Page 26 of Kiss the Dawn
They exchanged glances. “A new beginning,” Levi said.
“I’m assuming you have a vehicle?” Lorenzo asked.
“Broke down,” Curi said.
Levi continued. “In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have done so much sightseeing before heading to our destination, but we had time to kill.”
“And your destination is on the Gateway Road?” Lorenzo asked.
“You ask a lot of questions,” Curi growled.
“How else can I gather information?” Lorenzo’s disarming smile didn’t seem to work on Curi, who responded with a narrow-eyed glare.
“Why d’you need information on us?” he demanded.
“Curi, relax,” Levi said. “Yes. We’re headed up the road.”
“Then you’re either stopping at Wista settlement or heading farther to the coast.”
“The coast,” Levi said.
“The coast also,” Lorenzo replied.
They eyed each other up, both holding back information. Could it be that they were headed to the guard house too? And if so, why? They’d saved our asses, but was it a trick? What if they were hunters too? Or wait…hadn’t Lorenzo said that there was already a door opening scheduled for other travelers, and that we’d been added to it? Could these guys be those travelers?
“Well,” Lorenzo said, “as we’re headed in the same direction, would you like a lift?”
What the…I shot him a pointed look which he studiously ignored.
“We’re ex-guardian,” Levi said. “Just so you’re aware that we won’t hesitate to take you down if you turn out to be an enemy.”
Ex-guardian? Wait…as in the gargoyle guardians Lorenzo had been telling me about?
Lorenzo relaxed. “Good to know. And you’ve seenwhat I’m capable of, so if you turn out not to be who you say you are, then Iwilluse lethal force.”
If they were gargoyles, didn’t they have other forms? “Why can’t they just show us their other form to prove that they’re ex-guardians?”
Curi looked offended, but Levi merely shrugged and looked at Lorenzo to answer.
“They can’t shift until the sun is down,” Lorenzo said.
Levi smiled. “That’s correct.”
“Well, are we doing this or not?” Curi demanded.
Levi nodded at Lorenzo. “We’d love to accept a ride.”
As Lorenzo led the way to the mobile home, I hurried to catch up. “They could still be hunters.”
“Yes, and better to have them with us where we can keep an eye on them.”
“Good point.”
“We’re not hunters,” Curi called out from behind us. “But I am wondering why you have hunters on your tail.”
Lorenzo opened the door. “I forgot how good your hearing is. How about I make some coffee and I’ll tell you all about it.”
The mobile home was huge,but with the gargoyle males in residence, it felt like a box. I squished up on the bench next to Lorenzo, and Curi took up the other side while Levi stood, his back against the kitchen counter. My knees kept bumping Curi’s, and he glanced at me a few times, his dark eyes scrutinizing me. His hair was a deep, luscious blue, pulled back in a knot, and he had the kind of face that could easily have been hewn from rock. What did he look like in his gargoyle form? The other guy, Levi, had more of an athletic build, but once again, he was extremely good-looking.
