She lingered close to his body heat, glancing away as she felt a few tears slipping. Taking a fortifying breath, she turned back to Leisha and nodded, “No arguing. We all know that you’re right.” Samantha hesitated. “But I would really like to go to Ohio once more, just to say goodbye.”
Leisha was shaking her head before Samantha finished. “Absolutely not. It would be like handing ourselves over to them on a silver platter. There’s no way we can go anyplace we’ve lived before, especially most recently. It’s suicide.”
“Maybe not,” Samantha ventured. “It’s so obvious, and they know how smart you are so they probably won’t bother to look there. Or maybe they already have and are gone now.”
Leisha’s lips were set in a stubborn line.
“She has a point, Leisha.” Nik put in. Leisha’s jaw drooped in surprise. “If we were to visit for a day so that Samantha can get some closure, it would be safe enough.”
“Not from you, too, Nikita.” Leisha jabbed a finger in his direction. “You know better than anyone how to track people.”
Samantha grimaced at the sentence.
Nik nodded. “I do, and my professional opinion is that there won’t be any danger.” He placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder. “She needs this, and it’s within your power to give it to her.” Throwing the vampire a pointed look, Nik added, “Considering what you’ve taken from her, I think that is the least you can do.”
Samantha dropped her gaze to the floor. She wasn’t sure how she felt about being a human servant. It had only taken a couple of days for the bite to heal, and she had more energy than she was used to. But Nik acted like he was deeply offended on her behalf. As they traveled, he had criticized Leisha at every opportunity for changing Samantha.
Samantha told Leisha she understood there had been no other choice, and didn’t blame her. She still thought of Leisha as a sister. All of that was true, of course. But Samantha was nervous about how irreversible this change was. If Leisha were unable to feed herself, she would pull on Samantha’s energy, or Samantha would have to drink by proxy. And Samantha knew she wouldn’t be able to drink another person’s blood.
It would be a strange existence. But she was already so different from other humans that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Samantha shook her head at the internal argument. As far as she was concerned, the jury was still out on this latest development in her life.
“Samantha?” Leisha asked. “Is this something you want or something that you truly need?”
Samantha chewed her lip as she thought. A vivid image of Spencer popped into her head and she remembered the vision she’d had of him looking so forlorn. “I really do need this, Leisha. I don’t think I can move on if I don’t say goodbye.” I’ve lost too many people in my life to not have this.
Shaking her head, the blonde vampire looked defeated. “Fine. But can’t stay long—one day, and that’s it. Nikita will have to stay at the house, away from the sun. I’ll shadow you at school to make sure there’s no trouble.”
Clearing his throat, Nik looked at Leisha. “If she goes early enough, I can handle being in the sun during the first hour of its rising.”
“That would work.” Samantha tried to keep her rising hope from showing. “The sun doesn’t rise until halfway through first period.”
Leisha mulled it over for a moment before responding. “Fine. Nikita, you’ll shadow her at school. I’ll go home and pack up some better weapons.” She looked at Samantha, her brows drawn together. “Since Nikita will be with you, you won’t have a lot of time to say goodbye. I hope it’s enough.”
Smiling broadly, Samantha gave her a tight hug. “Thank you, Leisha! This means a lot.”
Leisha hugged her back, but her tone was gruff. “Don’t blame me if we end up getting killed.”
“They wouldn’t kill you right away,” Nik corrected. “You’d be thoroughly tortured first.”
Samantha was seriously feeling the jet lag, but forced herself to drink the coffee she always swore she’d never touch. Even with the load of sugar she poured in, it was barely palatable. That task completed, she nodded to Nik and they left the house together.
Getting into the car, she drove her old Yugo to school for what would be the last time.
Teenagers were walking from their cars or buses to the main building, all of them talking animatedly to each other. Samantha parked near the football field. She could smell the fresh smoke from the kids who took drags under the bleachers .
