Kiss of Death Page 0,24

suitcase and somehow gotten it to the floor, but it was the size of a trunk. At least it had wheels. Michael was downstairs when Shane and Claire came down; Shane thumped their bags down and said, "You'd better wrangle your girlfriend's bag, man. I would, but I don't want to spend the entire trip in traction." Michael grinned and zoomed upstairs. He came down carrying the suitcase as if it were nothing. Claire noticed it was new and shiny, and had hand-applied death's-head stickers and biohazard marks. Yeah, that was definitely Eve's. Oh, and it was black. Of course. "Snacks!" Eve yelped, and dashed into the kitchen. She came back with a bag full of things. "Road food. Trust me. Totally necessary. Oh, and drinks--we need drinks." She caught sight of the cooler. "Okay, not you, Michael. The rest of us." They were loading the second cooler with non-blood-related drink items when the doorbell rang. Claire opened it to find Oliver standing on the doorstep. The sun was still up, but he was wearing a hat and a long black coat, which didn't in any way make him less sinister. His hair was tied back and must have been tucked up under his hat. She wondered if it was flammable, like the rest of him. Age had made him flame-retardant, but he'd still suffer out in the sun, and eventually burst into flames, if he couldn't get out of it. He came in without waiting for an invitation. "Yeah, welcome." Claire sighed and shut the door. "We're getting stuff together. Uh, is that all you brought?" It was one bag, smaller even than Michael's or Shane's. Oliver didn't bother to answer her. He walked past, into the living room, and straight for Michael. Eve and Shane, who were bickering over the placement of the Cokes versus the bottled iced coffees, fell silent, and Claire joined them. "You're surely not taking all this," Oliver said, looking at the pile of stuff on the floor. It was, Claire had to admit, a lot--mainly because Eve's suitcase was the size of Rhode Island, but they'd all contributed. "Is there room?"

"I have a major trunk," Eve said. "It'll fit." Oliver shook his head. "I hate traveling with amateurs," he said. "Very well. Get the car loaded. Michael and I will wait inside until the sun is down." He acted as if he were the boss, which was annoying, but the truth was, he was the boss. Amelie had assigned him as escort, and that meant he could boss them around all he wanted. Heaven, for Oliver. Hell, for everybody else. Claire shrugged silently, then picked up her suitcase and backpack and led the way. Packing the car was hilariously awful, because trying to get Eve's suitcase wedged in was a drama nobody needed. It finally worked, and everything else fit in, including the guitars and the coolers. It left the three of them sweaty, annoyed, and exhausted, but by the time they'd worked it all out, the sun was safely down. Nobody tried to call shotgun. Oliver took the front seat, Michael got in the driver's seat, and Eve, Claire, and Shane took the back. It wasn't even all that crowded. "Passes," Oliver said, and held out his hand. Michael handed them over, and Oliver examined them as if he didn't know they'd already been cleared to leave town. "Very well. Proceed."

"Tunes!" Eve said. "We need--"

"No music," Oliver said. "I will not be subjected to what you consider tunes."

"FYI, I know it's a disguise, but you even suck at being a hippie," Eve muttered. "At least like the Beatles or something."

"No."

"It's going to be a really long trip," Shane said, and put his arm around both Claire and Eve, since he was in the middle. "But at least I've got all the babes. Backseat, for the win."

"Shut up," Michael said. "Come back here and make me, Dad." Michael and Shane exchanged rude gestures, and then Michael started up the car and pulled away from the curb. Eve squirmed in her seat and clapped her hands. Oliver turned and glared at her. He took off his black hat and set it on the dashboard, next to Eve's nodding skeletal figurine. "Enough of that," he said. "It's bad enough I have to be trapped in a car with you children. You'll do your best not to act like children."

"Oliver," Michael said, "back off. It's our first time out of town. Let us enjoy it a