Chapter 13

Remy opened his eyes already knowing the sun was soon to set. It was the natural alarm clock built into all vampires. The room was dark except for the flickering blue light of the television, the volume down low.

He pushed up onto his elbows and looked toward Ephie's bed.

She was lying there, eyes closed. He listened and picked up the evenness of her pulse coupled with her soft, rhythmic breathing. She was asleep.

He turned to look the other way and nearly jumped out of his skin.

Jean-Luc sat inches away, staring at him.

"Don't do that," Remy muttered. "It's creepy. And a little rude."

Jean-Luc leaned in and headbutted Remy's chin.

"You're forgiven."

"Hey," Ephie said softly. "You're awake."

"So are you." He sat up.

"I didn't mean to drift off, but to be honest, I got bored."

"Sorry."

She shook her head. "Not your fault. The good news is, I got a lot of work done. I might actually be a day or two ahead."

"That's fantastic." She looked like she wanted to say more but was reluctant to. "What is it?"

She exhaled. "I'm starving. Breakfast held me for a long time—"

"You did eat your weight in pancakes and bacon, which was seriously impressive."

She laughed. "Thanks. But I'm hungry again. I know you don't need food like I do, but are you hungry at all?"

"I'd be happy to go eat with you." He wasn't hungry for food, but he could get another steak, rare. That would be enough to get him home, where he had his own supply of what he really needed. "Let me get dressed and we'll head down."

"If you're not hungry, which it sounds like you aren't, I can just grab something and eat in the car. You must be anxious to get home. I know we aren't far."

"We're not. Just a little over three hours." Getting home would be good. It would be safer for her than being on the road.

"There's a burger joint next door. I can grab a burger and fries from the drive-through, then we can get going sooner. If that's cool with you. Having food in your car, I mean."

"That's fine with me." He swung his legs onto the floor. "Do you need the bathroom? Otherwise, I'll shower and get ready. We can be out of here in fifteen minutes."

"That fast? Wow, okay. You go ahead. I'll pack up my computer and stuff."

He got up and stretched, glancing at the desk. Her phone was plugged in. "You, uh, charging your phone?"

"Yep."

Which meant her phone was probably on, too. For how long? Since he'd fallen asleep? If she was being tracked, they'd know exactly where she was. They might even be waiting for her outside the hotel.

He hated not being able to tell her the truth. "Listen, don't take anything out to the car, okay? Wait for me. I'll be fast."

She gave him an odd look. "Okay. But I could have my stuff packed if—"

"I'd really rather you waited for me. Please." He smiled to soften the demand.

"Okay, no problem."

"Great." He grabbed his phone and took it into the bathroom with him. He turned on the shower, then checked the screen. An update from Leonie told him another letter had arrived. She'd included a screenshot so he could read it for himself.

Didn't look good. If this Turner and his crew really had eyes and ears everywhere, there was every reason to think they'd show up in Nocturne Falls.

He hated the idea of bringing trouble to his adopted hometown, but that was exactly what he might be doing. The best thing he could do was give the sheriff a heads-up.

He sent Sheriff Merrow a long text, filling him in on the important details and letting the sheriff know their approximate arrival time.

Then Remy took a fast shower. He shaved, got dressed, and came out to find Ephie packed and ready to go. Jean-Luc sat on her suitcase, looking eager for the next leg of their journey.

Keeping the truth from Ephie was getting harder and harder. It would be so much easier if she knew, but Leonie had warned him more than once against it. He didn't see any of the weaknesses that Leonie claimed Ephie had, but then again, he hadn't been around her in a long time.

It was possible finding out she was in danger might cause her to crumble. If that was the case, it would be much better for that to happen at his house than on the road.

For now, he would keep quiet. But once they got to Nocturne Falls, all bets were off. Ephie deserved to know what was going on. And he hated lying to her.

They took everything out to the car, packed it into the back, and got into their seats. He filled up at the gas station on the other side of the burger joint, which she insisted on paying for. Then he went through the drive-through at the fast-food place, getting her fries and a burger along with a diet cola, and a burger and a chocolate milkshake for himself. He wasn't really hungry, but the food wouldn't hurt him, and he didn't want Ephie to feel odd eating alone.