They got out of the car and Samantha began walking toward the school. When Nik didn’t follow, she turned and looked at him. “How exactly, are you planning to shadow me?”
“I’ll stay in the parking lot, maybe scope around the outside of the building. But don’t worry, I’ll be inconspicuous.”
“You’re too handsome to go unnoticed.” Samantha could feel her cheeks warming.
He gave her a rare smile. “While I appreciate the compliment, don’t underestimate my stalking skills.”
He walked in the other direction and she went into the building. Walking down the hall towards her first class, she weaved through groups of rowdy teenagers. After looking forward to getting back to school with her old friends for the last few days, it seemed incredibly anticlimactic. It was fifteen minutes before class started and she was able to spot her friend Stephanie in the crowded hallway.
“Hey, chica!” Stephanie’s brown eyes lit up when she saw Samantha. “It seems like you were gone forever! Was everything alright with your little family emergency or whatever?”
They started walking together while Samantha recounted the lie Leisha had contrived. “Well, actually, my uncle’s doing pretty bad and it turns out we have to move in and take care of him for a while.” She shrugged. “It could be a few months, maybe even a couple of years. There’s no way to know.”
“That sucks.” Stephanie gave her a look of sympathy. “You’re going to miss all the awesome events! I know Spencer was going to ask you to the prom, and we girls are taking this way cool road trip for Spring Break. You won’t be around for any of it!” She patted Samantha’s arm. “When do you move? ‘Cause you seriously have to come over and check out all the new outfits that I got for the road trip. And you totally should help us pick out our prom dresses before you go. It’ll be a little party to say goodbye while you give us your much needed input!”
Grimacing, Samantha shook her head. “We fly out this afternoon. I came to school today so I could say goodbye.”
“Aw.” Stephanie gave her a hug. “In case I don’t see you at lunch, I’ll miss you! Text me whenever you want. And we’re friends on Facebook, right? So we can still see what’s going on in each other’s lives.” After an awkward pause, the girl smiled. “Well, bye then.” She headed toward her class.
Samantha stood for a moment, looking at her retreating figure. That wasn’t exactly what she thought it would be like. She realized she was expecting the kind of farewell she got when her mom died and she’d had to move in with her dad. But at that point, she’d lived in Florida her whole life and had grown up with those friends. She’d only been in Ohio for a few months. Apparently, that wasn’t enough time to develop deep bonds with people.
After a few more minutes of contemplation, she decided Stephanie would spread the word for her and she didn’t really need the goodbyes that she had begged Leisha for. She thought it was ironic that if she’d listened to Leisha, she would have pined for that closure with the friends she’d made. And now that she had gotten her way, she didn’t actually need it.
Shaking her head, she swiveled to leave, and bumped right into Spencer.
“Whoa.” He grabbing her arms to steady her. “Sorry, I was just about to say hello when you turned.”
She gave him a reassuring smile. “It’s fine. I’m glad I got to see you, ‘cause I was heading out.”
He frowned. “You’re going? But school hasn’t even started yet. Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.�
�� She bit her lip. “I’m moving today. We have to move in with my uncle to take care of him.”
The light in his eyes dimmed.
The bell rang, echoing loudly and prompting students to hurry to their first period.
“Let’s go someplace we can talk.” Without waiting for her consent, he grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him. They ended up in the student lounge, squeezing through the quickly dispersing crowd. By the time they reached the sitting area, the vast room was empty.
As Samantha settled on a wooden bench, Spencer sat and turned to her. “What’s going on with you?”
Her brows drew together. “I already told you, my uncle’s really sick—”
“No, not that.” He blew out a breath. “Sandy, how come you only left me a voicemail to tell me about your family emergency? Why didn’t you call or text or something while you were away? And why am I just finding out you’re moving?” The hurt in his eyes pierced her, but she didn’t know what to say.
“Well . . . I guess I was just busy with everything, you know. There’s been a lot going on.”
His hands turned into fists on his lap. “That’s no excuse. If I matter to you, then you’d be able to find the time to send me one damn text.”
