Текст книги "Oblivion"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 51 страниц)

Chapter 19

The field where all the keg parties were held was roughly two miles outside of Petersburg and was accessed by a beaten-down dirt road that most would miss unless they knew it was there. I parked near the road, so I didn’t end up blocked in.

Climbing out of the car, I slipped my keys into my pocket as I scanned the lines of vehicles haphazardly parked. Off in the distance, the orangey glow from the bonfire beckoned as I closed the door. The scent of gasoline and burning, damp wood was strong. Shadows moved around the fire. Laughter rang out, mingling with shouts. Music blared from speakers.

I’d left the dance a few minutes after Kat walked out with Simon. Ash and Andrew were still back at the school, and I wasn’t sure if they would end up here or not. Field parties weren’t their thing. I’d been to a few, with…with Dawson. I wasn’t really keen on Dee being here, even with Adam, but she wasn’t who I was worried about.

I knew Kat could handle herself. Deep down, I knew that. How could I not? But that didn’t mean she didn’t need help or that she wasn’t in over her head with someone like Simon.

Walking around the cars, trampled cornstalks crunched under my steps. As I neared the bonfire, a girl stumbled out from behind a truck, blocking my path. A red Solo cup dangled precariously from her fingers as she teetered on heels. Dark brown hair was piled up and clumps of dried grass and cornhusks clung to her silvery dress.

The girl, whom I vaguely recognized, couldn’t have been older than fifteen. Her chin lifted, and her glazed eyes roamed over me. “Daemon?”

Unable to figure out her name, I nodded. “Are you okay?”

“Yep.” She giggled, raising her cup to her lips. “Why you ask?”

I arched a brow. “You have dirt and pieces of corn all over your dress.”

Another giggle echoed out of her. “I might’ve fallen a time…or four. These shoes—” She lifted her leg to show me and wobbled suddenly. My hand snapped out, catching her arm and steadying her as she continued to lift her heeled foot. “These shoes are ah-mazing, but they are not suited for field parties.”

“No doubt,” I murmured, letting go of her arm when I was sure she wasn’t going to face-plant on the car next to her. “Are you here with someone?”

“Uh-huh. I’m here with Jon. He’s my boyfriend,” she explained, grinning as she swayed forward. “Unless you wanna be here with me, then I’m not here with anyone. Jon doesn’t exist. Nope.”

I smiled slightly. “Sorry, babe, but I’m here for someone else.”

“For shame!” She smiled broadly and then whispered, “That was bad of me to say Jon doesn’t exist, right? He’s really nice. Can it be our secret?”

Amusement flickered through me. “It’ll be our secret.”

“Yay!” She hobbled unsteadily as she clapped her hand against her cup. Beer sloshed over the side.

I could’ve left the girl there, roaming aimlessly for whatever reason between cars, but that seemed wrong for a multitude of reasons. “Let’s go find Jon.”

Turned out Jon wasn’t in much better shape when we found him sitting by the fire. Based on what the girl had said, they hadn’t even made it to the dance. When I deposited her with Jon, he stared at me like he half expected me to dropkick him into next week.

Scoping out the groups huddled around the fire, unease formed in my gut when I didn’t see Kat or Simon among them. I headed to my right, eyeing the smaller groups near the thick outcropping of trees. Couples. Lots of couples. If Kat was among them, I’d…

What would I do?

I stopped walking right then, standing in front of the truck with its doors open, blasting music. What would I do if I saw Kat with Simon, doing those things the couples were doing in the shadows of the bare trees? What could I do? She had every right to be with him. She wasn’t…

Kat wasn’t mine.

Acid churned in my gut as I wheeled around. Dee was standing there, the light from the fire reflecting off the angles of her face. Her eyes were unnaturally bright. “Have you seen Kat?” she asked.

The unease exploded. “You haven’t?”

“I saw her about five minutes ago. She was heading over to me, but then I lost track of her. She was with Simon, but…” Her nose wrinkled. “I just need to find her.” My hands curled into loose fists. “I thought you weren’t worried about Kat being with Simon.”

Adam appeared at Dee’s side. “I don’t think there will be a problem—we don’t think that, but Simon is pretty trashed, so…”

I didn’t like what I was hearing. “Where did you see her last?”

“She was over there.” Dee pointed to the other side of the fire, closer to the woods. “But she’s not there anymore.”

No shit.

