Tall, Dark & Furious (Pyte/Sentinel 6)

“Besides that,” Ethan said, realizing that he might want to rethink staying in fleabag motels in the future.

“You stick to the main highways, avoiding the backroads during full moons, stay at motels less than two miles from the highway, and you always gravitate back towards the old Keenan Pack lands in Maine where rumor has it, is the last place where you saw your son,” Jacob said, confirming his suspicions that the bitch would know where to look for him, which was exactly what he wanted.

Chapter 22

That was so good, Samantha thought on a groan as she took a bite out of the juicy cheeseburger from Dave’s Dinner while she scrolled through men’s boxers on Amazon only to glance up at the man glaring at her through red eyes and…

Definitely boxer briefs, she decided with a nod as she took another bite, scrolled back to her original search and selected several packages of boxer briefs and added them to the cart as she looked up to find Trace staring down at the burger she’d ordered for him.

“What is it?” he asked, frowning as he shifted his attention to the carton of thick steak fries that she’d debated stealing.

“A burger,” she said, taking a sip of her Coke, savoring the crisp, bubbly goodness that was going to make this easier as she waited for the double dose of Advil that she’d taken earlier to take the edge off the headache that was once again threatening to turn into another migraine.

He watched her take a sip before reaching for the ice-cold Coke that she’d opened for him, raised the can to his lips, took a hesitant sip, and groaned when the sweet carbonated elixir that she couldn’t live without hit his tongue. Her lips twitched as she watched him tilt his head back and finished off his soda. Her amusement quickly died when he reached for hers. When she moved to take it back, he growled a warning that had her shaking her head with a sigh as she got up and bit back a wince when her sore muscles protested the movement and grabbed two more Cokes from the fridge.

By the time she came back, he’d already finished off the rest of her Coke and was taking a bite of his burger. The movement was awkward, reminding her that it had been a while since he’d eaten. That was followed by her quickly realizing that he probably couldn’t eat regular food when he grimaced, gagged, and rushed over to the trashcan and spit it out while she sat there, deciding that it would probably be for the best if she didn’t wonder what would happen if they ran out of blood.

Definitely better off not thinking about that, Samantha decided, as she reached over and helped herself to his abandoned burger only to roll her eyes when the little bastard glaring at her growled. Sighing, she got up and headed to the back door, using the burger to entice the furry asshole to follow her.

“Enjoy,” she said, opening the back door and tossed the burger outside.

As soon as Charlie left, she closed the door and realized that she needed to get another Coke when she saw Trace finish off hers. Grabbing another Coke from the fridge and absently noting that they had two six-packs left, she walked back to the table, sat down, and once again found herself sighing when he helped himself to her Coke.

“You might want to slow down there,” Samantha said, not really sure how he was going to handle all that sugar and caffeine.

“What is this, wife?” he asked as he finished off her soda.

“Soda,” she said, popping a French fry in her mouth only to add, “It’s a carbonated beverage made from water, caffeine, sugar, and a lot of things that I can’t pronounce,” when he frowned.

“What’s caffeine?” Trace asked, testing the word.

“Something that is probably going to keep you up all night,” Samantha said with a wistful sigh, hoping that it would help wake her up. She was exhausted.

Trace frowned down at the Coke in his hands and then…

He finished it off while reaching for the one in her hands. He’d barely finished off his Coke before he tossed it aside and finished off hers while she sat there, frowning. That quickly turned to sighing when he grabbed two more Cokes from the fridge and finished them off.

With a resigned sigh, she focused back on the iPad, pulled up the grocery order that was supposed to be delivered tomorrow and added more Coke. A lot more. When she was done, she decided to see if there was anything about her house burning down on the news only to groan when she saw the date.

“How long was I asleep?” Samantha asked, glancing up to find Trace watching her.

“Two days,” he said, making her frown.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” she asked, getting up and heading back to the living room where she’d left the cellphone plugged in, wondering if his father tried to contact them while she’d been passed out.

“You were tired, wife,” he said, following her into the living room.

“Did your father call?” she asked, glancing around the room for a phone only to remind herself that he probably wouldn’t know if he had.

“I don’t know,” Trace said as Samantha picked up the cellphone and-

Nothing.

Damn it.

She’d kind of been hoping that this would be over by now. That was followed by the realization that she hadn’t showered in two days, which of course, explained why she looked like she’d been dragged through hell. Tossing the phone on the couch, she decided to call it a night. She didn’t care that she’d apparently spent that last two days sleeping, she just wanted to go back to bed and pretend that this nightmare was over.

Grabbing the bag that had been delivered earlier from 7-Eleven, Samantha headed upstairs and bit back a sigh when Trace followed her. Too tired to argue, she moved to go to the bedroom where she’d apparently spent the past two days passed out, hoping that Ethan would be here in the morning when she woke up so that she could-