Free Scorch by Kaitlyn Davis Page A

retorted.
    "We are alive, thank you very much… but, are
you thinking of a vampire?"
    "Nope. And you're down to fifteen."
    Kira smiled and looked out the window. She
knew Luke too well and already knew what he was thinking about.
    "Man?"
    "Nope and fourteen."
    "Okay, woman?"
    "Yeah."
    Kira smirked—she was totally right.
    "Fictional character?" Kira asked and Luke
met her eyes through the rearview mirror.
    "Yeah," he said with a grin and Kira grinned
back. Yup, Pavia would never get it.
    "Does that count as one of my questions?"
    "Nope, but that does. Twelve."
    Pavia blew a bang from her forehead. Luke
began to drum his fingers on the steering wheel—his victory was
looking more and more imminent. Kira reached through the seats and
turned on the radio. Car games weren't really her thing.
    Instead, she settled in her seat and looked
at Tristan, who was totally silent. His eyes were focused through
the window, flicking back and forth with the trees flying by the
car. But they looked lost.
    For what felt like the first time she could
remember, Kira didn't understand what was going through that pretty
head of his. The wrinkles framing his frowning eyes were familiar,
the purse to his lips was something she had seen before, his
straight determined nose was nothing new—but it was like a painting
that had been replicated. Almost the same as the original but not
quite. There was nothing specific Kira could pinpoint, but
something intangible had changed.
    She assumed he was thinking about his life as
a vampire, what may have happened, but she didn't know the way she
used to. Though Tristan had only been human for a few days, he had
already started drifting away from her. And Kira wasn't sure if his
memories would bring him back, if anything could bring him
back.
    His eyes moved in the side mirror, looking
for hers. Kira hesitated, holding his gaze for a minute, before
looking away. A self-conscious bubble expanded in her chest,
blocking her breath.
    Maybe it was selfish, but she wanted to look
into those eyes and see her Tristan again, just for a minute, to
feel connected to him again. And Kira knew exactly how to do it,
she just needed Pavia to play along once they got to
Charleston.
    When they got home, it would all work itself
out.
    "Only one question left!" Luke taunted,
making his words come out as a song that caught Kira's
attention.
    Pavia looked annoyed and determined. She bit
her bottom lip while she thought.
    "Are you thinking about Catwoman?" She asked
slowly.
    "Nope! I win!" Luke started chanting from the
front seat. His joy was contagious and Kira let it bubble up in her
chest, flowing through their bond secretly. He really was like a
drug, a little happy pill she could take whenever she wanted
it.
    "He's thinking of Wonder Woman," Kira told
Pavia, fighting the grin that was widening her lips.
    "Bingo! And that's why we're best friends,"
Luke said, and reached back to squeeze her knee.
    Best friends or something else? Kira thought
as the warmth from his hand traveled up her leg.
    Charleston, Kira let the word keep her
afloat. Maybe it was a pipe dream, but she had to believe an answer
was coming soon.
    Charleston.
     
     
     
    Chapter Six

    "Can you take a right up here?" Kira asked.
They had been in the car for hours, taking shifts driving through
the night, but finally they were almost home.
    "Here?" Luke asked, confusion clouding his
words.
    "Just trust me."
    He made the turn and continued driving until
they reached the end of the road, which broke off right next to the
Ashley River, a few miles away from Charleston City. He stopped the
car and turned to her with an eyebrow raised.
    "What are we doing here?"
    "Tristan, Pavia—will you guys wait for me
outside?" Kira asked, unbuckling her seatbelt to shift her
attention to Luke. They were eye level, well almost, and both
sitting in the front seats.
    "You're not going to like this, but I have
something to do before we go home and figure out the whole vampire
meeting