Atticus touched my heart. No one had ever been this tender with me. I’d never known anyone willing to die for me, and now I wasn’t certain if that depth of love was a blessing or a curse.
Chapter 26
“I’ve never been to Arkansas before,” Krys grumbled as they neared the state line.
Over the past hour, Atticus had watched the landscape change from open fields to thick pine groves. “Stay at the speed limit.”
“Like you haven’t charmed your way out of a speeding ticket.”
The interior of Lakota’s black truck still had dents and dings as well as a few bullet holes. A pickup truck blended in better than two loud motorcycles, so they had borrowed it for the assignment.
Krys adjusted the rearview mirror. “Your friends back there better pick up the pace.”
“I instructed them not to follow too closely. They know where we’re going.”
Atticus had summoned two of his best employees to accompany them. He only hired people he could trust, but more importantly, they had the right background to do this work discreetly.
Apart from the radio, it had been a silent and uneventful drive. Atticus had kept his eyes closed most of the way except for when the noisy eighteen-wheelers passed them. He hated leaving Joy without a last goodbye, but they’d left before dawn, and he didn’t want to wake her, so he left her a note and a gift.
He said goodbye to the baby though. Just a quiet word and a touch. The bond he shared with Joy had also formed with her child. How the baby had come into existence didn’t matter to him. He was excited to experience fatherhood.
Atticus thought about the previous night. The lingering scent of rose oil on her skin, the silky feel of her hair, the stories she told about childhood and her travels. When she had made her declaration of love, relief flooded his veins. Salem could have given her a normal life, but she had made her choice.
A light sprinkle of rain glossed up the windshield, and when Krys turned on the wipers, it left an outline of dirt.
Atticus adjusted his sunglasses. He’d acclimated to the pain of daylight but still preferred wearing sunglasses when outside for long periods. The only time he’d ever been able to fully enjoy the daytime was during a total solar eclipse.
Krys put the blinker on. “I need to gas up and take a piss.”
“You didn’t fill the tank when we left?”
“On a mission like this, it’s better to top it off whenever you can. I’m also starving. You don’t want to see my wolf on an empty stomach. I fight better when I’m hungry, but we’re not doing this tonight.”
Krys pulled into a Kentucky Fried Chicken parking lot, then glanced at Atticus. “If you’re hungry, you’ll have to go somewhere else. They don’t sell blood bags here.”
“That’s fine. I’ll just walk over to Walmart. I’m sure they have something in the back.”
Krys’s lips twitched, but his scowl quickly returned as he unbuckled his seat belt. “I’m eating inside. Riding this close toa Vampire is freaking me the fuck out.” He glanced at his cheap watch. “Tell your friends they can stretch their legs or shine their guns but meet back here at one o’clock on the nose.”
Atticus sent a text message when he spotted his employees slowing down on the road.
It was a gloomy afternoon, and though Krys had on a jacket, it was leather. He looked like a rock star instead of a country boy. They still had a few more hours to go, their destination a small town outside of Little Rock, but it wasn’t ideal to stand out. Especially since the lab workers lived in the area and would be alarmed by any suspicious outsiders. Atticus decided to do something about it.
After exiting the truck, he branched toward the road. Mist pebbled his black coat as he walked toward the large retail store. Humans in the parking lot bustled to their cars in light jackets. He entered the store and realized he’d never been inside one of these places. Grocery shopping was one thing, but lately his manager was doing all his personal shopping.
The noise violated his eardrums, from the clacking of the shopping carts to screaming children and continual interruptions on the intercom. After selectively muting out those sounds, he located the men’s department.
People scrutinized him. Humans had an uncanny ability to sense Breed without even realizing it. Maybe it was his flawless skin, but he was also the only one walking around in dark sunglasses on a rainy day.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed a teenage girl watching him. When she held up her phone to sneak a picture, he turned away.
Atticus observed the clothing people around him were wearing and located something similar.
“Hey, mister?”
He looked down at the girl, who fidgeted with her phone.
She lifted her brown eyes up to him and smiled. “Are you famous? I won’t tell nobody.”
