The window of the door I’d slammed rolled down to reveal Thomas’s face. “You don’t need to worry, my youngest. I’ve been playing this game for a very long time. I am not the easy prey they assume.”
fourteen
Ishiveredatthesavagery on Thomas’s face. He wasn’t afraid of what was coming. He was looking forward to it.
His smile allowed the tips of his fangs to peek out from his lips as he sat back, his message delivered. The window rolled up and the car drove away.
“How do you put up with him?” I asked, shaking my head.
He was insufferable.
“Practice.”
I turned to find Liam leaning against an identical black Escalade as the one we’d climbed out of. Liam pushed off the vehicle and made his way to the driver’s side. “You’ll get used to it.”
“But I don’t want to.”
Liam ignored my whining, waiting until I’d settled into the passenger seat before starting the car. “This’ll be a new experience for us. Working together without me having to twist your arm or threaten you.”
I gave him a sidelong look from under lowered eyelids. “Don’t get used to it.”
“Oh, but I want to. You have no idea.”
I fought the tiny smile that wanted to form. The man didn’t need encouragement. His head was already big enough.
Liam reached the end of the street. It was tempting to see how long it would take him to realize he wasn’t the one with a destination. I had a feeling it would be a while. The vampire was nothing if not overconfident.
As amusing as that would be, we were pressed for time and lives were at stake.
I leaned my elbow on the arm rest and propped my chin on my fist, staring at the side of his face. “Question—do you have any idea where we’re going?”
“Harpy territory.”
I dropped my arm. “How did you know?”
Sometimes he was no fun at all.
“The presence of their maven was something of a giveaway.”
“So humble too.”
Liam’s smile widened.
“But you’re wrong,” I said, wiping that smile off his face. “Hunters were spotted in their territory earlier this evening. They won’t feel safe there.”
And after what the harpies had likely witnessed, they’d want to go somewhere familiar that was also free of potential danger.
“Do you know where they would go?”
I stared out the front windshield debating. Despite its small-town feel, Columbus was a decent sized city. Especially if you added the surrounding suburbs. There were a lot of places to choose from.
If it wasn’t so late, I would say somewhere with crowds of people. At their heart, harpies were scavengers who preyed on the unwary. In this day and age, that meant they were pick pockets. They drew comfort from large crowds and would assume a certain level of safety in them.
In that sense, they were similar to humans.
This late at night there weren’t many places that fit that description. The Arena District with its bars and night life was a possibility. But the Harpies wouldn’t go there. They wouldn’t want to deal with the vampires who’d claimed that area.
The Short North was out for similar supernatural reasons. The only other place I could think of was Easton. The crowds were smaller the later in the evening it got, but there were still several bars open.
