He’s also grateful he insisted on the extra night to research their destination. Lawrence’s apartment and roommate seem innocuous enough from what he and Atwood’s background specialist dug up. Cody and Simon shouldn’t be driving into a waiting ambush. But traveling with a vampire is new to Cody. He might not like vampires in general, or Simon in specific, but the ancient brat won’t burn to a crisp on his watch.
Simon used the intervening time to contact Lawrence’s roommate Erica, posing as Lawrence’s cousin. The story is that Lawrence is staying with family during a mental health episode, and Simon is picking up some things. Which sounds implausible as fuck, but Cody’s just here for security. Alibi critique isn’t in his job description.
At the gate, Cody presses the new remote. “I identified three motels with vacancies along our route,” he says as he exits onto the road. “If we get delayed, we can hole up in the nearest one until sunset tomorrow.”
“This won’t take that long,” Simon says, sounding amused.
Maybe Simon can be blasé about the danger, after surviving so many centuries. But Cody’s never had a principal vulnerable to sunlight before. “Can’t be too careful.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Simon reclines his seat, putting his feet up on the dash. “Worst-case scenario, I’ll just sleep in the trunk.”
Another minute down the darkened road, Cody says, “What.”
“I modify all my car trunks,” Simon explains. “It’s fully sun-proofed, plus I can lock it fromthe inside.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Cody says out loud, while making a silent vow to himself. He cannot let a principal sleep in a fucking car trunk.
They fall quiet for the next twenty minutes. Lights and traffic pick up as they approach the city. Not enough to slow them down, just enough to remind Cody that other people exist outside his own present circumstances. The whole mass of humanity and the fractional percentages of werewolves and vampires are going about their normal lives. Nobody knows that Cody’s currently strapped into a car with his hereditary enemy.
He’d like to think nobody would care, but he knows better than that.
This is the closest Cody has been to Simon for any length of time. It’s strangely comfortable when Simon isn’t being a brat. So far, except for the time Simon fainted, they’ve avoided physical contact. Cody’s more than happy to keep that streak going—no matter how touchably soft Simon looks with his sweaters and tousled hair. No touching means the job is boring. Cody really wants this job to be boring.
Minus the whole vampire thing.
“Tell me about yourself,” Simon says out of nowhere. At a glance, he’s still looking out the window.
“Really?” Cody returns his own eyes to the road. “I like barbeque and long walks in the park, and I haven’t chewed on the furniture in years.”
“Any furniture you chew at my house is coming out of your paycheck,” Simon says. “And yes, really, fair is fair. I assume you got an entire dossier about me.”
Cody hadn’t, actually. Atwood usually provides a basic profile, with more detail as necessary. Simon’s profile was the shortestCody had ever received—it didn’t even include Simon’s date of birth. Tobias is the only other person at the company who knows Simon is a vampire.
“I know where you live, and I know your sire. That’s about it,” Cody says. “I wouldn’t have time to read an entire history book.”
“That’s more than I know about you.” Simon pulls his feet down from the dashboard. Probably staring creepily at Cody now. “Why don’t you have a pack?”
Cody’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. He focuses hard on keeping his claws from sharpening.
He isn’t used to answering that question. His entire social circle is human these days, and most of them don’t know he’s a werewolf. Of those few, Tobias is the only one who knows how dangerous being a lone wolf is. It’s not a life anyone would choose.
“I got kicked out.” Cody concentrates on the road, his wolf bristling with old defensiveness. “The alpha didn’t like me dating a human.”
Simon pauses before answering. “I’m sorry. That pack sounds very… traditional.”
Cody appreciates the phrasing. ‘That pack’ instead of ‘your pack.’ “I didn’t realize how traditional until I left, yeah. Maybe if I hadn’t met Patrick, or if I’d met him a few years later, I would have stayed. But I met him when I was twenty and stubborn as fuck.”
Simon shifts in his seat. The weight of his gaze doesn’t feel creepy anymore, but the thoughtful assessment might be weirder. “Was this Patrick worth it?”
“We only dated for a month,” Cody admits. “I never even told him I was a wolf. But yeah. Anyone would have been worth it. That wasn’t a pack I could livewith forever.”
Not without becoming someone he would hate to be. Except being on his own isn’t working either. Every year without a pack bond, Cody becomes more of a monster.
“Leaving must have been hard,” Simon says, still weirdly sympathetic. “Even if it was the right choice, they were still family.”
“Not in the moment, but after, yeah.” Cody adjusts his grip on the steering wheel. No risk of his claws coming out, now. He doesn’t feel like a wolf—more like an awkward, vulnerable human. This isn’t the attitude he needs on a job. Better change the subject. “What about you? Any vampire siblings?”
The question seems neutral enough. Asking about Simon’s original human family could be sad, since they’ve been dead for centuries. Vampires tend to form small social units with the people they turn, and fledglings of the same sire call each other siblings.
