They reached a clearing and Veso stopped. She did too, staring up at mountains the trees had hidden. She gazed at Veso. He was grinning, looking super happy.

“You know where we are?”

“Yes. We’re going over that and we’ll hit VampLycan territory. We’re closer than I thought.”

She twisted her head again, gaping at the mountains. They were tall. Not ginormous, but the idea of climbing a few thousand feet didn’t exactly excite her. “It looks kind of steep.”

“We’re not going around them. Don’t even suggest it.”

“You know we don’t have rope this time, don’t you?”

“We won’t need it. There are a lot of trees.”

“So?”

“The humans will want to avoid that.”

“You’re right. I want to avoid it too.”

He scowled.

She turned away and spotted something glinting in the sun. “What’s that?” She pointed.

Veso stepped closer, following the line of her finger. “Unbelievable.”

“What is it? Should we duck? Is it those men?”

“It’s a dirt bike. One of them must have driven it into this area to get here from wherever he lives.”

She squinted. “You must have super eyes. All I’m seeing is a bunch of green and a tiny shiny spot.”

Veso gripped her hand. “You may get your wish not to climb if it has fuel and it’s not a trap. He did park it in a hidden spot. From this vantage point, just that tiny bit of it is visible to your eye. But the sun has warmed the metal so I can see it through the bushes.”

“Trap?” She didn’t like that idea at all but Veso tugged hard, making her follow him or trip. She kept up. He sniffed a lot again, doing his thing and glancing around. “You can see through bushes? Is that what you said?”

“I’m part Vampire, Glenda. Metal gets hot in the sun and appears near glowing to me.”

She remembered then that he’d told her Vampires had the freaky ability to see heat at night. It’s why they’d never traveled at night and he’d dug that hole for them to sleep in. She really hoped he was right. A dirt bike meant wheels.

“What if the person didn’t leave keys?”

He snorted, continuing forward.

“What does that mean?”

“Old dirt bikes don’t have keys, Glenda. Be quiet.”

She sealed her lips and hurried to keep up with him. He was walking even faster, focused on the clump of bushes. As they got closer she could spot more of the bike. It was hidden behind bushes between two trees. He let go of her arm and put his finger to his lips, then motioned her to stay put. He advanced with caution, then stepped behind the bushes.

She glanced around, her heart pounding. What if whoever had left that dirt bike was lurking? She glanced at the ground and found a stick. It beat not having anything to hit someone with if they were attacked.

“Get over here,” Veso whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

He was straddling the seat, the backpack on the ground. One foot braced his weight and the other was bent up a bit. He studied the woods around them again.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for the best path to leave this area. I don’t want to go the way the driver came. Wear the backpack for me. There’s not much gas but it might be enough to get us home. Climb on behind me once I start it. Don’t waste time. Sound will carry.”

She bent, put on the backpack, and eyed the scant amount of seat left for her with dread. Veso wasn’t exactly a small guy and that seat wasn’t built for two people to begin with, in her estimation. It did have a guard over the back tire and an exhaust pipe. It would be just her luck if the plastic broke and she hit that tire.

“Great. Just great,” she muttered.

“Hold on tight. This is going to be rough. Ready?”

He did something with his hands on the bars, then shoved his raised foot down. The engine tried to catch but didn’t. He lifted his leg, then kicked again.

That time the engine started. It was incredibly loud in the quiet woods.

She moved fast, near panicked with the thought of those men with darts rushing toward them. She threw her leg over, hugging Veso in a death grip.

He slowly took off and the ass end slid a bit in the dirt.

She realized there were no foot pegs and held her feet out, terrified.

“Wrap them around me,” Veso yelled, picking up speed.

He was nuts. Then again, when he took a turn to avoid a rock, her foot hit dirt. It was just a tap but she lifted both legs, trying to hook them around his waist. He was too big to really see around and what she could glimpse, only made her regret trying. He weaved through trees, rocks, and brush at a dangerous pace.

The dirt bike vibrated hard under her ass, her tailbone taking a beating when they bounced around on the rock-strewn ground as he picked up even more speed.

“We’re going to die,” she muttered. “Correction, I’m going to die. Shit.”

Veso grinned. It had been a lot of years since he’d been on a dirt bike but he remembered how to handle one. He was careful not to accelerate too fast again anytime he had to slow. He didn’t want to accidentally pop a wheelie. He stopped when he came to a creek, searching for the best way to cross it. It didn’t appear deep. He could see the stones in the water.

He reached down and adjusted Glenda’s feet so she didn’t hurt him with her heels. “Hold on tight.”

“Don’t tell me. My eyes are closed and I’m pretending this is a ride at an amusement park.”

“It’s just a shallow creek. We’re going to get a little wet.”

“At least it’s not a mountain.”

He chuckled and took off slow, steering down a small embankment toward the narrowest section of water.

Movement caught his eye to the left and he saw a human running their way. He was far off but gaining ground. It was one of the men he’d seen earlier. He snarled, accelerating more. They hit the water and Glenda gasped but she clung tight to him. The back wheel spun a bit on the other side but they got clear. He turned the wheel, picking up speed.

Something sailed past out of the corner of his eye. It was a dart. The bastard was firing at them. The human could hit Glenda on the back of the dirt bike. It would probably kill her if they used enough drugs to put a VampLycan down. He saw a large rock and drove toward it. He stopped hard once they were on the other side of it, leaving the engine running.