Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(99)

“They’re fine. Playing hooky, most likely.” Talen sped up until the truck was out of sight, easily reading her concerns, as usual.

Smoke filtered through the trees and soon thickened until the sun was an odd red orb through the mist.

Talen punched a bunch of buttons on the dash. “Dage?” Talen asked. “How close are we to forest fires?”

A crackle sounded, and then the King’s face took shape in the center consol. “How’s the trip?”

“Great,” Talen said, squinting. “I’m getting concerned about the fires, though. What can you see?”

“The ones around you have been contained, according to the news.” Dage clacked keys in the background.

Talen shook his head. “I don’t think the fire is contained. Bring up satellite.”

“Just a sec. I have to hack into a different one.” More keys clattered. “All right. It appears there are fires to your east and west . . . smaller but gathering speed, I think. Stick to the river road you’re on, and stay near the water.”

“My head is hurting a little, and so is Cara’s. Do you see any threats?” Talen asked grimly, his hands tightening on the wheel until his knuckles appeared white.

“I’m not sure. There are several trucks, vans, and campers going in both directions on your road, and nothing stands out,” Dage said.

“I’m sure it’s just the smoke,” Talen said.

Dage chuckled. “You just don’t know how to relax. Give it a shot.” The screen went black as the king disconnected the call.

“Everyone keeps telling me to relax,” Talen muttered.

Yeah. There was a reason for that. Cara hid a smile. “We can take it easy after we deliver these.” She looked in the backseat, where the cooler containing the tissue samples was nestled safely. The samples were from people who had taken a mutated virus to negate the immortal mating bond that bound them to just one lover. “I’m curious about these samples. Is it possible to really negate a mating bond of a living couple?”

“No.” Talen grinned then, a flash of white against his bronze face. “I don’t see what the big deal is. If somebody is your mate, then they’re your mate, bond or not. Besides . . . we have no proof that a mating bond can be negated when both mates are still alive.”

True. The only ones that had been negated were ones in which a mate had died some time ago. “I’m sure there will be a test subject soon,” she murmured.

“I doubt it.”

“Why not? Humans get divorced all the time. Negating a mating bond is the same thing in the immortal world,” she mused.

He shook his head. “Matings are forever, or at least during life. I think the bond is too strong to completely break while both parties are alive.”

Perhaps. “Maybe I should give it a shot and see,” she teased.

His grin widened. “Try it.” The warning rumble of the words belied his smile.

She swallowed. There had to be a quick retort that showed her spirit but didn’t push the irritated vampire too far. “Bite me.” Nope. That wasn’t it.

“I fully plan to.”

Her abdomen heated, and she instinctively touched the bite mark along her neck—her mating mark. She also wore the Kayrs marking, an intricate design with a K in the middle, on her butt from the mating. “Maybe I’ll bite you this time.”

“Baby, you can bite me any time.”

She grinned and tried to enjoy the moment while pretending the tension surrounding them had dissipated. But it hadn’t. Not really. Not for the first time, she wondered how much of Talen’s true nature he’d had to tamp down the last couple of decades as she’d fought the virus and he’d battled enemies in the war. They had two children together as well as one granddaughter, and sometimes she wasn’t sure she really knew him.

He leaned over and rubbed the frown lines between her eyes. “Stop fretting. Everything will be fine.”

Hmm. Apparently he knew her pretty damn well. “I love you, you know,” she said slowly.

“I know. You’re everything to me,” he said softly.

She nodded, fully secure of her place in his heart and his life. Yet they were still somehow . . . off.

“My brain has relaxed, so the fires must’ve died out. Right now, we need fuel.” He glanced in all the mirrors and then pulled into a quiet service station built with what appeared to be reclaimed wood. “Stay in the car.”

“Need restroom.” She opened the door, and he was by her side within a heartbeat. “Geez. We’re safe, Talen. No more war.”

“I know.” He grasped her arm and escorted her from the car to the building, keeping his body between hers and any threat from the road.

She tried—really hard if asked—to keep from rolling her eyes into the back of her head. “You have got to mellow out.”

“Humph.” He nodded to the elderly woman behind the counter before scanning the tidy store and dropping Cara at the women’s bathroom. “I’ll fill up the car.” He paused and then pushed open the door to quickly scout the one-stall room. “Okay.” Then he turned and stalked from the charming store.

Cara shook her head and used the facilities. After drying her hands, she wandered into the store and purchased soda and some potato chips from the wide-eyed woman behind the counter.