Chapter Nineteen
Phi was silent the rest of the way back to the compound, his gaze on their surroundings. When the gates opened and allowed them back inside, Danica glanced around them.
“I thought we would have to worry about being attacked while outside the compound?”
“I think my father has decided it’s better for me to die in the Games. After all, hard to contest or make accusations if I die in a race meant to kill.” Phi shrugged. “Still, it’s best to be vigilant. I was keeping a watch and had our tracker running the whole time so Arden would know where we were.”
The garage door opened to reveal said vampire standing inside with his arms crossed like a worried parent. He didn’t seem too excited about them leaving him behind.
“Well, speak of the Devil and he shall appear,” Danica murmured, and a small smile tugged at Phi’s lips.
Killing the engine, Danica unbuckled her harness and stepped free of the car just as Phi did the same on the passenger side.
“And where have you two been?” Arden asked like the doting parent Danica imagined him as, his eyes trailing down their bodies. He sniffed the air and raised his brows. “Not having fun apparently.”
Danica’s face twisted. “Did you just smell me?” She shook her head and held up her hand. “Never mind. I don’t even wanna know what you can smell typically. We were learning the car.” Turning to Phi, she asked, “what time is dinner?”
“In about an hour,” he answered, and she nodded at him.
“I’ll meet you there.”
Danica tossed the keys toward Arden, who caught it without complaint, and before either of them could say anything, she was already walking away, her back to them. She’d come a long way since the first time they met, and she refused to turn her back on the two predators standing in the middle of a dirt track.
“What happened?” Arden asked the moment Danica disappeared inside the door. There was curiosity in his gaze and perhaps a bit of jealousy. Phi couldn’t fault him for that. He would be jealous the same, just as he’d been when he’d smelled Danica on Arden a few days prior. It had been so obvious his friend had kissed her despite his orders. But Phi understood. Danica didn’t need protection. She was strong, capable, and yet, he wanted to protect her completely.
Phi met Arden’s eyes. “I think Danica Dyers is something we didn’t see coming, my friend.”
Arden tensed. “As in she’s dangerous?”
“Not in the way you’re thinking,” Phi answered. “There’s this unspeakable draw to her, like she’s a planet and is dragging me into her orbit, and suddenly, I’d like to know more.” If Arden could have tensed more, he would have. As it was, his fingers curled into fists. “And I know you understand because you feel it, too.”
“You said no fucking,” Arden pointed out.
Sighing, Phi pulled the tie from his hair and ran his fingers through the long tresses. “I realize that, and it would be smart to keep it that way.”
Arden inched closer. “But?”
“I don’t know if I can stay away from her,” Phi admitted.
Eyes widening, Arden dropped the car keys on the table and touched his forehead. “Your father will already be angry she’s a human, Phi.”
“I know that.”
“If he realizes she’s important to you in any way, or to me, even as a passing fancy—”
“I realize that,” Phi growled, interrupting him. “I understand the danger and if I were a considerate creature, I’d not entertain the thought of what she’d taste like, but here I am.” The words came out a snarl, savage, angry.
Arden studied him, the look in his eyes, and squared his shoulder. “Is this to be a competition between us?”
Phi paused at his words, at the knowledge in them. In the end, if Phi decided he wanted Danica for himself, Arden would step back because of the titles, but Phi had never wanted it to be such in their friendship. He didn’t want Arden to bow to him. He didn’t want him to fear him.
“No,” Phi answered. “I’ve never been threatened by you, Arden. You know that.”
Arden nodded and picked up the tablet Phi had left lying around, the one he was rarely without. He’d only left it so Arden knew where they were, so he wouldn’t worry. “Then we let Danica lead the way. It’s the only fair option to her. And we tell her all the stakes.”
“She already knows mine,” Phi admitted despite Arden’s raised brow. “Tell her yours, if you wish. And I’ll make sure she knows the danger it would pose if she were accepting of. . . us.”
“We should be practicing,” Arden said, a last-ditch effort to see reason.
“And we will. But Danica doesn’t need practice. She’s already the best driver I’ve ever seen, despite being human. If we stand a chance at winning, it’ll be because of her.”
Sighing, Arden clasped the arm Phi offered, a sign of friendship deeper than Phi’s father could ever understand. “And if we die?”
Phi met his eyes. “Then this world will have bigger problems than the gravity pulling us toward a single human woman.”