Sarah McCarty by Slade Read Free Book Online Page A

they’re vampires, isn’t sunlight deadly to them?”
    “Yeah.”
    “So we just have to stay ahead another few minutes.”
    “Yeah.” If they were especially lucky. If Sanctuary hadn’t developed shields. If, if, if.
    Jane dug her nails into the seat. His thigh muscles flexed with envy. Shit . How could he miss her touch now?
    “What aren’t you telling me?”
    The tinted windows would give him some protection, but not enough. And they wouldn’t do anything to protect them against the werewolf allies of Sanctuary. Without a doubt, the vampires would mentally telegraph to the weres their last sighting, and those weres would, with that tenacity they were known for, hunt their prey.
    “I’m vampire, too.”
    “Are you telling me that in a few minutes, while we’re driving one hundred thirty miles per hour down this field, you’re going to go out in a puff of smoke?”
    “Your concern is touching.” He angled the SUV so it ran parallel to the ditch.
    Ignoring his sarcasm, she demanded, “Is that what you’re telling me?”
    “Nothing so dramatic. The windshield will protect us somewhat.”
    “Us? I don’t have any problem with the sun. Since you do, it’s the fact that you’re still driving this car that has me concerned.”
    “I won’t crash the car.”
    “Like hell.” She looked behind them. “Are they still following us?”
    He shook his head. “The vampires have dropped back.”
    “So why are you saying that like Sanctuary is now the least of our problems?”
    “There are werewolves, too, in league with Sanctuary.”
    “Of course there are. What’s a good horror flick without a werewolf or two?” She paused, took a breath, and then said in a perfectly level voice, “I assume it’s only a few and you’re not talking thousands?”
    “We don’t know.”
    “Oh for heaven’s sake!” She threw up her left hand, the other staying firmly clenched around the laptop. “How can you possibly have enemies and not know who and how many they are?”
    “We’re working on it.”
    The first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon. Even the dense shading on the window couldn’t prevent the blinding burn. Slade blinked and sucked in a breath. Son of a bitch . Jane fumbled in her backpack. Leaning over, she pushed something on his face.
    The relief was immediate.
    “Sunglasses,” she explained.
    There was more rustling as he blinked the tears out of his eyes.
    In a voice as cool as a cucumber, she informed him, “There’s a tree in front of us at two o’clock.”
    He adjusted the wheel to the left, blinking rapidly as his vision cleared. The glasses were dark, the rays of the sun still weak. As a temporary fix, it worked. He could see.
    “Thank you.”
    The backpack rustled as Jane rummaged through it again. There was the sound of plastic being rotated on plastic, then the squish of something being squeezed out of a tube. It was all very clear to his acute vampire senses. The scent of coconut filled the car. The distinct sound of a seat belt being unbuckled snapped into the silence.
    His “Put that back on” collided with the belt buckle hitting the side of the door.
    “In a minute.”
    The end of the field was coming up. Another ditch. Reaching over, Slade tried to push her back. Tucking herself beneath his arm, Jane avoided his attempt and slathered something cold and slimy on his face.
    “What the hell are you doing?”
    “Just in case your windows aren’t as perfect as you implied, I thought a layer of sunblock might help.”
    “You carry sunblock in your laptop bag?”
    “I believe in being prepared.”
    Of course she did. He could feel her stare. Could see the ditch getting closer. Shit .
    “I’m assuming it’s the UVA rays that get to you?”
    “The UVB pack quite the punch, too.”
    The stuff was gross, damned near intolerable, but nowhere near as intolerable as the thought of what could happen to her body if the truck bounced out of control. She was human and, he glanced