We split up at that point and it took a couple of minutes to find someone who was about 70 percent certain that they had seen Kat head into the woods with Simon. That little piece of knowledge made me want to bang my head off the rough tree bark. I wanted to shake my sister. Whatever happened to the all-touted girl code? Wasn’t it some kind of unspoken law that required them not to let one another roam off with questionable dudes?

I followed a worn man-made trail, preparing myself for the fact that I just may find Kat and she might not want to be found. Actually, that was the high likelihood here. Just because Simon was a touchy jackass who was currently trashed, didn’t mean Kat needed rescuing or that she wanted rescuing.

If she was fine, I was going to walk away. She didn’t even need to know that I was here. If she was okay, I needed to—

“Simon, stop!” Kat’s shriek cut through the muted hum of music.

Instinct flared and I shot off like a bullet. A second was too long, but I found her and rage erupted inside me like a violent volcano. The son of a bitch had her pinned against a tree. His hands were on her. His body. His mouth.

They didn’t hear me or see me, but that bastard felt me when I slammed my hand down on his shoulder and tore him away from her. Cocking back my arm, I nailed him in the face. His feet left the ground and for a very happy moment he was airborne. He hit the ground, legs and arms sprawled, with a not so satisfying thud.

I bent over him, grabbing the collar of his wrinkled dress shirt. “Do you have a problem understanding simple English?”

“Man, I’m sorry,” Simon slurred, grasping my wrist. “I thought she—”

“You thought what?” I hauled him up with little effort, recognizing and enjoying the flare of fear in the human boy’s eyes. I wanted to rip the motherfucker apart, limb from limb. Then I wanted to piece his ass back together. Rinse and repeat about a half a million times. “That no meant yes?”

“No! Yes! I thought—”

Close to absolutely destroying him, I raised my hand and froze him. Simon was a statue, his hands in front of his face. Blood pooled under his nose. Eyes wide and unblinking. Stepping back, I dragged in a deep breath.

“Daemon,” Kat said from behind me. “What…what did you do?”

I glared at the frozen idiot. “It was either this, or I’d kill him.”

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Kat step around me. Her back was to me as she poked Simon’s arm. “Is he alive?”

“Should he be?” I asked.

Kat looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes shadowed, but I saw what she was thinking in that moment, and I wanted to murder his ass. It didn’t matter that I had warned her about him. This wasn’t her fault. She didn’t ask for it. Those things shouldn’t be crossing her mind.

I tensed. “He’s fine. Right now, it’s like he’s sleeping.”

“God, what a mess.” She backed up, wrapping her arms across her chest. “How long will he stay like this?”

“As long as I want. I could leave him out here. Let the deer piss on him and the crows crap on him.”

A laugh choked out of her. “You can’t…do that, you know that? Right?”

I shrugged.

“You need to turn him back, but first, I’d like to do something.”

While I waited to see what she wanted to do, she unfolded her arms and walked right up to Simon. Without saying a word, she kicked him right between the legs.

“Whoa.” I let out a strangled half laugh. “Maybe I should’ve killed him.”

Kat shot me a look.

Frowning, I waved a hand, unfreezing Simon. He doubled over, cupping his hands between his legs as he moaned, “Shit,” over and over again.

I pushed Simon back a few steps. “Get the fuck out of my face, and I swear if you so much as look at her again, it will be the last thing you do.”

The idiot wiped a hand under his bloodied nose as he looked over at her. “Katy, I’m sorry—”

He had a death wish.

“Get. Out. Of. Here,” I warned, taking a threatening step forward.

Simon spun around and took off, stumbling and limping over bushes. A white glow burned around him. He was traced. I didn’t give a shit. Dead silence fell between us. Even the music seemed to have disappeared. I took a few precious seconds to calm myself down. It wasn’t working. I started walking, a couple of feet between us because my fury was too close to the surface. I knew my eyes were glowing at this point, and I knew there was a good chance Simon had seen that briefly.

Something shimmery on the ground caught my attention.

Kat’s shawl.

Snatching it off the ground, I turned around and headed back to where Kat still stood. It was the first time I was getting a good look at her. Curls had slipped free, falling around her face. Her eyes were bright, even in the darkness. My gaze dropped. The front of her red dress was torn.

I was going to kill Simon.

Cursing under my breath, I handed the shawl to her. She took it with shaking hands.

“I know,” she whispered, pressing the shawl to the front of her ruined dress. “Please don’t say it.”

“Say what? That I told you so?” Disgust dripped from my tone. “Even I’m not that much of an ass. Are you okay?”

She nodded and drew in a deep breath. “Thank you.”

