Chapter 24
Demand
“I think I understand why having color sight is important to you,” Grace remarked before she stuffed a French fry into her mouth.
Earlier, while she took a quick shower, Rhyne had crossed the street over to where a Burger Barn was located and got them something to eat.
To help save a bit of money, they’d opted to drink water from the tap rather than sodas.
Neither of them spoke about what had occurred between them, but maybe it was because they didn’t have to.
It was as if their lovemaking had been enough to seal their feelings for each other. At least, it had for her.
He smiled at her over his cheeseburger. “I’m listening. Why do you think seeing in color is important to me?”
“Because it reminds you of the way your life used to be before you were turned.”
Rhyne had to give her credit. “That’s most of it.”
“Oh? What did I miss?”
“The fact that seeing a world only in shades of gray, black, and white gets boring very quickly. After a while, you start missing the simple things like sunsets and the way the leaves on the trees change when Autumn arrives. But you’re still able to function because of past memories.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know Santa wears a red coat, that the sky is mostly blue, grass is usually green, and oranges are orange.” His memories briefly went back to the time when Welsh first gained his color sight, but Rhyne quickly squelched them.
“What about traffic lights?”
“If they’re the old-fashioned sort, the top one is red and the bottom one is green. But some traffic lights, like the horizontal kind, those can be a bit tricky.”
“What do you do then?”
“You watch the surrounding traffic and hope for the best.”
He had a profile view of her face, of her beautiful face, now freshly pink from her shower. She still smelled of her menstrual blood but not as strongly as before.
“Rhyne? How old are you?”
“I’m—”
“I mean, are you centuries old? Or is that more movie nonsense?” She sipped her soft drink.
He shrugged. “I don’t know how old we can get, although I’ve met vamps who were older than me.” He grinned. “For the record, I was born in the twentieth century.”
“When in the twentieth century?”
“Let’s just say the early nineteen hundreds.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “Wow. So, were you born here in the U.S.?”
“Yeah. In a little town up east in Maine you’ve probably never heard of, called Tumbril Harbor.”
“Were you born a vampire?”
“No. I was changed.”
“Changed how? Did a vamp drink your blood?”
“It’s a bit more…involved than that. Listen, can we change the topic? For now?”
It was clear she could tell he was uncomfortable opening up to her.
Tilting her head slightly, Grace softly asked, “Will you tell me about it later?” She wanted to know his life story.
That alone told him she was serious about their relationship.
She needed to understand why he was what he was if they planned on having a future together.
“Yes. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
His promise was enough.
“I saw you had a one-car garage. Where do Nash and Welsh park? On the street?”
“Actually, we only have the one car. We swap who gets to drive it every first of the month. Otherwise we ride bikes.”
A corner of her mouth lifted. “This is your month?”
“Yeah.”
“Lucky you. I’d hate to think where we’d be right now if you were still using a bicycle.”
He could tell she immediately regretted making the comment. Reaching across the bed, he patted her arm. “Hey. You’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna be okay.”
“Are we? Seriously, are we, Rhyne?” She glanced around their motel room. “What do we do now? What’s going to happen to us? Can I even go back to my job? Back to my apartment? And you, what’s going to happen to you?”
Rhyne searched for something to say that would make their situation appear less hopeless. Before he could respond, his phone went off. He started to reach for it when he noticed the name on the caller ID. So did Grace.
“You’re not gonna answer it?”
“No. The police might be using his phone to track mine.”
“Or he could be worried about you.”
He hesitated again, then caved. “It won’t be the first time I’ve had to ditch a phone and get a new one,” he grumbled and answered it. “Nash?”
“Your ass is mine, Rhyne,” Welsh growled. “Count your days because there aren’t that many of them left.”
Rhyne checked to see that Grace was aware of who was on the other end. “You killed our supplier, Welsh. You killed him in cold blood, and you’re not going to get away with it this time.”
