Staked (5 page)

Taking the box, Ava scrutinized him, wishing
she could figure him out. She’d give reading him another shot but
she knew it was useless, and wasting her energy wasn’t smart.

He sat in the chair kitty-cornered from her,
and she opened the box to a full pie topped with pepperoni, sausage
and pineapple. Two things bothered her: the fact that he knew her
favorite pizza toppings and the sight of a full pie. Why hadn’t
Stone or Skeet eaten any?

That was disturbing on more than one account.
More confirmation—when what she was hoping for was
nullification—that Stone was one of the damned. But it was starting
to look like Skeet might be, too. She’d been trying to convince
herself that Skeet was just a mortal in Stone’s employ.

Ava claimed a slice and passed the box to
Mickey. She held the pizza near her mouth and looked at Stone. “You
guys want some?” She already knew the answer but asked the question
anyway, more for clarification than anything else.

“We already ate,” Stone said, sitting in the
chair across from Ava. “You figured out where to find your boy
yet?” he added, getting down to business.

“Yes. I know where Cole is.” She bit into the
pizza, savoring the flavors of peppers, onions and tomato sauce.
Pizza, one of the nice things about this era, hadn’t survived the
test of time. Hardly anybody in her base year had ever heard of it.
Those who had had learned of it from some time traveler.

“Great,” he said. “As soon as you finish
eating, we’ll head out.” He wasn’t overly anxious and didn’t come
across as particularly eager to get going.

“Well, I gotta warn you.” Lulled into a sense
of ease—and perhaps falsely so—Ava gave a little laugh. “Mickey’s a
real slow eater.”

“Mickey can take all the time he wants,”
Stone said, his tone still even. “He’s staying here.”

“Say what?” Ava almost choked on the
pizza.

“Calm down.” He laughed at her. “It’s just a
precautionary measure, since I don’t hold much trust for you.”

“A precautionary measure against what
exactly?”

“Just in case you and your friends are
playing me.” He leaned on the arm of his chair, towering in her
direction. His eyebrows rose mischievously. “Mickey’s going to stay
here with Skeet. So long as I get my jewels...your boy-toy here
will be returned to you without fail.”

Mickey set the pizza box on the coffee table
and tried, unsuccessfully, to clear his throat under his
breath.

Ava touched his forearm. “Don’t worry about
it, Mickey.” She hoped her tone was as soothing as she meant the
words. “I’ll be back for you before you know it.” She patted his
arm and stood, looking at Stone. “Ready when you are.”

Stone chuckled and pushed himself up from the
chair and headed for the door. Ava had learned not to expect
gentlemanly manners from him. Instead of waiting for him to
acknowledge her presence or beckon her to follow him, she did it
all on her own.

“So, like, do you have a car or something we
can take?” she asked, catching up to him.

“What’s the matter?” He closed the door. “You
don’t like my bike?” He snickered, as if he thought her a
prude.

“No. I like your bike just fine.” She
followed him down the hallway. “But I have a few demands of my
own.” She waited for his reaction.

They stopped in front of the elevator.
Stone’s head jerked toward Ava. There it was. The look of complete
surprise.

“You have demands?” His words came with a
hint of laughter—that he was obviously trying to contain. Then his
face went somber and he punched the down button, and added, “What
makes you think I give a shit about your demands?”

“Look. For all I know, you may well care as
much about your lost jewels as I do about Mickey...” She gave him
the benefit of the doubt, but she had little faith that he had any
idea what it was like to care about another being. Dexter Stone
didn’t give a shit about anybody but himself. “Therefore, we’re
going to come to an understanding right now.”

The elevator doors slid open. “Or what?” He
stepped inside the compartment.

Ava followed him inside and waited for the
doors to close before looking him in the eyes. “So do you have a
car or what?”

“Yes, I do. Why?”

“Because, you’re going to have to agree to
bring me back here to collect Mickey after I reimburse you.”

He looked like he was about to start arguing
with her about all the reasons why he wasn’t beholden to her when,
all of a sudden, his face broke into a smile. “Fair enough. When I
get my jewels I’ll bring you back here. You can collect your Mickey
and be on your way.” That’s all he said, but she was sure there was
an additional, “
if that’s what you want
,” hiding in his
voice.