I watched her shiver. The shawl hid nothing, covered nothing. Shrugging off the tux jacket, I stepped around her and draped it over her shoulders. “Here.” My voice was rough. “Put this on. It will…cover up everything.”

Kat looked down at herself, and her shoulders tensed. She shoved her arms into my jacket and then tugged the edges together. Pressing her lips together, she fiddled with it, not looking at me, not looking at anything.

I was so going to kill Simon.

Besides murdering him very slowly, I also wanted to…I wanted to gather Kat close. I wanted to hold her, and the urge was intense and entirely unfamiliar to me. I wasn’t even sure she’d want my comfort. I wasn’t even sure I could give it.

But I hated seeing her like this.

Placing the tips of my fingers against her cheek, I smoothed back some of the wild strands of hair. Her gaze lifted. Those beautiful gray eyes were full of tears.

“Come on,” I whispered. “I’m taking you home.”

Her gaze searched mine, and then she nodded. She took one step before she said, “Wait.”

Was she really going to argue with me now? “Kat.”

“Won’t Simon have a trace on him, like me?”

“He does.”

“But—”

“It’s not my problem right now.” I took her hand, steering her down the worn path. Truth was, the trace on Simon was strong enough to attract the attention of an Arum, and I knew it made me terrible, but I didn’t care. Not right now.

We reached my car, and I opened the passenger door for her. She peeked over at me and then climbed in. I closed the door and headed around the front of the SUV while I pulled out my phone. I texted Dee, letting her know I was taking Kat home. I didn’t mention what happened. That was up to Kat if she wanted to go into detail.

Once inside, I passed a short look in Kat’s direction. “I let Dee know I was taking you home. When I got here, she said she saw you but couldn’t find you.”

She nodded as she yanked on the seat belt. The jerky motion caused the belt to get stuck. Frustration poured out of her. “Dammit!”

Leaning over the center console, I gently pried her icy fingers off the strap and tilted my head as I pulled on it. My jaw grazed her cheek and then my lips, and I liked to think that last part was accidental. But I wasn’t sure. I locked down those thoughts, ignoring the rush of sensations the brief touches conjured. The seat belt was twisted, and I set about straightening it. As I flipped the strap over, the back of my knuckles brushed across her chest. The jacket I’d given her had gaped open, probably while she struggled with the restraint, and there was nothing between the back of my hand and the swell of her chest.

That hadn’t been on purpose.

I jerked my hand back as I lifted my gaze to hers.

Holy shit, when did we get this close?

There was maybe an inch between our mouths, and her sweet breath danced over my lips. The back of my damn hand tingled like I’d shoved it into an electric socket—a really soft electric socket. As if compelled, my gaze lowered to her parted lips. I wanted…

What I wanted was wrong, way wrong. Kat had almost been assaulted, for Christ’s sake.

I clicked her seat belt in and then returned to my side of the SUV, turning the key. Reaching over, I kicked on the heat, then I clutched the steering wheel, damn near cracking it as I navigated my way out of the field strewn with cars.

We didn’t talk.

Thick, strained silence filled the inside of the car. I glanced over at Kat several times during the drive. Her head was resting back against the seat and her eyes were closed. I didn’t think she was asleep. Not when her hands were so tightly balled in her lap.

I had no idea what she was thinking, but if she was thinking half of what was going through my head, she had to be going crazy over there. Because I was still thinking about killing Simon. I was thinking about how Kat looked standing there, her eyes filling with tears. I thought about the front of her dress torn and how close…how close she came to something horrific happening. And I wanted to kill Simon more. I was also thinking about those moments when we first got in the car and how close our mouths had been.

I was thinking about the fact that I wanted to kiss her.

And I shouldn’t want that. I couldn’t want that.

Halfway to the house, I decided I needed to hear her voice, to know that she was okay over there. “Kat?” She didn’t respond. Her eyes remained closed, and I figured she was ignoring me. For some reason, I sensed that—

Then I felt it.

As if the air conditioner had suddenly been cranked on high, a blast of iciness slammed into me. My gut clenched. Several feet ahead, a black shadow formed in the center of the road.

“Shit!” I slammed on the brakes.

Kat jerked in her seat, her hands landing on the dashboard as the SUV skidded to a halt. A second later, the car turned off, engine, lights—everything.

Well, hell…

The shadow contorted, taking shape. Within a heartbeat, a man stood where the shadow had been. Dressed in dark jeans and a leather jacket, I thought it looked pretty damn stupid wearing sunglasses at night. This one was identical to the one I killed the night at the library.

