‘Keep it. Yours is fried, I’ll get a new one. That way at least we can keep track of you and know you’re safe.’

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, suddenly – about the vampires being able to track my phone. But then again, I supposed if they wanted, they could dispatch Michael or any other vamp to find me. Wouldn’t be that hard. They knew where I was going, anyway.

‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘Eve texted you a picture of herself in a nightie.’

‘What?’ He grabbed for the phone, but I held it out of reach.

‘Kidding. She just asked when you’d be home. You know, to rip all her clothes off.’

‘Maybe this giving you my phone thing is a bad idea.’

‘Depends, what kind of pictures does Eve send you?’

‘Good thing I’m not the jealous type—’ He stopped himself, but too late, and there was an awkward, thick silence for a few long seconds.

Because I was the jealous type, and we both knew it. I tried not to be, but the green-eyed monster part of me had roared out on a couple of occasions, and Hulk-smashed my trust with Claire the last time.

Hence, me travelling alone.

‘I’ll ignore any pictures, I swear,’ I said. ‘I’m texting Eve now.’ I pushed buttons and lost myself in the tech world for a few more heartbeats, and when I came out of it, the strangeness between me and my best friend was mostly gone. Mostly. ‘Done. If she sexts me now, it’s her own lookout.’

He punched me on the arm, lightly. It was the uninjured one, thankfully, but I still felt echoes through to the other side. Ow. Yeah, definitely going to leave a mark. ‘You’re lucky I love you, man.’

‘You’re lucky I don’t stake your undead Dracula wannabe ass.’

He just shook his head. ‘Seriously. You going to be okay out there on your own?’

‘Claire’s out there,’ I said. ‘Alone. So yeah. I have to be, right?’

‘She really can take care of herself, you know. She’s proved it about a hundred times already.’

‘I know,’ I said. This time, my voice came out softer than I intended. ‘That’s kind of what scares me. Because what if she doesn’t need me any more, man?’

That got me a sideways flash of a look before he turned his attention back to the road. ‘She needs you for more than just protection. It’s how it works. You want the strong girl, you understand that she’s with you because she wants to be. Not because she has to be. You know that, right?’