Heart of Vengeance (Alice Worth #6) - Lisa Edmonds Page 0,101

were you so harsh to him and in such a hurry to leave?”

She didn’t reply for a long time. Finally, she said, “Because he reminded me of someone I knew. The longer I stayed, the more I saw that other person in him. I don’t want to think about that. What’s past is past. What’s gone…is gone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” She consulted the dashboard GPS. “We’ll be able to make about fifty or sixty miles before dawn, then we’ll find a motel. We can’t hunt gravelings during the day, and we won’t be worth much unless we rest.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Fifty or sixty miles sounded like a thousand. Lucy had to be tired too. I’d force myself to stay awake until we got to the motel to keep her company. And then I planned to sleep, and sleep well.

20

We checked into a roadside motel on the outskirts of a town called Lawrence, just before dawn.

After some arguing with the manager and handing over cash, Lucy got us two rooms next to each other on the ground floor and a promise we would not be disturbed. I dragged my pack, the cat-dragon’s basket, and my sorry carcass inside, took Daisy for a bathroom break around back of the motel, and returned to my room.

“I’m going to go explore a bit,” Malcolm told me. “I don’t want to just hang out here and watch you sleep. I’ll check back every so often. If you need me, summon me.”

“I plan to be unconscious until further notice.” I pulled my filthy shirt off and tossed it in the trash. “Be careful, okay?”

He rolled his eyes with characteristic exasperation. “Yes, Mom.”

“Hey,” I said, my voice sharp because I was tired, and because I worried about him.

He sobered. “I will be careful, I promise. Get some sleep. The big wolf and the teensy dragon will watch over you.”

“Okay. See you in a while.”

He gave me a little salute and left.

I was almost too tired to see straight, but I forced myself to shower so I didn’t go to bed smelling like graveling goop. I damn near fell asleep leaning against the tiled wall in the shower.

I had no sleepwear, so once I was out of the shower and dried off, I put on underwear and my last clean shirt. With the window shuttered, the room was pitch-black. I left the bathroom light on with the door cracked because a pitch-black room was not comforting to me at the moment.

I put wards on the doorway and window, barred the door, and crawled into bed. My cat-dragon was already curled up on the other pillow, purring, her head on her paws. Her eyes glittered in the dim light.

My eyelids weighed a hundred pounds each. I checked on Daisy, to see where she’d decided to lay down. Instead, she stood by the door, staring at it expectantly. “Don’t tell me you have to go again,” I groaned.

Someone knocked. Daisy didn’t growl, so it had to be Lucy.

“Damn it, you said we’d get some sleep.” I flung the covers back, marched to the door, lifted the bar, and yanked the door open.

Ronan stood on my doorstep, bottles of tequila and what looked like local hooch in one hand, and nothing in his sword hand. His Harley was parked in front of my room. Either he’d wheeled it up or he’d shown up while I was in the shower, because I sure as hell hadn’t heard him arrive.

He raised an eyebrow. “Very nice. I like the Wonder Woman underwear.”

I slammed the door.

Daisy growled.

“Don’t you start with me,” I warned her. “I’m so tired, I can’t even think. I don’t want to talk to him. He’s an asshole.”

She stared at me pointedly, then at the door.

“Rrrrr?” the cat-dragon asked, standing on the edge of the bed, her eyes flashing with fae magic.

Torryn’s prophecy. I ground my teeth.

Tap tap tap. Three measured knocks.

With a growl, I pulled on my clean jeans, decided I didn’t care if I wasn’t wearing a bra, and yanked the door open again.

Ronan held up the bottles. “Peace offering?”

“I don’t want anything to drink. I want to be asleep.” I crossed my arms before I realized that pose emphasized my lack of undergarments. Son of a bitch.

To his credit, Ronan kept his eyes on my face. “Then I’ll drink.”

“Why can’t you go drink by yourself?” My sluggish, sleep-deprived brain finally kicked up the thing I should have demanded the moment I opened the door the first time. “How