Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 23

Rhys drummed his fingers on his knee along to the music. Anna glanced in the rearview mirror a few times to check on the backseat, but she kept forgetting that she could not see their reflection. Her eyes would dart over to the clock on the dash to check the time. Over an hour had ticked by without them saying anything.

The radio station was transitioning into static. It was the middle of the night and they were one of the only few cars on the highway. Anna had not slowed down since Rhys had told her to speed.

Rhys looked into the backseat before switching the radio station. Drew and Calvin each had their heads against the window. Calvin had the hood from his sweater up and was lightly snoring. Huxley's eyes were closed and his head was bobbing.

"They are asleep," Rhys said.

"Really?" Anna tried to look behind her seat but was afraid to take her eyes off the road. "You should probably get some sleep too."

"I'm not sleeping while you're driving," he said.

"You think I'm going to kill us? At least if you die it will be in your sleep."

Rhys chuckled and shook his head. He took another look at the backseat before he put his elbow on the centre console and his hand on Anna's thigh. She tightened her grip on the wheel as she looked over at him. He smiled at her.

Anna rarely saw him in a good mood. She thought back to when she talked to Rhys while they were travelling to Yukon. She had him trapped in a car and she could ask him why he fed her his blood. She knew that she had the upper hand right now. She was the one driving and Rhys could not stop her. She knew that the worst he could do was not answer.

"So," Anna said.

"This better be good," Rhys said when he heard her hesitate.

"You said you were going to tell me your story one day," she said.

"I didn't say it would be today."

"I'm curious."

Rhys shook his head and took another look at the backseat.

"Do they know?" Anna asked. "Do you all know each other's backstory?"

"Yes," Rhys said. "But we have all been together for over a hundred years."

"Aren't I one of you now?" Anna asked.

Rhys's hand felt heavy on her thigh. She was uncomfortable under his touch, but she could not seem to let go of the wheel to push him off of her. She noticed that he was touching her more and she was not stopping him. She wondered if this was all part of her feeding off of Rhys's blood.

"You are one of us," Rhys said. "None of us know your backstory. Let us hear it."

"You already know everything about me," Anna said.

She cursed herself for bringing up this conversation. She could not give away any clues that she was a Nightingale.

"I know that you are a writer from B.C.," Rhys said. "What was your childhood like?"

"The usual," Anna said.

"That's pretty vague."

"That's funny. You are the King of vague."

Rhys chuckled. Anna forced herself to laugh. She was afraid of looking suspicious.

"What battlefield did you die on?" Anna asked.

"Why did you really have a stake and rosary on you the night you died?" Rhys asked.

Anna bit down on her lip to stop herself from gasping. She told them that she was just paranoid because of the novels she writes, but Rhys must have not believed that. She wondered if he had any suspicions about her being a Nightingale.