Текст книги "Oblivion"

Автор книги: Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Текущая страница: 39 (всего у книги 51 страниц)

“I’m not following.”

I lay down in the snow. “If we pretend like we’ve gotten away with Dawson being released, that we don’t think anything’s suspicious or that we know they’re aware of our abilities, then it may buy us time to figure out what they’re doing.”

She watched me throw my arms out with a tiny grin. “You think they’ll slip up then?”

“Don’t know. I wouldn’t put money on it, but it kind of gives us the edge. It’s the best we have right now.”

Our eyes met, and I grinned as I started sliding my arms through the snow, along with my legs. Kat’s laugh was choked off.

“You should try it,” I coaxed, closing my eyes. “It gives you perspective.”

There was a pause, and then I felt her lie down beside me. “So I Googled Daedalus.”

“Yeah?” I continued making the sexiest snow angel known to man. “What did you find out?”

“Well, there was no ‘Welcome to Daedalus: Secret Government Organization’ website to be found.”

“No shit?”

She smacked me with her hand. “Did you know Daedalus is tied to Greek mythology? He was the guy who created the labyrinth the Minotaur lived in and he was the father of Icarus. You know, the kid who flew too close to the sun on wings—wings fashioned by Daedalus.”

“Huh.”

“See, the legend says that when Icarus got too happy from flying, it was a form of passive punishment by the gods, and they caused him to lose his wings, which made him fall from the sky and drown, because, you know, that’s how the Greek gods rolled. They didn’t like that Daedalus had created something that gave mortals godlike abilities like flying.”

“I can basically fly,” I told her, and then grinned when she snorted. “What? I’m so fast that my feet don’t even touch the ground.”

“And your arrogance is so vast, it brings me to my next point,” she retorted, and I smirked. “See, Daedalus created things that bettered man. He did so at all costs, just like the government—just like Daedalus we know today. They named themselves after a Greek myth about a man who could give others godlike abilities. Just like this Daedalus. You know they did that on purpose.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me—the ego behind that.”

“You’d know,” she said.

“Hardy har-har.”

Kat grinned as she made another swipe of her arms and legs. “How is this giving me perspective by the way?”

I chuckled. “Wait for a couple more seconds.” When I stopped, I reached over and grasped her hand, pulling her up when I stood. I brushed the snow off her back and my hands lingered a bit on her rear, because of reasons.

Once I was finished, we stared down at our snow angels. Hers was tiny compared to mine, and interestingly top heavy. Kat folded her arms around her waist. “Waiting for the epiphany to happen.”

“There isn’t one.” I curled my arm around her shoulder and leaned down, pressing a kiss against her cool cheek. “But it was fun, wasn’t it? Now…” I steered her back to the snowman. “Let’s finish with your snowman. It can’t be incomplete. Not with me here.”

Chapter 3

Matthew had gotten a glass repairman out to Kat’s house the moment the plows made it to our road. The bedroom window was repaired mere minutes before her mom came home from Winchester on Friday.

Since she hadn’t seen her daughter in days, I slipped out the back door and gave them time to themselves. Her mom’s timing worked out, because keeping track of Dawson and making sure he didn’t get himself captured was pretty damn time-consuming.

Dawson had left the house on foot Friday morning, and of course, I followed him. Using the woods to travel into town, he tried to lose me a couple of times. He roamed the town and the county for hours.

Hours.

He had a purpose, though. Patrolling. Except he wasn’t searching for Arum. Oh no, he was looking for signs of Beth. Maybe even the DOD. He got close to the office he’d been kept at, but backed off. I had a feeling if I hadn’t been right behind him, he would have raided the place.

The sun was setting behind Seneca when Dawson finally stopped moving for longer than a minute. We were deep in the forest a few miles from the colony. A fallen tree separated us, just a couple of feet, but it felt like there were miles between us, a damn continent.

Dawson’s posture was stiff. “I’m not going to stop looking for her.”

Shock clenched my chest. Yesterday had been the first time he’d really spoken to me. I wasn’t expecting him to actually talk. Hell, it robbed me of my ability to put syllables together.

“If it were Katy, you’d do the same thing. I know you would.” Dawson tipped his head back and his shaggy hair brushed the collar of his sweater. “And yet you expect me to just forget about Beth and do what? Move on?”

I shook my head. “I don’t expect you to forget about her.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Slowly, he faced me with a haunted look on his gaunt face. Several moments passed. “Katy was in a cage, wasn’t she?”

