Scorched Ice (Fire and Ice #3)(53)

“You’re like an old washwoman gossiping around the laundry,” Devon said to him.

“We don’t get much TV while we’re driving, and I haven’t had a chance to watch my soaps in at least a year. I have to find some entertainment somewhere. Melissa and Chris have started to provide it for me,” Julian replied.

Quinn rolled her eyes while Cassie chuckled, “Let me guess, General Hospital?”

“Days of our Lives. Who doesn’t love Hope and Bo and Marlena and John?”

“Oh God,” Quinn groaned and dropped her head into her hand to rub at the bridge of her nose.

Julian kissed her temple. “I’m sure once I get a chance to catch up, it will be like I never missed an episode.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Quinn muttered.

“I can’t take any more of this. We have to go,” Devon said. He extended his hand, and Julian clasped hold of it before they pulled each other close for a hug.

“Take care of her,” Devon said to him and glanced at Quinn.

“Always. The same goes for you.”

Devon smiled as he stepped back. “Always.”

Julian turned to embrace Cassie while Devon hugged Quinn. “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to him,” he heard Devon say to her, and a smile lit Quinn’s face and eyes.

Cassie smiled at him as she stepped away. “Maybe you could give Chris a little nudge.”

“Would make things more interesting,” Julian replied, “but I think I’ll let them figure this out on their own.”

“Probably for the best.” Cassie turned to Quinn, a sad smile on her face as they stared at each other. She held her hand out and did a little air shake gesture with it that Quinn copied. “I’m sorry,” Cassie said. “But your ability—”

“I understand,” Quinn said. “It’s overwhelming for me too at times.”

“I bet it is.”

Turning, Julian lifted Quinn into his arms and carried her away from the two of them. He felt her waving over his shoulder, but he didn’t look back. Right now, all he wanted was to get her out of view of the vamps he knew were watching them from the motel.





CHAPTER 20


Quinn lifted her head from where it had fallen against the window and blinked as she gazed at everyone in the RV. Lou sat across from her, his chin on his chest as he rocked from side to side with the swaying of the RV. They’d spent the day in the parking lot of the motel, and now Luther was back in the driver’s seat.

Sitting beside her, Julian had his head in his hand as he typed something into his phone. “What’s going on?” she asked when he scowled at the phone.

Lifting his head, his full mouth curved into an endearing smile that caused her heart to swell with love. “Just giving directions,” he said.

“Then why are you looking at your phone like you’re contemplating biting it?”

“It’s hard to give directions to a place when I’m not exactly sure where it is. I have to keep an eye out for the things I’ve glimpsed from Herb’s memories and try to guide the others through those.”

She knew not everyone was directly behind the RV, such a convoy would be impossible to keep together, and more than a little conspicuous. Julian had said they were going into the mountains, but in Pennsylvania that was a lot of land to cover. While touching something of Herb’s, he’d gotten a glimpse of a sign reading Pocono, so they were heading that way in the hopes of finding other markers.

It might be a long shot, but if anyone could figure it out, Julian could.

Chris’s loud snore drew Quinn’s attention to the couch he was sprawled out on. Melissa sat beside Luther in the passenger seat, her gaze on the GPS system. Now that Quinn was looking for it, she saw the glances Melissa shot Chris and the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

It really did have to be love if Melissa found his snoring endearing.

The door to the bathroom slid open, and Dani emerged. Her damp, multi-colored, short hair stood up in a million different directions. “Where are we?” she inquired.

“Almost to the casino and racetrack,” Melissa replied.

Julian’s head lifted, and he slid out from the table. He braced his legs against the sway of the vehicle as he walked to the front of the RV. Quinn leaned forward to admire the way his shirt clung to the muscles of his back and the jeans hugging his firm ass while he moved.

Not the time, she scolded herself, but she still couldn’t tear her gaze away from him. He truly was magnificent, and he was hers.

Resting his hand on the bed above the driver’s area, Julian leaned forward to peer out the windshield. “What kind of track?” he inquired.

“I’m assuming the NASCAR track,” Luther replied.

“No,” Melissa said and held up a brochure. “I grabbed it when we stopped for gas an hour ago. “Mohegan Sun Pocono features a harness racing track.”

“Horses,” Julian muttered.

“Does that mean something?” Quinn inquired as she slid over to fill the space Julian had vacated.

“One of the images I got from Herb was of horse racing.”

“So he was a bit of a gambler and liked to play the slots?”

“No, I think I would have seen slot machines or tables if he was a gambler, maybe even heard the sounds of a casino. I didn’t see betting windows or racing programs either.”