Swallowing, she looked into his eyes. “You’re not my boyfriend, Spencer.”
“I know, but… well,” He looked away. “I thought we were headed in that direction.”
She tentatively touched his fist. “If things were different, then I think we would have, but we’re not going to. Not now.”
Face turning slightly red, Spencer nodded without looking at her. “If you ever need anything, you’ve got my number.”
She nodded and squeezed his arm, then let go. “Thanks, Spencer. You’ve been such a good friend.”
He scoffed and stood. “I guess that’s the big mistake I made, then.” Looking down at her, his features softened momentarily. “Bye, Sandy.” And with that, he walked away.
After he disappeared from her view, Samantha stood and headed to the parking lot. It was suddenly difficult to take a full breath, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.
While she felt bad about Spencer, she knew now that nothing more could have developed between them. He was great, but he didn’t understand anything about her real life. No one did. Spencer is my could-have-been, if I were a normal teenager. If she could have a vision about her own future, she was positive it would look bleak and lonely. If I can never be with a regular guy, then who can ever love me?
With everyone in class, it took very little time to get to her car. She didn’t get in, though. Just stood and stared at the keys in her hand without really seeing them. Nik came out of nowhere, his eyes sympathetic.
Looking into his hazel gaze, she couldn’t stop the flow of tears that had been threatening to flow. Without a word, Nik stepped to her side and put his arm around her shoulders. Hesitantly, Samantha leaned into him and allowed a few tears to trek down her cheek.
She wasn’t exactly sure what she was crying for. Maybe guilt about Spencer, or the life she should have had. It seemed like she didn’t know a lot about her own feelings.
One thing she did know was that Nik felt wonderful and smelled delicious. He was her comfort and she couldn’t give him up as easily as she had Spencer.
Spencer stared at the brown tile as he walked toward his class. He didn’t really want to go to history right now, but couldn’t bring himself to ditch school. Instead, he forced down the humiliating scene of only moments ago. He tried not to think about Sandy rejecting him so brutally.
He knew that he shouldn’t be surprised. After all, she’d told him plenty of times that she didn’t want a boyfriend. For some reason, he’d thought she would come around. He knew she was attracted to him but couldn’t understand why she fought it.
And when she officially turned him down, it had felt like a punch to the gut. Without realizing it, he wandered outside. Looks like he was able to skip a class, after all.
Sitting on the grass, he stared at the sun just peaking over the horizon. He couldn’t think of a time when he had felt more alone.
“Excuse me, but you’re Spencer Hamblin, correct?”
Jerking in surprise, Spencer looked up to see a man in a dark suit and glasses standing over him.
“Yeah, that’s me.” Looking away, Spencer cursed himself for ditching. Now he was going to get into trouble.
The man reached into his jacket pocket and handed Spencer a wallet sized photo.
“Your principal informed us that you’ve been associating with this girl.”
Looking at the smiling face of Sandy intensified the burning pain. She was a bit younger when the picture had been taken, but it was her alright.
Handing back the photo of the heartbreaker, he answered. “Yeah, I know Sandy.”
“Would you help me find her class? I’m afraid there’s been a family emergency and I need to talk to her.”
Standing, Spencer looked into the man’s eyes just as the sun hit them with its blaring light. “She already knows about her uncle. She’s got a flight booked this afternoon”
The man studied Spencer’s face for an uncomfortably long minute. For some reason, it made Spencer want to squirm. He suddenly felt like he was under a microscope and this guy was finding all of his secrets.
After a moment, the man gave a smile that didn’t reach his cold eyes. “Thanks for your help anyway.”
Spencer watched the man walk away, feeling unnerved. He shook off the strange foreboding feeling, blaming it on his angst over Sandy. That man wasn’t lying to him. Spencer caught the family resemblance almost immediately. They shared the exact same blue eyes, though hers held a lot more warmth.
