“I didn’t say balls, I said groin.”
“Then she wound up for a fake punch and the guy nearly wet himself,” Ray howled out the window. “Funniest thing I’ve witnessed in a long time.”
I nodded as I sat down near the cab. The small partition in the back was open. “Did he hand this prize over immediately?” I leaned in to ask Marcy and smiled.
“Nah,” Ray answered first, turning around. “I had to pull out my badge and tell him we were investigating drug smuggling in these parts and may have mentioned the moonshine operation they had in the back as extra incentive. The guy was caught off guard, and if he hadn’t wet himself when Marcy feigned the punch, he did then. I couldn’t tell him my supernatural sense of smell picked up on his illegal activities, but I was clear enough about the implications and he finally let us take the truck. But, honestly, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. Humans are so easy to manipulate.” Ray gunned the engine for effect. “Like taking candy from a baby.”
“How’d you get your badge?” I asked as Rourke and Naomi settled in beside me.
“I was buck-ass naked after that portal ripped every stitch of clothing off my body, so I went home to get new ones. My badge was sitting on the table where I left it, so I grabbed it. I thought it might come in handy, though not this soon, but turns out it did.” Ray hit the gas and spun out, racing over the marshlands at high speed, bouncing us around like kids on a hayride, hooting like a kid with a new toy.
The huge tires, which appeared to be more like inflated donuts than actual tires, sprayed up an array of grasses and swamp water as we went. I scuttled to the middle of the truck bed to avoid being sprayed, but it was a losing battle.
“Too bad we don’t have demon showers here,” I muttered to my mate as he wrapped his arm around me. In the Underworld they had a formula that ate the dirt right off of you. “We’re going to smell like dank swamp until we can wash off, and I can guarantee there won’t be any decent showers where we’re going.”
We pounded along the bumpy terrain for a good twenty minutes.
My teeth rattled around until we finally evened out onto a small paved road. “Almost there,” Ray yelled. “We got lucky with our directions. This direction is close to civilization. Any farther west and it would’ve been more complicated. Naomi tracked you before we went off-road, so we knew where you’d be.”
Naomi nodded, her face amused by Ray’s antics. Then she glanced over at Rourke appreciatively. “Your beast is fierce,” she said to him. “I have not seen an equal to it in all my years. The rumors of your strength are renowned in the vampire world, and clearly they weren’t exaggerated.”
Rourke nodded once, accepting her praise, but didn’t comment.
“I will not tell a soul,” Naomi said. “My allegiance is to Jessica, and by proxy to you, and I won’t risk putting us in jeopardy, nor will I ever talk of anything that would compromise us.”
“There’s no need to keep it quiet anymore, Naomi,” Rourke said. “The game has changed for me forever and my old ways won’t work any longer. If I don’t adapt, I’ll be the one who ultimately places us in jeopardy. And who knows? Maybe if supernaturals know what I am, and what I’m capable of, they’ll think twice about pursuing us. Keeping Jessica safe is my number one priority, so it doesn’t matter if anyone knows what I am.”
Naomi sharpened her gaze, her eyes suddenly dancing. “If you’d like, I can spread rumors of your strength among the vampires. I still have a few contacts. Vampires love to gossip. They live for drama and it might help us.”
Rourke chuckled. “I like your style, Naomi. Do whatever you see fit. I’m willing to do just about anything to keep the odds in our favor. Having the supernatural community renew their gossip about me might be a good thing.”
Naomi nodded as she peered out at the scenery flying by. Ray must have been going at least eighty. I knew she would do whatever it took to keep all of us safe, just like Rourke, and she took her part seriously. I had no doubt she could come up with a tale that would paint Rourke as a fierce beast who could rip your throat out while you were still talking.
“When we get to the airboat place,” I said, nudging Naomi out of her thoughts with the toe of my shoe, “I’m going to send you out ahead of us. I told my father you’d be arriving before us to get the coordinates. He said the place is warded from humans, but since you’ve already seen them, I’m sure you can find them again.”
“Oui, I will do that,” Naomi answered. “Are you going to wait for the wolf boys to join us before we depart? Or are we going to leave them to meet us later?”