Part 13 (1/2)
”I'm not coy, d.a.m.n you. I'm scared.”
He knew that much was true; he smelled the fear on her. ”Tell me why.”
”Tell me you're not going after Charles Grimshaw.”
Alec smiled. ”I'm not telling you s.h.i.+t. The sharing between us only works one way.”
”That's not fair!”
With a quick glance at the rearview mirror to check for traffic, he eased diagonally across the second lane and pulled to a stop on the shoulder. ”If you don't like the rules, get out.”
Her features altered into the enraged mask of her Infernal soul. ”You're a d.i.c.k.”
”You're right.”
”You need me.”
”You wish.”
She crossed her arms. ”You have no idea what you're up against.”
Cars and trucks roared by, shaking the Mustang on its wheels and stirring exhaust in the slightly chill air.
”Make me care,” he challenged. ”Tell me why I should.”
”Do you want to die?”
”Not gonna happen. I've known Charles for years.”
”No one knows the Alpha, not really.”
”Don't talk in riddles.”
Her too-slender fingers fidgeted with the hem of her shorts.
”Okay.” He backtracked. ”What does Charles have to do with you?”
Mares and wolves weren't known to a.s.sociate. They were too different; one a physical aggressor, the other a mental marauder.
Giselle chewed her lower lip, her eyes darting over their surroundings, running in the only way she could- mentally. Alec was more than alert now. There was no doubt she wanted to reveal only the amount necessary to stem his questions.
”I don't have time for this,” he snapped.
”If I tell you everything here,” she whined, ”what leverage do I have to get you to take me back to Anaheim?”
”You have no leverage. I need your blood, that's it. Obviously, I don't need you alive to get it.”
”I'm running from Charles,” Giselle blurted. ”I need to get away from his territory, not drive into it.”
”Does he have anything to do with what happened last night?”
”Start driving south and I'll tell you.”
Alec's mouth curved. ”Nothing you can say will get me to turn around. I have business to attend to and until it's done, everything else takes a backseat.”
She looked prepared to argue, then her gaze met his and she knew it was pointless. ”If you won't listen to me, will you listen to Neil?”
”Who is Neil?”
”The vamp who staked himself.”
He recalled the events of the night before. Servo vestri ex ruina.
”Save myself from ruin?” he scoffed. ”I'm getting a tan; Neil's dead. He should have taken his own advice.”
”Save yourself from destruction, you idiot. And trust me, if Destruction gets a hold of you, you'll be dead, too.”
Alec tossed his arm over the back of her headrest and pushed his shades up with the other hand. He stared at her with cold eyes. ”Want to rephrase that?”
She pouted. ”Sorry.”
”Start from the top.”
Giselle groaned and collapsed back into her seat. ”Can we talk about this in Anaheim?”
Knowing they would attract the California Highway Patrol if he stayed on the shoulder too long, Alec faced forward and eased the car back into traffic. He pulled off the freeway at the next exit and into the parking lot of a gas station/convenience store. From the sudden gleam in Giselle's eyes, he knew she thought their stop was a good sign, which just showed how different the reasoning was between Infernals and Marks. Alec knew who ran the show in his world. He had been given an order by G.o.d. Ignoring it was not an option. Demons, on the other hand, were all egomaniacs. None of them wanted to admit that Sammael ruled the roost in h.e.l.l. They all preferred to delude themselves with the thought that Sammael's commands were optional and they followed them because it was fun.
”Okay.” He slid the manual transmission into first gear, pulled up the emergency brake, and turned off the engine. ”What is Destruction?”
Giselle's mouth took on a mulish cast. Her arms crossed.
Alec opened the driver's side door and unfolded from the seat. Rounding the trunk, he reached into the pa.s.senger side and plucked her out. She hadn't worn a seat belt-against California law-and he hadn't cared enough about her well-being to enforce it.
He returned to his side of the car and slid behind the wheel. ”See ya.”
”You are not leaving me here!” she protested, her lips white. ”You need my blood.”
”I also need my concentration, and being p.i.s.sed off at you affects that.” He reached for the ignition.
”Destruction is Sammael's pet.”
Pausing, Alec glanced over at where she stood. ”His pet?”
”A h.e.l.lhound, but unlike anything you've ever seen before. It's a hybrid of demon and Cerberus, nephilim and Mark.”
His jaw tightened.