60

"What's going on?" Sienna asked. "How are you here? You're supposed to be in prison?"

"There isn't a man-made prison that can hold something like me," Adrian said. He didn't take his eyes off the road as he spoke, but she could see he wasn't joking.

"Are you... are you like Damien?" she whispered.

"Like Damien?" Adrian chuckled. "No. I'm something different but we are both shapeshifters. Scarlett, too."

She wouldn't believe it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. There was no denying the fact Damien was categorically—one hundred per cent—not a human being.

She stared out of the window, watching the motorway traffic pass in a blur of steel and bright lights.

A huge road sign told her they were heading toward the North.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked.

Adrian glanced over at her; face screwed up in distaste. "Taking you? You make it sound like I'm kidnapping you. Want me to take you home? Hmm? You want to be his dinner?"

Sienna shook her head. "No."

"Thank you for saving my worthless life, Adrian," he intoned in a cruel impression, rolling his eyes.

"My life isn't worthless—" she went to argue.

"I could always pull over and throw you to the dragon," Adrian warned.

"Thank you for saving my worthless life, Adrian," Sienna said, hanging her head in shame. After giving this some thought, she tentatively glanced up at him. "Why did you save me?"

He wiped his nose and shrugged. "I'm a kind and gracious God."

Sienna laughed, recognising this as a quote from a movie they'd watched together.

"I knew what he was planning to do to you," Adrian said. "I guess... I thought you were worth more than that. I know I treated you badly... but I guess you grew on me."

A shiver ran its way down her arms and legs, finishing at her feet. "Thank you, Adrian."

"You're welcome," he said. He shifted through the traffic, maintaining the maximum speed possible.

A sign warned them to stay two chevrons apart, but Adrian was less than one of the little white arrows from the car in front. As if reading her mind, he gave her a little frown.

"Don't worry. My reaction speeds are way better than your average humans," he explained.

"Hmm." Sienna nodded. "That's why you're a pro gamer."

Adrian laughed. After a second, he fell silent and for an awkward moment, he looked like he might burst into tears.

"I—Is that thing going to follow us?" she asked.

"Probably not. I did my best to piss him off but he'd going to be going after Sienna and Riley," Adrian revealed.

"Can we warn her!" Sienna cried. "Text her... ring her..."

"By now... it's already happened. They either made it out of town when the signal went out or they didn't. Give me your phone."

When Sienna passed her phone over, he threw it out of the open window. It clattered, smashed into little pieces, and was gone within a matter of seconds.

"He can track that," Adrian explained. "He might be old, but he's smart and knows how to use our technology against us."

Sienna dwelled on this for a moment before screwing up her face and asking how old.

"Let's just say you shagged a very old man," Adrian teased.

The pair became silent for a while, Adrian concentrating on driving and Sienna deep in thought, trying to process the situation.

"Are we going to be on the run forever?" she asked.

"Well, until he catches us and kills us. That's probably going to happen sooner rather than later." Adrian yawned. "I'm going to have to stop soon to get some rest. No point in outrunning him just to crash and cause a pile-up on the motorway, is there?"

"How fast can he move?" Sienna shuddered, imaging him gliding through the night sky.

"He won't transform in public so he's no faster than we are," Adrian explained. "The only problem is his psychic powers. If he concentrates hard enough, he can form a mind link and find us that way."

"Jesus Christ," she muttered, and almost apologised for taking the lord's name in vain—something only her mother would chastise her for. All things considered; she wasn't likely to see her mother again but she didn't have the brain space to be sad about that right now. That would come later.

"I'm going check into the next motel," he announced. When a lit sign appeared in the distance, he slowed and took the next exit. Keeping to the speed limit, he rolled around to the entrance and stopped in the nearest available spot—the handicapped space.

"Really?" she asked, raising her brows.

"Heh." He snickered. "You're so dumb it's basically a handicap."

"Asshole," she whispered, following him into the reception.

A tired-looking man in overalls and a cap shifted from his resting position behind the desk. He looked annoyed at being disturbed until he clocked Sienna, then looked her up and down with a satisfied grin.

Adrian coughed and made one of his scary faces, stealing the pervy guy's attention away.

"Can I help you, folks?"

"We'd like a room," Adrian said.

The man glanced over both of them briefly. "A double."

"Yes," Adrian said.

"No," Sienna said louder, giving him her patented death stare.

"It's cheaper." Adrian shrugged. "Do you have any cash?"

It was a good point, but she didn't want to admit it.

"Sorry I was too busy being attacked by a dragon to grab my wallet," she mumbled.

"A double." Adrian smiled widely at the attendant.

With a sigh, Sienna conceded. She followed Adrian, planning on giving him some speech about how she would be sleeping on the floor or the chair or anywhere but in the bed with him.

When she saw the room, Sienna immediately changed her mind. It took her a moment of standing in the doorway, open-mouthed like a trout, to fully soak up the distinct lack of ambience.

The carpet was dotted with dubious stains, no decoration of any kind adorned the grubby walls, and the only furnishings were the bed and a rickety bedside table. There wasn't even a lampshade covering the lightbulb. It hung limply from the ceiling, draped only in cobwebs.

Adrian took note of her horrified face and laughed. "Well, what were you expecting for that price?"

He bounced across the room and onto the creaky bed.

"Well?" he said, glaring at her. His eyebrows were raised in expectation. "What are you waiting for. Get your skinny butt over here."