwear,” I said, walking through a row of T-shirts.
“Perhaps it’s next to the mountain of beef jerky.” He strode past me, hands clasped behind his back. “How much animal carcass can fit in a single building? Let’s find out, shall we?”
“Lighten up, Poe. It’s not like you’re ruining your nonexistent reputation by being here. Not many stores are open right now. It’s Sunday, it’s late, and the roads are icy. My dad needs clothes, and I’m not driving across town to go back to his house. Now unless you want to lend him your underwear—”
“Then find a potato sack, and let’s go.”
“We’re not leaving until I look at the knife collection in the back.” I grabbed two sweatshirts off the rack and paused in front of a shelf filled with giant bags of flavored popcorn. “Remind me never to bring Wyatt in here.”
“And what’s this?” he asked, holding up a long fluffy thing.
A worker stopped. “That’s our famous Rebel Raccoon tail. You see this clip here?”
“Put a cork in it.”
Flummoxed, the elderly gentleman shuffled away.
I laughed at the black stripes and brown fur. It looked real, and I took it from him. “Put it on.”
Christian folded his arms. “Over my rotting corpse.”
I stood on my tiptoes, my laugh barely suppressed. “Care to make a bet? If you wear this for the rest of the day and night, I’ll do anything you want.”
His eyes slid down to the tail, which curved up at the end. “The stakes aren’t high enough if I’m the only one suffering humiliation.”
I wasn’t about to put one of those on, so I said, “On my word. Anything. Except marrying you, because we still have to play by the original rules.”
I encircled his waist with my arms and clipped the tail on the belt loop of his pants. Neither of us had brought our jackets since we were just making a quick run to the store, so all he had on was a black Henley and trousers.
“Why do these bets always involve you torturing me?” he asked softly, looking down at me like a hungry wolf.
“I don’t knowwhatyou’re talking about.”
