"Sorry," Cale sounded as miserable as he was weak, and she sighed and kissed his forehead again.
"It's okay. I cut it on the broken window when I first came up. It's a little tender." She half straightened to peer around again, hoping someone would take the offramp and stop to help. She didn't see anyone. Traffic wasn't completely absent on the highway, but apparently this wasn't a popular off-ramp. She'd have to go for help.
"Cale." She turned back to him and frowned at the rustling he was making. Picking up the flashlight, she turned it on and bit her lip when she saw the way he was twisting on the seats. He was obviously in terrible pain.
"Oh, God, Cale," she whispered, and then reached out to touch his cheek again with her free hand, and said in stronger tones, "Honey, I have to go for help. I'll be as quick as I can but-"
Cale moaned and turned his face into her hand again,and this time she could see his tongue slip out to lick across her bloody palm. Despite the situation, the caress sent a shiver of excitement through her, and that raised a maelstrom of shame inside her. The man was delirious and half-dead, and she was standing there getting turned on. Her attention shifted back to Cale as he suddenly pushed her hand away.
"The trunk," he gasped.
"Trunk?" she asked uncertainly.
"The rental. A cooler," Cale got out in hoarse tones.
He was definitely delirious, Alex decided. "Honey, this is no time for a beer. You need help."
"The cooler," he insisted, sounding desperate, and then a tearing sound drew her eyes toward his legs and she shifted the flashlight beam there to see that he was trying to pull his legs free of the twisted metal as if to get out and get the cooler himself. Another tearing sounded, but this time she suspected it wasn't cloth. The man was doing himself damage in his desperation.
"Okay, I'll get the cooler," she said quickly, trying to calm him. "Just stop moving. You're only hurting yourself."
Much to her relief, he sagged and went still, merely murmuring, "Need it."
"Okay. I'll get it. Just don't move," she pleaded, and then backed out of the car and straightened to hurry back to the rental. The snow along the side of the ramp was a good two feet deep. Already knowing how hard it was to wade through, Alex risked the ramp itself but found it wasn't much faster. The road was icy, and she couldn't move too quickly for fear of slipping and hurting herself in a fall that would stop her from being able to get Cale the help he so desperately needed.
Alex was slowed down again when she finally reached the car. She'd left the keys in the ignition and the engine running in her rush to get to Cale and now had to wade through the snow to get to the driver's side and the keys. She was panting with exertion by the time she got to the open door. Alex reached in and hit the button on the black fob hanging from the key in the ignition. She then hit it again until she heard all the doors unlock. Straightening, she hurried around to the trunk and opened it to reveal a small cooler inside. Alex grabbed the handle and jerked it out, then slammed the trunk closed and hurried back to her car and Cale.
"Here, I got the cooler," Alex said soothingly as she bent to lean into the passenger side. She set the cooler on the front passenger floor, and then shined her flashlight over Cale, almost moaning when she saw that he'd continued trying to free himself while she was gone. He'd succeeded somewhat. His legs were half-out of where they'd been crushed against the seat, but it wasn't pretty. The front of his lower legs resembled hamburger, and she thought she saw bone in a spot or two.
"Oh, God, Cale, I have to get you help," she moaned, wondering if he'd ever walk again.
"In the cooler ... blood," Cale growled, and she shifted her eyes and the flashlight beam to his face. He looked even paler than he had the first time she'd seen him. He was almost gray from lack of blood, butstill struggling to pull himself across the seat, his eyes now a burning silver and focused on the cooler she'd set down. "Open it."
The words were almost a snarl, and Alex automatically shifted the handle out of the way and opened the cooler. Her eyes widened when she saw the stacked bags of blood inside. She stared at them with confusion, and then lifted one out to look at more closely. "What-?"
He suddenly snatched the bag from her, and her eyes widened with horror as she saw fangs suddenly slide out of his mouth. When he tore into the bag with them, she took a panicked step back, bumped into the car door, lost her footing, and landed on her butt in the cold snow. But the flashlight beam and her eyes never left Cale. He had closed his eyes, whether against the light shining on him, or with relief or pleasure she didn't know, but she could see that the bag was emptying, the plastic shriveling in on itself as its contents were removed.
"Another," he gasped, ripping the first bag away as soon as it was empty.
Alex didn't even glance to the cooler, but simply stared at him.
"Alex," Cale growled. "Please."
"What are you?" she asked shakily.
Cale closed his eyes. "I didn't want you to find out like this."
"Find out what? That you're a vampire?" She heard the hysterical note in her voice and snapped her mouth and eyes shut, thinking this then was the flaw. He wasperfect ... except for being a bloodsucking demon. Jesus, could she pick 'em or what?
A rustle and more tearing brought her eyes open to see that Cale had dragged himself a little farther along the seat, doing himself more damage as he did. But then he didn't have much choice, she supposed. If he was a vampire, he couldn't afford to have EMTs and firemen seeing him like this.
"Please," Cale repeated, panting.
Alex hesitated, but when he pulled himself another half an inch closer, she quickly snatched another bag of blood and shoved it at him to keep him at bay. He took the bag of blood but didn't thrust it to the fangs she could see so clearly.
"Alex, it's okay," he said.
A little burble of disbelieving laughter slipped from her lips, and she covered her mouth with dismay at the hysterical sound.