My hands curled into fists. “Yes.”

“For a few hours, basically. Yet, her voice…it’s changed, and you know why.”

I did. I would never forget why she sounded raspy or why her voice cracked. The damage had been done from her screaming out in pain. My jaw locked down so hard I swore my teeth would crack.

“I wasn’t…” He swallowed. “Weeks. Maybe even months. That’s how long I was kept in a cage with onyx wrapped around my wrists and ankles.”

“Jesus,” I gritted out, wanting to rip every DOD officer apart.

The pupils of Dawson’s eyes glowed white. “They did the same to Beth. To others. They could be doing that to her now.”

The thought of it made me sick. “I’m not asking you to forget about her or what they could be doing to her. I’m asking you to be smart about it.”

“Would you be smart about it if it were Katy?” he volleyed back.

Anger flashed hot in me. “Stop bringing her into this, Dawson. I get what you’re saying loud and clear without it.”

He laughed drily.

I tamped down on the wrath building. “What…what did they do to you in there, Dawson?”

His eyes met mine. “What didn’t they do?”

Dawson wasn’t saying anything else after he dropped that horrifying bomb. What didn’t they do? A steady stream of horrid images kept me company on the way back to the house.

Once inside, Dawson didn’t speak to Dee or Andrew. He went straight to his bedroom. Dee was immediately at my side, worrying her lower lip. “What did he do today?”

“Nothing really,” I answered, walking into the kitchen. “Just out looking for Bethany. He didn’t try anything.” “Yet” hung in the air between us. The slim black cell phone sat on the counter, next to the plate I’d used this morning. Picking it up, I tapped on the screen. There was a missed text from Kat. Slipping it into my pocket, I pivoted around. “Can you make sure he eats something tonight?”

Dee nodded. “I can try.”

I passed a silent Andrew on the way out. The little Prius was in the driveway, behind Kat’s Camry. Her mom was still home. That didn’t deter me as I zipped up the porch steps and knocked.

A second later, the door flew open and Kat flung herself at me in a blur of arms and legs. Stumbling back a step as I caught her, I laughed deeply at her exuberant greeting. She clung to me, arms tight around my shoulders.

“Kitten,” I murmured. “You know how much I like it when you say hi this way.”

Her head was buried in the space between my neck and shoulder, and when she responded, I couldn’t make out a damn thing she said.

I lifted her clear off her feet. “You’ve been worried, haven’t you?”

“Mm-hmm.” Kat jerked back and wriggled free. She smacked my chest hard.

“Ouch!” I grinned as I rubbed my chest. “What’s that for?”

She folded her arms, keeping her voice low as she spoke. “Have you heard of a cell phone?”

I arched my brow. “Why, yes, it’s this small thing that has all these cool apps on it—”

“Then why didn’t you have it on you today?” she interrupted.

Lowering my head to hers, my lips brushed her cheek as I spoke. “Going in and out of my true form all day kind of kills the electronics.”

A moment passed. “You should’ve checked in, though. I thought…”

“You thought what?”

Drawing back, she gave me a look. I knew why she was concerned, and I hated that she’d spent even a minute worrying about me. Clasping her cheeks, I kissed her softly. “Kitten, nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m the last person you need to worry about.”

Her eyes closed. “See, that’s possibly the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.”

“For real?” I kissed the corner of her lips. “I say a lot of stupid things.”

“I know. So that’s saying something.” Her hands slid to my chest. “I’m not trying to act like one of those obsessive girlfriends, but things…things are different with us.”

She had a point. A very good one. “You’re right.”

Her eyes widened. “Come again?”

“You’re right. I should’ve checked in at some point. I’m sorry.”

Shock splashed over her pretty face. Jaw dropped over and everything. Damn, she was adorable.

“You’re speechless.” I chuckled. “I like that. And I also like you all feisty. Want to hit me again?”

She laughed. “You’re a—”

The door opened behind her and her mom appeared, clearing her throat. “I don’t know what it is with you two and porches, but come in, it’s freezing out there.”

Kat flushed fire-engine red, so I let her go and made my way into the house. “Did you get a new haircut, Ms. Swartz?”

Her mom lightly touched her hair. “I did. About a week ago.”

“Looks great,” I said, smiling as Kat frowned. “Shows off those wonderful earrings.”

Kat’s mom flushed, just like her daughter. “Thank you.”

