Page 46 of All's Fair in Lion and War
Intelligence burned in his bright eyes. He was still trying to figure her situation out. “Sure. Why don’t you get in the truck and warm up. We’ll head back to the bar and give them a call. Make sure everything is okay before we drive all the way out to their place.”
He opened the door next to his and urged her to climb into the back.
Call them?
“They are too far to call. They wouldn’t be able to hear you.”
He chuckled out loud, clearly amused by her comment. She didn’t know what’d she’d said that was funny.
“On the phone. I’ll call them on the phone.” He waved her closer. “C’mon sweetheart, let’s get you off the side of the road and out of the cold. It’s a few minutes to the bar. Are you hungry? Thirsty?”
Lorelei took a step closer.Phone.She’d seen a phone. That was how they’d spoken to Henrietta. That little black thing of Tara’s. Did they all have those devices?
“I need—”
“To get to the mountain, yep, I gathered that. I’m not saying no, I’m saying not yet.” He stood there patiently waiting for her to make the next move. He wasn’t coming toward her. He wasn’t going to force her, but he wasn’t going to give in to her demands either.
She glanced up and down the dark road. No one else had come by the whole time. She had no idea which way to go. She could end up wandering for hours in the dark.
She’d been so angry and so determined when she’d left the others at the Community Center. All she could think about was getting her claws into Rivian and making him pay for what he’d done.
Her chest tightened and a tear escaped down her cheek. She wiped it away and took another step toward this…Liam.
Could she trust him?
He said he worked for Tor and Dawn at something called a bar. She wasn’t sure what that was.
She looked back down the road the way she’d come. She could find her way back to the community center if she tried. She could follow her own trail. But if she got in this vehicle, she wasn’t sure that would be a truth any longer.
“It’s not far?”
He shook his head. “Five minutes. I’ve got leftovers in the fridge. I can warm you up a plate of food. We’ll call Col and see what’s what, yes?”
“Can you call Saul?” She wasn’t sure why she asked. Saul would likely be furious that she’d left the others. He wouldn’t want her to come after Rivian.
Thesoul callwould make him feel responsible for her. He would want to fight Rivian on her behalf, but she wanted to see Rivian die for what he’d done. To her and to Saul and on behalf of every other innocent person Rivian had damaged. He was evil. And Tallix had never been willing to do what was necessary.
He’d always believed his brother could change. Become a better man. A better leader.
That belief had cost him his life and ruined hers.
She rubbed her chest, the phantom pain throbbed inside her ribs, and stared at the open vehicle door. Then back to Liam. Then back to the empty seat.
“I don’t think I have his number, but Tor will. We’ll get you squared away, I promise.”
She took another step. Then another. Then she was climbing into the male’s truck.
He got back into the truck and a few minutes later they were in front of a building with bright colorful lights in the windows. One glowing sign readclosed.A big glowing sign on the front above the main door saidWatering Hole. Stairs led up one side of the building to another door.
“What is this place? Do you live here?”
“Bottom floor is the bar. Food and drink. Top level is Tor and Dawn’s apartment.”
“Apartment?”
“They live upstairs.”
“Understood,” she said, glancing around the parking lot. No one was around. It was late. The moon was high in the sky.
