She had no idea how he heard, but it almost sounded like Merek was speaking softly in their ears. “No problem. That’s my job.”
Leaning back in her seat, she suddenly realized she was exhausted. Sweat and other people’s blood made her clothes sticky, and her muscles began shaking with reaction. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms to stop from shivering. Her heavy use of unfamiliar magic had drained what was left of her energy.
Even the cold didn’t seem to be slapping her awake. She met Merek’s gaze in the rearview mirror, her heart turning over at the concern in his gaze. She offered a tired smile. “We need to get Alex cleaned up.”
“We al need to clean up.” His deep voice was as steady and sure as always, stil a comforting murmur in her ear. What spel he was using to do that, she didn’t know, but she liked it. She let her chin drop to her chest and her eyelids droop. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’l handle it. Get some rest.”
As if that was al the permission she needed, she fel headlong into oblivion.
9
Chloe blinked blurry eyes, unsure exactly what was wrong, but knowing something had changed. It took her a moment to realize the car had stopped moving. A rush of air and squeak of hinges announced the opening of the door across from her. Ophelia stirred from where she’d curled herself around Alex’s head, half her body draped across his neck and shoulder and the other half on Chloe’s leg.
She turned her head to watch Merek wrap the space blanket tightly around Alex before he hoisted the teen up and over his shoulder. Alex did little more than groan, but the confirmation that he was stil breathing was oddly reassuring. The weight of his head lifting from her leg made her limb tingle, and she flexed her toes to get her circulation going.
Picking up her familiar, she opened the other door and slid down to let her feet touch the cracked cement of a parking lot behind a cheap-looking motel. Except for a few feeble lights, the lot was shadowed and dark. Probably best considering the shape the SUV was in. Stil , standing around in the gloom made chil s run through her. She tried not to look at the bul et holes gouged into the side of the SUV, tried not to think about how endless the night seemed with only a few overhead lights to guide her way.
The muscles in her legs protested when she hobbled around the end of the car, one of her calves cramping so hard she hissed out a breath. Merek glanced at her sharply. “You okay?”
“Fine,” she lied. “Where are we?”
“A few hours over the border into Idaho.”
Hugging Ophelia tighter, she tried not to limp. “Which room are we in?”
“Numbers seven and eight. They have an adjoining door.” He dangled two sets of keys from his index finger. She snagged them and led the way to the nearest room, unlocking the heavy door and pushing her way in with one shoulder.
Feeling along the wal by the door for the light switch, she relaxed a little when the room flooded with brightness. She held the door open for Merek and watched him bypass the two double beds to deposit Alex in the bathroom. The pipes rattled in the wal as he turned on the water. Out of habit that Merek had dril ed into her, she shut and bolted the door and then closed the curtains as tight as possible so no one could see in.
Then she went around and turned on every single lamp in the room and opened the adjoining door to do the same in the second room. This one had only a king-sized bed. “I’l stay in there with Alex, and you can have the big bed in here. Then your legs won’t hang off the end.”
“Thanks,” he said as he appeared in the doorway. “I’m going to bring in what I can salvage from the car.
Why don’t you—”
“Get Alex hosed down so when you come back you can carry him to bed?” She slid past him to do just that.
“Yeah.” He’d never sounded so weary, and her heart clenched. He was as covered in gore as she was, and she stared at the gruesome sight he made for three ful seconds before she shook herself and kept moving. He glanced down at himself. “Don’t worry. The clerk won’t remember me or anything about us.”
“Those memory spel s sure do come in handy sometimes, don’t they?” She had to force herself away from the desire to cling to Merek and make sure he was al right. To hover over him, grab him, and hold on tight. If something happened to Alex or Merek and she was left alone . . . Her bel y jolted at the punch of pain and panic that thought caused. No. She could not— would not—lose either of them. She refused to even consider the possibility, despite what had happened tonight.
As if he understood her need to hold him, Merek caught her around the waist and pul ed her close. She shouldn’t let herself lean on him, should pul back instead of letting him draw her in. It would only make it worse if she cared too much, but he ignored the filth coating both them and pressed her to his side. She caved in to her need and rested her head on his shoulder. Reaching up, she cupped his jaw in her palm, stroking her thumb over the rough stubble there.
He tilted her head back and kissed her. The heat that always bloomed between them fil ed her body, and it was the first time she’d felt warm in what seemed like forever. She suckled his bottom lip, and he groaned, burying his hand in her hair. He nipped at her lips before sweeping his tongue into her mouth.
Her body liquefied at the deeper intimacy, her sex clenching, nipples tightening, skin sensitizing until the rasp of his beard against her face was pure eroticism. His fingers cradled her head, his big body a welcoming fire that tempted her. It was so sweet, tears stung her eyes, and she felt that weakness try to overtake her, the need to desperately hold on, and forced herself to stumble back, away from the solid warmth he provided.
“I’m going to check on Alex before the tub overflows,” she gasped and fled.
Skittering into the bathroom, she snatched up a thin washcloth from the pile on the vanity, and knelt beside the bathtub Alex was sprawled in. His long legs were bent awkwardly, and the water had already turned bright pink from the blood on his skin. Gingerly, she peeled the soaked bandage away from his side and tossed it in the garbage can. She wet down the cloth and wiped away as many of the rusty blotches from his skin as possible. Then she drained the tub and refil ed it before she grabbed another washrag.
She noted his skin tone looked better, not as deathly pale. His breathing was deep and even in true sleep, and the area around the wound looked pink and healthy, not enflamed or hot to the touch. Good. He was healing nicely. If things continued along this course, he would be back to normal by morning, without even a scar to remind him of the shooting. A physical scar, anyway. The kid had far too many internal scars, and she feared this would add one more. She sighed and scooped water up to rinse the shampoo provided by the motel out of his hair.
“Everything’s in the room, and I fed the cat.” Merek came in and set the first aid kit on the counter as she pul ed the plug on the drain again. “Just in case he needs another bandage.”
“Thanks. I don’t think he does, actual y. Toss me a few towels and help me dry him off.” A sheet of thin white terry cloth draped over her shoulder a second later, and then Merek wedged himself in next to her to lift Alex up and towel him down. When he was relatively dry, Merek picked the teen up as gently as he would a newborn and carried him into the room to tuck into bed.
The front of her shirt was soaked, and pink droplets hit the carpet in a steady stream. She winced. “Man, I wouldn’t want to be the maids who get to clean this room in the morning.”
Merek left her standing beside the bed, picked up his duffel bag, and went into his room to change clothes. When he came back he nodded to her smal est suitcase. “This is the only one that survived. Go into the bathroom, strip down, and hand me your clothes. I’m going to take the towels and our bloody laundry with me when I torch the SUV.”