Chapter 6
SIX
On the bright side, I’m not addicted to cocaine.
—T-shirt
Quentin almost laughed when Amber turned away from him. Her cheeks turned pink instantly as he kicked off his boots and slid his jeans over his hips. Normally, he wore boxers, but the trip had taken longer than expected. He had yet to hit up a laundromat. He did wonder if he shouldn’t have checked the windows around them before stripping. Then again, if anyone was going to call the cops, they would have already. The houses closest to them either weren’t occupied at the moment, or the occupants were out and about.
Still, it was getting pretty late in the morning. Most of the businesses were open, and several tourists walked through town.
Quentin found another pair of jeans and hopped into them, regretting the hop instantly as his stomach muscles contracted. Pain shot through him as if a nine-millimeter had sprayed him.
“ Smart, ” Rune said.
“ Shut up. ” He let his gaze travel over Amber’s elfin profile. Down her shapely neck. Over her delicate shoulders. Her long hair cascaded, luxurious like silk, to the top of her incredible ass.
He’d dreamed of her every night for years, and here she was, right in front of him. But he was the last thing she needed. He’d almost killed her once today already. She should get as far away from him as humanly possible, no matter how badly he wanted to bury his face in her hair and his cock in her?—
“ We’re going to find a better apartment. One without that constant whining sound. ”
Quentin finished buttoning the jeans and pulled on a long-sleeved T-shirt as another virtual spray of nine-millimeter bullets hit him, then sent Rune a mental, “ Fuck you .”
“ She is a traveler. ”
“ And? ”
“ She is way out of your league. ”
Quentin scoffed as he tugged the shirt into place. “ She was out of my league long before she became a traveler. ” He reached over and tapped Amber on the shoulder. When she turned around, he presented himself to her. “Better?”
“Much, but you still need a hospital.” Her cheeks were still pink.
“I need food.” He looked at the coffee place where he and Rune had eaten breakfast, but he wanted something meatier.
“I’m parked at the Mine Shaft Tavern.” Amber looked at her watch. “Great food, and they should be opening in a couple of minutes.”
“Sounds good.” He made sure to sign as much as possible. She didn’t need any more proof of what a sideshow attraction he’d become. He may be able to talk fairly well now, but he still stumbled on words. His voice was still wrong. He didn’t sound like other people, and he sometimes got the odd looks to prove it.
She looked down at her blood-soaked tank top. “I can’t go in there like this.” She studied the road. “It’s only a couple of minutes’ walk. I have extra clothes in the trunk, but my bag is still inside the house.” She turned back to him. “The same bag that has my keys and my phone in it.”
“We’ll call a service to get you a new set. I’ll have your bag sent to you when this is over.”
“I’m not leaving, Quentin.” She stepped closer and put a hand on his arm. Warmth radiated out of her fingertips and over him. “I want answers. And, quite frankly, I don’t give a shit if you want to give them to me.”
He bit down, frustration taking hold. He’d never been this close to capturing this demon, and he had it trapped. For now.
“ That’s not it, ” Rune said. “ You don’t want her to know about us. About what we are. ”
Quentin ignored him. “You can’t go in there looking like the final girl from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre .” He noticed the shivering. “And you’re cold.”
“I’m fine. I just?—”
He turned his back and rummaged through his duffle bag again. He found an old T-shirt that had been too small for years, yet he took it everywhere. She’d bought it for him when they were in high school. Dark gray with a white skull as if it had been spray-painted on. He’d loved it and wore it almost every day for a year while at Gallaudet. He’d missed her so bad. And then… His world changed entirely.
“ We changed your world, ” Rune said. “ You gave her up for us .”
“ Like I had a fucking choice. ”
“ Need I remind you, human, you did. ”
Quentin drew in a deep breath and held out the shirt to her. “ No, Rune, I didn’t. ”
Rune forewent a smartass comeback—for once—and said simply, “ We are grateful .”
She shook out the shirt and drew in a soft breath when she recognized it. She pretended not to and started to pull it over her head.
“No,” he said, gesturing toward her tank top. “That needs to come off.”
Her beautiful eyes rounded, and she glanced around. “I can’t strip here. Someone will see me.”
Instead of remove clothes , she did the sign for stripper , and Quentin tried not to laugh. “I just got naked. Didn’t bother me.”
“Clearly, you’re used to living like a hobo.”
He felt his brows snap together. “Hobo?”
She fingerspelled it for him, then realized that wouldn’t help. “You know, like a transient. A person without a home.”
“Oh, right,” he signed. “Homeless.”
“Yes. Sorry. I didn’t mean… That was a bad joke.”
At least she was joking with him and not trying to claw his eyes out. She had every right to hate him. He reached over and tugged at the shoulder strap on her tank. “Off.”
“Fine. Here.” She took a jacket off the seat and handed it to him. Then she traded places with him, brushing past him and sinking farther into the corner between the truck and the door. “Hold that up. And turn around.”
He did as ordered. What she didn’t know, however, was that he had a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view through Rune. It wasn’t quite the glaring technicolor of a human’s vision—the colors muted to shades of blues and grays—but it worked. When she lifted the tank over her head, her delicate skin covered in goose bumps, he couldn’t have looked away if he’d been paid to. She was breathtaking, every curve filled to exquisite perfection. She wore a black bra and had cleavage now. That was new. And titillating.
His pants tightened in response, and he chastised himself for being such a whore. Especially now. Because that was what Amber needed. Him ogling her like a stalker. Getting hard like a pervert.
She used some of the water and a clean towel to wipe some of the blood off her incredible skin, and he tried to block out the image. But closing his eyes didn’t help. Rune was in his head. So, he concentrated on what he would do next.
First and foremost, he needed food. Amber had been right. He did heal super-fast, again through Rune, but they both needed sustenance to do it. Soon, however, he would hardly be able to move. The soreness would set in, and he would be bedridden for days, judging by the depth of the slashes. He had to deal with this demon before it killed anyone else.
“ You will have to kill it, ” Rune said.
“ I can get it into the compass. ”
“ It has seen us. It will kill you to get to us. ”
“ And why is that? ” Quentin asked, suddenly suspicious. “ Why is this demon so hellbent on getting to you? ”
“ Please. Every demon we come across tries to kill us once they figure out why we’re there. What makes this one so special?”
“Because it seems personal.”
“It’s not.”
Nothing about this demon made sense. Its victims were so random. Why here? Why now? And why these people? It was as though it had a purpose. Demons didn’t usually have a purpose. They set up shop and fed off anyone they could. They rarely killed without reason. They were like rattlers that way. Except rattlers didn’t feed off human souls. So, there was that.
After Amber had slipped the T-shirt over her head, Quentin turned to her and held up the jacket. The tee hung loosely over her shoulders and hips. The coat would swallow her, but she needed to stay warm. Shock was a strange and deadly thing.
“You need that more than I do,” she said, refusing his offer.
“I really don’t.”
He shook the jacket, a khaki tactical, in front of her, and she slid her arms inside with a heavy sigh. When he turned her around and pulled it tight, he tried not to laugh. The sleeves were miles too long. He rolled up the right, waiting for her delicate fingers to show themselves, then the left. After zipping it up to just under her clavicle, he stepped back and took a look. The baggy jacket made her look like a kid. She was anything but.
“Better?” he signed.
She hugged herself and nodded.
“Then let’s eat,” he said, hungrier than ever. Only, no longer for food. He was such a perv.