I continued to chat up her mom while Kat rolled her eyes about a million and three times before grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the steps. “Okay, well, this has been nice…”

Ms. Swartz folded her arms. “Katy, what did I tell you about the bedroom?”

Dipping my chin to hide my smile, I watched her face burn even brighter. “Mom…” She tugged on my arm again.

Her mom raised her brows.

Kat sighed. “Mom, it’s not like we’re going to have sex with you home.”

“Well, honey, it’s good to know that you only have sex when I’m not home.”

I coughed as I fought a smile. “We can stay—” The look Kat sent me warned that I’d probably never have sex with her, ever, if I continued. I wisely kept quiet.

“Mo-om.”

“Keep the door open,” her mom warned.

Kat beamed brightly. “Thanks!” Then she all but dragged me up the stairs. Pushing me inside the bedroom, she shook her head at me. “You’re terrible.”

“And you’re naughty.” I backed up, grinning. “Thought she said leave the door open.”

“It is.” She gestured behind her. “It’s cracked. That’s open.”

“Technicalities,” I said, sitting down on the bed. I curled my fingers at her. “Come on…come closer.”

She didn’t budge. “I didn’t get you up here to indulge in wild monkey lust.”

“Crap.” I dropped my hand to my lap.

Her eyes gleamed with amusement as she moved closer to the bed. “We need to talk. Will’s been talking to my mom.”

My eyes narrowed. “Details.”

She sat beside me, tucking her legs against her chest. “He said he’s at a conference and would be home in a week or so. He also told Mom that we were seeing each other. The fact that he even brought us up…” She trailed off, rubbing her temples. “He can’t come back. If the mutation didn’t hold, he knows you’d kill him. And if it did…”

“He has the upper hand,” I admitted.

She threw herself onto her back. “God, this is a mess—a freaking mess of epic proportions. If he comes back, I can’t let him near my mom. I have to tell her the truth.”

Leaning against the headboard, my head raced to process this problem. “I don’t want you to tell her.”

She frowned as she tilted her head to the side, meeting my stare. “I need to tell her. She’s in danger.”

“She’s in danger if you tell her.” I folded my arms. “I understand why you want to and your need, but if she knows the truth, she’s in danger.”

“But keeping her in the dark is worse, Daemon.” Rising to her knees, she faced me. “Will is a psycho. What if he comes back and picks up where he left off? I can’t let that happen.”

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling long and hard. “We need to find out if Will actually has intentions of coming back first.”

Irritation darkened her eyes. “And how do you propose we do that?”

“That I haven’t figured out, but I will.”

She stared at me a moment and then nodded. How I was going to figure out if Will was coming back was a mystery, but right now, he didn’t feel like the worst of our problems.

“What were you doing all day?” she asked. “Chasing Dawson?”

I nodded.

“What was he doing?”

“He was just roaming around. I know he was trying to get back to that office building, and if I hadn’t followed him, he would’ve. The only reason I feel safe leaving him alone right now is because Dee has him cornered.” I paused, looking away. My shoulders tensed as his words replayed over and over. “Dawson…he’s going to get himself captured again.”

Chapter 4

Since Dee was keeping an eye on Dawson Saturday evening, I wanted to do something with Kat. Well, I wanted to do a lot of things with her.

A lot.

But I wanted to take her out, do dinner and then a movie. Something normal, and God knows, she needed something normal right now. All of us did. And what I’d told her while we made snow angels had been true. We had to forge forward like nothing had happened. Easier said than done, but if we had to act normal, then I was going to take advantage of it.

Going out on a real date, the dinner and movies variety, wasn’t something I’d ever done before, not even with Ash. We’d always seemed to skip that step, but with Kat, I didn’t want to bypass a single stage.

But then I saw her Sunday evening and not rushing through all those steps became real hard.

Kat was…damn, she was beautiful with her hair down, falling over her shoulders in soft, dark waves. The red turtleneck and dark jeans clung to all the areas I wanted to get to know personally. Like real intimately.

After chatting up her mom, I led Kat outside. Held her hand and everything, even stopped and opened the car door for her. I was the epitome of a gentleman…on the outside. In my head, the things I was thinking about were definitely not gentlemanly.

Warm air blasted out of the vents when I cranked up the heat in the SUV. I grinned at her. “Okay. There are some rules about our date.”

Her brows rose. “There are?”

“Yep.” I backed out, careful around the patches of black ice. “Rule number one is we don’t talk about anything DOD-related.”