Grace’s eyes widened, and he could almost hear her silent question. This time?
Placing a finger to his lips, he pressed the speaker button so she could hear their conversation more clearly.
Welsh’s laughter rang out. “Good luck, asshole. I’m giving you one last chance. Bring me the woman, and don’t tell me you don’t have her with you. Don’t insult my intelligence. Bring her to the house. We’ll share her as a snack and let bygones be bygones. Whaddaya say?”
“Let me speak to Nash,” Rhyne demanded. He started to ask the man why he’d called using Nash’s phone, then realized he wouldn’t have answered if he’d seen Welsh’s name on the screen.
But that didn’t keep him from worrying about the third member of their nest. He didn’t believe Welsh would harm the guy, but he wouldn’t put it past him, either.
Oddly enough, Nash got onto the phone. “Hey, Rhyne. We gotta get this settled and quickly.”
“Have you seen the news? Do you know what Welsh did?”
“Yeah, but Welsh explained it to me. It’s gonna be okay, Rhyne. Bring the woman to the house, and we’ll make sure the cops don’t get their hands on you.”
Grace frantically waved a hand to get his attention. Rhyne held up a finger, asking for a moment. “Give me a minute to think about it, guys. I’ll be right back.” Not waiting for the two men to comment, he hit the mute button.
“What is he talking about? What does he mean he’ll make sure the cops don’t get their hands on you?” she whispered.
Rhyne scowled. “It sounds like Nash believes I instigated the whole thing.”
“Or…what if he’s saying that because Welsh will do something to him if he doesn’t?” she astutely observed.
He nodded. “That’s very possible.”
“What if they haven’t seen the news yet?” she noted. “They don’t know the cops could be closing in on them any minute now!”
Rhyne narrowed his eyes. “Even if they already know the police have IDed Welsh, it doesn’t matter. They’ve abandoned the nest. They’re not at the house.”
She grew pale, her eyes widening even farther. “What? Wh-where could they be?”
“They’re searching for us.”
“On bicycles?” she remarked with a soft laugh.
An ugly thought hit him. Jumping to his feet, he ordered her, “Empty the fridge. We’re leaving.”
“Now?”
She watched him end the call. After he checked outside via the peephole, Rhyne opened the door and walked over to the nearest dumpster.
He drew back his arm, as if he intended to throw the phone inside, but he changed his mind.
Coming back into the room, he unplugged the charger and added it to his bag of clothes before slinging the bag over one shoulder.
“Hurry. We have to leave now.”
Grace threw everything from the fridge into the trash bag and handed it to him. He put it over his other shoulder, leaving her to carry her own bag of clothes.
He ushered her out of the room first, then closed the door behind them. Opening the car’s trunk, he tossed his two bags inside then reached for hers.
“Get in the driver’s side,” he instructed. Reaching inside his pants pocket, he extracted the key fob and handed it to her.
“But—”
“You know this city better than I do. Where’s the nearest police station?”
“What?”
“Do you know where the nearest police station is located?” he insisted.
“Yeah. I…” She took a frantic look around. “I think there’s one over on Piston.”
“Good. You drive.” He jumped into the passenger side seat as she slid in under the steering wheel.
“Do you think Welsh is siccing the police on us?” Grace continued to question.
“I’m willing to bet money that Welsh had Nash call the cops and report the vehicle stolen.” His expression grew grim. “And claim it was taken by the same man who kidnapped you and is keeping you hostage.”
Grace braked to a sudden stop. “You’re not keeping me hostage.”
“I know that, but the police don’t.” He nodded toward the interstate. “We’re not going to be safe until we get the cops on our side. Now let’s go.”
She pulled out of the parking lot to head for the side exit.
They had barely rounded the side of the motel when a police cruiser with its lights flashing drew up behind them, and a voice loudly demanded through the siren speaker, “Police! Stop! Turn off the car and put your hands out the window. Do it now!”