I didn’t bother asking, knowing he wouldn’t answer anyway. I stepped onto the porch, scanning the grounds and immediate woods one last time before heading to the Escalade.
For Liam to ask me to use my magic-seeing eye to scan him, it had to mean he was worried about interference of some sort. Either a curse laid on him or a mental suggestion perhaps?
What sort of creature would be able to do that to a vampire? That was the more important question.
And what was in the woods that could cause that look of naked hope?
CHAPTERFOUR
The ride back to the city was a quiet one. I was busy trying to keep the contents of my stomach where they were while Nathan seemed lost in thought.
We were close to the city when the pain and nausea finally receded. I mentally checked Nathan’s smoothie concoction off the list of things that might help solve my little problem.
I turned toward Nathan to watch as he stared at the highway in front of us with intent focus.
It was tempting to pepper the enforcer with questions, but ultimately it would no doubt prove useless. As his sire and master, Liam commanded the entirety of Nathan’s loyalty.
I sighed and leaned back. There was something going on and the curious person in me wanted to know what. Still, involving myself would no doubt backfire. It would be smarter and probably safer to stay out of it.
“Get off here,” I said as we approached the exit for Henderson.
He glanced at me, his face startled. He looked back at the road and kept driving.
“Nathan, come on. I have a free night. I don’t get a lot of them and it seems a shame to go back to the apartment,” I argued.
“Liam ordered me to take you home.” He glanced over his shoulder and changed lanes. We weren’t far from the exit now. A few more minutes and we’d be past it.
“We both know that won’t keep me there,” I said.“Five minutes after you leave,I’ll be out the door again. At least this way, you’ll be able to give Liam a place to start if he decides to track me down.”
Nathan exhaled and shook his head. The car shifted lanes, moving to follow the exit ramp. I felt a thrill of victory and sat back.
“Why here?” he asked.“There are much better places in the Arena district or Short North.”
That was true, but that part of the city saw a lot of traffic by other spooks, especially those who preyed on humans. Both areas were heavily frequented by humans looking to have a good time. The presence of alcohol often resulted in humans with lowered inhibitions who were less wary. It made them easy pickings for creatures looking to use them as a food source.
I preferred to stay out of both parts of the city whenever possible. It was a lot easier now that I wasn’t a bike messenger.
“Turn right,” I told him as he stopped at the light.
“You don’t even have any friends here,” he complained.
“You don’t know everyone I know.”
He raised his eyebrows as if to say‘that’s what you think’.
It made me pause. I gave him a searching look as I narrowed my eyes. The vampires had proven more than once their skills at ferreting out the minor details of my life. I had few secrets at this point. The ones I did I protected with a fierce zealotry.
“Some people would say such a statement indicates you’re a stalker,” I said in a calm voice.
He choked on a laugh.
Before he could respond, I leaned forward.“Pull over here.”
“There’s nothing here,” he said with a frown.
We were on Henderson, right next to the bike path. Normally, I would never attempt a stop on this road. It was one of the main veins of traffic, connecting the two sides of the river. This late at night, the street was empty. All the humans were tucked safely in bed dreaming about unicorns or monsters.
“That’s the point.” I unbuckled my seat belt, giving him a challenging look.“You didn’t thinkI’d make stalking me easy, did you?”