And he brought his brothers.

A shadow slipped from the side of the road, and then another. Two more joined the one in the center of the road. Three of them.

“Daemon,” Kat whispered. “Who are they?”

My vision tinted with a fierce white light. “Arum.”

Chapter 20

Normally I would’ve welcomed this throw-down, especially after dealing with Simon. I had some pent-up aggression I really wanted to beat out of something, but not with Kat nearby. I didn’t want her exposed to these creatures. They could kill her with a snap of their wrists.

Kat needed to get out of here.

That was the priority.

Keeping my eyes on the Arum, I reached down and yanked up my pants leg. My fingers brushed the leather binding around one end of the obsidian blade and I pulled it free.

“This is obsidian—volcanic glass.” I placed it in her shaking hands, wrapping her fingers around the fashioned handle. “The edge is wicked sharp and will cut through anything. It’s the only thing on this planet, besides us, that can kill the Arum. This is their kryptonite.”

Kat stared at me, shaking her head silently.

“Come on, pretty boy!” yelled the Arum in the front, his voice sharp as razors and guttural. “Come out and play!”

Such clichéd assholes.

Ignoring them, I cradled her cheeks, forcing her terrified gaze to mine. “Listen to me, Kat. When I tell you to run, you run and you don’t look back no matter what. If any of them—any—chase you, all you have to do is stab them anywhere with the obsidian.”

“Daemon—”

“No. You run when I tell you to run, Kat. Say you understand.”

Her chest rose and fell heavily. “Please don’t do this! Run with me—”

“I can’t. Dee is at that party.” I held her gaze. “Run when I tell you.”

Kat’s lips trembled, and I let my gaze soak in her features for one more second, committing the height of her cheekbones to memory, along with the bow shape of her lips and those endless gray eyes. Then I let go and opened up the car door. I rounded the grille on the SUV, smiling at the three Arum. “Wow. You guys are uglier as humans than in your true form. Didn’t think that was possible. You look like you’ve been living under a rock. See the sun much?”

The one in the center bared his teeth like a wild animal. “You have your arrogance now, like all Luxen. But where will your arrogance be when we absorb your powers?”

“In the same place as my foot.” My hands balled into fists.

The middle Arum tilted his head in confusion.

It was never fun when I had to explain what I meant. “You know, as in up your ass.” I smiled and the two Arum hissed. “Wait. You guys look familiar. Yeah, I know. I’ve killed one of your brothers. Sorry about that. What was his name? You guys all look alike to me.”

Their forms started flickering in and out, turning from human to shade and back again. My goal was to get them really pissed and a hundred percent focused on me so that Kat could slip away. It appeared to be working.

“I’ll rip your essence from your body,” the Arum growled, “and you will beg for mercy.”

“Like your brethren did?” I retorted. “Because he begged—he cried like a wounded animal before I ended his existence.”

And that was it. The Arum bellowed in unison, the sound of howling winds and death. I threw up my hands, summoning the Source. It rose inside me, powerful and all-consuming, and then spread outside of me, tapping into the tiny particles of energy that existed inside everything on this planet. The very air around me heated, causing a series of loud cracks.

God, it felt real good to let loose.

An earthy scent filled the air as the nearby trees lifted. Dirt clung to their thick roots. I flicked a finger. The closest tree, a large elm, slammed into the back of an Arum, knocking him several yards down the road. Trees flew into the road, one by one, but the other two Arum were just a little bit smarter than the one peeling himself off the cracked asphalt.

I pulled on the Source again. Chunks of asphalt cracked and gave way along the shoulder of the road. Pieces of it lifted in the air, spinning as it turned a bright orange, heated like lava. I winged those suckers at the Arum as the two blinked in and out, avoiding the branches from the trees. One of the Arum threw his hand back.

Then they were done playing. So was I.

As the smell of burned tar filled the air, I shifted into my true form. One of them rushed me as I slammed my hands together. The Source rippled out, hitting the nearest Arum. The blast spun him up in the air, a direct and lethal hit, momentarily knocking him into his human form. Dark sunglasses shattered. Pieces floated in the air, suspended. Another clap followed, and the Arum exploded in an array of dazzling lights that fell like a thousand twinkling stars.

I threw out my arm again, and the other Arum flew back several feet, spinning and tumbling through the air, but he landed in a crouch.

It was time for Kat to go.

Run. I spoke to her in my true form. Run now, Kat. Don’t look back. Run!

