escaping doesn’t make all this just go away. Right now, you’re the only one willing to talk to me about what the hell is going on and not beat the shit out of me.”
“So, you stayed for answers.”
Fox shrugged. “There are worse reasons.”
“Thank you for not killing me in my sleep,” Winter grumbled sarcastically. This was all a mess.
Fox snorted, his flirty smile returning again. “I don’t think you would have noticed if I’d pulled you away from the door and left. You were seriously dead to the world.”
Which was more than a little unnerving. He had never slept so deeply. At least, not while strangers were around. Of course, he hadn’t slept much in the days since he’d heard about the prophecy and started making plans to infiltrate Damon’s house.
“How long was I out?”
“About five hours.”
The answer had Winter rocking back on his heels. Five fucking hours? How was that even possible? He could believe that he’d slept so long undisturbed with Fox moving freely about the room. The witch could have killed him a dozen times over.
“I did crush the mini bar,” Fox admitted with a wince.
Food. He’d promised the witch food. Damon and his band of assholes couldn’t be bothered to properly care for the key to their prophecy, which wasn’t surprising since Damon didn’t value any life beyond his own.
Winter shoved a hand through his messy hair. He needed to get his head on straight. “I’m assuming I can trust you to stay in the room while I grab a quick shower.”
Fox nodded. His expression was surprisingly serious. “Yeah, I’m not going anywhere. There’s no point. If it’s not your family coming after me, then it’s Damon and his people. I’ve got no interest in spending my life on the run, so I might as well stay and figure out what’s going on.”
It was a fair statement. He walked stiffly across the room and grabbed the black canvas duffle bag that had been lying next to the dresser. It didn’t look as if Fox had disturbed it, but he wasn’t overly worried. It held only a few changes of clothes and a small wad of cash. All of it easily replaced.
“Go ahead and order some room service. I’ll grab a shower and be out in five minutes.” He stopped and narrowed his eyes on Fox. “Do NOT answer the door for any reason.”
Fox lifted an eyebrow. “They can’t get to us during the day, though.”
“Not vampires, but we have no idea if Damon has any human helpers.” He held up his hand, all fingers extended. “Five minutes. Behave.”
The man chuckled and turned away from Winter. “I’m just going to put on my nasty clothes and order food. How much trouble could I get into?”
Winter wanted to groan, but it wasn’t Fox’s fault. He’d been kidnapped and then kidnapped again. Where the hell was he supposed to get clothes? Digging into his bag, he tossed Fox a clean navy T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. They weren’t too far off in size, and Fox should be able to cinch the waist enough to keep them on his ass.
“Thanks,” Fox called, and Winter could only grunt as he continued toward the bathroom. He had a feeling it could be very easy for Fox to get into a hell of a lot of trouble in less than five minutes, and he was hoping the witch didn’t try to prove him right.
Closing the door behind him, Winter dropped his bag onto the floor and was a little surprised that the small tiled area wasn’t a total disaster area. Fox was apparently a neat guy. The only evidence he’d used the shower was the damp towel hanging on the rack, water drops on the shower door, and the complimentary bottles of soaps that were now in the shower stall rather than by the sink.
He reached inside the shower stall and turned on the water before daring to look at himself in the mirror. Wincing, he quickly looked away from the dark circles under his eyes and messy hair. He looked pale even for a vampire. It wasn’t that he needed to feed. He’d been sure to do that prior to leaving Hartford. No, this was all stress. He was worried about his family, worried about Damon’s eminent attack, worried about whether he’d be able to save the people he loved. The ghosts seemed to be even more agitated recently, refusing to give him even a moment of peace if he