Chapter 23
With the heat of the car keeping them warm, Vega and Bridger wrapped themselves up in the backseat, her head resting on his bare chest as her fingers delicately traced the outline of the scar he’d received when she’d stabbed him through the heart.
Even with his powers, her wound had still left a mark.
“Do you ever wonder what happened to Pluto and Romulus?” Vega asked, her voice as heavy from after-sex exhaustion as Bridger’s felt.
“Mmm,” he hummed lazily, opening his eyes as he twirled a piece of her hair between his fingers. “You mean god of the underworld and the twin brother who killed Remus? I mean, no, not necessarily."
“I brought it up to Marlena once, before the summoning… and now I wonder if she thinks about it like I do.”
That piqued Bridger’s interest, and he dropped the section of Vega’s hair he’d been toying with.
“We know the gods she summoned, right? The twelve originals whose powers created our realm, and then we got Remus.” Vega paused, looking up at Bridger through her long lashes.
“What happened to Pluto? To Romulus? And why would I get pulled back to Rome after breaking a piece of my death curse, where the tales of our bloodlines are nothing but nearly forgotten mythology?” She had always needed to talk out loud when problem solving.
“You think they’re still floating around somewhere, waiting to be summoned?” he asked.
Bridger felt Vega shrug. “There’s no way they’re in Tolevarre or Earth. Absolutely no way or they would have answered when Marlena summoned the others.”
“What if Pluto is stuck in the underworld?” When the question left his lips, Vega shot up, staring at Bridger with a look in her eyes that meant she was onto something.
Vega wore nothing but her giant gas station T-shirt, the length pooling around her waist. “When Remus bound himself to the gods and died, whatever was left of them went to create Tolevarre. Pluto would have died too, right? Or was it only the gods on Earth?” They weren’t answering each other’s questions, only adding more to the pile of unknowns.
“What about Romulus though? Could he be there too?” They were on the right track—Bridger could feel it, and by the way Vega looked down at her wrist, she felt it too.
“I mean, he bound all the gods together, essentially cursing them to die with him… We know that, but did he sentence his brother to something different? Could he have sentenced him to something different?” She sighed as she asked another question.
“Have you ever found anything about his curse? In all your years of research, there has to be something.” Marlena hadn’t found anything—that much Bridger knew or they’d probably all be dead by now.
“No. Nothing.” Vega’s shoulders sagged with defeat. “Not a single fucking thing. It’s like he took it with him when he died.”
Vega curled back up into Bridger’s side, stretching her legs and shimmying herself in for warmth.
“One thing at a time, Kitten. Let’s break your curse first. Then we can worry about how to deal with Marlena.” Bridger went back to stroking her hair.
“You’re serious about this?” she asked, and he didn’t need her to elaborate to know what she meant.
Bridger lifted her chin with his index finger, forcing her to look at him and not the car’s door. “I’ve gotten what I need out of Marlena.”
“And what is it you’ve gotten out of her?” she asked openly.
Bridger answered with returned bluntness. “An army.”
There were too many years of betrayal for her to trust him right away. They both knew that. Not even mind-blowing sex could undo the years between them.
Vega sat up again, as if she’d suddenly realized how long they’d been cuddling, and cleared her throat. “We should wash up, maybe grab some food from the vending machines.”
They untangled themselves fully and got dressed, then walked across the parking lot to use the bathroom, freshen up, and find some snacks to satisfy their hunger.
They spent what they had left in cash filling their arms with as much as they could afford, and when they returned to their car, they scarfed down all of it.
Bridger could have eaten the entire machine’s worth of food if given the chance. He was ready for a real meal again.
Vega found a blanket stashed under a seat, offering to share it with Bridger. He shook his head. “All yours.”
“Okay.” She draped it over her shoulders, wrapping herself up as she found a comfortable position to sleep.
She’d told Bridger at least three times she was only going to nap for a few hours and reminded him they didn’t know when Chase would pop back up again.
Bridger let her have the leg room, popping himself against the back corner like he’d done the last time he’d slept back here.
The car lights were off now, an even whir coming from the idle engine.
Bridger felt a pull in his brain, the sound of a siren trying to serenade him to sleep. He’d gotten a few hours here and there since crossing through the portal, but not enough to fight the call of exhaustion.
He didn’t have it in him to fight it.
With his arms crossed over his chest and his head leaned back to rest against the vehicle’s interior, Bridger sank to the depths of sleep.