“Okay.”

I glanced at her sideways and saw that she was fighting a major smile. “Rule number two is that we don’t talk about Dawson or Will. And number three, we focus on my awesomeness.”

Kat lost the battle. Her smile was huge. “I think I can deal with these rules.”

“You better, because there is punishment for breaking the rules.”

“And what kind of punishment would that be?”

Pulling out onto the main road, I chuckled. “Probably the sort of punishment you’d enjoy.”

I reached for the radio at the same time Kat did and our fingers brushed. Static raced over my hand, jumping to hers. Kat jerked back with a soft gasp. Her eyes were bright, and it was suddenly so damn hot in the SUV, and it had nothing to do with the heat coming out of the vents.

I’d picked out an Italian restaurant and had stopped by earlier. The manager had been rather ecstatic when it came to helping me out with dinner. She most definitely developed a crush.

Kat eyed the red-and-white checkered tablecloths as we were led to a small table in the back. She blinked once and then twice when she saw the bare table lit with small candles and two wineglasses filled with water.

Kat sat across from me. “Did you…?”

I propped my elbows on the table and leaned forward. Light from the candles flickered across her face. “Did I do what?”

“Arrange this?” She waved at the candles.

I shrugged. “Maybe…”

Smiling, she tucked her hair back. “Thank you. It’s very…”

“Awesome?”

She laughed. “Romantic—it’s very romantic. And awesome, too.”

“As long as you think it is awesome, then it was worth it.” I glanced up as the manager arrived at our table. “Hi there…”

Rhonda, who probably didn’t normally take orders, smiled at me and then took our orders. Once she dashed off, Kat grinned at me and said, “I think we’re going to get extra meatballs.”

I laughed. “Hey, I’m good for some things.”

“You’re good for a lot of things.”

Her blush that immediately followed her words stopped me from pointing out all the things I was good at. Instead, I asked her about the book I’d seen in her room, one with a shirtless dude who looked like he could chest-press a truck.

“It’s a historical romance,” she explained. “About pirates.”

I arched a brow. “Pirates.”

She grinned as a ginormous pile of breadsticks was placed in the center. “Pirates were all the rage back in the day.” She plucked up a breadstick. “You’d look good on a book cover.”

“I don’t wear leather pants.” I bit into the garlic-and-butter heaven.

“Still. You have the look.”

I rolled my eyes. “You just like me for my body. Admit it.”

“Well, yeah…”

“I feel like man-candy.”

She busted out laughing, and that one laugh was worth a million bucks. Finishing off the breadstick, I wiped the specks of garlic off with the linen napkin. “What are you going to do about college?”

Kat blinked and then sat back, eyeing the candle. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s not really possible unless I go to one near a buttload of beta—”

“You just broke a rule,” I reminded her.

She wrinkled her nose. “What about you? What are you doing for college?”

I shrugged. “Haven’t decided yet.”

“You’re running out of time,” she pointed out.

“Actually, we’ve both run out of time, unless we do a late acceptance.”

“Okay. Rule-breaking aside, how is it possible? Do online classes?” she asked, and I shrugged again. “Unless you know of a college that has…a suitable environment?”

Our meals arrived, pressing pause on the conversation for a moment. Rhonda basically grated an entire block of cheese on my plate before turning to Kat’s.

“So, do you?” she asked when Rhonda left.

Knife and fork in hand, I cut into the lasagna. “The Flatirons.”

“The what-a-what?”

“The Flatirons is a mountain just outside of Boulder, Colorado.” I continued knifing away until the lasagna was in bite-size pieces. “They are full of quartzite. Not as well-known as some places or as visible, but they are there, under feet of sediment.”

“Okay.” She twisted her spaghetti noodles around her fork. “What does that have to do with anything?”

I peered up at her. “University of Colorado is about two miles from the Flatirons.”

“Oh.” She chewed slowly. “Is…is that where you want to go to school?”

“Colorado isn’t a bad place. I think you’d like it.”

Kat swallowed and then smiled faintly as she placed her fork down beside her plate. The sudden look on her face was distant, as if she were a million miles away as she stared at her plate.

Picking up a breadstick, I tapped the tip of her nose with it. Sprinkles of garlic puffed into the air. “What were you just thinking about?”

She brushed off the rest of the crumbs and smiled. “I…I think Colorado sounds nice.”

