Elixxir (The Brethren Series) (8 page)

She closed her eyes and her brow furrowed. After a few moments, she opened them. “I can’t remember. I don’t know.” Bristling, she pushed the sheets to the side, crawled over to her backpack, and then sifted through a mound of clothes, ultimately pulling out a fresh pair of shorts and a T-shirt. “I’ll only be a couple minutes, and then we can go.”

Yeah, and then I can knock the wall down you built up
.

***

Callie’s skin sizzled like potato chips in a convection oven. Swirling waves of heat punished every pore, wrung out precious drops of moisture from her body, and quickly whisked it away. They’d been riding on his Harley, beating up the road, for a couple of hours now. Surely she’d lost a good twenty pounds in water weight, and her butt needed a break desperately. She tapped him on the shoulder and shouted in his ear.

“Can we stop? Butt’s killing me!”

He nodded and pointed to an approaching sign that said, “Rest Stop—10 miles.”

Oh, thank the dear Lord
! She gingerly stood, using the foot pegs to stretch a little bit, and repositioned herself on the joke of a passenger seat. It would be ten more miles of nothing better to do than beat herself up for her predicament.

“If only” kept cropping up in her brain. If only she hadn’t pushed the damned computer key, she wouldn’t be in this mess. If only she hadn’t had that infernal nightmare in front of Nathanael, he wouldn’t be acting all nice and behaving like a man who cared. If only she wasn’t starting to have feelings for the jerk, this ride would be so much easier! Four more hours she had left to endure his masculine scent assaulting her hormones, his power undulating beneath her hands, and his body speaking naughty things to hers.
I am such a loser
!
I decide to swear off men and what do I do with the first one who shows the least bit of kindness
?
I get all hot and bothered by him
!
I need off this bike
!

Before she realized it, he had slowed down and veered off the road to the rest stop. “Why don’t you take a walk around for a few minutes? I’ll go and get us something to eat and drink.”

She grunted as she lifted her weary body off the motorcycle. “Sounds like a plan. I’m gonna go to the restroom. Would ya get me the largest bag of Corn Nuts you can find, and a bottle of water, please?”

“Sure thing.” He got off his bike, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever. Too tired to be pissed, she shuffled over to the bathrooms at the side of the Quickmart.

“Ten dollars regular on number eleven.” Nathanael loaded up the counter with Callie’s requests and his own Coke and slice of pizza. The woman gave him the once-over multiple times, and he considered asking
her
for payment for services rendered.

“That’ll be eighteen dollars, seventy-five cents.”

He fished a fifty-dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to her. Funny how she didn’t scrutinize that as well as she did him. He chuckled to himself. After receiving his change and another flagrant bit of ogling, he made his way out the door, only to be slammed in the face with the sexiest view to hit his eyes in a long time. Callie stalked over to the bike, hips swishing side to side and hair dripping wet, leaving rivulets running down her arms and back. He had the sudden urge to follow those lines with his tongue.

As the door swung closed, it hit him in the ass, jarring him from his less-than-angelic thoughts. Something else did as well. The sense of fear and annoyance. It emanated from the sexy redhead, and he immediately saw why. A huge, grimy man had shuffled over to her and was making lewd comments and propositions.
And I’m different from him, how
?
Oh right, at least I keep my depraved thoughts to myself
! He sighed and shook his head, carefully putting the food and drink on the narrow sidewalk. Cracking his knuckles and angling his neck from side to side, he lumbered over to the escalating scene.

Callie’s fear had manifested itself into a flurry of colorful curses and a string of suggestions as to what would happen should the man even attempt to touch her, but he knew it was a cover. He sensed the terror she kept in check, and gave her bonus points for bravado. The derelict simply laughed and took a menacing step toward her. Nathanael’s shadow loomed large over the smelly, disheveled pig as he closed in as well.
Showtime
….

“All right, buddy, why don’t you move on now? The lady’s not interested.”

“I’m just showing her my appreciation for her lusty appearance, is all. Can’t a man compliment a lady anymore these days? Jeee-zus! And who the hell are you to butt into our business anyways? She’s warming up to me, and you have to put your nose in it.”

