Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Devon threw a glance over his shoulder, body coiled with tension. I didn’t slow. I passed one car after the other, ignoring the honking and the angry hand signs of passing drivers.
The images in my head faded, flickered and disappeared. “The black limousine, where is it?”
“They’re a ways back, six cars behind us. It’s trying to keep up with us.”
I wouldn’t let it. The car was jerking back and forth every time I passed another car, but I kept my foot pressed down on the gas pedal until I couldn’t feel the images nibbling at my mind.
“They’re gone,” Devon said, relaxing against the seat.
“For now,” I whispered.
My throat felt tight and my eyes burned. The images, the memories, were they real? It didn’t matter. Someone was trying to mess with my mind, to take control of my thoughts and manipulate my consciousness. But this time, I wouldn’t let them.
It turned dark when we reached Las Vegas. For the rest of the way, we didn’t have another encounter with the black limousine and not a single strange vision had tried to burst into my mind, but I caught myself trying to conjure up my memories, looking for the image of Abel and Zach leaning over me in the crib. It was something I’d always wanted, to remember a loving father and brother, but could I even be sure the images were based on something that had really happened?
I pushed my thoughts aside. I had to focus on Holly now.
In the distance the Stratosphere tower rose up into the sky and around it skyscrapers in all shapes clustered together. There was the faux Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty and a roller coaster curling around the buildings like a snake.
Though I wasn’t sure what lay before us, I was glad to be back in a city and for the departure from the harsh landscape we’d passed. After a while, the thorny cacti and spooky tumbleweeds got old. The navigation system told us we’d have to cross the city to reach the outskirts where the bar was situated. Devon made a little detour over the Strip because I’d never been there before. On any other day, the luminous advertising, water shows and fake gondoliers steering their gondolas through the Venetian landscape would have made me giddy with excitement, but I couldn’t get past the lump in my throat.
Las Vegas Boulevard was crowded with people in flashy outfits. The skirts were a bit shorter and the shirts a bit more unbuttoned than I’d ever seen in the rest of the country. People here were desperate for fun, for the thrill of losing or winning money. Maybe if my life had been a bit more normal the thought of risking a few hundred bucks at a roulette table would have given me a thrill too. But after what I’d been through in the past year, the thought of mere gambling didn’t really make my heart race.
Even so, it was pretty clear why a bar for Variants belonged so close to this place. A few people who acted or looked strange wouldn’t draw much attention to themselves in a surrounding as big and exaggerated as this.
“You were here before?” I asked, my eyes already struggling against the burst of colors.
“A couple of years ago. Mom and Dad took Madison and me here for the weekend. We went to see a show, the Cirque du Soleil, and spent most of the day at the pool, and in the evenings we stuffed ourselves at the huge buffet at the Bellagio. I’ve never seen plates piled higher with crab legs in my life. It was kind of disgusting.” He laughed but then fell silent and a wistful look crossed his face. I knew he was thinking of his sister.
We spent the rest of the drive in silence.
Eventually the hotels became a little less opulent, though not less flashy. The buffets got cheaper, and so did the rooms, and the flow of people thinned. A few seedy-looking strip clubs and motels shared this part of town with motels that had seen better times.
“It’s supposed to be around here somewhere,” Devon said.
My eyes were drawn to an alley that turned off the street we were on. “I think that’s the right street.”
Devon steered the car to the right and we followed the narrow road to the very end. “This is it.” We pulled into a small parking space in front of an unremarkable gray building with a flat roof. There wasn’t a flashy sign atop the door or ads for cheap rooms and food. Actually, there wasn’t anything that indicated a bar was hidden inside.
My stomach tightened as we got out of the car. The air was warm and dry. I pulled my sweater off and straightened my T-shirt with shaky fingers before I scanned our surroundings. Our truck wasn’t the only car in the lot. Three spots, all closer to the door, were occupied by ordinary looking cars. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected to see, but this was definitely underwhelming. I’d thought something would be different about a place frequented by Variants. An air of otherness. Unless this wasn’t a bar for Variants and Alec had lied to throw us off course. I glanced at Devon.