I'll Be Your Last

Road Trip

We were hauling ass up the road. My phone hummed, tucked away in the pocket of my jacket. Klaus snatched it out faster than I could blink, answering it for me.

“Hello, Damon,” he drawled.

“Klaus, what the hell are you doing?” Damon demanded on the other end.

“Heading home” Klaus said, smiling.

“What?” I asked loudly. I was already freaking out about what had just happened. Tyler had threatened me. Damon, Elena and Jeremy had come for me and my mom because things were going to hell. I didn’t even know why Elijah was there.

“New Orleans? I know you really like Caroline but I didn’t think you’d resort to kidnapping,” Damon countered.

“I’m not going to New Orleans, Klaus,” I told him, trying to grab my phone away. I wasn’t having a lot of luck. Klaus was a lot stronger than I was.

“That’s a bit melodramatic, isn’t it?” Klaus tossed back at him.

“Taking someone against their will?” Damon asked.

“For safe keeping,” he told Damon, his gaze turning on me. I stopped struggling with him. “See I’m in the way of knowing that Silas is back and it seems your girl and mine know a little something that he might find useful.”

My mouth dropped open. Silas was back. How? Elena and I knew something Silas wanted to know? Like what?

Did he just refer to me as his girl?

“We all have a common goal, Damon. To keep Silas from dropping the veil and letting all our dearly departed friends return.” Klaus paused, grinning. “And you already have a lot on your plate. Silas coming for your girl. Knowing he has your brother. My taking Caroline with me is one less thing you’ll have to deal with. You know we can protect her better than you can.”

“Yeah? And Caroline doesn’t get a say about being dragged down to the Big Easy?” Damon pressed.

“What was it you called it? Ah, I remember. Bad with a purpose.”

“You were just waiting to throw that back at me, weren’t you?” Damon sighed.

“You take care now, Damon.”

Klaus ended the call, innocently handing me back my phone.

“Klaus,” I said in warning. It made me even madder how pleased he looked with himself. “I’m not going with you to New Orleans. I’m going to call Damon back and you’re going to drop me off and –“

He retrieved the phone the minute I started the call.

“Klaus! Give me the phone!” I demanded.

Elijah’s gaze met mine in the rear view mirror. He seemed amused but didn’t say anything.

“Caroline, going with us to New Orleans is precisely what’s going to happen,” Klaus told me.

“Tyler is obviously in trouble and you just… staked him to the ground back there,” I started.

“Silas is in his head right now. If he came with us or went with Damon, Silas would have be one step closer to meeting his objective,” he said coldly.

“He’s hurt.” I couldn’t decide if tears were coming on because of fear or because I was so angry at the moment. “And then there’s my mother.”

“If you were with her, Caroline, she could be used against you. Damon and Elena will hide her well. If you’re not in the same place, if Silas has no access to you, threatening her would do him little good.”