“I’m her guardian angel, shit-for-brains. So move on or I’m gonna have to get ugly on your ass.”

“Ha! Right! Not likely when I have this.” Quick as a blink, he pulled out a Glock from his waistband and pointed it at Callie. “Now, you’re gonna leave us alone, boy, to finish our business. Understand?”

She’d moved closer to him throughout the exchange, but not close enough to be shielded. Now frozen where she stood, her eyes widened and fear bloomed on her face. A thrum of energy coursed through his body as this imbecile ignited his anger, and he smelled the putrescence of evil wafting across the expanse between them. Vibrations of latent power shivered across his skin as the anticipation built.

What a puny attempt at intimidation
! The thug would be no match for his angelic speed and skills. Besides, with security cameras watching their every move, he knew he had to dispatch him quickly. Like a rush of wind, Nathanael flew over and knocked the gun clear out of the man’s hand. He figured, from the man’s cries, he’d broken bones in the process. Then he punched him in the gut for good measure. Amidst shrieks, curses, and protests, he proceeded to pick him up, walk over to the Dumpster, and throw him in with a grunt and growl of his own. He collected the piece, winked at Callie, who blinked at him, speechless, and returned to the convenience store. By the time he reached the clerk, the initial adrenaline rush had receded a bit.

“Miss, there’s a man in your Dumpster at the moment. I relieved him of this here weapon he chose to point at my lady friend.” He laid it down on the rubber mat by the cash register. “I suggest you call the police. Have a nice day.” He turned his back on the second woman he’d rendered speechless that day, and walked out. With food and drink back in his hands, he found Callie’d taken up residence on the back of his bike.

“Water and the largest bag of Corn Nuts I could buy.” He extended the offerings to her. She looked at them and took them without comment. “You did real good back there, Red. Said some curses I didn’t even know.” He chuckled.

“Can we go, please?” She frowned and took a long swig from her bottle of water.

He gave her back a pat and she flinched. “Hey, you gotta shake it off, now. Nothing bad happened. I told you I’d protect you.”

“Men are assholes, through and through. Present company not included. But there’s still time for you to fuck that up, too. I’m not hungry anymore. Can we please go?”

“All righty, then. There’s my snarky girl!” He swallowed down the slice of pizza in three easy bites and took a long swig of his Coke.

He got on his bike and started the engine. Not more than five minutes down the road, she tapped him on his shoulder and pointed for him to pull over onto the side of the road. He immediately did so.

“What’s up?” Callie flew off the bike and paced back and forth. “Something wrong with your seat? Got a cramp?”

She stopped in front of him and waved his questions off. “No, my seat is fine, and I don’t have a cramp. I have a question.”

“You had me stop for a question? You couldn’t wait until we arrived in Las Vegas?”

Wagging a finger, she looked him square in the eye. “How did you do it?”

“How did I do what?”

“How did you get to that guy so fast and remove the gun? One minute you’re over here,” she said, gesturing to her left. “And then you’re on top of the guy, batting the gun away. Plus, he’s huge and you picked him up like he was a feather. I want answers, Nate. No normal guy can do what you did today. And your scratches from the blast yesterday, gone. Curiosities are starting to pile up. I don’t like curiosities. I’m not going another mile with you until you give me some answers.” She folded her arms over her chest and planted her feet on the solid ground.

She’s on to me, damn it. I can’t lie, so what on earth am I going to say
?

“Well, if you really must know, then I’ll tell you. But it’s gotta be a secret kept between us. No one must know.”

“Oh, great. You know what? I know what you’re gonna say, and damn it. It’s so bad for you. Steroids are not the answer, Nate.”

He thought about correcting her assumption, but stopped himself just in time. Hell, he didn’t say it, and if he didn’t agree with her, he still wasn’t lying. Technically.

“What gave you that impression?” He kicked at some dirt and looked down for an added dramatic effect.

She scoffed and waved her hands madly about as she circled around him. “Let’s see, you’re huge, for one thing. All those muscles are fighting to burst out of your skin! You’re super-fast. I mean, you were on that Neanderthal in a flash, Nate. You’re super strong to lift and carry him the way you did. Unreal! Oh, and let me not forget the crazed look you had in your eyes. They nearly glowed! That was one crazy ’roid look if I ever saw one.” She shook her head.