Jean-Luc sniffed at the food and seemed pretty interested in it, but there was no way for him to eat any of it. For that, Remy felt bad for the little creature.

He kept his head on a swivel as they went. The gas station and drive-through were a great opportunity to watch for anyone following them or waiting for them in the surrounding parking lot.

So far, nothing.

Food in hand, he decided to make an executive decision and pulled into a spot that faced the road so they could eat without the distraction of driving. His phone vibrated. He checked the screen and saw his boss had responded.

Merrow had Birdie pulling files on Turner and his crew, and they'd be keeping an eye out, making sure everyone in the department knew to be on the lookout as well.

Remy sent back a note of appreciation. But he hadn't expected anything less from the sheriff. The man hated trouble in his town.

After Remy and Ephie had eaten, they got on the road. Ephie collected the trash and put it all in the burger joint bag to be thrown away at their next stop. That would be his house. He had no plans to stop until they were home.

He kept watch on the traffic behind them, studying headlights and patterns of the drivers around him. Jean-Luc, no longer a stranger to car travel, settled into one of the back seats and went to sleep, becoming nearly invisible.

Remy kept up his surveillance. No one seemed suspicious, but he didn't know how good this crew was. He wasn't going to take any chances.

"What are you looking for?" Ephie asked. She twisted around to peer through the back of the vehicle. "You keep looking in the rearview mirror."

He laughed it off. "Police training. Just a habit." Time to distract her. "How did you never get married? I thought for sure you'd have a husband and a slew of kids."

She faced him again. "A slew?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "Okay, one or two at least."

She shifted all the way back around to face the front of the SUV. "I dated a few guys, but none of them really did it for me. I guess…" She sighed and studied her hands in her lap. The pansy ring, maybe? "I guess I never got over you."

He sat in shocked silence for nearly a minute. "I didn't know that."

"Of course you didn't. You didn't stick around long enough to find that out."

"I thought, that is, you said you didn't want to marry me." He kept his gaze straight ahead, certain looking at her would be a bad idea. "I'd already overstayed my time in New Orleans. You turning me down felt like the sign I'd been waiting for. It was time to go. So I went."

His peripheral vision told him she wasn't looking at him, either. "You broke my heart."

He sucked in air, not something he was accustomed to doing. "I broke your heart? You broke mine. You turned me down. You couldn't get away from me fast enough."

"I reacted badly. I accept that. But I never thought that would be the last time I'd see you."

He didn't know quite what to say. "I never thought you'd want to see me again. If I had thought otherwise, I wouldn't have left." He glanced at her. The dim glow from the dashboard made her eyes seem huge and luminous. "I'm really sorry, Ephie. Sorry I broke your heart. Sorry I disappeared on you. I had no idea."

"I never loved anyone the way I loved you." She sniffed and turned her head to gaze out the side window.

If his heart had been working, it would have pounded in his chest.

Before he could respond, she broke the silence with a bitter laugh. "Don't worry. I'm over you. I didn't come on this trip to make some kind of play for you. I'm good being just friends." She wiped the corner of one eye. "It's better that way anyway."

Was it? He sat quietly, trying to process everything she'd just told him. All he could say was, "Okay."

But it didn't feel okay. It felt like the last thread of hope he'd been hanging onto had just unraveled completely, pitching him into an abyss.

The silence spooled out between them. Ephie got her phone out and played some games. He turned the radio on, keeping the volume low just to fill the space with something other than his own thoughts.

He hadn't admitted it to himself until now, but he'd been thinking her visit might be a chance to rekindle things between them. Just to see if the spark that remained was enough to actually light a fire.

His feelings for her had definitely changed over the years, but not because they'd lessened in intensity. If anything, she'd become this kind of bigger-than-life figure. Being with her again after all these years had done nothing to diminish her memory, either.

Ephie was great. Beautiful, funny, sweet, and oddly quirky in a way that he found utterly endearing. Jean-Luc was sort of the icing on the proverbial cake.

But if her feelings for him were gone, then he could only do the honorable thing and pretend his were, too. It was better to be friends than nothing.

He didn't really feel that way, but he was sure he would soon.

They'd have a nice visit, and when it was safe for her to go home, he'd put her on a plane and say goodbye.

Again.