It was quiet, a peaceful dark washing away his consciousness.
Not enough time passed for Bridger to enjoy the tranquility of an absent mind.
“Bridger.” Vega shook his leg, dragging him out of the deepest sleep he’d—Oh my gods.
His eyes shot open.
There were three quick taps against the back window closest to Vega. “Hello?” A man’s voice was muffled behind the closed door.
Bridger’s face must have looked as confused as he felt because Vega answered without him having to ask.
“A cop,” she whispered.
It wasn’t only confusion he was feeling, it was shock too. I slept… without a dream…
It hadn’t been long. He knew by the clock on the dash, but it didn’t matter how long he slept—ten minutes, an hour, fifteen—Bridger hadn’t gone a single sleep since the dreams started without one.
Vega’s finger rested on the button to roll the window down. “Act sleepy.” She pressed, sitting forward.
As the window descended, the bottom half of a man’s face came into view, the rest hidden by the shadow of his large rimmed hat. “What are you two doing back here?”
Vega looked around her, like she was looking for the problem he saw. “Oh, we just pulled over to sleep.”
“This isn’t a designated parking area, ma’am.” His hand rested on the open window.
Bridger watched his every move, tracking his other hand resting on his hip.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize we couldn’t with the semis parked right there. It was the darkest spot in the lot. We can mo—”
“I’m going to need the both of you to get out of the vehicle.” He cut Vega off, his voice sounding too monotone to be normal.
Vega peeked over her shoulder. They’d both caught the tone.
“For what?” Bridger asked over Vega’s shoulder.
“Because I said so,” the cop responded, reaching inside for the handle.
Vega beat him to it, not opening the door just yet. “We aren’t trying to be a pain, but we honestly haven't done anything wrong. We’re just sleeping, and I’d be happy to move the car if it’s an issue.”
Bridger placed his hand on the small of her back, needing to be able to touch her to determine their next move. If only they were back in Tolevarre—then he’d be able to test another theory out. One he’d been ignoring for far too long. One I know isn’t a theory at all…
“I said get out of the vehicle,” the cop ordered, his hand opening the holster on his hip.
Vega popped the handle, putting her hands up close to her chest. “Okay, okay. We’ll get out.” She scooted forward, looking back to nod at Bridger.
He followed, attention fixed on the man who stood inches shorter than him.
“Backs against the car.” He crowded the personal bubble Bridger would have normally gutted someone for being in. His teeth gritted so hard Vega elbowed him in the side. “Are there any weapons inside?”
Bridger shook his head. “No.”
On the way out, he’d slipped his hand into the seatback pocket where he’d stashed the dagger, returning it to his waistband.
The cop ducked into the car, peering left and right, a long, skinny light illuminating wherever he pointed, with his other hand resting on what Bridger now recognized as a gun after Vega pointed the first few out on their travels.
When he was deep enough inside the car where he couldn’t see them, Vega mouthed, Did you see his eyes?
He’d never gotten a chance to see them from the shadow of his hat.
Black, she mouthed again.
Vega rested her hand on Bridger’s lower back, settling at the exact place he’d stashed the dagger.
They didn’t have time to speculate what would happen next. The black eyes were hint enough that this was the curse’s doing.
The man backed out of the car, and the glow from the light across the lot shone in the right direction, putting a spotlight on the cop’s face.
All black eyes.
His hand placement shifted, Vega and Bridger’s senses connecting the moment his finger rested on his gun’s grip.
In seconds, Vega stared down its chamber, in the direct line of fire.
Bridger lunged, knocking the gun out of his hand. His quick reaction wasn’t fast enough to stop him from pulling the trigger.
Oh, so that’s what those do.
The sound it made was deafening.
The bullet blazed by Vega, narrowly missing her head.
She dropped to the ground and covered her ears while the sound of the shot rang through the night air.
Clutched in her hand at the side of her head was the dagger Chase had hand delivered back to them, the one she’d yanked from the back of Bridger’s pants.
Thankfully, she had a skilled withdrawal and hadn’t dragged the blade along his skin on the way out.
Spinning on his heels, Bridger caught the guy by his arm when he tried to rush him, the metal light crashing to the ground.
Vega recovered quickly, snatching the gun up while drawing the dagger at her stand. Bridger grabbed him by the wrist, twisted his arm, and had him on his back in less than a second.