Ava literally shook off the odd feeling.
“Thank you,” she said as the elevator doors opened into the garage.
She waited for Stone to step out first and then followed him into
the cave-like garage—everything about this building he lived in was
dark and foreboding. This place was probably a haven for vamps.

She concentrated on the shadows and what
might be lurking in them, sensing nothing. Which didn’t surprise
her. Her danger was walking right beside her. All
six-foot-something hunk of man—vampire. Ava wouldn’t allow herself
to forget that.

Stone led her to an old junker. The car
looked beat to hell. The gold-colored paint was chipping away in
spots, mainly in the creases of the dents—which were plentiful. The
windows looked worn but there didn’t seem to be any visible cracks.
Stone unlocked the driver’s side and got in. Ava went around to the
other side and waited while he leaned across the seat and unlocked
the door.

She got in the car, shut the door harder than
she’d intended and looked at him. “Nice car.”

He turned the key, ignoring her remark. The
engine roared to life and, to her surprise, it hummed perfectly.
“Put your seatbelt on.” He shifted the car into reverse. Stone
looked over his shoulder and laid his arm along the seat’s brim
before backing out of the parking space.

The nearness of him stirred something lurking
deep inside Ava. She went to work on her seatbelt, hoping that’d
distract her from the yearning coursing through her veins. Once the
buckle clicked, she looked at him. “Not sure I had you pegged as
the seatbelt-wearing kind of guy.” She eyed with scrutiny.

He laughed at her. Not the funny ha-ha kind
of laugh, but a ridiculing sneer that made her feel
inconsequential.

His eyes cut to her and pierced her with a
drilling glare. “Think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?”

“I know what you are,” she said, as if that
offered her some sense of achievement.

He shook his head. “You can’t always judge a
book by its cover.” Stone guided the car to the entrance and
stopped. “You want to tell me where we’re going?”

“Soon,” she said. “I will clue you in
soon.”

“It would help if I knew which way to
go.”

“South. Just head south.” She wasn’t trying
to hide their direction from Stone. She didn’t want Lucien to know
she was on to him.

Stone pulled out of the lot and directed his
attention to the road straight ahead. They didn’t say much else
until they were on the outskirts of Newark.

“So where along the Jersey shore do you
anticipate finding your bait?” he asked, breaking the silence.

Ava swung her head in his direction. How did
he do that? Damned vampire voodoo shit. “The southernmost tip of
New Jersey.”

There was only one place Lucien thought she
wouldn’t look—the one place he thought she’d never return to. Of
course, it helped that she’d told him years ago she’d never step
foot on the site again.

If
principles
were Ava’s downfall,
assumptions
were Lucien’s. Perhaps he didn’t know her as
well as he’d like to believe. If he did, he’d know there was
nothing she wouldn’t do, no place she wouldn’t go to retrieve her
bounty—even the place where her mother had nearly damned her.

The fact that they were in a different time
period mattered little. The place was cursed no matter what year it
was.

The thought occurred to Ava to wonder if
Stone knew what was about to happen to him when he was turned. Had
he been a willing participant? When had it happened? And did he
feel cheated for no longer holding his fate in his hands?

Overwhelmed with the need to know more, she
snuck a peek at him. “So, Dexter Stone...what’s your story?”

Not that she thought he’d tell her what she
really wanted to know, but if she got him talking she might get a
chance to read him. That could tell her volumes.

“I don’t have a story,” he said. “And even if
I did...” He looked at her. “Why would I tell you?”

“Geez...” She rolled her gaze away from him
and set it on the road in front of them. “Spoil sport.”

“Okay.” There was something tamer in his
voice now, and it eased the tension between them. “Want to play a
game?” His playful tone egged her on. “You want to know stuff about
me? Play my game.” That got her attention. “You tell me something,
and I’ll do the same.”

“Deal.” She looked at him. “You spill
first.”

“No, no, no.” He shook his head. “Ladies
first.”

“Okay.” She paused. “What do I want to tell
you....”

“You’re not getting off that easy,” he said.
“I get to ask you a question.”

“And if I choose not to answer it?”