All I heard was the car door open and then everything was lost in the sound of the Arum howling. The other one was back and the remaining one was circling me. I darted to the right as one of them released a dark essence, a ball of shadow-filled energy that would be fatal if it hit me. I spun out as it shot over my shoulder. Like a thick glob of oil, when it smacked into one of the fallen trees, the energy ripped it in two.

Damn.

Pulling the Source, I formed a ball of iridescent light in the palm of my hand and then hurled the plasma ball right back at them.

The Arum weren’t as fast as me, but they were avoiding the balls, and I knew, in my bones I knew what they were doing—wearing me down, tiring me out, like we were boxing. We all were moving, darting back and forth. My hold on my true form flickered.

The Arum seized that one moment of weakness.

One rushed me from the front and, as I braced myself for a full-body attack, the other sped up. I twisted, trying to keep it in sight. A second where I took my eyes off one, and I made a huge mistake. Twisting at the waist, I threw out another blast of energy, but it fizzled out before reaching the Arum, skidding across the road in a shower of sparks.

Shadowy arms went around my neck from behind, immediately chilling. Ice drenched me as I reached up, allowing fingers to form. I wrapped them around the arm choking me, but he brought me down to one knee.

“Ready to beg?” the Arum in front of me taunted, taking human form. “Please do. It would mean a lot to hear the word ‘please’ leaking from your lips as I take everything from you.”

Light crackled all around me as I lifted my head. Still in my true form, I called on the Source one last time.

“Silence to the end, eh? So be it.” The Arum stepped forward, lifting his head. “Baruck, it is time.”

Baruck forced me to stand. “Do it now, Sarefeth!”

There was no way I was going down like this. No way in hell. Dee was at that party with Adam. They’d find her. And Kat was out there, somewhere and too close. Hell no. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t going to happen to my sister. This wasn’t going to happen to Kat. Energy built and expanded just as the one in front of me—Sarefeth—shifted into his true form, nothing more than smoke. I drew on the power as he slammed his hand against my chest, into my chest. My back bowed as I ground down. Pain exploded in every cell, startling me. Never had I felt anything like that. It seized every part of me, forcing a scream out of me as I briefly shifted into my human form.

Without any warning, the Arum in front of me, the one named Sarefeth, jerked his hand free from me and spun away. Pain still rippled throughout me, causing me to shift back and forth between forms, but I…I had to be hallucinating, because I saw her.

Kat was standing a few feet behind Sarefeth, like some kind of warrior princess, hair wild and red dress torn, the obsidian blade glowing red in her hand. Then Sarefeth exploded, breaking into pieces and floating up to the sky.

Baruck released me as I shifted back into my true form. I tried to push past the pain of the feeding as Baruck started toward Kat, but the Arum changed course, shifting into nothing more than a shadow, pulling the darkness into him, fleeing toward the other side of the road like a coiled snake and disappearing into the night.

Then Kat was at my side, on her knees. “Daemon—Daemon, please say something.”

My light flared, throwing off heat that had to be too intense for Kat. I slowly became aware of my hands pressing into the cracked and burned pavement. I thought I heard Kat cry, and that—that forced me to pull it together. I shifted into my human form and reached out, grabbing her arm as she started to scuttle away.

“Daemon, oh God, are you okay?” She was back at my side, her palm pressed to my cheek. The feeling of her hand… God. “Please tell me you’re okay? Please!”

Slowly, I lifted my head and placed my other hand over hers, the one against my cheek. “Remind me to never piss you off again. Christ, are you secretly a ninja?”

Kat laughed and sobbed in the same breath, and then she threw herself at me. I caught her and barely stopped myself from tumbling over backward. My hand delved deep into the mass of hair that had fallen free, and I held her just as tightly as she clung to me. She pressed herself to me like she was trying to become one with me, and even though my skin felt raw, the pain was nothing compared to the feeling of her right in that moment.

I pressed my forehead against her shoulder. “You didn’t listen to me.”

“I never listen to you.” She squeezed me hard before pulling back. Her gaze roamed over my face. “Are you hurt? Is there anything I can do?”

“You’ve already done enough, Kitten.” Gathering my strength, I pushed to my feet, bringing her along with me. I took in the destruction around us. “We need to get out of here before anyone comes.”

Stepping back, I summoned the Source one last time and lifted my hand. Trees lifted off the road and rolled to the sides, clearing a path, and then we made our way back to the car. It roared to life as soon as I turned the key. I glanced over at Kat. She was shaking in the seat. “Are you okay? Hurt in any way?”

“I’m okay. It’s just…a lot, you know?”

