Crimson Storm by Amy Patrick

Author:Amy Patrick [Patrick, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford South Press

20

Slow Night

“What do you mean?” I demanded, trying hard to keep my pulse steady.

“He’s not here,” Heather said. “He’s gone.”

“That’s impossible. We would have heard him get out. The sun would have burned us when he opened the door.”

“Not if he hung a blanket over the doorway,” she said, ripping down a blanket that had been hung over one of the doors.

So much for the steady pulse. Mine skyrocketed, and a whirring noise filled my ears. I couldn’t believe it.

After our “heartfelt” discussion this morning and all his declarations of wanting to help, Shane had ditched us.

Maybe I’d scared him off by talking about how thirsty we all were.

“How’d he even manage to do all that with the cuffs on?” Heather asked.

Wincing in shame, I lifted the restraining device with the edge of a blanket and held it up for her.

“I left them off. Because I decided to trust him. Like an idiot.”

“I can hardly point fingers,” she said. “I fell asleep on my watch. I just can’t believe we didn’t wake up when he got out.”

“We’re all low on blood,” I said. “Our senses are dulled, and it makes the exhaustion worse.”

“You can say that again. Maybe it’s a good thing for the human that he did leave. I have to admit he was starting to look pretty tasty last night. He smells good too.”

“Yeah, he does,” I admitted. “Wake up Kelly. It’ll be dark any minute now. We need to get going as soon as possible in case Shane decided to report us.”

I feared it might already be too late. When the sun went down and we climbed into the front cab, there very well might be a squad of police cars surrounding the truck.

Just then the back door opened. Heather cringed back instinctively to avoid the light, but there was none. It was dusk.

Shane stood outside the truck, smiling up at us.

“Good evening, ladies.”

He came back.

I could hardly believe it. Why? Why hadn’t he run? Had he just gotten out to go to the bathroom? That possibility had never occurred to me when I’d learned he was missing. I was sure we’d seen the last of him.

Shane climbed into the back of the truck and shut the door behind him. Now that I was no longer in shock, I noticed he held a plastic shopping bag.

Reaching inside it, he withdrew a blood bag and then another and another. “Breakfast is served.”

My jaw dropped open, and not because I was about to bite him. “You went out to... buy blood?”

He chuckled. “I couldn’t sleep. You three were out cold, and I figured I could use a stretch of the legs, so I walked to the next exit—the one I saw on that billboard, remember? The truck stop there had a refrigerated case of blood bags. I figured it would save us time today—and also save my neck—if I got some ‘supplies’ for you.”

Heather grabbed at one of the bags with greedy hands, and Kelly, who’d awakened at hearing all the chatter, did the same.

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