I turned cautiously, raising one arm to block some of the light while the other stayed at my side, gripping the tire iron. Squinting, I tried to make out my would-be savior through the glare and blowing snow. With the wind at my back, I couldn’t pick up any scents above the lingering traces of burnt rubber. It was entirely possible that it was simply a good samaritan doing their civic duty, but by that same notion, it was also completely within reason that it would be a raging psychopath with a penchant for wolf meat. The latter was far more in line with my current streak of luck, or rather, lack thereof.
“Please don’t be a psycho, please don’t be a psycho,” I chanted under my breath as the stranger walked towards me.
Anxiety clawed at my gut as the stranger approached, a bulky jacket making it difficult to determine size or sex. Tightening my grip on the tire iron at my side I let my shoulders go loose, preparing myself for a fight.
“Hey baby, how much?” Holbrook called out, his recognizable drawl instantly loosening the knot of worry in my stomach. Finally coming close enough for me to be able to make out his features through the glare of the SUV’s headlights, I found his face split by a devilish grin.
“You scared the crap out of me,” I said, poking him in the chest with the end of the tire iron, though the wide smile on my face probably detracted from my admonition a little. “I thought you were some weirdo who was going to try and kidnap me. Christ knows I’ve had enough of that business to last me a lifetime.”
“Why’d you think that?” he asked, arching his brows at the tire iron that I continued to wave at him.
“Who else is going to stop on a night like this to help a stranded motorist? You know, besides goody-two-shoes FBI agents?” I asked, scuffing the toe of my boot along the slushy asphalt as I ducked my head.
“I see,” he mused, reaching out to tuck a loose curl behind my ear.
“Oh, shut up,” I said, relinquishing my makeshift weapon to him.
Seeing me shiver, my bare hands tucked under my armpits in a futile effort to keep them warm, he just shook his head in exasperation and said, “Go wait in the car. I’ll take care of this.”
I might be more than a little stubborn at times, but I’m no dummy, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to argue with the chance of getting warm. Reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck I thanked him with a slow kiss that left both of us a little warmer than before, and then retreated to the blessed warmth of the SUV. Opening the door, a wall of hot air blasted me in the face. A second later, Loki’s unmistakable meow cut through the air, the grating sound somehow expressing his pleasure at seeing me and no small degree of chastisement for leaving him behind.
“I’m sorry, buddy,” I said, reaching out to stroke the fur behind his ears. “Can you forgive me?”
If the rumbling purr that emanated from his chest and the way he leaned into my fingers wasn’t an expression of forgiveness, I don’t know what is.
From my vantage point in the SUV, curled up in the passenger seat with the heater on full blast and a very contented cat stretched across my lap, I watched Holbrook switch out the tires, enjoying the way his jeans clung to his thighs and butt as he squatted beside the car. Even with his swaddled hand, a task that no doubt would have taken me more than thirty minutes, he accomplished in ten. Stowing the jack and tire iron in the trunk he strode back to the SUV, his cheeks reddened from the cold.
He had to have been a Boy Scout growing up.
“All done,” he announced, closing the door behind him.
“So…ah…I guess I’ll see you later,” I said, cradling Loki against my chest and reaching for the door handle.
“Sit your cute little ass down,” he said, pushing me back into my seat with one large hand. “I’m taking you home.”
Relief flowed through me. I hadn’t relished the thought of facing whatever awaited me at home alone, whether it was a psychotic werewolf or just an empty house, but I still had to ask “What about Alyssa’s car?”
“We’ll sort that out tomorrow.”
If I even have a tomorrow, I thought, my spirits sinking to somewhere around my ankles. Trying to distract myself from the gruesome images that floated up through my mind, I focused on the matter at hand.
“I can’t leave her car out here. What if someone hits it, or steals it? She was doing me a favor,” I argued.
“Riley, just let it be. It’ll be fine,” he said, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Sorry, no can do, bucko.”
I’d already snatched Loki up with one arm and was reaching for the door handle when Holbrook sighed in resignation. “Fine. I’ll drive.”
Smiling in triumph I huddled Loki close to my chest, and hightailed it down the shoulder to Alyssa’s car. It wasn’t until Holbrook pulled out into the sparse traffic, heading towards home that anxiety began stirring once again somewhere in my middle. As relieved as I was to have him and Loki with me in what could very well be my last moments, I felt guilty at the likelihood that they’d go down with me.
“How the hell did you find me anyway?” I asked, refusing to dwell on the fear and guilt bubbling up in the back of my throat.
“Um…”
“Aw man. It was Alyssa, wasn’t it?” I said. “She sold me out.”
Succubi are really just big softies. Who knew?
“Afraid so,” Holbrook replied after a long pause. “Besides, it didn’t exactly take a genius to figure out where you were headed.”
Chapter 37