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“Oh, yes,” Elijah said.

“I was sent to the Master of Orlando for a short time,” Clive told them, “and the flock there has state-of-the-art video gaming systems. They have a chair, pedals, and steering wheel set up on a platform so you can feel impact of crashes, and the revving of the engine when you race. It was quite fascinating.”

“Our main coterie house here has a steering wheel and pedals in one of the common areas,” Dev told them. “The racing games won’t help much when it comes to driving, but there are games designed to teach the rules of the road.”

Dev hadn’t planned to bring this up today, but it wouldn’t hurt to let them know he was considering what would need to happen before they could drive.

“Slaves can sometimes be trusted to drive,” he told the twins. “The Tasmanian Devil we told you about drives Brooke and some of the other top vampires. He’s trusted with the limo and any other vehicle the coterie owns because he’s an excellent driver. He’s technically a slave, in the sense the Concilio won’t allow him out and about without someone taking responsibility for him, but the jobs he does for the coterie are ones he’s chosen. Yes, he’s locked in at whatever property he's at, or car he’s driving, so he can’t hurt others, but we’ve all come to care for him. He’s part of the family.”

“The Master Vampire of Atlanta has a helicopter pilot he took on as an indentured servant, which is basically a slave with an end date,” Clive told them.

“Exactly,” Dev said. “I’d like for both of you, independently, without comparing notes, to list ten things you believe will need to happen before you can be trusted behind the wheel of a car. Please have it for me at breakfast tomorrow.”

“Time management is part of what ya’ll will need to learn,” Clive told them. “If you know you aren’t going to have time to do something when given a deadline, it’s your responsibility to respectfully inform Dev of your schedule. He’ll either tell you to figure it out, or he’ll make the assignment easier so it won’t take as much time, or he’ll give you more time.”

“We don’t know what our schedule is,” Ezra said.

“You’ll have free time after breakfast,” Dev told them, “and you’ll have several hours of free time in the early morning hours, before it’s time for sleep. You’re scheduled for another medical exam tonight, followed by a lengthy endurance test, but there should be plenty of time to write down your thoughts.”

Chapter Fifteen

Friday evening, Genie followed her phone’s GPS to Dev’s house. Or rather, the coterie house where Dev lived. She’d been here several times, of course, but there were a lot of turns without obvious landmarks, and it was the first time she’d driven.

The property had a tall stone wall, and an automated gate that opened without Dev having to do anything when he neared, but she’d known it wouldn’t open automatically for her.

She rolled her window down and punched in the last six digits of her cellphone number, and a male voice asked her to verify her identity. She did, and he asked if she was alone. A little put out by the question, she told him she was, and fifteen seconds later, the gate opened.

The road forked twenty yards later, and she drove into the heavily forested path to the right. Another five car lengths, a left turn, and Genie stopped in front of what looked like a cliff face on a small hill. The stone wall slid sideways, and she drove inside, down a steep incline, and parked. Nine cars were parked in lined parking spaces, with room for three times that many. She pulled into the spot near the elevator, as Dev had instructed, and looked at her wrist.

She only removed the little bracelet the Birmingham bikers had given her to wear while she was working. Otherwise, it stayed on, even in the shower. Birmingham had been torn apart in the big battle between good and evil, and the city was still full of roving bandits, with the local police unable to make the city safe. Everyone under the bikers’ protection wore a bracelet, andthe bad guys knew to leave them alone. She was tempted to take it off now, but she’d worn it around Dev before, and he might see her taking it off as a statement she wasn’t valuing her oath to the bikers, but shewouldbe true to that oath. There was an official path to undo it, but she wasn’t prepared to consider doing so anytime soon.

She stepped out of her car with it still on and looked towards the elevator.

“Did you have any trouble?” Dev was standing against a column, and she hadn’t seen him or scented him. Somehow, she managed to keep from jumping, though.

“Why did the guy ask me if I was alone?”

“Standard protocol. Sometimes it’s worded differently, to ask how many are in the car.” He put his hands on his hips, dropped them, crossed them over his chest, and finally walked to her, pulled her into a hug, and kissed her as if she was the oxygen he desperately needed in order to survive.

The intensity of the kiss took Genie by surprise, but she submitted to it and let it overwhelm her. She relaxed in his arms and let him hold her, support her. God, she’d missed his arms around her, his energy, his scent.

When he finally released her mouth, he held her tightly, her head resting on his chest.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to kiss-attack you in the garage. I’ve missed you. Talking on the phone is nice, but three and a half days without seeing you felt like a lot.”

“We aren’t that serious, Dev,” Genie told him, though she wasn’t certain she entirely believed what she was saying. Hadn’t she just acknowledged to herself how much she’d missed him?

Two seconds later, she scented that what she’d said came out as — not necessarily a lie, but not the truth, either.

She shook her head. “Let me try that again. We haven’t agreed to be that serious yet.”

“I should warn you. Brooke is really big on Christmas decorations. This location doesn’t get outside decorations because we don’t do anything to draw attention to the fact people live here, but the inside doesn’t escape the madness.”

Madness? How could Christmas decorations be defined asmadness?

The elevator car had garland and lights around the top, which didn’t seem too bad, but then the doors opened onto the floor with the main living room, and Genie could only stare. Dev pulled her out of the elevator before the doors closed, and she spun in a slow circle.

There were seven Christmas trees, and enough garland she could barely see the polished wood of the banister that kept people from falling down the steps. The stair railing also had garland, though it was wound around so people would be able to touch it in places, at least. The garland had ornaments and tiny presents and shiny pinecones and wisps of what might’ve been baby’s breath, but it gave it the look of snow at first glance