Right then, I needed to lie down.
On laden feet, I made my way into the bedroom and face planted on the bed. The guys were outside. Anyone could hurt them in that moment, but not even that anxiety kept my eyes open.They’re closing whether I want them to or not.
A touch on my shoulder made me rear up, a scream caught in my throat, and my heart beat so fast that I could’ve been running, not sleeping.
“Easy,” Caesar sat on the edge of my bed. “You were deeply asleep, and didn’t hear me come in. It’s time to get going.”
I looked around. Sure enough, darkness filtered through the window. “I slept all day.”
“That’s good. You needed it.” He rubbed my hair away from my forehead. “Griffin will sleep a while yet, but I thought we should get going. Come on. Let’s lock up here. We’ve paid for it through tomorrow, so there should be no trouble, and go from here.”
A thought dawned on my still muddled brain. “Cameras! They’d see you walk inside.”
“Sure. They’ll think I spent the day in the motorhome. Maybe they’ll think we had a fight and you made me stay out there. Whatever reasons they come up with, it doesn’t matter now. My only concern was getting you to rest in a place where there would be no questions. We’ll do this from now on.”
I let him lead me from the house. “You’re not hungry. I don’t sense your need to feed, am I right?”
“I’m not. It’s incredible how long it has been. Something to do with you, your blood, and its effect on me.”
We walked together inside the motor home. It looked as I left it. Even though I was practically dead on my feet, I made my way to the small fridge to pull out some food—a cheese sandwich would be all I could handle at the moment.
“Is it possible to stop for coffee? I don’t usually drink it, but I think it might be pivotal right now.”
He nodded. “Absolutely, we can.”
Caesar drove the car better than me. I sank into the seat up front with him, kicked off my shoes, and proceeded to eat my cheese sandwich. The next place we stopped, I intended to shower. If I’d guessed I would sleep the whole day away, I would’ve found the energy to do it before I went to sleep.
“So… do you feel like a reincarnated vampire? Somewhere in there, do you carry memories from hundreds of years ago or whatever you guys were supposed to be?”
He frowned when he answered me. “I can’t speak for the others, because we don’t discuss it, but I’m not. I suppose I’m a huge disappointment in that way, but I must admit… I don’t give a shit. They certainly treat Rowan as if he has all the answers from the universe. Maybe they’re right and he does. I don’t know.”
I took his hand. He said he didn’t give a shit, but it had to matter.Even vampires have to live up to expectations.His entire human life had been about him being some important reincarnation, and if he wasn’t that, it had to suck.
He stared at our joined hands. Sometimes he could seem so human, but in that second, I could tell he absolutelywasn’t. I took my hand away. The gesture was a total waste. Caesar wasn’t hurting inside. He said he didn’t give a shit, and I had to believe him.
“So, you and Rowan don’t talk much? I feel like… and maybe I’m misreading it, but you guys aren’t really with him anymore. Ace is, but not you.”
He shook his head. “Not much. In the beginning, we remained together, but they pulled Rowan away, then eventually Ace, too. The rest of us were put with the general population, sent to war, or left to mull around.”
“They should give you jobs. Imagine what vampires could do for the economy if you all worked. I mean…someoneis making money. You’re all loaded.” I finished my cheese sandwich and put my feet on the dashboard.
He nodded. “I’d love a job, so long as it didn’t take me away from making sure you were fine. They can’t put us to work. How would we disappear for battles?”
Only the car lights banging down the highway in the opposite direction broke the darkness, but it hit my eyes like an assault every time.Maybe I’m getting a headache?They almost had an aura. “I’d say battle is going to take you away from keeping me safe.”
“True, but Griffin doesn’t fight. They leave him to read and read. I’m not sure and he’s not even sure what they want from that, but he’ll never leave you. I’ll come and go. They do like how I fight.”
I didn’t want to think about it. Vampires fighting vampires seemed a myth too ridiculous to consider. Where did they have their epic battles away from human eyes? Satellites never picked up the action? It seemed nonsensical. However, I was seated next to someone who had done it, so I had to believe it happened. He didn’t lie.
“And, Tanner? How do you guys handle him? Griffin came looking for you, so you two must still be in each other’s lives. How do you deal with someone not talking?”
He tilted his head. “Tanner is very good in battle, but you’re right. We don’t have a real relationship anymore. I do understand him in the sense that my vampire understands his. We communicate about blood and other things that way.” He was quiet for a second. “I think you’re overthinking how we handle friendships as vampires. We don’t really care about things the same way anymore.”
“Really?” I lifted my eyebrows. “Because you seem to care about Griffin, and he cares about you. I may be overthinking it, but it’s possible you’re underthinking it, too.”
“Maybe.”
It felt like a win, so I smiled.