“Of course.”
There hadn’t been much in the way of conversation during the drive. He kept asking her if she was okay. He kept insisting that she’d be fine. She kept thanking him for going out of his way to help her. He kept saying that it was absolutely no problem.
He pulled right up in front of the emergency room entrance. “Do you want me to come in with you?” he asked.
Michele shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. You’ve done enough.”
She got out of the car, waved goodbye, and shut the door. She caught a flash of movement in the glass door, turned around, and the werewolf pounced upon her. The punch to her stomach knocked the wind out of her.
Michele tried to scream as Ivan tossed her over his shoulder but couldn’t find her voice. He ran off, claws digging into her back, and then within a few seconds they were behind George and Lou’s black van. The back doors were open.
Ivan tossed her into the cage. She landed on her elbow, crying out in pain. Ivan slammed the cage door shut and transformed back into a human predator.
The man who’d given her a ride was running towards the van, but he’d never make it in time. Michele tried not to cry as Ivan shut the van doors, got back into the driver’s seat, and peeled out of the hospital parking lot.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Grand Theft Auto
There was a small restaurant two buildings away from the Cotton Mouse Tavern with parking in the back. George and Lou walked back there and glanced at the selection of about four cars.
“That one?” George asked, pointing at a rusty orange Chevrolet. It looked like the oldest one, the least likely to have an alarm, and the least likely to give them problems with the hotwiring process. Hopefully it belonged to an employee and not a diner. Less chance of them being discovered, unless somebody took a smoke break.
“Yeah, that works.”
They walked over to the car. With the proper tools, either one of them could break into a car with no noise or damage to the vehicle, but at the moment they didn’t have tools or time. Lou picked up a rock and smashed the driver’s side window. Though the noise seemed like a nuclear blast, there was loud music coming from inside the restaurant and hopefully nobody overheard them.
George got in the car, reached over, and unlocked the passenger side door for Lou. As Lou got in, George immediately looked around the car for a screwdriver or something that could be used like one.
There was plenty of litter in the front seat, but fast food containers and soda cans weren’t going to help them. Lou popped open the glove compartment and quickly rifled through the contents. “Nothing here.”
George twisted around and searched the back seat. More fast food containers, a few magazines, a Justin Timberlake CD with a cracked jewel case...and a hammer. Good enough. George picked it up off the back seat.
“I can’t believe he stole our van,” said Lou.
“He’ll suffer for it.”
“He might not. Karma seems to be on his side.”
George pushed his seat back and adjusted his position so he could use the claw end of the hammer to break open the access panel beneath the steering wheel. The seat was a tight fit already, so this would be a lot easier if he could crouch outside the vehicle and lean inside, but that might attract unwanted attention.
“Karma? Why would he have karma?”
“I don’t know. I mean, maybe we’re being punished for what we’ve done. You know, hurting people and stuff.”
“Give me a break, Lou. A sociopathic werewolf is not going to have better karma than us. You’re just having brain problems from all the blood you’ve lost.”
Lou looked horrible. Ivan had really done a number on him. The entire bottom half of his face was stained red from the four cuts on his cheek, and the rest of his body looked like he’d been in a losing battle with a Weedwhacker. Good thing Lou was one tough son of a bitch.
Lou scratched at his chin, which had several blisters on it. “Maybe.”
“Is that a burn?”
“Yeah. My face went on a grill.”
“How the hell did your face go on a grill?”
“He pushed me on it.”
“That’s crazy.” George strained to pry off the access panel, but it wasn’t budging. “Are you going to bleed to death?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Let me know if you get close.”
“I will.”
“I’m glad he didn’t kill you.”
“Aw, that’s sweet,” said Lou. “I’m glad he didn’t kill you, too.”
“Of course, before too much longer, we might be wishing that he killed us both.”
“Nah, I think we’ll be okay.”
“Why would you think something stupid like that?”
“Well, we aren’t dead yet, are we? We’re luckier than a bunch of other people tonight.”
George sighed. “Don’t remind me. Do you think that was all our fault?”
“Do you think there’s any way it couldn’t be?”
“I was hoping for a guilt loophole.”
Lou shook his head. “Nah. I hate to say this, but it’s our fault those people got murdered. Ivan did it, but it’s still our fault.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you stab him eight thousand times with the cross on your bracelet?”
“Didn’t get the chance.”
“I’d suggest that you sharpen it, but then there wouldn’t be anything left.”
“Bite me. Like I said before, how do we know the ‘cross stops vampires’ idea didn’t come from werewolves? Did you see the way his flesh sizzled? Maybe the cross had as much to do with it as the silver.”
“You could be right.”
“I bet I am.”
“This goddamn access panel won’t come off.”
“Can I help?”
“How are you going to help? I can barely get in here by myself.”
“I was just offering. Don’t be rude to somebody who might be bleeding to death.”
“I think you’d be talking less if you were really bleeding to death.” The corner of the access panel came loose...and then snapped off. “Damn it!”
“Do you want to switch spots?”
“No, just let me do this.” George wedged the claw end of the hammer in the crack and began to pull.
“Where do you think Michele went?”
“Straight to the cops.”
“You’re probably right. At least we didn’t get her killed.”
“Yeah. I’d be so much more bothered by this situation if we were responsible for eight deaths at the bar instead of seven. At least he didn’t make his prediction.”
“I’m just going to stop talking to you until you’re done with the car.”
The access panel broke in half. “Damn it!”
“We should place a bet on how this night ends. Jail, death, or escape?”
“How much are we betting?”
“How much do you want to bet?”
“Twenty bucks.”
“Let’s do twenty-five.”
“Fine,” said George, breaking off the rest of the panel. “You pick first.”
“I’ll pick ‘escape.’ That way I can enjoy my twenty-five bucks.”
“I’ll pick jail.”
“Good choice. I’m glad to hear that you’re not completely cynical.”
George leaned forward and tried to duck his head underneath the steering wheel. Not a chance. There simply wasn’t room.
“If you pop the trunk, I’ll see if I can find a flashlight,” said Lou.
“It’s not the light.” He opened the door. “Keep watch. Let me know if somebody’s coming.
“Will do.”
George got out of the car and crouched down. There were several wires beneath where the panel had been. The shadow of the steering wheel made it hard to see their colors, but he didn’t want to admit to Lou that he really could use a flashlight.
His cell phone rang. “Aw, crap.”
“Is it Ricky?”
George pulled the cell phone out of his pocket. The shell was cracked, but it still seemed to be working. He flipped it open. “Yeah, it’s him.”
“Want me to talk to him?”
“Nah, I’ve got it.” He punched the “talk” button. “Hello?”
“George! Who do you love?”