Fables & Other Lies - Claire Contreras Page 0,62
your mouth.”
“Until you. You bring this out in me.”
“Do I?” He reached for me, carrying me onto his lap so that my legs were spread on either side of him and our faces were close together.
Even as I leaned in to kiss him, he was looking at me with such longing it nearly broke my heart. I thought of what he’d said earlier, how I’d forgotten him once and he knew I’d forget him again, and it killed me to think that only one of us would carry this memory forever. If that was the case, I’d make it worthwhile.
Chapter Twenty-Five
He drove fast, despite the bumpy, uneven terrain. Meanwhile, my heart was in my throat as I held on to my seat, as if holding on to anything could save me if the car careened off the road and hit the mountain, or worse.
“Maybe slow down a bit,” I said, finally, because acting brave was cool, but staying alive was much more important.
“Sorry.” He shifted gears and slowed down. I let out the breath I seemed to have been holding since we left the Manor.
“Not wearing a seatbelt can kill you.” I glanced over at him in time to catch his mouth pull up. “Driving like that and not wearing a seatbelt will surely kill you though.”
“I know.”
“Yet you do it.”
“Let’s just say I’ve spent the majority of my life testing how far I could push the envelope.”
“As much as I can . . . sort of understand that, considering you sold your soul to the Devil and all, I don’t think it’s fair to push the envelope with me in the car.”
“You’re right.” He reached for my hand, bringing it up to his lips. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Just stop trying to kill me.”
He chuckled; it was a deep laugh that struck me all wrong. I had a question on the tip of my tongue, but then I saw light in front of us and my voice remained in my throat. It was a village, a town, with streets and street lamps and structures. There were people spilling onto the street from bars, from whatever businesses were up. River pulled up to the sidewalk and parked the car, turning to me.
“You weren’t kidding when you said there was a whole town,” I said.
“Who are all of these people?”
“Some you met at the party the other night. Others are here for fun. All are the lost souls that are so often talked about when people bring up Dolos.”
“But they’re . . . alive, right?”
“Very much so.” His eyes crinkled. “Does a soul ever die?”
“I’m not sure.” I blinked. “You subscribe to the notion that nothing dies.”
“It’s what I know.” He shrugged a shoulder and looked out the front windshield. I followed his gaze. “Most of these are brothels, bars, places they can come and gamble in, get-rich-quick schemes.”
“Interesting.” I looked at him again. “Do you spend a lot of time here?”
“Hell no.” His gaze whipped to mine. “I used to, when I was younger. It gets old fast, like most vices do.”
“Except for smoking apparently.”
“Well, that’s an addictive habit.” He smiled.
“So is gambling. And prostitution. And whatever else is going on here.” I looked outside again, where a scandalously dressed woman was laughing at something a man in a suit was saying to her. “Why haven’t I ever heard of Dolos being such a hot spot for seedy things? You’d think it would be as popular as Las Vegas.”
“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. What happens in Dolos never happened.” He raised an eyebrow.
“I thought they said that about Miami.”
“Everyone in Miami has a cell phone. Cell phones don’t work here.”
“Well, shit.” I sat back in my seat. “How’d they get here? The water hasn’t risen around the island.”
“Helicopters, private planes, some docked their yachts in Pan Island last week.”
“Jesus.” My eyes found a familiar face outside, a billionaire who was always in the tabloids. The lifestyles of the rich and the famous indeed.
“Do you want to get down?”
“Not really. I’m okay with just driving around.”
River started driving. He pointed out the window frequently as we passed things like the market, clothing stores, and hair salons. The entirety of the town took up two blocks, nothing more. There was one row of townhouses and one row of bars and brothels. That was it.
“What about the rest of the island?”
“It remains untouched for the most part. There are some vacation homes on the shore, but not many. This is