Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Sammy sat in one captain's chair in the middle row of the SUV, while Wheeler sat in the other. Auberi was in the passenger seat up front, while Rurik drove. Bill and the other man with the helmet sat in the back row.

No one had said much of anything since they'd loaded into the vehicle.

Sammy's hand was joined with Wheeler's on the center counsel and she held it for dear life.

He caressed her inner wrist with his thumb.

"Where are we headed?" asked Wheeler, glancing out of the window.

Auberi looked back. "I spoke with Garth and Landros about what you said—about the bad element still within PSI. Since we're not sure who we can trust there, we thought it best to take you and Samantha somewhere they won't be expecting. Landros said there is a PSI urgent care facility that hasn't officially opened yet not far from here. He says its fully functional, but that it just hasn't launched quite yet. That means it's not staffed."

"No one will think we'd seek medical treatment there," Wheeler said, nodding. "Makes sense. I understand now why you insisted Sammy ride over in the SUV, not the ambulance. Didn't you trust the paramedics?"

"I don't know them well enough to trust them," said Auberi with a shrug. "They may be perfectly fine but I wasn't willing to risk you or your new friend."

"Thanks," said Wheeler, squeezing Sammy's hand gently. "How are you doing? Still cold?"

"A little. Mostly I just want to shower and get all this blood off me."

Bill snorted from his spot in the back. "Yeah. I don't blame you. You got two vampires and a werebear in here with you. Bet you smell like dinner."

Sammy stiffened, her gaze going to the back of Rurik's head. "He's a bear-shifter?"

"He is," said Wheeler.

"Cool," she whispered, earning a half laugh from the Russian.

"Dear God, did he just laugh?" asked Wheeler.

Auberi was staring at Rurik with nothing short of shock on his face too. "He did. He smiled even. Did you know he has teeth?"

"I smile," said Rurik, his accent thickening as he did. He looked over at Auberi and did a rather dramatic and obviously fake smile.

Auberi pretended to be horrified. "I will never sleep again."

Wheeler snorted. "That smile has serial killer written all over it."

Sammy glanced over at Wheeler. "I don't know. I think I met an honest-to-God serial killer tonight and Rurik's smile was even more off-putting than his."

Auberi, Wheeler, and Rurik laughed.

Rurik glanced at Wheeler via the rearview mirror. "She is all right."

"For an American," Auberi, Wheeler, and Bill said at the same time.

Sammy bit her lower lip to keep from laughing at the men and their obvious tight bond of friendship. They reminded her a lot of how she and Holland related to one another.

Her attention went to Auberi. He'd handled phoning Ezra for her, right before they'd all loaded into various SUVs. When Holland had insisted on talking to Sammy, Sammy had freaked out and refused. It wasn't one of her finer moments. But she knew if she heard her best friend's voice and had to explain what had occurred, it would make everything all the more real. Then she'd have to accept it and deal with it emotionally and mentally. She wasn't there yet. "Were you able to convince Holland and Ezra not to come down here?"

He lifted a brow. "I believe so. But I think she'd have rather spoken to you. Why did you refuse to get on the line with her?"

Sammy lowered her gaze. "Because if I talked to her right now, I'd cry. And I'm honestly not sure I'd stop crying anytime soon. This has been a really long night."

"I understand," said Auberi. "You're safe now."

"Unless you count the fact you're covered in what they see as a condiment," said Bill from the back. "Then you're basically a human hot dog. Other than that, you're golden."

She turned partially in her seat to look back at the man. "What kind of shifter are you?"

"I ain't no shifter," he said quickly. "Why would you think I am?"

"I just assumed," she offered. "Sorry."

Wheeler snorted. "Because you're hairy as a fucking bear. No offense to Rurik."

Rurik shrugged. "None taken. He is as hairy as one of us when we're in shifted form."

Bill rubbed a hand over his other arm, basically petting his arm hair in the process. "Nice, isn't it? Want to feel it?"

He shoved his arm out in Sammy's direction.

"Uh, no. Thank you though," she said, turning more in the seat to glance at Gus.

He held the football helmet with the head on his lap.

"That's a very nice head you have there, Gus," she said, trying to be friendly.

Bill looked to his buddy and was quiet a moment before speaking. "He says thanks, and that Mona—she's the head—likes you. Word to the wise, don't be friends with her. She'll lead you down the wrong path."

Gus began to hum in a manner that indicated distress.

Bill groaned. "Fine. They can be friends but I ain't gotta like Mona. Not after the way she treated you. I think you were better off with Aphrodite. Sure, she was a little cold and hard in bed, but at least she was willing to commit fully. No mind games. None of that want-to-see-other-people bullshit. Mona's a drama queen."

Sammy looked to Wheeler.

Wheeler ran his free hand over his face. "Honestly, I don't even know where to begin explaining it all. Just know that there is rarely a dull moment with them around."

"So I gather," she said with a grin.

Rurik pulled off down what looked to be a road with nothing but abandoned buildings on it. Curious as to why he'd pick that way, since she'd taken a wrong turn down it not long ago while trying to learn her way around the city and knew for a fact it was abandoned, she glanced at Wheeler again.

He lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers. "I'm guessing the clinic is down here. Some are right out in the open, operating as what they appear to be, but with a specialty in the supernaturals. Humans are none the wiser. But often, they'll make an area look like this, or seek one out. It keeps humans away. All the better to do what needs to be done. Make sense?"

It did.

Still, there was so much she didn't know about what was happening in the world around her. How had she never noticed it before? And how long would it take before she finally felt like she was part of it all—not a human getting a glimpse of life on the flip side?

Auberi motioned to one of the buildings near the end of the block. "That should be it. Landros said there is parking off the back alley. He should be texting me the entrance codes any minute now."

Sammy glanced around at the men in the vehicle with her. "Thank you. All of you. For coming to help and for all of this."

Bill leaned forward in his seat and punched her arm lightly. "Aw, shucks. You are all right…"

"For an American," she said with a wink.