Chapter 15
After putting up such a fuss, there was no way Leisha could admit out loud that she was actually glad they’d stopped in Ohio. She had just restocked her arsenal a few months ago and wasn’t keen on having to do it all over again. It took time to acquire illegal weapons, and buying too many kinds of knives and other blades at once aroused suspicion.
The large canvas bag was loud as she zipped it, and she sighed in satisfaction. She was trying to think of anything else she’d like to pack when Samantha’s Yugo pulled into the driveway.
“That was fast,” she muttered as she carried her large bag downstairs to the entryway.
Samantha and Nikita walked in. Leisha paused when she noticed Samantha’s red rimmed eyes, but knew better than to bring it up now. “Are you ready to go then?” She asked lightly, hoping to lift the atmosphere.
Samantha nodded.
“Alright. Well, instead of sitting around twiddling our thumbs, let me see if we can change our booking.” She pulled out her phone and looked up flights and availability, then transferred to a different itinerary. “Yep, if we leave now, we’ll make it.”
“But Nik can’t be in the sun for more than a few minutes,” protested Samantha.
“Leisha’s tinted windows will be enough protection for me. I can manage at the airport easily enough and I can stay in the bathroom for most of the flight.” He shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Samantha had a dubious expression, but Leisha rolled her eyes. “Trust me, Samantha. Vampires get around during the day much more easily now than they used to.” She guided Samantha out the door.
They headed to Leisha’s Audi, where she put her large bag in the trunk. Nikita climbed in the back, Samantha went in the passenger side, and then Leisha got in and started the car. The tires peeled out a bit as she put the car into gear and hit the gas.
It was an hour to the airport and the mood in the car was somber. As they were getting on the freeway, Leisha decided to turn on Samantha’s favorite band to help her friend feel better. As the music played, she could see Samantha nodding her head to the beat from the corner of her eye. After a few songs, the teenager looked less sulky.
They were taking the freeway exit when Leisha noticed a black sedan behind them. She had see
n it as they’d driven, but hadn’t thought anything of it at the time. Now, her instincts sent up a red flag and she decided to turn into the downtown area. The sedan followed. When she made another abrupt turn, it stayed with her. Whoever was driving was definitely making their presence known. A black SUV turned from a Cross street to the right and stayed parallel to her side. Then one came in from the left. She pushed down hard on the gas and tried to outmaneuver them, but the streets were too crowded to do anything effective without hurting an innocent bystander.
Samantha looked pale, glancing among the three vehicles. Nikita appeared unperturbed, but Leisha didn’t expect anything different from him.
Leisha steered towards the old industrial part of Cincinnati. This area was fairly deserted with a lot of rundown warehouses and abandoned factories. She floored the gas and pulled ahead of their pursuers enough to make a U-turn and drive on the sidewalk. They were two blocks away before the other cars turned around and continued their pursuit. Leisha had every confidence that she could lose them in the more crowded streets this time.
Nikita interrupted her planning. “We won’t be able to outrun them.” He pointed up. “They’ve got air support.”
Leisha glanced up to see a black helicopter hovering above them. She cursed. “We’re going to have to ditch the car.”
Nikita nodded. She heard Samantha swallow hard.
Leisha stayed in the industrial section and looked around for a good place to run. Nikita found their escape route first.
“There.” He was pointing at a large sewer entrance that stood perpendicular to the sidewalk. It was tall enough to stand upright as they ran underground.
Leisha nodded and swerved the car into an empty parking garage next to the sewer grate. Everyone jumped out as she cut the engine, and Leisha grabbed her weapons and their bags from the trunk before they jogged to the doorway. She gave Nikita a silent command. He nodded once and swooped Samantha into his arms. They would need to run too fast for the girl to keep up. They rushed to the sewer and Leisha yanked the heavy iron door from its frame. She put it back in hopes that their pursuers hadn’t seen them go inside, but Leisha knew they wouldn’t be so lucky. Their trail would be found, and soon.
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