A Lock Of Death by Beena Khan
14
PRESENT
Dimitri stared ahead as he finished speaking.
He didn’t know how long he’d been talking, and he realized he missed the nearest motel spot. They should have stopped forty minutes ago. Sighing internally, he clenched his teeth.
He avoided looking at Nine because he knew she stared open-mouthed like a damn hawk.
Her curious stare unraveled him, digging out a side of him that he didn’t even know he possessed. He could tell that she wanted to ask him more things, but he didn’t want her to dig any further into his life. She’d revealed part of her story to him, and he’d shared some part of his life with her.
A story for a story.
Nothing less. Nothing more.
Ignoring her, he checked his GPS for the nearest motel, but there wasn’t any for another thirty minutes.
His eyes narrowed at the time.
It was 5:00 AM.
5’o’clock in the fucking morning.
He stilled.
Sunrise was at 5:10 AM.
He checked every time they left so he was prepared, but now he wasn’t. He glanced outside and the night had changed.
The black night turned into a cloudy gray sky.
Sunrise would arrive soon, and they were nowhere near any motel. Holding a sigh under his breath, he looked for the nearest restaurant, but they were all closed.
Dammit. Uneasiness settled into his heart.
He cursed under his breath, hating that he’d let himself get distracted. He glanced at Nine for a second and a strong urge ran through him to twist her neck. This was all her damn fault.
Why the fuck did she want to know his story anyway?
He shouldn’t have ever let her know.
Her hazel hues widened, noticing his hostile gaze before she glanced out to the windshield, noticing the sky. She winced when the first ray of sunlight rose and hit the windshield.
Luckily, it was at his side.
The blood in his veins surged through him and his breaths came out ragged. Shit. “There’s no motel nearby,” he gritted out. “All of the restaurants are closed.” He glanced out the window again. “We’re in the middle of the highway. No gas stations and stores are coming up for miles.”
They were in the middle of fucking nowhere.
He glanced at the time.
5:04 AM.
The sky above slowly turned blue and more Russian curse words escaped his mouth. “We need to stop,” he murmured.
Immediately, he pulled his car to the grassy side of the highway and switched on the double indicator.
Nine’s dreary eyes fell on him, and her lower lip quivered.
He recognized that emotion. Panic.
He didn’t have any blankets on him either.
“Do you have anything heavy for cover?” he questioned.
She shook her head and frantic little breaths left her mouth.
He stared her dead in the eye.
“Get out now,” he ordered. “We don’t have much time.”
He unlocked the car and she obeyed, rushing out. He followed suit and glanced down at his watch. Fuck. Only a couple of minutes left. With adrenaline pumping through him, he ran to Nine’s side who was almost close to hyperventilating.
“Oh, God… What happens now? Where do we go?”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He blew out a breath in the misty air as he thought hard. Rubbing his cold hands together, his eyes fell on the back of his car. With his undamaged hand, he grabbed her small, fragile hand and moved forward. When they reached the back, he popped open the trunk, and ordered, “Get in. Now.”
Nine’s jaw looked ready to drop to the ground and she shook her head. “Hell no! I won’t be able to breathe in there!”
She was so defiant, and he wanted to shoot her already.
He raised his head at the brightening sky.
The sun could come out any minute now.
He swallowed thickly, a tiny glimpse of dread running through his body for the first time. It wasn’t the full emotion, but it was there. He’d seen it countless times in others to know what it was. It was the same feeling he’d seen in others when he pulled the trigger and killed them.
Panic. Fuck. He never panicked.
“We don’t have time, Nine. Get in!” he commanded.
His voice was no longer low and quiet today.
It fucking roared.
His bewildered eyes glanced behind her, a few feet away, where the sun’s ray had hit the gray cement, brightening it.
Shit… It was just a few moments from landing on them.
His hard eyes landed on her, his stoic expression returning. His upper lip curled in a snarl before he grabbed Nine’s hand, tugging her forward. She yelped and hit his chest.
On impulse, he picked up her legs and shoved her into the trunk. Ignoring her cries and protests, he slammed the trunk over her pleading large almond-shaped eyes.
Three seconds later, the sun’s rays hit the car.
Dimitri sighed, content filling his mind. He rested his elbows on the trunk and shoved his head into his hands. Closing his eyes for a second, he exhaled in and out.
That was close. Too close.
Relief. He never felt relief until now.
“Blue!” a voice protested.
