“Oh, my God, just shut up. And quit staring at me.”
“You quit staring at me,” he retorted, and the dimple in his cheek suggested he was enjoying this. “I’m not some piece of meat.”
“That’s it. I’m going to get dressed. You should get ready, too. We have a long drive ahead of us.” I stood from the table and carried my plate over to the sink. The apartment came fully furnished, so all I needed to pack was my clothes. I was rinsing the plate when I sensed Finn coming to stand behind me. I stiffened and placed the plate in the drying rack before turning off the tap. Finn rested his hands against the counter on either side of me, and I sucked in a harsh breath.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
He didn’t reply for a second, and I felt his breath tickle the back of my neck. “Just wanted to say thank you,” he replied in a low voice. “For agreeing to help us get Rebecca back.” Then he surprised the hell out of me when he placed a chaste kiss on my cheek. His heat retreated, and my face flushed bright red.
“Okay,” I said, a little breathless as I turned around. “We need to set up some ground rules.”
Finn arched an eyebrow. “Ground rules?”
“I’m agreeing to help you, but there are conditions. First, you need to stop doing whatever that just was.”
A flicker of mirth entered his gaze. “I kissed you on the cheek.”
“Don’t play dumb. You know what you’re doing. I won’t be able to focus on how I’m going to get to Rebecca if you’re constantly flirting with me.”
“Jaysus, you’re no craic. Okay, no more flirting. What are the other conditions?”
“On our way back, you need to take me to see my dad first. I haven’t seen him since I left, and I want to make sure he’s okay.”
Finn ran a hand over his jaw. “It’ll have to be a very quick visit.”
“Two hours with my dad,” I said. “That’s all I need.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“Yes. If, after two weeks, I haven’t managed to rescue Rebecca, then you’ll let me leave. There are far too many vampires in Tribane, and if what you’ve said is true, they’re even more powerful now. It’s too risky for me to stay for very long.”
“Two weeks it is then,” Finn agreed, turning in the direction of my bathroom. “Now, do you mind if I use your shower?”
“No, go ahead.”
Finn closed the bathroom door behind him, and I went to my bedroom to finish packing. By the time I was done, Finn emerged from the shower, shirtless, with only a white towel wrapped around his waist. I did my best to avert my gaze, but not before noticing he had a lot of scars. A hazard of the job, I presumed. I avoided looking at him as I grabbed my toiletries and slid by him into the bathroom. It was all steamed up, and I tried not to think about a naked Finn standing under a steady stream of water. I definitely didn’t need such a tempting visual in my head.
I undressed and stepped under the spray, thinking about how foolish I was to be going back to Tribane. The truth was, I wanted to see my dad and Nicki and Florence. Aside from text messages letting them know I was safe and well, I hadn’t communicated with any of them since the night I left, and I hadn’t spoken to Ethan at all. Our parting had been tumultuous, and he’d pleaded with me to stay.
The idea of seeing him again, of seeing everyone again, had my stomach turning over in knots. If Finn was to be believed, everyone who knew about my blood was keeping it a secret. I kept reassuring myself with this fact. Besides, it was just two weeks. All I needed to do was find Rebecca, return her to her father, and disappear again.
I was leaving the bathroom when I heard Finn speaking on the phone. I stood just outside the doorway and listened.
“Yes, she’s agreed to help us. We’ll get on the road this morning and should be back in Tribane by tonight.” I presumed he was talking to Pamphrock. Goosebumps rose on my skin as I considered the challenge that lay ahead of me. I was going to have to fool Ethan. Pulling the wool over the eyes of a vampire who’d been alive almost three centuries wasn’t going to be easy. My conscience nagged at me because Ethan had only ever been kind to me, but here I was, getting ready to double-cross him. I reminded myself that it was for the good of an innocent child.
I made my final preparations and about fifteen minutes later Finn knocked on my bedroom door before coming inside. He plonked himself onto the bed, shoving his mobile phone into his pocket. I zipped up my bag and put it down on the floor.
“So, you’re all packed and ready to go then?” he asked.
“Yes, let’s get this show on the road.”
I locked up the apartment, and Finn surprised me by picking up my bag and throwing it over his shoulder. We walked down the street to where he’d parked his van, and I climbed in the passenger side. A long few hours into the journey we stopped at a rest stop, and I went to grab us some food while Finn visited the bathroom.
As Finn walked away and I joined the queue, I noticed a tall, dark-haired guy trailing behind him. Something in his gait set off my suspicions, and on instinct, I left the queue. It was almost fully dark out since we were deep into winter and daylight wasn’t plentiful. This guy could be a vampire. In fact, his tall, muscular form and lithe movements made me almost certain that he was.
I peeked my head in the door and spotted the man standing in front of Finn. The two of them were eyeing each other like wary dogs.
“Finn Roe. I’ve been hoping to cross paths with you for a very long time.”
“Travis,” Finn replied stiffly, his words laced with hatred. “I suppose this was going to have to happen sooner or later given what I did to your brother.”
“You killed him.”
Finn’s face hardened. “And he killed my mother and sister.”
Oh. My. God. This Travis was the brother of the vampire who killed Finn’s family? My stomach dropped and nerves flooded me. In the confines of the small public restroom, Travis lunged for Finn, who swiftly dodged him and grabbed hold of the door on one of the stalls. He swung his legs forward and kicked Travis in the chest, driving him back against the sink. I frantically tried to think of a way to help Finn. The vampire was huge, and I couldn’t see it being easy for Finn to best him, especially because an unsuspecting member of the public could walk in at any moment.
I had my dad’s gun on me, but since there were dozens of people outside, including families with small children, I didn’t fancy firing it right then. Rifling through my bag, I found a bottle of spray deodorant, and an idea sprung to mind. Finn and Travis were currently knocking seven colours of crap out of each other, and someone was going to come and find out what the ruckus was about sooner or later. I had to act fast.
Warily, I took a step inside the bathroom, deodorant uncapped and at the ready. Travis had both of his hands around Finn’s neck. He was so intent on strangling him that he didn’t notice me approach until I was spraying aerosol into his eyes. He grunted loudly and released his hold on Finn, who took the opportunity to grab the stake he had hidden in the inside pocket of his jacket. Travis rubbed at his eyes but was quickly gaining his composure. I stepped close and sprayed him a second time for good measure.