He brushed a sweaty lock of hair out of Cora’s face. “Are you okay?”
Cora ran her hands over her chest and arms before nodding. “Yeah, I think so.” She glanced toward the field at the unmoving pile of grease-stained denim. “Is he okay?”
Saiden cocked his head. Only his mate would ever ask about the wellbeing of a man who just tried to do Lilith knows what to her. “Do you want him to be?” He assumed she was worried about the guy’s injuries, but if it was the opposite and his mate wanted that asshole's heart on a platter, then his only question would be ‘raw, fried, or al dente?’
Cora dropped her eyes, but not before Saiden saw a brief flash of indecision. “I don’t want you to get in trouble for murdering someone,” she answered.
Saiden knew there was more to it than concern about him getting arrested. His Cora had a little streak of vengeance in her. Good. That would serve her well if she became a vampire.
When! When she became a vampire, he corrected himself.
“I appreciate you looking out for me,” he said, helping her to feet. “After this morning, I thought you might be perfectly happy if I was lying unconscious next to him. Which is what he is, by the way. Just knocked out. I’m not a doctor, but I believe he’ll survive.”
If Saiden was being honest, the man probably had 50/50 odds. As soon as they hit the road, he’d put in an anonymous call to the authorities. The last thing he needed was more death on his hands, regardless of how deserved it was.
Cora dusted off her pants with one hand, the other clinging toSaiden’s elbow. She took one step toward the car, and her legs wobbled.
He had her swept up into his arms before she could even think about moving another inch.
“Hey!” She smacked his chest and wiggled in his grasp. “I can walk, you know.”
“No doubt. But I’m not taking any chances.” He carried her back toward the McLaren, shifting her weight into one arm so he could open the door and gingerly set her down inside. He knelt on the ground next to her, the low riding car at a perfect height to meet her face to face. “What happened?”
Cora sighed, leaning back in the chair. “It’s nothing. The guy wanted your car, and when I wouldn’t give it to him he decided to take it. Along with me.”
Saiden’s fists clenched at his sides, causing him to briefly wonder if he could break his own hand from the tension he felt. “Why did you even get out? You should have just ignored him. The custom windows are nearly bulletproof.”
“I was sort of already out of the car when he arrived,” his mate admitted, refusing to meet his eyes.
Don’t yell. Don’t yell. Don’t yell.
“And why were you out of the car when I specifically told you to stay put?” he asked with thinly veiled outrage.
Cora’s eyes snapped to him as if remembering that she was a firecracker capable of exploding.
“Because you don’t tell me what to do, Saiden! Did I make a mistake? Yes. But it was my mistake to make. It’s my life and nobody else gets a say in my actions, least of all a vampire I just met who’s literally trying to destroy my career.”
Saiden flinched. She wasn’t wrong, but didshe always need to be so contrary?
“I didn’t think that extended to common sense,” he replied dryly.
“Well, it does,” she shot back.
“You’re going to get yourself killed acting so reckless all the time,” he growled, unable to control his frustration.
Cora folded her arms defiantly. “Then so be it. But it’ll be on my terms and no one else’s.”
“You should have let the asshole take the car,” he argued. “What were you even thinking? No hunk of metal is worth your life, Cora. Not by a longshot. Or better yet, next time you could try listening to me and just stay inside where it’s safe!”
The barely audible crack and sharp jolt of pain through his clenched fist confirmed that yes, his earlier thought was accurate. He could break his own hand. The gentle throbbing actually helped calm his anger, though. It gave himself something to focus on besides the aggravating creature before him who might have died if that cashier had taken even two minutes longer. It was a thought he wouldn’t let himself linger on since he wasn’t willing to waste twenty minutes waiting for even more bones to heal.
“You can chill out, Saiden,” Cora replied icily, “because there won’t be a next time. So just fix the tire, and let’s get this whole thing over with.” Closing her eyes, Cora settled back against the seat in a clear ‘we’re done talking’ posture.
Saiden picked himself up and went in search of the discarded air pump. Finding it a few feet away, he dug out the patch kit and set to work.
Despite his years of accumulated knowledge, it would still take him some time to get the tire fixed decently enough that it would last the rest of the way. They had about five hours of driving left, and he highly doubted the next stretch was going to be any more pleasant than thelast one, even without another blow out.
Lifting the car a few inches with his good hand, he spun the tire to find the damage while his thoughts drifted back to Cora’s reaction. What kind of woman was terrified by him driving a few miles over the speed limit, yet let herself get caught unawares by strange men twice in less than twenty-four hours? Granted Saiden would never have harmed her, but Cora didn’t know that when he ambushed her alone in a parking lot.