A lot? I coughed out a laugh, but there was no humor to it. I hit the steering, frustrated. “I should’ve known there would be more coming.” I should’ve been more prepared. “They travel in fours. Dammit!”

“There were only three of them,” she said.

“Yeah, ’cuz I killed the first one.” Leaning back, I pulled out my cell. I needed to call Dee. The others needed to be warned that there was still one more out there, and since three of his brothers had just been killed, he was going to be seeking some nasty revenge.

Kat concerned me.

What she had just witnessed would bring a grown man to his knees in terror and shock. But she was quiet as I called Dee and then Matthew, and remained so on the trip home. Whenever I glanced over at her, I’d see a tremor make its way through her, but she wasn’t freaking out.

Kat blew me away.

This human girl was strong, with a core made out of steel. She was holding it together. Not only that, she had most definitely saved my life. I was man enough to admit that. If she hadn’t intervened when she did, I don’t know if I would’ve broken Baruck’s hold. I owed her my life. I could’ve died out on that road, and there would be two Arum and not one gunning for my family—for Kat.

Because she was lit up like the moon again.

The houses were dark when I pulled into the driveway. Turning off the engine, I looked over at Kat as I opened the car door. The overhead light was triggered, casting a soft light against her pale cheeks. She didn’t move. “Kat?”

Blinking slowly, she turned her cheek toward me. “Yes?”

Asking if she was okay seemed stupid. My gaze dropped to her hand. She was still holding the obsidian blade. I reached over, gently easing it out of her grasp. Her eyes rose to mine. “I want you to stay the night at our place,” I said. “You’re traced again, and even though I doubt the Arum will find his way here, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Her lips parted. “But if I’m traced, isn’t it more of a risk that I’m in the house with you—with Dee.”

My jaw tightened. “If an Arum tracks you to your house, we’re right next door. It’s virtually the same. Plus Dee is with Matthew and Adam right now. Andrew is there, too.”

“But it’s not,” she reasoned quietly. “If he—if it—comes after me, then at least you—”

“I want you in my house,” I cut in, ignoring her logic. “Okay?”

Kat stared at me for a long moment and then nodded. She climbed out, and I followed her into her house. Once the foyer light flipped on, I realized she was missing a shoe and her knees were a scratched, dirty mess. All of her was. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but she limped ahead, pulling herself upstairs.

My eyes drifted shut as my hand tightened around the leather binding on the obsidian. My shoulders sagged with fatigue.

When I had talked to Matthew, he asked if Kat had seen what had gone down. There was no way I could lie or hide the truth. I’d answered with a yes.

“We’re going to have to talk about this later,” he’d replied.

And I knew later was going to come real quick.

Opening my eyes, I saw Kat appear at the top of the steps, carrying a tote. She was still dressed in her ruined gown, my jacket swallowing her. Exhaustion clung to her every step, and she walked as if she was ready to sit down and take a nap.

Kat had saved my life.

No matter what Matthew or the Thompsons ended up thinking or saying, I was going to have her back. She had mine.

I met her halfway, taking the tote from her, and then after she locked up, we headed over to my house.

“I told my mom I was staying with Dee,” she said, clearing her throat. “I called when I was upstairs.”

“Cool.” I opened the front door, and a rush of cold air greeted us. Kat shivered. “Sorry. We keep it pretty cold at night.”

“I remembered,” she murmured, glancing at the stairs leading to the second floor. The skin across her cheekbones was drawn and pale. “It’s okay.”

Once we were in the guest room, Kat groaned as she peered into the tote. “I’m such an idiot. I brought regular clothes with me. Nothing to sleep in. I’m going to have to go back over.”

“I’ll find you something. Just give me a second.” I went to Dee’s room and grabbed a pair of bottoms and an old shirt, knowing she wouldn’t mind. When I returned, Kat had shrugged off my jacket and laid it across the dresser. She held the front of the dress together as I placed the borrowed clothes on the bed.

Again, I wanted to say something to her, but nothing of any value came to mind. Kat gathered up the clothes and shuffled into the bathroom in the hallway. I went into my room, took a shower in the bathroom attached, and then quickly changed into a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. I checked my phone, scrolling through the texts from Dee and then Andrew, who had heard about what happened via Adam. Dee was coming back home, as soon as they found Ash. Matthew would make sure of it.

I found myself back in the hallway, near the bathroom. The water was turned off, and as I stood there, I thought I heard her laugh. It wasn’t a happy laugh. Concern ratcheted up.

“Are you okay in there?” I said to the closed door.