“Yes, I know all that. What I don’t know is how you can have a human sister or how you came to be adopted by William.”
“You don’t need to know any of that. And you should get some rest. We have a long day ahead of us.” Abruptly, Echo closed her lovely jade eyes.
Irritated by her aloofness, Elijah scowled.
Her lashes were long and thick. She had high, rounded cheekbones, a perfect, straight nose, and bow-shaped lips. Her chin jutted in defiance; it suited her to a tee.
A stunning, symmetrical face.
The kind of face that could make a woman famous.
So beautiful, Elijah could look at her all day and probably write a million songs about her.
Dangerous, dangerous thoughts, considering who she was and what she was capable of.
“Stop staring at me,” she said without opening her eyes. “And go to fucking sleep.”
That made him laugh.
Echo’s eyes popped open, her gaze dropping to his mouth as he grinned at her. Before she could hide it, he saw the flash of heat in her eyes, and he had to admit it soothed his wounded ego. But then she frowned. “What is it?”
Chuckling at her snappish tone, he shook his head. “Nothing, love. You’re just funny, is all.”
“Oh yeah, I’m a barrel of laughs,” she deadpanned, which only made Elijah laugh harder.
When he finally stopped chuckling, he found Echo’s expression had turned wary. His lips twitched as he asked, “What now?”
“Nothing. You’re just very odd. Sleep.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her and settled back against his seat. His knees banged against the row in front of him, and he sighed, instantly irritated by the claustrophobia of economy. “But next time, I’m booking the tickets.”
A sense of foreign amusement hit him, and he turned sharply to look at Echo whose eyes might have been closed but her lips quirked up at the corners.
Elijah’s pulse raced a little. Had he sensed her spark of humor?
He knew he couldn’t fully trust the vampire, which meant getting this ridiculous attraction to her under bloody control.
A panic Echo couldn’t rein in, the panic of an animal in survival mode, had begun to rise within her as the small plane descendedonto a private airstrip on the edge of Heathrow Airport. The sun would dawn soon, and she needed to get somewhere safe.
Her contact, a wealthy London financier she’d found on the shadow web who wanted to be turned into a vampire, had arranged a vehicle for them upon landing. She’d paid for the flight, of course, but the real reason the billionaire helped her was because he assumed that she’d bite him soon.
Echo had no intention of turning anyone into a vampire, ever. But she’d find someone who’d do it for a price. Eventually. Until he was no longer useful.
They disembarked and followed the pilot’s direction to the car. It was parked on a private road a five-minute walk from the strip. Elijah moved with fae speed to keep up.
Skidding to a halt at the sight of the Range Rover, Echo found the key on top of the rear left wheel and beeped open the back. It lifted automatically. There was a retractable security cargo cover.
Perfect.
And it was a big space. Thank God.
“You’re sure about this?” Elijah frowned. “Stuck in the boot of a car for an hour can’t be fun. And will it completely shade you?”
Echo grabbed the large blanket that had been left per her instructions in the back and wrapped it around her body and head.
The fae smirked. “You look like ET.”
“Shut up.” She slapped the keys into his palm. “And drive.” She rolled into the SUV until she was pressed up against the passenger seats. “Pull the shade cover over.”
