Hidden Mate

27

“Thanks.” He winked at the girl. “Sorry about this, but you’re in good hands.” He hurried back into the restaurant.

The vampire scowled at me.

If I’d had any doubts before, they were long gone. She had fed on June and tried with Chad.

“Where’s your car?” I tried to sound innocent, but we both knew what was going on.

“You know what?” She pulled her phone from her pocket and swiped. “My brother just messaged me. He’ll be here in a second.”

“Are you sure?” Donovan stiffened, and he planted himself right next to me as if he felt the threat. “We can—”

“No, it’s fine.” She spun on her heel, rushing to get away.

“Oh, and be careful.” She had to know we were on to her. “We wouldn’t want you getting into any trouble.”

“Don’t worry.” She glanced over her shoulder, her face full of hate. “I can take care of myself.”

That was the problem. If she took care of herself, everything I had here would be at risk. Now, I had to figure out how to explain this whole thing to Donovan.

“H

ey, are you ready to go?” Donovan lifted the bag of to-go food. “I’m assuming your friends will want this before it gets cold.”

“No, not yet.” I needed to make sure that b***h at least got in the car and drove off. She’d fed off one person tonight, so I hoped this would scare her off for the rest of the night.

A vampire truly only needed to feed once a day, and even then, they didn’t have to kill. They could drink several pints and be satisfied, but vampires were gluttons. A chill ran down my spine. June had to be around here somewhere, drained, and we needed to find her body before a human did.

It made me sick that she’d drunk so much and had been going in for a second kill. If I hadn’t been here, Chad would probably be lying next to June right now.

The vampire glanced over her shoulder and snarled when she saw me watching her.

Did the stupid b***h really think I’d rush away?

She got in her Mercedes-Benz sedan and started her car. The engine purred, proving her car issues had been a ruse.

Roxy linked with me. Hey, we’re almost there.

She’s on the side road, behind the restaurant. I hated not staying here to help out, but I didn’t need Donovan asking more questions. I’m getting Donovan out of here.

That’s a good plan, Roxy agreed. The vampire is still there?

Yeah, she’s expecting me to leave. My stomach dropped. I’m pretty sure she killed the hostess, so there’s a dead body hidden somewhere.

A Jeep pulled up behind the vampire.

Okay, we’re behind her. Roxy waved at me from the passenger seat. Go on and head back.

“Do you mind giving me a ride?”

He looked past my shoulder at the Jeep. “Is that your friend?” He shouldn’t have been able to see Roxy from here with his human eyes.

Maybe a joke would disengage him. “Roxy must be so hungry she’s projecting her image in your mind.”

“Ha, she probably can.” He stepped toward the parking lot, turning his back to the vampire. “And of course, I don’t mind giving you a ride back. We’re going to the same exact place.”

“Okay, that would be perfect, then.” I caught up and walked beside him. “I had to Uber here. Dad didn’t want me to bring my car to school.” He thought it would make me less likely to go anywhere without Brock. He didn’t know much about Uber since he had drivers.

“It would be my honor.” He grimaced. “But you can’t judge me for my car.”

“Is it that bad?” I tried to focus on the moment between us. Is everything okay? I didn’t want to leave if Roxy was headed into a horrible confrontation.

Yeah, she pulled off. Roxy laughed. When her eyes landed on Egan, she must have recognized him because she took off before we could even get out of the vehicle. We’re going to look for the hostess now.

Let me know if you need me. I could always run back here.

Donovan led me to an older, light gray Toyota and opened the passenger door. “Here you go, ma’am. Your humble chariot.”

Even though it had years on it, it was well kept and still smelled new. My eyes landed on the deodorizer hanging from the rearview mirror. I settled onto the tan cloth seat and took the to-go food from him.

He shut the door, hurried around, and slipped into the driver’s seat.

“Hey, I think they gave us too much food.” I’d ordered five steaks, but there were six containers inside.

“Yeah, when you went to the bathroom, I had him add in something for Axel and paid.” He winked at me as he started the car. “I didn’t want to get hell for not bringing him something back, especially if he found out about the five steaks you got Roxy.” His voice went up at the end, almost like a question.

“Well, two of them are for Roxy.” I hated to tell him that he’d bought food for another dude.

His body stilled. “I didn’t buy that asshole food, did I?”

“Brock?” I asked.

“Dear God.” He groaned, and his head sagged.

“No, you didn’t.” I touched his arm. “Just Egan, but he’s a good guy.”

“I’m not sure if that makes it any better.” He focused on where my hand touched his arm. “Is he someone I should be worried about?”

“We’re just friends, so why would you worry?” I dropped my hand, forcing myself to listen to my own words.

“Yeah … right.” He took my hand in his. “Friends who don’t see other people.”

I should correct him, but I couldn’t force myself to. The thought of him with another girl made me irrationally angry, and my wolf growl.

A cocky grin spread across his face as he shifted the car into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. “Want to tell me what all that was back there?”

“What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure what to say if he pushed the whole Roxy question.

“Between you and that odd girl.” He turned onto the main road that led back to campus. “It looked like you two knew each other.”

I had to tread carefully. No, I didn’t know her, but we’d recognized each other as supernaturals. But I couldn’t say that.