Bloodshed

Chapter Eighteen: Lost (Nero's POV)

Unable to disobey Audrey's Influence, I drove for what felt like days, though it was only two or three hours. Gabriel had taught me how to drive using something called a golf cart he kept on the island, so that wasn't an issue. No, the issue was something else, something that made the vehicle slow down despite my holding down the accelerator. 

"What the hell?" I mumbled, pulling over to the side of the road. 

I put the vehicle in park and shut it off, just like Gabriel had taught me, then I scanned the strange dials and gauges, completely lost. "Did I break it?"

Since I wasn't whistling anymore, the others began to stir. I glanced at them through the rearview mirror, my amethyst eyes still looking flat from Audrey's Influence. 

How could she have done that to us? 

To me? 

How could she send me away like that? 

I wanted to be angry with her. Scratch that, I was angry with her, but only a little. Truthfully, I was just hurt, and not solely because she Influenced me. An ache made its way to the center of my chest as she came to mind, and I screwed my eyes shut while massaging the spot with a shaky hand. 

Ever since my father took over my mind and body, when I found out that Audrey was my true mate, I got a deep pain in the middle of my chest whenever I thought of her. It never happened when she was near, though. So I wasn't sure what to make of it. Was it due to our connection to each other? Or was I simply missing her? Did she feel it when we were apart as well?

"What the fuck, blondie?" Linc's grumbled question pulled me back to the here and now. "Man, get your dick outta my face!"

I turned to look at him and busted out laughing. In my haste, I hadn't thought of where to put Aiden when I took his spot at the driver's seat. I had just tossed him in the back and sped off. Now he was positioned upside down in Linc's lap, his face to Linc's crotch and vice versa. 

"Hey, your cock is in my face, too! You don't hear me complaining about it." Aiden's voice came out muffled from between Linc's legs. 

A flush brightened Linc's cheeks. "That's 'cause my dick ain't hard."

Aiden pushed up, trying wiggle into an upright position. "Oh yeah? Tell that to my eye."

They spent the next few minutes bickering and fumbling around trying to right themselves, when Audrey's mother poked her head up from behind their seat. 

"Guys, what's with the sixty-nine?" She glanced around, eyes hazy with sleep. "Where's Audrey?"

Linc and Aiden finally straightened up, only to go rigid, matching Vanessa's stance. 

"Audrey?" Vanessa called. 

Her hazel eyes went wide, confused at first, and then they got wider as realization dawned. Aiden and Linc seemed to be remembering, too, because they gawked at each other before turning back to look at Vanessa. 

"How long were we out?" Gabriel asked, making me jump. I had been so caught up in the chaos going on in the seat behind me, that I hadn't noticed my big brother waking up. I adjusted the rearview mirror so I could stare into his intense blue eyes, and swallowed before speaking. 

"A few hours." I replied, hoarse. 

Gabriel closed his eyes, pained, and took in a couple of deep breaths. "And what did she say? What Influence does she hold over you?"

Now it was my turn to close my eyes. "She said to get you all out of here, and to go home and tell Duke what is going on if we don't hear from her in twenty-four hours."