It wasn’t Winter’s job to fix anything related to Fox. His job, his duty, was to his family first and always. He protected his family.
Fox…he just couldn’t.
When he stepped into the bedroom again, Fox had placed Winter’s duffle on the bed and tidied up the room. The TV was on, playing the local news, but the sound was muted.
“Sorry,” Fox murmured. “I’ve been told I can be a bit much. I’ll behave…for a little while.”
Now Winter felt guilty. He didn’t want Fox to stop being Fox. The guy managed to get him to forget…about everything. And Winter appreciated it more than he could say, even if it was only for a couple of minutes. He just wasn’t accustomed to someone being so forward with him. In his world, people were generally terrified of him.
“It’s okay. Vampires…we’re kind of slow to wake up.” Winter shoved a hand through his hair, hating how awkward he felt. “My brother Bel is far worse than I am. You really can’t wake him while the sun is up, and he usually just grunts at you that first hour he’s conscious.”
“When you say ‘brother’…?”
“I mean he’s my actual blood brother. We were brothers before we were vampires.”
The strangest little squeak came from Fox, and Winter’s eyes snapped to the man. He was biting his bottom lip and generally looking like he was about to explode.
“Fox?”
“I know we’ve got to get on the road soon, but I so want to revisit that. I mean, are you saying that your actual human ‘born and raised’ brothers are vampires too?” Fox asked in a rush of words.
Winter smirked. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten this reaction. Apparently, River and Wyatt, Bel’s mates, had a very similar reaction to that news. “Yes.”
The squeak happened again. Fox cleared his throat and even straightened his shoulders, clearly trying to get ahold of himself again. “That’s cool,” he said in a low, even voice as if he were trying to make it sound like it wasn’t a big deal.
Fox was going to be a handful. The sooner Winter could return him to his normal life, the better it would be for everyone involved.
Winter finished getting the rest of his things together and checking out of the hotel. Before letting Fox out of the room, Winter quickly searched his SUV. He’d been pretty sure no one had followed them from Damon’s house. He’d left the place in such chaos that they’d managed to get out of there and to his vehicle with little problem. The only concern was any security cameras he might have missed.
But everything looked fine.
Of course, there was no doubt Damon would suspect Winter was the culprit behind Fox’s disappearance. The fucking vampire could be striking against his family before they even made it to Hartford. He needed to get back to help his brothers prepare for any retaliation. And hopefully get some more information on this stupid prophecy.
The sun was barely below the distant horizon when he and Fox loaded up into the SUV. He was painfully aware that Fox had nothing but the clothes he’d been kidnapped in. The guy needed a few things, at least. Ugh. And food. He had zero food at his place. Just stacks of bagged blood in his refrigerator. Vampires couldn’t survive exclusively on bagged blood, but it allowed them to stretch periods between hunts for fresh human blood.
Winter’s traveling companion was quiet as they got on the road, his eyes frequently flicking to the rearview mirror and over his shoulder.
“We’re not being followed,” Winter murmured.
“You sure?”
“Pretty sure. You can relax.”
Fox huffed a laugh. “You make that sound so easy. I’m guessing you’ve done things like this in the past.”
One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Not quite like this,” Winter admitted, but his many adventures were close enough. Fox’s nervousness was enough to tip Winter’s indecision in favor of reaching out to his brothers. Well, just one, but which? Definitely not Rafe. He loved his brother, but he would create a bigger headache than help.
Marcus would be too bossy. Ethan would be a much better contact. But it was too difficult to separate the fledgling from his lover.
No, Bel and his wolves would be perfect. If he could corral Bel’s endless questions.
Pressing a button on his steering wheel, Winter said, “Call Bel.”
Fox glanced over at him, his eyes full of questions. “Your brother?”
Winter nodded as the phone rang three times before Bel answered.
“Winter?” Bel sounded sleepy.
“Bel,” Winter grumbled. “The sun has been down for at least an hour. You can’t possibly be in bed still.”
“I’m awake,” Bel replied quickly, sounding more awake.
“But still in bed,” Wyatt’s deep voice added.
This was followed by some noises that sounded like hushed whispers, laughter, and the rustling of sheets. Wonderful. He’d caught his older brother in bed with his two lovers. Not a mental image he really needed while he was driving.