Page 45 of Marked By Moonlight

I locked myself in the next toilet and stood there, thinking as the train rocketed along. Did the vampire know I was onto him? Did he care? What exactly did he want with me?

The slowest minute of my life ticked by, followed by another, and another.

Someone hammered on the door.

“Everything all right in there?” a woman called impatiently.

I flushed the toilet, splashed my face with water, drew in a deep breath, and exited. And, crap. Szabo stood two steps away with his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face that said,Where are you going to go now, sweetheart?

Somewhere. Anywhere. I turned to hurry through the dining car, and Szabo followed.

A steward came by, and I considered asking for help. But that would endanger an innocent person…or land me in a psych ward.

I continued to the next wagon and the next, desperate to hatch an escape plan. The train went directly to London, with no intermediate stops and no unsecured doors to jump out from. Besides, we were whipping along at about 300 kilometers per hour and would soon travel under the English Channel.

One more car, I decided. I would walk through one more car, then turn around and confront the bastard. He wouldn’t attack in public, would he?

The doors before me slid open. I passed the first four rows of seats, then halted in my tracks, staring at a man napping a few rows ahead.

“Marius?”

It was barely a whisper, but his eyes popped open.

My heart warmed, because his first expression was shy joy. Next, his brow creased into aDamn, I’m bustedexpression.

Wait. What the hell was he doing onmytrain?

The compartment door slid open behind me, and a wave of cold, ominous air heralded Szabo’s arrival.

Marius’s expression changed instantly. His eyes spelled murder as he jumped to his feet and stalked past me with a gruff, “Stay here.”

I usually made a point ofnotfollowing his orders, but my inner wimp declared this a worthy exception.

Szabo’s loathing expression mirrored Marius’s, but step by step, he backed away. The doors slid open behind him, and he continued into the next car. Marius disappeared after him.

My heart rate dropped slightly, only to spike again. Yikes. Would those two battle it out to the death in the dining compartment?

I waited helplessly for a minute. Then I remembered I didn’t do helpless and hurried after them.

Halfway through the next wagon, I caught up with Marius and grabbed his shoulder.

“Wait.”

He shook his head. “He’ll get away.”

“He has nowhere to go.”

Marius grimaced. “That’s almost as bad.”

Good point. What would Szabo do if cornered?

A man looked up from his meal, giving us dirty looks. A long minute of hushed pleading later, Marius followed me back to hisseat. The young metrosexual guy in the seat beside his looked annoyed until I flashed him my Premier Class reservation.

“Would you like to swap? I just bumped into my friend here, and we’d like to ride together.”

He jumped up like the Energizer Bunny, snapped a picture of my reservation, and headed off…hopefully not to his doom.

“Don’t worry,” Marius said, reading my mind. “Szabo won’t be interested in him.”