“The commander said not to release her,” John says.
“She’s fuckin’ pregnant. How far is she going to get?” Goth Girl says, walking around me and pulling a large hunting knife out of her belt.
It would appear in my absence, my uncle has had to resort to scraping the bottom of the psychopath barrel.
“If I wet myself, you’re still going to have to smell it,” I say, crossing my legs. “So, hurry up.”
“Fuck this. Let her have a pee and we need to get back on the road. If we don’t get to Würzburg before nightfall, the commander will have our hides. All of them.” John throws his hands up in the air and stomps off back to the driver’s door.
Goth Girl puts her hand on my shoulder and waves the knife in my face.
“Try anything and you’ll find I’ll fuck up your pretty face.”
“Oh, I’m terrified,” I say in a dull tone.
She reaches behind me, inserts the knife between my wrists, and pulls upwards, the zip-tie popping open.
“Go do your business,” she snarls.
I walk away from the pair of them down the side of the van. It’s a nondescript rental with German plates. The scent of the pine forest fills my nostrils, and from the level of the sun in the sky, it has to be around two in the afternoon. Which means I’ve been out for some time.
I feel sick to my stomach. Uncle is going to use me as bait for Dominik, and my vampire is going to come for me no matter what. Without a backward look, I pull down my pants and squat with a sigh of relief. I needed time to think, to find out as much information as I could, but I did also need to pee.
Pregnant lady’s prerogative. And frankly I’d do my business anywhere even if I wasn’t pregnant.
Given we’re heading for a Bavarian town, chances are we’re already in Germany. Uncle was never keen on flying. He thought it was too easy for vamps to bring planes down by sending wavesof bats into their engines. Not that it ever happened, and given the time I’ve spent with Dominik, I doubt he’d ever do anything so cruel to innocent bats, but it was still a fear of his, hence the ground transport.
I give myself a shake and pull my knickers back up. Admittedly I don’t have a plan at this moment, but I do have an idea where Goth Girl keeps her knife, and it’s a step forward from earlier.
“Are you fucking done?” she calls out at me. “Because I fucking hate nature.”
“I bet you do,” I mutter under my breath, walking back to them. “Hope you enjoyed the show,” I call out to John as I pass by. “He was always keen on golden showers,” I say with a knowing wink at the Scotsman who actually blanches.
Goth Girl grabs my shoulders and spins me around, zip-tying my hands again before I’m shoved back in the van and they both get in.
Shame she didn’t check what happened to her knife. Its weight is nicely balanced up my sleeve, and once we get to our destination, I’ll need to act fast.
But then, despite everything my uncle ever said to me, I was the best vampire hunter in a generation. All I need to do is turn those skills to my advantage.
The Scotsman slams the van door and Goth Girl pounds on the bulkhead. The engine starts and we sway as the vehicle pulls away.
Next stop, freedom. The Van Helsing family is not going to take the one good thing I’ve got in my life. Dominik is my mate and that’s how it’s going to stay.
Lucy
Goth Girlclearly believes she’s the queen of staring, but after about half an hour in the back of the van, she’s discovered she is not. I’ve honed my icy stare over countless hours in police stations dealing with every situation known to mankind, or thereabouts. She has an awful lot to learn.
Eventually we get a huff, and she glares off into the corner. The Scotsman has resumed his position with his arms folded, but his head is tipped back, and his eyes are closed.
Although he’s clearly not asleep.
“What did you do to piss him off?” he asks, his rough Glaswegian accent filling the van.
“Who?” I ask all innocently.
“The commander,” he says with a sigh, because he’s considerably older and wiser than Goth Girl and isn’t going to fight me.
“I got knocked up.”
