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They nodded their hellos to me.
“What phone plan do you have?” Psycho asked me, turning around from the front seat and piercing me with his chocolate brown eyes.
“You can just get me a pay-as-you-go phone,” I said. “Seriously, I don’t need a new plan or anything. I was joking about the bells and whistles. I’ll just get something when I get back home.”
“Verizon? T-Mobile? What?”
Stubborn ass. “Verizon.” I sighed.
He looked at Menace. “Verizon store.”
“And after that, a Target or something. I need some more clothes and some personal products, please,” I said.
“You got it,” Menace said.
It was easier than I thought to get my phone replaced, and now I had a brand-new iPhone—yes, with all the bells and whistles. I logged into the cloud and cringed at all the notifications I had. It almost gave me an anxiety attack so I slipped it into my pocket and decided I’d deal with it all later. At least my Apple Pay account was full of funds I could use to pay for stuff since I still didn’t have a bank card, or a damn driver’s license for that matter.
We pulled into Target where I bought a small purse, a few changes of clothes, some makeup, toiletries, and feminine hygiene products. I never realized how much I used this stuff until I didn’t have it. My periods during the time the bastards had me had been hell. Using TP to catch everything because they refused to give us basic needs and being so scared the vamps could smell it… I shuddered, trying not to think about it.
As soon as I saw Menace take the I-10 West toward Biloxi, I got nervous. I just wanted to put that whole thing behind me and forget it ever happened, but that was irresponsible of me. I was a strong witch and had always been, so it was my duty to help these wolves—who didn’t have to do this at all—catch these bastards and end them. I had seen my fair share of violence in my life being a supe, so if the Bayou Wolves chopped off heads and burned them in the sun, I was equipped to handle it. In fact, I looked forward to it.
But to get there, I had to do the hard thing.
Except the closer we crept toward the city, the more anxious I got. My heart raced and I discreetly took my pulse to see my resting heartrate was pushing 90. That was not good. I took some deep breaths and closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down. These guys were going to take care of it. They wouldn’t put me in harm’s way. Still, I fought back tears at how trauma-inducing this was. I opened my eyes and stared at the massive men surrounding me.
I’ll be okay.
But they had put Charlie in harm’s way, hadn’t they? And she was just a mere human, hardly able to defend herself. Though I hadn’t been with these guys very long, I felt like I knew them. Or perhaps I just knew their type. I’d be the first to admit that they were nothing like a motorcycle gang I’d envisioned in my head. And they weren’t the disgusting, violent werewolves I’d been born and bred to hate.
Calm down, Nera, I told myself.
“Do you remember how far it was to the bus station from the house?” Psycho asked when Menace pulled off the first exit, which was a residential street.
I tried to think. I didn’t remember walking too far before I hitchhiked, but it wasn’t just around the corner either. “A few minutes, maybe? It wasn’t hours or anything.”
“Street names?” Menace asked, looking at me through the rearview mirror.
“Even just part of a street name would help,” Wizard said, holding his trusty electronic tablet.
I closed my eyes and tried to remember. I turn left when I get out of the house, seeing that to the right is a cul-de-sac with no exit.
“The street’s on a cul-de-sac,” I said, opening my eyes.
I look back at the house to make sure nobody had followed me.
“The house is yellow with a red door. Or it might be brown,” I finished.
“That’s good. Keep trying to remember,” Wizard said.
Menace pulled the Escalade into the mostly empty lot of a strip mall that had a dollar store and a check cashing place.
I closed my eyes again. I’m reaching the end of the street. Should I go right or left? I look right and see a long road. I look left and see commercial buildings. I head toward the commercial buildings. Behind those is a big field of weeds. I run through them and reach the front of the commercial buildings. I whirl around to see a main road. I have no idea where I’m going but this looks like a busy street, perhaps a main thoroughfare through the city. I look back at the commercial buildings. Popeyes chicken. Red beans and rice sounds so good but I have to get out of here.
“Popeyes,” I said, opening my eyes.
“You’re hungry?” Psycho asked.
“Yes, but no, that’s a landmark I recognize.”
