Crave - Teresa Mummert Page 0,48

me up an old stone staircase and out of the fort before we raced to my car. He opened the passenger door and slid me onto the seat and was inside the car next to me before I could exhale.

Dust flew from the tires as we headed out of the area and back to the main road.

“Where are we going?” I asked quietly. Elijah ignored my question and stepped on the gas. We flew through the back roads on the near-empty streets. His mood was unreadable and I could tell he was purposefully keeping his feelings guarded. I turned on the radio he relaxed as I tapped my fingers to the beat of the song. I watched the trees whip by in a dark blur as we left Savannah.

“That sign said north. Why are we heading back toward Pennsylvania?” I asked, confused. Elijah clenched his jaw and even in the darkness I could see his muscles flex as his face turned hard. “Elijah? Why are we headed toward home?” I pleaded for an answer. He glanced over at me and looked back at the road, his expression unchanging.

“The vampire I met tonight came with a message.” His fingers gripped the wheel tighter causing his knuckles to turn bone white. “They have Grayson.”

I felt the blood run from my face as I took in what he was saying. We rode silently for a few more minutes. I was at a loss for words. “I’m sorry, Eva,” Elijah whispered and I could feel his sadness in the air. I searched for words to comfort him, to tell him it wasn’t his fault, but nothing came. The truth was I was too busy blaming myself.

The car slowed as we pulled into a dimly lit hotel. I glanced at the clock on the dash. It was just before dawn. There was no way we could make it home tonight. I sighed heavily as tears welled in my eyes. Grayson would have to wait another day for us to help him if he could endure whatever torture they had planned.

Elijah left the car and went into the lobby. I let my face fall into my hands and broke down. It was one thing to have been careless enough to put myself in danger, but someone I cared about was too much for me to handle. It was like losing Marcus all over again.

My door flew open, startling me as Elijah stood beside me, his arm outstretched. I took his hand as he helped me to my feet. I suddenly realized how tired I was from lack of sleep and emotional exhaustion. He slipped his arm behind my back and his other under my knees and carried me to our room.

He slid me onto the queen sized bed and pulled my shoes off. I rolled onto my side and curled into a ball as the tears began to burn my eyes again. Elijah brushed the hair from my face and ran the back of his hand over my cheek.

“Please don’t cry. I will fix this. I will keep you safe.”

“It isn’t me I’m worried about,” I confessed, looking up at his face.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he replied, searching my eyes. “I will keep you alive at any cost,” he said absolutely. I knew exactly what he meant. He was willing to let anyone die to save my life. Anyone.

“I couldn’t live with myself if someone I cared about was hurt because of me.”

“Even if you hate me, even if you never want to see me again,” he began as his dark eyes glassed over in sadness. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive, no matter whose life must be lost to accomplish that.” He slipped under the covers and I rolled away from him. There was no use arguing. He wrapped his arm around my waist and I wiggled slightly, letting him know his touch was unwanted. He didn’t move. I closed my eyes and drifted off into a restless sleep.

Chapter twenty-one

Too Easy

I awoke to water splashing my face. I gasped and blinked my eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden rush of light. My body was warm, soaking in the midday sun.

“Bout time you woke up,” My dad called from the far side of an endless blue pool. I clung to the sides of my raft, trying to keep from flipping over as I was overpowered by the smell of the chemicals.

“Dad?” I asked as I looked around, my