I took a deep breath, finding it impossible to stay calm. Focus, I told myself.
“You’re going to get out of the car and go inside the hotel. Have a drink, play some slots. Forget you ever saw us.” A gentle push of power and a suggestive gaze earned me the same dopey expression the housekeeping lady had had, but I still held my breath in hopes that the glamour had worked. It was growing harder to achieve the same effect, taking more effort. The energy feed in the theatre earlier had done me wonders, but it was fading fast now. I could only handle so much in a night.
“Right, sure, ok.” The driver slid out of the car and walked away with a robotic gait. I let my breath out in a giant sigh of relief.
“You drive,” I said to Jez. “I need to concentrate on finding Arys.”
Driving a stolen limo through Las Vegas had most definitely not been on my agenda for this vacation. Of course, nothing that had happened so far had been on my agenda.
“You’re getting good at this vampire shit,” Jez remarked, adjusting the mirrors. “Scary good.”
“Fabulous. I’m thrilled.” I squeezed my eyes shut against the ache that surfaced at the back of my skull. My mortal body simply couldn’t handle so much undead power.
“Where to?”
“No idea. Just drive.”
With my face in my hands, I concentrated on deep, even breaths. Arys. I let his name whisper through my mind. That should have been enough to open the mental door between us, but it remained firmly closed.
“He’s shutting me out,” I groaned. “He thinks he’s going to die with the sunrise, and he doesn’t want me to feel it.”
“Is that how it works?” Jez was aghast. “Shit. Everything comes with a price, huh?”
If he wouldn’t let me connect with him, there was only one way to find him. I would have to sift through every vampire aura in the city until I found those that reflected Harley’s blood. This process of elimination might just make my head explode.
Sunrise was less than an hour away. The pressure was building, threatening my fragile grip on sanity. I’d already lost myself to the primal rage that lurked inside me all the time. It was a miracle I’d come back to myself at all after what I’d done to those men at Paris Las Vegas. I had to hold it together. Shaz and Arys needed me.
Letting my breath out slowly, I reached out to touch the City of Sin. Much like at home, The Wicked Kiss housed more vampires than any other dwelling. It shone like a beacon in my mind’s eye.
I turned my attention from it, seeking common blood elsewhere. A tug on my thoughts from Fremont Street showed me where Roscoe was. He was likely laying low, ready to vacate the street when dawn broke. I was so far from done with him.
The ache in my head grew until a wave of agony crashed over me. My breaths came faster and shorter until I grew dizzy. Arys was out there. I knew it. Where? I pleaded to the powers that be. Show me where. Power filled the car, thick and pulsating, making it hard to suck air into my lungs. Something warm and wet slid between my hands to splatter my lap; my nose was bleeding profusely. Just when my pained groan became a wail, when I thought for sure it was over and that I’d killed us all by coming here, I felt him.
It wasn’t like pointing out a location on a map. Instead, I felt the pull deep within me. My entire being called to him and received an answer. Our bond was forever. Nothing could break it or hide it, not even Arys himself.
“This way.” I waved a hand erratically, and Jez took a sharp and sudden turn. Several other drivers honked and gestured angrily as we careened around a corner in the big stretch limo.
Jez pulled a small packet of tissues from her purse and shoved it into my hands. “You’re scaring me now. That’s more blood than usual.”
I opened my eyes to find my hands held a scarlet puddle. Despite the tissue I pressed to my face, the blood kept coming. “I can’t let go of the hold I have on him, and it hurts like a bitch.” The pounding of my heart echoed in my ears, drowning out the sound of honks and jeers in traffic. Jez maneuvered the big car with as much finesse as she drove her old Jeep back home, which wasn’t saying a lot. Please, don’t crash, I tried to say, but the words wouldn’t come out. It took every bit of strength to stay tuned to Arys’s energy. I couldn’t afford to lose him now. “Left up ahead,” I gasped. “Follow it out of the city.”
Jez’s concern was palpable. She continued to shoot me worried glances. “Next time you can choose where we go. I promise. Just don’t spontaneously combust or anything. Ok?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said with a wry smile that made my face ache.
With the squeal of tires, we jerked to a halt. Jez laid on the horn and stuck her hand out the window to flip someone the bird. “The cab drivers are f**king nuts here.”