“Well,” he said, smacking his hands together. “Now that we have that settled, shall we get going so we can make Las Vegas before it gets dark?” He’d been a lucky little shit because that could have exploded in his face. He smiled, mounted the bike, and motioned for her to get back on.

She did, and poked his shoulder. “Get off the ’roids, Nate. They’re gonna kill ya. Ready when you are.”

Chapter Seven

Callie leaned against the hotel balcony railing, looking out onto the Las Vegas Strip. They’d arrived at the Tropicana a couple of hours ago, and she couldn’t be more melancholy. Bright lights had begun to show their glimmer, but vague childhood memories flitted in and out of her mind, obscuring her view. She imagined herself a wee bit of a thing, holding hands with her father and mother, walking down the sidewalk, and being frightened. She hated the greasy-looking men who got in people’s faces and handed out cards of nearly naked women. And the women, well, some of them were pretty enough, but most of them were scary ugly and wore clothes two sizes too small.

She hadn’t remembered much, but one thing she did recall quite clearly. She hated Las Vegas.

“I just got off the phone with the front desk. A room opened up with two queen beds in it. They’re sending up our keys right now.” Nathanael had come outside, and she hadn’t even noticed. Turning her back on the Strip, she focused on the mammoth individual standing before her. He took up all the available space out on the tiny bit of a landing, and then some.

“Okay, that’s great. Thanks. I didn’t mean to make a stink about it when we arrived, but I thought it would be better to have two beds since I’m such a restless sleeper.”

He laughed. “Well, your stink has sent us to the penthouse level, so I should be thanking you.”

“Ooh, the penthouse level. How glamorous. Maybe there’ll be more room on that balcony.” She coughed and maneuvered around him, trying her best not to make contact with his body as she went back into the room. The trip had given her plenty of touchy-feely time to last her quite a while. At the moment, she was having a heck of a time trying to forget the way his body had kissed and caressed hers with every bump and curve in the road. The way it vibrated in tune with the Harley’s powerful engine.

He sniffed his armpits. “Do I offend?”

“What?” She laughed nervously. “No.”

“Then I must have cooties.” He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, stop! I know what you’re getting at. I’m trying to stay away from you because your big, manly body has battered mine all day long on that bike. One more touch and someone’s gonna call the police for domestic violence due to all the bruising on my skin.” She hurried through the sliding glass door and went straight into the bathroom. She could still hear his roar of laughter.
Asshole
!
Hot, sexy, freakin’ asshole
! She looked at her scowl in the mirror and started laughing, too.
I’m an idiot. Time for a cold shower and a new frame of mind
. She had to find that Elixxir before the bad guys did. There could be no other scenario. If only she could remember more about where the Elixxir might be. She closed her eyes and tried to reach back to a place she never truthfully wanted to return to again. The dark place in time when her privileged life turned into an endless nightmare. She breathed deeply and held on to the sink for support. But it was of no use. The wall her fragile mind had erected proved too strong to let her simply move it aside after so much time had passed.

A light rap on the bathroom door teased her back to the present. “Callie, our keys are here. Time to go.”

She unclenched her fingers from their death grip.
Damn it. It didn’t work
. “Okay, I’m coming.”

Nathanael had both of their bags slung over his shoulder, and he held the room’s door open. She nodded as she went by him and into the hall. Walking the length of it in silence, she nibbled a fingernail, not sparing a glance over at him as they stepped into the elevator and rode it to the penthouse floor.

“Mighty quiet over there. What’s up?” He nudged her arm and she glared back.

“Nothing’s necessarily up, Nate. I’m just having a quiet moment. That’s all.”

“Oh, really?” He raised a brow and smirked.

“Oh, all right. Might as well tell you since you’ll pester it out of me eventually. In the bathroom, I tried remembering back to…that time long ago. The time I seem to have blocked. And, well, it’s useless. I still can’t remember a damn thing. That part of my life seems closed off to me forever. So, I don’t have a clue as to how we are going to continue on this crazy quest.”