Our Demons {Kai Parker Book 1}

five: in which he drugs her

They were on the road for three hours and although it couldn't be avoided, Kai and Ria both came to remember that people were annoying.

"This is my life now" she sighed heavily, "I sit in this car and I will die in this car."

"We've only been driving for a few hours stop complaining. Besides, I'm here, so you're welcome."

Ria pulled the lever on the seat, now sitting upright. "Oh no,"

Kai glanced over, "what?"

"I think I just felt an emotion."

She grinned when he rolled his eyes. In the short four hours that they had been stuck in the car, the duo came to understand a lot about each other. 

For instance, Ria knew that when she was sarcastic or dramatic Kai had difficulty disputing. She knew that Kai sang to the music playing on the radio, that he would point out the beauties of nature, and that when he wasn't talking and planning and staring at her, she kind of liked him.

"But seriously, why can't I drive?"

"Because I am a safer driver than you are," he poked her cheek. He knew that death was impossible for him in the prison world, but the rule may not exactly be the same for Ria since the prison wasn't intended for her. All in all, he decided to keep her alive just until it was time to leave. 

"Says the one who doesn't have their license."

"Says the one who wasn't wearing their seatbelt."

Ria scoffed, turning her body to face the window and watch the trees pass by. She ignored him for ten seconds, then, "Yes, I turned away mid-conversation. Not because I didn't have a response, but because you were boring me to death and my survival instincts kicked in."

"You've got quite a mouth on you, you know that?" he held on to the steering wheel with one hand, and with the other reached for the glove compartment. He takes out a roll of tape, tossing it on her lap. "I just might have to use this."

"Why are you mean?" she asked and Kai noted the lack of sarcasm and humour in her voice. "Everyone has their back story, the reason they are who they are. What happened to you, Kai Parker?"

His grip on the steering wheel got tighter and his jaw clenched. Ria saw the changes in his physical appearance; he sat uprights, lips sealed. His eyes morphed into the same wickedness she first saw, only this time it was darker, like a beast desperate to unleash. 

Her heart beat faster, this was the face of someone else, someone with a darker past and ugly secrets. However, Ria knew the way of talking and comforting this type of person.

She was angry, vengeful, broken, but she was also full of remorse.

"Slow,"

She reached with her hand, placing it over his.

"Careful,"

She waited as he slowed the car down, stopping, and then turned his attention to her.

Her hand was warm and Kai realized that he craved human contact. She stared at him with patience, warmth, and care, and Kai felt alien to this sympathy. He didn't know how to respond and so he sat there, feeling her hand on his, staring into her brown eyes so closely, that he could see his own reflection. The feelings were overwhelming and Kai didn't know what to do with them. 

"I'm sorry," was the last thing she heard him say before he stabbed a syringe full of anesthetics into her neck, causing her to pass out.

He was going to take her to Portland, just not the way she wanted to be taken.