Chapter 21
Chapter twenty-one
Saiden
Saiden was going to murder someone. Most likely the cashier at the backwoods auto shop who didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.
“Just one second, sir. I think I got this,” the barely post-pubescent teen muttered as he tapped at his phone. “Sorry for the wait, but we just got this new square reader to take credit cards. Good thing you didn’t show up last week when we were still cash only.”
Saiden tightened his grip on the edge of the counter, only letting up when he felt the wood start to crack under the might of his frustration.
His mate was alone on the side of the road.
Everything in his body screamed to return to her, to just take the damn air pump and mail the store a check later.
The last of his patience dissolved right as the kid grinned.
“There it goes. You’re all set, sir. Have a good day.” The cashier handed over Saiden’s credit card along with the air pump.
The effort required to not grab the item and blur out of the store was nearly herculean, but Saiden managed to control his steps until he rounded the small shop. After confirming there were no prying eyes around, he took off, pushing his vampire speed to the limit so he could get back to his mate.
Saiden stared down at Cora, regretting his decision not to crush the man’s neck with his bare hands.
When he’d arrived back at the car just in time to see his mate fleeing the advances of what could only be referred to as a hog in human form, something inside him snapped.
Every bit of his training that told him to never kill a human vanished as the intensity of Cora’s heartbeat thundered in his ears.
He’d reacted without thinking, dropping the air pump and snatching the man by the belt and back of his neck.
The portly, unwashed assailant had to be pushing 350 pounds, but in a vampire’s hands he was little more than a football begging to be tossed.
Saiden was only too happy to oblige, so he’d sent the man spiraling toward the field and the cows he so clearly belonged with if smell was any indication.
Now that he was seeing his mate up close, he wished he could have watched the light drain from the man’s eyes as he left this world, felt the body go slack in his arms, firm in the knowledge that this waste of space would never harm another female.
Kneeling down beside Cora, he slid one hand under her neck and the other under her back to help her up to a sitting position.
He took in her red face, pounding heart, and mussed hair.
Her shirt was torn near her stomach, and a glance at the fence confirmed a bit of fabric dangling from a nail.
Thankfully, he smelled no blood to indicate that more than her clothing had fallen victim to the rusty bit of metal.
Which was the assailant’s only saving grace. If his mate suffered even a single scratch, he would paint the freeway from here to Sacramento red with the man’s blood.
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 to Saiden’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 did she 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 the last 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.
“It’ll be on my terms and no one else’s.”
Her words rang in his ears. There was more to Cora than he was seeing on the surface, and if he was going to figure out a way to convince her to turn, then he better find a shovel and start digging.
Fast.