Nine. His eyes snapped open, and he rested his elbows flat lay on the trunk.
Nine is a special case.
Alexander’s words echoed in his mind.
Nine had a rare disease.
Solar urticaria.
Nine was allergic to the sun.
If she was ever exposed, she could possibly die.
It was why Alexander kept her in a tower and not a warehouse. She was safer up there locked and hidden from the sun and from the clubhouse she’d belonged to in the past.
Nothing could have touched her in that tower.
No one could have reached her in that tower.
It was why they always traveled at night and rested during the day, but today, he fucked up and ruined his own routine. He’d dropped his guard, talking to her more that he’d lost track of time. He hated to admit that he’d screwed this one up, but he had, and he’d almost placed her life in jeopardy.
God… this was such a mess.
“Blue, I can’t breathe!” Nine pounded against the trunk, the sound echoing against his eardrums.
Running a hand through his hair, he forced himself to breathe and focus. “Yes, you can,” he insisted.
She pounded some more into the trunk.
“Blue, let me out!” He didn’t. “Please, Blue!”
Fuck. Her begging and pleading ran bolts of electricity through his spine. “Stop it, Nine,” he ordered.
She only continued to protest.
“This is for your own good. We have no choice. If you come outside right now, you will be toast,” he said calmly, staring up at the bright sun across the horizon. She quieted. “Literally. The sun will destroy your skin.”
He wasn’t kidding when he’d called her a vampire.
She literally was one.
She stayed up at night and slept during the day.
“I can’t breathe, Blue,” she grumbled in the trunk. “It’s so dark in here. I can’t see anything. It’s so tight and closed off in here. It’s too close to my face. I’m too confined! Blue…” her voice cracked, and he slammed his eyes shut.
“The trunk is too close to you because you’re probably trying to get up. Just lay down on your back and focus on my voice, Nine,” he whispered. “Just focus on me. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,” he promised.
A small cry left her lips, and he hated how it made him ache.
“Dyshat. Breathe, Goldie.”
She had stopped crying, but his ears perked up at the sniffling that continued.
“Just breathe,” he whispered.
She was quiet for a second before she replied, “I... I can’t.”
He sighed. “Yes, you can, Goldie. I’ll drive us to the nearest motel, but you have to stay in the trunk.” A whine left her lips and he continued, “We can’t risk it. I need to be moving. Do you want to stay in the trunk for the rest of the day?”
She quieted.
“I thought so.”
He glanced over his shoulder, but he didn’t see any other cars on either side of the hallway for miles. It was too quiet and too empty. He blew out a cold breath into the air, and it came out into a puff. It was getting chillier, and Fall was slowly leaving. He breathed in the aroma of the earth and thought hard.
“How far is the motel?” she asked, still sniffling.
He rubbed his lower lip and didn’t reply.
“It’s getting cold in here. It’s all plastic,” Nine whispered, her voice cracked again.
He wanted to bang his fucking head against the trunk.
Thirty minutes. The motel was far away.
How could he sit comfortably in his car with the heater on when she stayed in the cold, dark trunk? It didn’t sit right with him. For the first time, in his life, he was stumped and indecisive.
His rage threatened to consume him once again.
His hand curled up and his nails dug into his skin. He continued clenching his fist even when his nail broke into his skin. He glanced down at the blood oozing out of it. Great. Now both of his hands were fucked up. He didn’t care about himself though. All he could think about was Goldie down there.
“Blue…” she whispered again. “Are you still here?”
His breath came out ragged as he spoke.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
No way in hell would he drive now.
She wouldn’t die from the cold trunk, but he could just picture vivid images in his head. Her teeth clattering. Her little hands rubbing together. Her large eyes filled with fear. And those awful tears… they would return.
He glanced up at the sky again, half-expecting the sun to change into the ice-cold color blue and stop beaming. It was still golden, still divinely warm on his chilly skin. It wasn’t hot outside at all, but the sun was still too bright for her.
She was obsessed with the sun.
The colors she wore and the paintings in the tower.
She was obsessed with the one thing that could kill her.
Her deepest obsession could cost her.
Dimitri lowered his eyes to the trunk again.
Nine sniffled again.
“Shift all the way to your left,” he ordered.
Nine asked in a confused voice, “What?”
He repeated himself.
She sighed. “Why?”
His jaw ticked.
“Poslushay menya. Listen to me. Just do what I say.”
“Okay,” she mumbled.