Yeah, I didn’t believe her. She was thinking about something that had stolen the light from her eyes. The possibilities of what it could’ve been were limitless. Stabbing a piece of lasagna, I changed the subject.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay with the movie I picked? I don’t want you to be scared,” I teased.

She pinned me with an arched look. “It’s going to take a lot more than a haunted box to scare me.”

My lips twitched. Haunted box. Ha. “Then again, if you do get scared, then you’d have to get super close to me.”

Kat rolled her eyes.

“I like the sound of that.”

“I bet you do,” she replied drily, but her eyes were a light gray again and she was eating once more. She cleared her throat, but her voice was still a bit raspy when she spoke again. “This movie sounds right up your alley. You’re obsessed with ghost-related stuff.”

My eyes met hers. “That’s not what I’m obsessed with.”

Her lips parted. “Then what is?”

I glanced down at her mouth. How inappropriate would it be if I just knocked the table out of my way and kissed her? Pretty inappropriate. “I think you know.”

Pink splashed across her cheeks, and then she all but shoved the last of her noodles into her mouth. “Do you believe in ghosts?”

Sipping on my glass, I sat back. “I think they exist.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? Huh. I thought you just watched those ghost shows for entertainment.”

“Well, I do. I like the one where the guy yells, ‘Dude! Bro!’ every five seconds.” I smiled when she laughed. “But in all seriousness, it can’t be impossible. Too many people have witnessed things that can’t be explained.”

“Like too many people witnessing aliens and UFOs.” She grinned.

“Exactly.” I set the glass down. “Except the UFOs are total bunk. Government’s responsible for all unidentified flying objects.”

Her mouth dropped open.

Our check arrived shortly, and I took care of that. We walked side by side through the restaurant. Near the door there was a group from school. They stared at us like I was in my true form.

Flurries fell from the sky, leaving a fine dusting along the pavement as we walked to the passenger side of the SUV. I went to open the door for Kat, but she stopped and tipped her head back. Curious, I watched her.

She closed her eyes and then the tip of her tongue sneaked out. My mouth dried and a pleasant, heady tension invaded me. She caught the snowflake on the tip of her tongue.

Hell.

Opening her eyes, she leveled her chin. Our gazes met. “What?” she whispered.

“I was thinking about a movie.”

“Okay. And?”

“But you’ve broken the rules, Kitten. Several times. You’re owed some punishment.”

Her heart kicked up, and so did mine. “I am a rule breaker.”

My lips tilted up on one corner. “You are.”

Kat flushed, and then I moved as fast as a cobra striking. I was in front of her, my hands against her cheeks and tilting her head back, before she could take another breath. I brushed my lips over hers, swallowing a groan at the sweet contact. I swept my lips against hers again, and her mouth opened. The kiss deepened, and she tasted like paradise.

My hands coasted down to her hips, and I pulled her against me, hip to hip. Her soft gasp echoed through me. I backed her up, pressing her against the side of the SUV. The rest of the world fell apart around us, and maybe I shouldn’t have been kissing her like this in public, not when anyone could see us, but I didn’t care.

Kat did that to me.

And she was kissing me back just as feverishly. Her hands were on my chest, her palms burning through my sweater. I didn’t want anything between us, but that wasn’t going to happen right now. She slipped her hands up and around my neck as she moved her hips against mine.

Damn. I lifted my mouth from hers, forcing myself to breath. “Movie?” I kissed her again. “And then what, Kitten?”

She knew what came after a movie even if she didn’t speak it, and I think she was a little beyond the whole talking part as my fingers drifted under the hem of her turtleneck. She jerked and moaned softly as my hands smoothed over the bare sides of her waist. Her side was so smooth, silky and soft. I could spend forever just touching her.

Kat dropped her hands to my hips, and surprised the hell out of me when she tugged me against her, lining us up in a way that made it hard to keep a semblance of control. Raw sensation pounded throughout me. I growled against her swollen lips. The tips of my fingers brushed against lace. We were so not making it to—

My cell phone went off in my back pocket. I wanted to ignore it, but considering everything that was going on, that wouldn’t be wise. I pulled back, knowing my eyes were glowing. “One second.”

I kissed her as I dragged my phone out my pocket and kept my other hand where it was, under her sweater, and so damn close. She shifted against me, pressing her face into my chest as I answered the phone. “This better be really important—”

“Dawson made a run for it,” Dee shrieked into the phone. “He’s gone.”