“I’m fine, he’s fine,” I reassured her. “I need to ask you a huge favor though. Can I borrow your car?”
“My car?” she asked, blinking owlishly. “Why do you need my car?”
“I’ve gotta get out of town.”
“What’s going on? Why isn’t Darius with you?” she asked, growing suspicious. “Let me call him and find out—”
“No!” I blurted, panic surging through me. I was wasting time standing there arguing with her, and as every minute passed I could feel the shadow of Samson looming closer. The longer I stayed, the more everyone else was at risk. “No, you can’t call him.”
“Tell me what’s going on, right now,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest as she adopted an immovable stance. It was a pretty hot look on the beautiful succubus. I gave my head a quick shake to dispel the effects of her pull, refusing to let myself be swayed by the desire to touch her.
“I don’t have time to explain, and I wouldn’t even know where to begin if I did. I have to get away before anyone else gets hurt. I can’t have anyone else’s blood on my hands,” I said, hating how my words became muddled by my tears. “Please, Alyssa. I don’t know who else to ask.”
Hesitation shone clear as day in her eyes, but after another moment’s pause, her expression softened and she nodded. Reaching into her pocket she withdrew her keys, a small crystal bird of some kind twinkling on her keychain.
“It’s the red Optima parked out back,” she said, pressing the keys into my hand, her fingers lingering for a moment to squeeze mine. “I wish you’d let me call Darius, but I can tell it won’t do much good. Promise me you’ll be careful?”
“I will, I promise,” I replied, hoping that it wasn’t the last time I ever saw her.
In a moment of weakness I pulled her into a fierce hug, and pressed my lips to hers. I’d never been attracted to another woman before, and was pretty sure that I was experiencing a temporary loss of sanity, but the touch of her lips sent a flood of warmth through me, all the way down to my toes. Where Holbrook’s lips were firm and demanding, Alyssa’s were soft and unresisting. Kissing her was like kissing a warm, sugary cloud: full of gentleness and love. She stood stiff in my arms, probably as shocked as I should have been, but after a moment she relaxed, looping her arms around my waist. I have no idea how long we stood there, entwined in an embrace born of sadness and the need for a comforting touch.
In the end, Alyssa was the first to break the kiss, sweeping her lips over mine in a last tender brush. I wasn’t sure if it was the effects of her succubus powers, or simply her inherent compassion, but it took a great force of will to release her and step back.
“Thanks for everything.”
“No problem,” she replied, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glazed.
Chapter 36
I FOUND ALYSSA’S car where it sat parked in the lot behind the restaurant. I was startled when I turned the key and a loud, thumping beat blared out of the speakers. I’d never have pegged her for a fan of techno, but then again, I should have known better than anyone that folks are rarely what they seem. Turning down the stereo and flipping it over to the local classic rock station, I pulled out of the lot and started making my way through the side streets towards the highway.
Watching the clouds continue to roll in off the mountains, blackening the sky until it was almost as dark as nightfall, I cursed my luck.
I should’ve known my luck wouldn’t last long, I thought as I watched the first few flakes begin to fall, fat and heavy, bringing traffic to a crawl. A jack-knifed semi on the highway succeeded in making traffic that much worse, and I pounded a fist on the steering wheel in frustration when we slowed to a dead stop. Irritation buzzed in my veins, making me fidget and grumble as traffic crept forward an inch at a time. It wasn’t that I was impatient to meet my inevitable end at Samson’s hands, but sitting there in the car, wasting my last minutes surrounded by exhaust fumes and blaring horns, I found myself wishing that he’d just hurry up and put an end to the twisted game we’d been playing.
It hadn’t been hard to convince myself that this was the only course of action to take. I didn’t want to be responsible for any more death and suffering, but as I started my slow ascent through the mountains I wished that I had someone there to hold my hand and tell me I was doing the right thing.