Trinity Bound (42 page)

Her mouth snapped open in shock. She wasn’t sure what was worse, that she was scared shitless or curious about this toe curling.

Marcelo stepped back, keeping that black look on her. “If you have a problem with that, take it up with your sister. She’s the one who sent me.”

Erin forced her mouth to close and squared her shoulders. “I
will
take it up with her. Give me my phone so I can call her and have her send someone else in your place.”

“No.”

Surely he’s jesting. “No?”

“That’s what I said.” He crossed his arms in front of his massive chest.

“How am I supposed to take it up with her if you won’t let me talk to her?”

“I’m sure she’s indisposed at the moment so you will just have to wait until you see her in a few days.”

Erin’s eyes grew wide. “But…that…doesn’t even –” She sputtered through an incoherent sentence. She was so mad she actually stomped a foot.

“Until then, my rules. Now hand me the keys.” A cocky smirk crossed the vampire’s face. She wanted to wipe it right off with her fist, which shocked her. She wasn’t normally a violent person.

Cursing under her breath she slapped her keys into his palm and slid into the passenger seat, slumping down with her arms crossed. “When does the flight leave for Colorado? I can’t wait to be done with this.”

He didn’t answer. Worse, he seemed hesitant. Like he was holding back information she wouldn’t like.

“We don’t have tickets, do we?” she guessed. When he still didn’t answer she knew she was right. “If you take me to my apartment we can buy airplane tickets and I can pack some clothes.”

“Your apartment? Don’t you think the Counsel is already waiting for you there? Do you have any sense of self-preservation?”

“How will you buy tickets? Unless you have a smart phone, which I don’t –”

“We’re not flying. We’re driving.”

She shot upright in her seat. “What? You can’t be serious! That will take forever!”

He jammed the keys in the ignition and her car thundered to life. Marcelo’s body shook from the vibrations of a motor with a blown piston. The engine roared, the gear shift fought to stay in first, the back window was jammed half open, and the heat was stuck on full blast. Yes, her car was a beast. Slowly she turned her head and gave him the biggest, cheekiest grin she could. The look on his face was priceless.

“Still want to drive to Colorado?” she asked, smiling brightly.

With a grunt he forced the stubborn shifter into reverse and backed out of the parking spot so fast Erin flew forward and might have gone through the windshield had Marcelo not stopped her with an arm across her chest. He slammed on the brakes, grabbed her seat belt, pulled it around her body then snapped it in place. It all happened so fast she hadn’t even finished drawing in a breath.

“Safety first,” he chirped in a perky voice that made her want to run him over with the car. “Now, do you really think I’m going to take someone prone to panic attacks on an airplane?”

Erin had never flown before, but she and Jimmy had been saving to take a trip to California next summer so she’d already put some thought into how to handle flying. “That’s what the little bottles of alcohol are for. I’ll just take my anti-anxiety meds before the flight then keep me loaded and I’ll be fine.”

He scowled down at her.

“Think about it,” she said. “It will be at least four days stuck in a car. With
me
. If we fly, that’s three days off our trip.”

He sighed heavily, his scowl deepening. “Fine. We will fly. But
no alcohol
!
”

That was going to be a problem. “Marcelo, I need alcohol and my medication to get on an airplane. There is no way around it.”

“I said no. You will just have to do without.”

“You can’t force me onto an airplane, I’m pretty sure they frown on th –”

“I will not be forcing you. I have leverage.”

He meant Sage, of course. Fear and desperation coursed through her. Her breaths came faster, her cheeks heated, and she suddenly wanted to hit something. Or some
one
.

“If you try to force me onto that plane, Marcelo, I swear to you I will scream in the security line that you’re a terrorist and…and…that you have nail clippers in your bag!”

She thought he was simply annoyed before, but now there was no mistaking his fury. But it was a quiet fury, which was often worse. “You dare threaten me? You will find,
querida
, that when it comes to dealing with vampires, it’s best just to do as you’re told.”

She gulped but jutted her chin out in defiance. “You even look like a terrorist. That will work to my advantage.”

He growled low in his throat and gripped the steering wheel so hard she thought it might crack under his palm. “All right. You can have one or two drinks before the flight.”

“And my medicine?”

He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Are you afraid then?” She
tsked
under her tongue. “Damn, I thought Sage would have sent the best. Well, I guess I understand. I’ve heard that sorcerers are very powerful. They could probably kick your ass without even touching you, couldn’t they?”

His jaw tightened, and, in a voice strained with fury, he said,
“Where’s your bloody apartment?”

Available on amazon and all e-book retailers

Other titles by Leia Shaw include:

Destiny Divided

Destiny Unchained

31 Flavors (a BDSM romance based on a true story)

Destiny Bewitched (coming summer 2012)

www.LeiaShaw.com