Varius: #9 (Luna Lodge) Read Online Free

to him, but he kept the same neutral expression. No reason to let them see just how irritating he found her. “Is he your boyfriend?”
    Lena cleared her throat. “Um. Yes, he is.”
    The blood rushed to his head, even though he knew she was just saying it so the reporter would move on. It would make sense in the media if she were moving into the lodge if she had a boyfriend there.
    Still, he couldn’t stop his hand from moving to her side to show them all that she was his, the very woman who had been calling to his blood for months now.
    The reporter glanced to him and sighed, totally disinterested in his boring demeanor. She brought the microphone back to Lena.
    “Can you tell us what happened with your friend Paige and the deaths at her house? How did her fields really get set on fire? And why did she suddenly decide to live at the lodge? Did it have to do with the recent suspension at work? There’s been some talk of stolen drugs.”
    He could feel Lena tense under his hand the more the reporter pushed. She shook slightly and froze on the last step.
    “What can you tell us about the recent hallucinations the people in this area were having?” Jill said. “Were you a part of all that? Is that why you’ve been at Luna Lodge? Is this some sort of revenge attack by Luna Lodge against the town?”
    Varius stepped in between them, his body shielding her from the incessant questions of the reporter.
    “She’s not answering questions at the moment,” he said firmly.
    The reporter narrowed her eyes at him.
    “The American people have a right to know what’s really going on around here,” she said, her voice far more dramatic than the look she was currently giving him. “Don’t you want to answer questions and clear things up? Or do you not? Are you admitting you have something to hide?” She shook her head. “Reporters will find the truth. It’d be best for you to come clean.”
    Varius stared down the women, unafraid of the threat she thought she carried. They had been attacked by everyone from Reverend John’s fanatics to the horrible mutated Glycons of their former Horatius Group masters. Some pushy reporter scored pretty low on the immediate threat index in comparison.
    “If you have questions about crimes, you should talk to the local police,” he said and turned from the vile woman.
    He arched his body over Lena to stop them from seeing just how panicked she actually was. With his face close to hers, he could see the small beads of sweat that had formed on her face.
    “Keep breathing,” he said softly. Lena nodded. “Keep your eyes focused on me. We’re just going to get into the car and get out of here.”
    She stared up at him, and for a moment, it was like it was only the two of them.
    He hurried with her to the car. He opened the passenger side, and while she slid in, he tossed the suitcase into the back. After snatching a jacket he’d tossed back there some time ago, he placed it over her.
    “Cover your face, and we’ll be out of here in a minute,” he said.
    She stared up at him with her big doe eyes and nodded.
    Not wanting to give the reporter and her cameraman a chance, he shut the door and climbed into the driver’s side.
    The reporter shouted questions at him as he did so, but Varius just ignored her. She was annoying and incessant, like a mosquito.
    Varius started the car and revved the engine. The woman and her cameraman jumped back. He shifted into reverse and pulled out of the parking lot.
    “We’re leaving now. Ignore her,” he said. “She’s not worth worrying over.”

Chapter Five
     
     
    Lena pulled the jacket off when they had been driving for a bit but kept it around her face. The smell of his aftershave clung to the collar and offered her some comfort, more than she expected.
    With a quick jerk, Varius turned onto a dirt road. The car rumbled along for a few moments before he pulled beneath a tree.
    He turned off the car. She looked over at him with surprise, her