“I’ll protect you,” Frankie said without hesitation. “We can always move if you want.”
“But your research is here, your friends, my job,” Snod said, frowning slightly. “We have a life here. I
don’t want to throw that away to run from them.”
“Do you really think they’ll just leave you alone?” Frankie asked, quirking a brow.
“I honestly don’t know,” Snod replied, uncertain and his brow creasing with worry. “I know they’ve
hunted down others who have left...”
“So you’ve said,” Frankie sighed, his thoughts a little troubled. He cheered up suddenly, suggesting,
“Well, why don’t we take a vacation? Get out of town for a little while?”
“Vacation?”
“You know,” Frankie chuckled, “somewhere with sand and water. Me and you and some bathing
suits... a vacation!”
Snod stared blankly, asking slowly, “To what end?”
“To relax. That’s the point of a vacation! To relax, to get away.”
“But we’d come back?”
“Yes,” Frankie said, smirking playfully. “We would come back. We’ll take a little break, give time for
things to cool down, and then we’ll come home. Both you and Athaliah have new identities now, you
won’t be that easy to find.”
“Athaliah found me,” Snod pointed out, “and they already know what city we’re in.”
“We will handle it,” Frankie reassured him, his confidence not wavering for a moment. “I promise.
Try not to worry so much.”
Snod grumbled, turning his head to stare up at the ceiling.
Gently pressing his hand against Snod’s cheek, Frankie tilted his face back toward him until their eyes
met. He was smiling, soothing, “I love you. We will get through this, just like everything else,
together.”
“I love you, too,” Snod replied earnestly, leaning into Frankie’s cool palm. “Don’t suppose we could
leave on vacation right now?”
“And miss your party?” Frankie gasped in mock horror.
“Yes.”
“Nope,” Frankie said with a firm shake of his head. “Pissing off your brother scares me more than a
crazy cult full of vampire killers.”
