Driving the Living by Day, the Dead by Night

Alvin's POV

Winona froze for a moment, clearly not expecting me to stand my ground.

Her expression darkened instantly as she spat, “Don’t mistake my patience for weakness. Say one more word, and I’ll have you kicked out of this city. I’ll make sure this piece of junk you call a car ends up in a scrap heap.”

Regret burned in my chest. If I’d known she’d be this much trouble, I never should’ve stopped.

Just then, the man beside her suddenly grabbed her hand, his eyes darting nervously around the empty air.

“Did you guys… hear that? Someone was laughing.”

Winona yanked her hand back, her face flickering with unease before she forced out a sigh. “Fine. You can drop off your first passenger, but we’re taking the route I pick.”

I knew the road she meant. It was a detour, but as long as I could complete this trip on time, I was willing to cooperate.

See, at night, I didn't normally drive for the living. My work was with the dead, ferrying souls to the last place they wanted to visit before moving on. If I could fulfill their wish, their resentment would fade, and they could reincarnate in peace. But if I failed within the set time, they would turn into vengeful spirits.

I knew which side of that bargain mattered more.

Soon enough, the car filled with cigarette smoke, burning my eyes and throat. Winona even pressed her cigarette out directly on the leather seat, filling the cabin with the acrid stench of scorched upholstery.

My chest tightened with anger. This car might look ordinary, but every part of it was blessed by a famous priest.

“What the hell are you doing? You damaged my car! You can't afford to pay for it!”

But my words only made them burst into loud, mocking laughter.

“Pathetic. One push of the pedal in my Lamborghini could pay for your rust bucket’s repairs for a whole year. The cheapest car in my family’s garage could buy a hundred of yours.”

Their laughter ended with Brooke Mills, the man, kicking the back of my seat hard enough to rattle my teeth.

“Stay in your lane, pauper. When we throw you money, just shut up and take it.”

Despite their disrespect, I bit down my tongue and said nothing, silently praying I could deliver the ghost to his destination before things got worse.

But the moment I turned onto Winona’s chosen road, trouble arrived. Out of nowhere, more than ten black cars appeared in my rearview, speeding up to box me in.

This wasn’t good.

I slammed on the gas and swerved to dodge them. “Miss, what’s going on?”

In the mirror, I only saw her grin, offering no explanation.

Within minutes, I was forced to a stop at the side of the road.

A group of burly men climbed out of the cars and came toward me. One of them leaned down, signaling with his hand for me to step out.

My whole body trembled, but I forced a weak smile. “Easy there, dude. Let’s talk this out.”

The next second, my door was ripped open. A pair of rough hands dragged me out and threw me onto the ground.

Winona strolled over, arms folded, and nudged my chin up with the toe of her stiletto.

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you pretty bold just now? Why so quiet all of a sudden?”

Pain shot through my scalp, and my mouth was filled with the taste of dirt.

One of her thugs handed her my ID. She read it aloud with a mocking lilt.

“Alvin Morton, a Senior Underworld Transport Officer. What the hell is this supposed to be?” She sneered, waving it in my face. “Fake documents to pick up passengers? That’s illegal, isn’t it? If I call the cops, how long do you think I can have you locked up?”

Her family had real power. That much was obvious. But she and I lived in entirely different worlds.

Laughter roared around me as her men went to work on my car. With crowbars, they smashed every window, glass raining down like ice shards. Others popped the hood, grinning wickedly as they ripped it apart.

I tried to stop them, but what chance did I have? The moment I stood up, two men twisted my arms behind my back and threw me down again.

“You’ll pay for this!” I growled, my eyes burning red as I clenched my jaw so hard I thought it might crack. For a fleeting second, I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into her.

“Pay?” Winona smirked. “Name your price. To me, it’s nothing but numbers,” she continued, spreading her hands in a careless gesture.

The man beside her also sneered. “This car’s not worth much anyway. Keep our lady entertained tonight, and maybe tomorrow she’ll toss you a BMW to play with.”