“Pardon?” I asked as I moved to retrieve one bag while the driver grabbed the other.
“This is a Cadillac limo like the president drives in.”
Ah, I understood now. The president’s limousine was referred to as The Beast or Cadillac One.
“No, but similar. I don’t mean to disappoint you, but it’s not armored. It is, however, extremely comfortable, and because we have a two-hour drive into the city I thought this would be a nice way to travel.”
“Nice?” Sam chuckled. “This is beyond nice. I’ve never been in a limo before.”
I nodded to the driver, and he opened the door. I motioned with my hand. “Then by all means, cross another thing off your bucket list.”
Sam’s gaze met mine briefly. There was that light of excitement that was always there but for a brief moment, so quickly, I saw sadness. I couldn’t understand it, but soon enough Sam was diving inside with a cackle.
I joined him, though less excitably.
“There are lights on the ceiling.” Sam pointed, and I instinctively looked up at the blue-purple gentle twinkles.
“So there are.”
The limo began moving, and Sam was reaching for his seat belt. “Are you gonna buckle up?”
It wasn’t necessary since I could withstand the most violent collision, but I remembered his parents had died in a car accident and for reasons I didn’t want to examine, I refused to see Sam upset.
“Of course.”
Sam sat across from me, fidgeting with anything and everything he could get his hands on.
“Drink?” I slid open the small refrigerator.
“Oh, nice. Can I have a soda?”
I was closer, so I grabbed a can and glass and poured. Only after I handed Sam his beverage did he calm enough to sip it.
“If you’d like to watch a movie, press the button all the way to the left, and a screen will drop.”
Sam smiled. “This is the coolest car in the world.”
It really wasn’t. I’d driven in the lap of luxuries he couldn’t even imagine. The fact that he was amazed by a limousine only proved how new he was to the finer things.
Sam chose a movie and while he’d asked if I wanted to watch with him, I opted to get some work done. There wasn’t much for me to do, but since I was meeting with vampires who’d funded my companies, I should be aware of what my businesses were doing.
“Oh!” Sam said an hour later. “I saw a Welcome to New York sign!”
“Shouldn’t be too much longer, then.”
His movie ended, and the screen went back up. “Where are we staying?”
“The Carlyle.”
Sam stared at me. “You say that like I’m supposed to know what that means.”
I pressed my lips together. “It’s a very nice hotel. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
“Can’t wait.”
It was early afternoon when we pulled up to The Carlyle. My door was opened and I stepped out, moving to the side for Sam to exit.
As predicted, when he stepped out, his neck craned to look up at the impressive building. “Whoa!”