He could hear her shifting and after a couple of seconds, he popped the trunk open. Not fully though. Just enough, inch by inch, making sure she wasn’t near.
A whimper left her lips.
“Are you going to kill me?” she asked, her voice laced with suspicion. “What are you doing, B-Blue?” her voice trembled.
It was the first time he’d heard her voice shake.
“I didn’t even do anything bad today,” she protested, her voice rising an octave. “I’ve listened and been a good girl.”
Good girl. The blood rushed to his groin.
Before he could second guess himself, he slipped inside and almost closed the trunk. He left it a little open so just a stream of light filtered inside, and he didn’t lock themselves in.
Letting out a sigh, he tilted his head in the dark and tugged Nine toward him by the waist. A light gasp left her lips, and her breath hit his face.
“Privyet. Hello,” Dimitri said softly.
She breathed before replying, “Hi… wait, so you’re not going to kill me?” her voice filled with wonderment.
His lip twitched. “No.”
“Oh,” she mumbled, “What are you doing here, Blue?”
Blue. He liked that nickname.
“I’m giving you company.”
It slipped out before he could stop it.
She went so still against him like she’d stopped breathing.
His own treacherous heart sped up though. It always sped up when she was close to him. His eyes tried adjusting in the dark, but he couldn’t make out her features. Slowly, he could see an outline. She was right though. It was cold as fuck in here.
When she didn’t reply, he murmured, “Are you still afraid?” When she didn’t reply, he continued, “You don’t have to fear the dark anymore because I’m here in it with you.”
Nine sighed and buried her face against the crook of his neck, her little arms wrapping around his chest. Her floral scent invaded his nose, and his firm arms draped around the small of her back. She fit just right against him.
He’d never hugged a female before.
“I’m not afraid anymore,” she replied softly.
His chin brushed against her neck as he squeezed her tighter.
She shivered against him.
“Are you afraid of being in the company of a murderer?”
Nine’s body stilled.
“Alone in the dark in a trunk with me because I just might be the deadliest thing in here,” he couldn’t resist adding
Instead of being afraid, she snuggled up closer. Nine breathed like her body was an art form, her chest rising and falling against his. It was so quiet, he could hear every breath with ease. Those breaths were only meant for him.
No one else deserved them.
“Do not threaten me or I will bite you again,” she warned.
His lip curled up and he challenged, “Do it.”
“I only bite you when I’m upset at you,” she whispered, her breath tickling his flesh. He held a shudder in. “Why are you in the trunk with me?”
He raised his eyebrows even though she couldn’t see.
“I’ve already said—”
She cut him off, “That’s not your why, though.”
He exhaled an uneven breath.
“I thought you were going to die,” he replied at last. “Because of my… mistake. I lost track of the time.”
She was silent for a second. He thought she wasn’t going to speak again but then she did.
“It’s my fault too. I didn’t focus on the time either.”
“You don’t have to take the blame onto yourself to make me feel better,” he chided.
“Who said I want to make you feel better?”
And snarky little Nine was back.
“Are you going to drive again?” she continued asking.
He held in a sigh. “In a minute, I will, but right now…” he trailed off, leaving his thought unfinished.
I don’t want to leave you alone.
“It was kind of sweet of you to come and join me. One might even call that a gentleman,” Nine replied.
Dimitri made a face of disgust. “Sweet?” he uttered the word like it was repulsive. “I am not sweet. Never been called that before. And gentleman? Fuck gentlemen.”
Nine’s shoulders shook and a laugh burst out of her.
Why would she laugh now? He hadn’t cracked a joke.
“I am serious,” he grumbled out.
Nine giggled like a teenager.
“I wouldn’t mind fucking this gentleman though.”
His body stilled and his treacherous ears perked up.
What did she just say?
Nine sighed against his neck, content in just holding him. He couldn’t sense what she was feeling. He couldn’t feel her trembling and her body was calm now.
Had she said that by accident?
Goddammit. Females were so complicated.
He stayed silent, still pondering over her statement.
Now was the time to get moving and driving, but he’d gotten too comfortable with her warmth surrounding him. He didn’t need the sun when he had her next to him. She was the fucking sunshine in his life. Her yellow brightened everything.
Both of them were quiet now, perhaps, wondering that if they spoke, it might break the moment. He had another question itching on the back of his mind though.
“Tell me, what happened to you in that clubhouse?”
Finish your story.