“Then I get a free pass on any of your
questions I choose.”

Ava figured this was most likely going to end
up in his favor. Somehow. Some way. It’s a common known fact that
vamps don’t play fair.

“All right.” She gave a reluctant but
formidable nod. “I’m game.” She’d find a way to be truthful and
still keep her secrets.

“Where are you from, Ava?” His first question
was simple enough.

And easy to answer. “South Jersey.” There was
no New Jersey in her base year, but that was a discussion they
didn’t need to enter. Besides, it wasn’t a lie. Where she currently
lived was known as New Jersey in this time period.

“Ah...Jersey,” he said, as if the revelation
had some hidden meaning. “I might have known.”

“Why do you say it like that?”

“Just enlightening. That’s all.”

“Okay. My turn to ask you a question.”

“You just did.”

“No, I didn’t.” She knew it. She knew he
wouldn’t play fair. “That wasn’t a real question.”

He laughed at her. “Go ahead. What’s your
question?”

That was a loaded opportunity. There were a
number of things she wanted to know, specifically regarding him
being a vampire and how he got that way. But those kinds of
inquiries were better left for later—if ever.

“When do you think we’ll arrive at our
destination?” She threw an easy and unassuming question at him in
hopes that he’d drop his guard a little.

He shrugged and thought about it. “Couple
hours or so. Three tops.” He turned to her. “But since you’re from
South Jersey, you should know that. Right?”

“Well, it’s not like I’ve been there lately.”
She shrugged. “So I can’t really judge travel time because I don’t
know what the traffic’s like.”

“Makes sense.” He gave a concurring nod and
then went silent. They passed a sign signifying a
rest stop one
mile ahead
.

“Hey,” Ava said. “Can we make a pit stop up
ahead?”

“Seriously?” He rolled his eyes. “You want to
stop now? Do you realize how much time we’ll waste by
stopping?”

“Five minutes,” she said. “Five minutes isn’t
going to make or break us.” She wasn’t sure if he’d stop or not.
Stone didn’t exactly strike her as the accommodating type.

He didn’t say whether or not he’d stop, he
simply turned his attention back to the road ahead and handled the
steering wheel with one hand.

Ava tried
willing
him to stop. Aside
from needing to pee, she wanted to splash a little water on her
face. Maybe it’d shock this detrimental fascination with Stone out
of her system. It’d slammed her back at Louie’s, even before he’d
crossed the threshold. She hadn’t wanted it then and she was no
closer to accepting it now. The sooner she acquired Cole and
reimbursed Stone, the quicker she could escape the spell Stone held
over her. That was one thing she could look forward to if Stone
bypassed the rest stop exit—getting away from him that much
faster.

Stone barely slowed down prior to veering off
the freeway at the precise moment he was about to bypass the exit.
Knowing now that they’d be making the stop left her with mixed
feelings. She needed to use the bathroom, but there was something
to be said for getting away from Stone as quickly as possible.

The parking lot was nearly deserted and
cloaked in the nighttime’s darkness. Most of the street lights were
out, right along with the outside lights on the building. It was
hard to see whatever might be lurking in the shadows.

Ava scanned the area as she opened the car
door but couldn’t decide if the eeriness swallowing her up was from
real trouble or just her nerves. Well, she had to pee; plus she was
sure that she and Stone could handle any mortal trouble hiding in
the darkness.

She closed the car door with an easy push and
surveyed the area. The night’s warm air held the faintest hint of a
breeze. She just wasn’t sure if it was enough to fuel the goose
bumps that’d begun to pebble her skin. To be on the safe side, she
and Stone had better stick together.

Ava glanced over her shoulder at Stone
strolling up the sidewalk about two paces behind her. “You think
you could come inside with me?” she asked. He threw her suggestive
look. She didn’t have the patience for his antics right now.
“Look...I can’t say that sexing it up in a neglected john at some
rest stop along the highway really turns me on.” She tried to
project her impatience onto him with a glare. It must have worked
because he rolled his eyes, drew a heavy breath and moved toward
her. “Can you just go in there with me? These kinds of places give
me the creeps.” It was best to let him think she needed a hero. But
the truth was, if they were going to get backed into a corner,
better to do it together.