The Disappearing Act (Vampire Academy Fan Fiction Book 2)

Chapter 13: Jailbait

Chapter 13: Jailbait

                The moment we got near Vegas, Mia asked to be dropped off with Annessa. She claimed the Strip was no place for a kid and I agreed; it just made escaping a little harder when we had to go out the way we came in. But, Annessa had to be safe; Dimitri and I couldn’t live with ourselves if she got hurt.

                We left them at a motel, Annessa blindly following Mia into a diner down the street as Dimitri climbed back into the car. I stood for a moment, watching them as they walked into the fading sunlight, Annessa’s hair outlined in orange and causing her to glow while Mia kept a solid hand on her side where her stake was. She would give herself up for that kid; I still didn’t believe that was the only reason she’d left Court.

“Roza? Are you coming?” Dimitri asked, revving the engine.

                I ducked into my seat and slammed the door, forcing my eyes away from the sunset. We had to get moving.

                The last time I had been to Las Vegas was for my bachelorette party. That seemed like decades ago now, but not a lot had changed. There were still too many lights, too many partiers, and too many places for Strigoi to hide. I was ready to leave as quickly as possible.

“What was the name of the place?” I asked as Dimitri wove his way through the traffic.

“The Little Cat,” he replied, eyes roving the buildings on either side of us. He turned abruptly, eliciting some honks and select words from the driver’s around us as he sped into an open parking space. “You have that dress yet? We need to look the part.”

                I rolled my eyes. “I think you just want to see me in the dress.”

                It earned me a weak smile but nothing more as he grabbed his bag from the back seat and pulled on a blazer. I shimmied out of my t-shirt and into the mess of clingy fabric he tossed at me, trying to fluff life back into my hair. We were in Vegas, after all; I would’ve loved to sport something slutty and wear too much eye makeup. But we didn’t have time for that; we didn’t have time for anything anymore.

                I slicked on mascara and red lipstick as Dimitri explained the plan.

                It was simple; just a scouting mission. We’d go in, look around, try to dig some dirt up, and then we’d leave. Simple.

                Too simple. Something always had to go wrong with plans that simple.

“We’ll meet by the bar if we get separated,” he said, checking his cropped hair in the mirror. I let my gaze wander to him, taking in the man who I fell in love with multiple times a day. He was handsome and Godlike and deadly. His eyes were alive with fire and adrenaline; he looked young again, like he did when we first met. He looked beautiful.

“Roza?” he said, concern in his voice as he saw me staring.

“I love you,” I whispered. He reached over, fingers light on my cheek, and brought my lips to his.

“I love you,” he echoed and kissed me again.

                When was the last time he’d told me he loved me?

                I opened my car door and melted into the street’s crowd, on high alert as Dimitri followed. He kept a hand on the small of my back, the cool metal of his wedding band seeping through the fabric of my dress. That was one thing we never gave up, no matter how many identities or characters we played; we always wore our wedding bands. It made me feel like me in a world where I had to be everyone but myself.