Gena Showalter - Playing With Fire (tales of an extra ordinary girl)

As the scenery whizzed past, I saw a few scattered flower patches and multiple gas stations before the entire landscape was consumed by pine trees. Constantly I cataloged the traffic around and behind us. No one careened toward us or followed-that I could see. To be honest, the only people who seemed to care about us were the angry drivers who didn’t appreciate our weaving in and out of lanes.

“Eyes straight ahead,” I said when I noticed the kid was staring at my chest.

His cheeks colored. “My little pony needs the road to open up so she can run.” He patted the dashboard.

Run. Yes. Forever? How long would I be hunted?

He glanced at me-at my face, this time. “Hey, you all right? You’re putting out some seriously funky vibes.”

“I’m great.” Considering I’m marked for death. “What’s your name?”

“Tanner, but my friends call me Crazy Bones.”

“Uh, that’s an… interesting nickname.”

“I know. I got it from the ladies.” His young chest puffed up. “It’s for all the wicked-mad bones I give the girls that make them crazy for more.”

I almost choked. “Bones… as in sex?”

“Fo sheezie.” He chuckled, a sound of pure adolescent glee. “No one’s ever jumped in front of my car like that.”

No more “get out, bitch” from this one.

Tanner-I refused to refer to him as Crazy Bones-was cute in a bad boy sort of way. Silver rings winked from his eyebrow, blue hair fell over his forehead and a colorful python tattoo wrapped around the base of his neck. He was a little thin, and his clothes were baggy and ripped. He looked anything but poor, however.

“My dad said the Viper would be a babe magnet, but fuck if I had any idea how much.”

“Your dad sounds great,” I said drily.

His lips dipped into a frown, and his hands clenched over the wheel. Had I said something wrong? Before I had a chance to ask, he changed the subject. “Who was shooting darts at you, and who was that man chasing you? You were, like, getting it from every angle.”

“The dart man is the devil.” And I didn’t know what Rome was to me. Potential savior? Potential downfall? Potential lover? A combination of all three? “I wish I knew about the one chasing me,” I finally answered, choosing honesty.

“He looked pi-issed. I’ve never seen a scowl that mean.”

“Unfortunately, that scowl is not false advertising.” Rome ’s face flashed before my mind. Oh, yes. He’d been pissed. His pupils had been dilated dramatically. His teeth had been bared in a sharp snarl, his nostrils flared. If he had been blessed/cursed with power over the four elements, there would have been a spontaneous Belle BBQ there in the street.

Before today, I never would have believed something like this was possible. Anyone who said superpowers truly existed would have been filed in the folders of my mind under “Freaking Insane.”

Tanner sneezed once, twice. He rubbed his nose and cut a narrowed glance in my direction. “Those ashes are potent.”

“Are they? I hadn’t noticed,” I said drily, turning toward him. For the first time, our gazes met. His eyes were completely black, as if his pupils had swallowed his irises and-I shook my head, certain my eyesight must be compromised. “Are those eight balls?”

“Hell, yeah.” He grinned, appearing younger and slightly wicked. “I could have gone for the tiger eye contacts, but this way the girls know right up front that I’ve got lucky balls.”

O-kay. Too much (creepy) information. I needed to find a happy place inside my mind and forget I’d ever heard that. Happy place. Happy place.

“So, uh, you never told me your name, baby,” he said. He leaned back in his seat and stretched out one arm, draping it over my headrest.

I didn’t want to give him the real thing. The less he knew about me and my circumstances, the better. “My friends call me… ” Crap. Except for the names Hunted and Dead, my mind was completely blank. Surely I could come up with something. My gaze slid over the car, onto the dashboard, and-I grinned. “Viper. My friends call me Viper.”

Tanner’s brow furrowed. “Like my car?”

“That’s right.” I didn’t try to explain. Whatever explanation he created in his mind was sure to trump any lie I could weave.

“That’s not your name,” he said, his brow furrowing deeper. “I thought I heard that man call you Elle. Or Belle. Or Nell.”

Thinking quickly (and not altogether intelligently), I said, “He was Spanish, obviously, and was trying to say el stoppo.” Okay, so that sucked major ass. You try almost dying, being chased, then hopping in a car with a complete (horny) stranger and see what kind of lies you can come up with. Jeez.

A car honked and we swerved, tilting me to the side. I barely managed to hold back my scream. I gasped instead, hand poised over my heart as if such a puny action could slow it down. No emotion, Belle. Feel nothing. “Is someone trying to run us off the road?”

“Oops. My bad,” Tanner said. He realigned the car, nearly swiping the bumper of a Jeep. “I got distracted.”

Did I have to ask what distracted him?

He decided to answer, though I hadn’t asked aloud. “Your shirt is so thin.” There was a hint of accusation in his tone.

God save me from teenagers. Please. I didn’t remember them acting this blatant about their arousal. Maybe that was because I’d been an ugly duckling in high school (and junior high and elementary school) and they hadn’t been turned on around me. I’d been too skinny, had a mouthful of silver braces and had been taller than most of the boys (not that I’m a giant or anything). Yes, I’d even had pimples. But I’d been the best dressed, by God!

And just so you know, I wasn’t the only voter in that poll.

Finally, the vehicle eased into a smoothly paved parking lot of an elegant motel, and stopped under the covered entrance. Magnolia trees in full bloom surrounded the sprawling structure, their pink tones giving the place a gentle, welcoming ambiance. A patch of wildflowers separated the parkway from the foyer, a rainbow of colors.

“This isn’t a cheap motel,” I said, frowning.

“Well, it is a motel and it’s the cheapest one in the area.” He cut the engine and unfastened his seat belt.

I released my belt, as well, and bit my bottom lip. The kid wanted to come inside. He expected to have sex with me. How was I going to get out of this one?

Tanner’s gaze shifted from the immaculate building to me. “We can keep driving, I guess, and find someplace trashier.”

“No.” I sighed. My shoulders slumped. I’d be out of cash before the end of the day, and had no way of getting more. Silver lining: the people after me would probably assume I’d conserve my money and stay in a real dump. They wouldn’t look for me here. Right? Right. “This will be fine,” I said with forced ease.

“Don’t worry about money.” He wriggled his eyebrows at me. “I’ll pay.”

I pursed my lips. He thought I planned to rock his world; of course he wanted to pay. While that disturbed me on one level, it overjoyed me on another, solving several problems. One, I’d keep my anonymity. And two, I’d save what little (stolen) cash I had in my possession. I was, as usual, a girl on a budget.

“Okay, thanks,” I said, fighting a wave of guilt. “Why don’t you get the room? I’ll wait here.”

He shook his head, causing blue locks of hair to fall over his eyes. “Hell, no. I’m not going in there by myself.”

“Why not?”

“Just because.” His cheeks burned bright red.

Confused, I blinked at him. “Are you eighteen or older?”

“Yeah, but I’m not doing it alone. That’s… embarrassing. Like buying condoms by myself or something. The motel people might think I’m getting a room to pleasure myself.”