“You don’t have to.” She bent to scrub at Lorde’s ears. “Want some water, sweet girl?”
Lorde wagged her tail, and I handed Lu her leash. “I’ll get her bowl. And I’m driving.”
I walked around the back of Silver, my eyes searching that horizon and those clouds. Lorde made happy little half-howling sounds while Lu cooed at her.
When I was out of Lu’s line of sight, I fully exhaled, letting the fear and adrenalin shake through me. I’d seen my share of monsters on the road.
But these spirits, whatever they had been, were malevolent. Violent. More than that, they were hungry.
Whether they were hungry for the magic Lu carried around her neck, or the magic that had changed her from human to something else, I didn’t know.
But I had been frozen, absolutely stuck, and unable to do anything to save her. She could have been killed while I just stood there and watched.
I shuddered, mopped the wet heat of the day off my face, and shuddered again feeling sick.
I dried my palm on my pants and dug for Lorde’s water bowl.
When I returned to Lu, I smiled and told her again that I was fine.
I didn’t know if she believed me. I could feel her gaze on me as I excused myself to use the bathroom.
And if I stood there, staring at my blurry reflection in the scratched metal mirror for too long, shivering while tepid water ran over my fingers, well, I was the only one to know.
Chapter Six
Iliked driving. Always had in the short time I’d been alive. But the vehicles from back in my day were bundles of twine and rubber compared to modern cars.
And this truck, Silver, was a beast.
“Gas pedal, Brogan. Give it a push. You’re not gonna get anything in life pussyfooting around.”
“I know the speed limit.”
“It’s not twenty-five.”
“I’m going forty-five.” I glanced at the speedometer, which was, thankfully, an actual dial with a hand showing my speed. “Forty-one. Close enough.”
Lu slouched in the passenger side of the seat, her back braced against the door, one knee up against the back of the seat, one foot on the floor, Lorde half draped across her lap. She straightened her leg, her bare foot digging at my butt.
“Never thought I’d have to tell a woman to keep her feet off my ass,” I said. “Hands, maybe.”
An eighteen-wheeler crept up on us, and I was thinking I should slow down even more so it would pass.
“I like your ass,” she said lazily. Her toes slipped between my butt and the seat, and she managed to wiggle them a little.
That got me looking over at her, but just a quick glance. “How about you like it when I’m not driving this thing?”
“Relax,” she said, with a toe wiggle. “You’re doing just fine. Is it hot in here?” She plucked at her tank top, lifting it away just enough that I could see the edge of her lace bra and a lot of pale, soft skin. “It feels hot in here.”
“Keep that up, and I won’t be the one to blame for crashing this thing.”
She wiggled her toes again, chuckling, then closed her eyes and dropped her hand on Lorde’s head. “I trust you,” she said. “You are a man of intense focus and great reflexes. Don’t worry about the big rig following you. It’s gonna pass. Breathe. Relax. Let the road spool on by.”
She wasn’t even sitting at an angle that would allow her to see what was behind us, but she knew me well enough to know what I was tensed up about.
I took a deeper breath and tried to relax my grip on the wheel, leaning back into the seat instead of hunching forward.
The big rig sped up and passed me in the left lane.
