“Ew,” Dee said.
“Anyway,” Dawson said, sitting down on the arm of the couch, “I had your accounts switched over to the new names. You’ll also find high school transcripts, so even though both of you are dropouts”—he flashed a grin—“no one will be the wiser. We’re all rocking new identities.”
“How did you guys take care of all this?” I asked, completely out of the loop when it came to making IDs and faking records.
Luc smirked. “Among my various and extensive talents, making fake IDs and forging documents is one of them.”
I stared at the kid, wondering if there was anything he couldn’t do.
“Nope.” Luc winked at me.
My eyes narrowed.
Daemon thumbed through his papers. “Guys, really, thank you. This is a start.” He looked up, his jade eyes bright. “This is something.”
I nodded, trying not to focus on everything that I was losing by starting over. Like my mom. Somehow, I’d have to find a way to see her. “Yes.”
We stayed in the room for a little while, mainly catching up. No one talked about plans, because I really didn’t think anyone knew exactly where to go from there. Lyla gave me a tour of her beautiful home when I asked to use the restroom, which, by the way, was the size of a bedroom and had interior, glass walls.
The house had more rooms downstairs than any living person could find use for. And it seemed like Lyla didn’t have a significant other, so it was just her in this sprawling home. Dee tagged along, wrapping an arm around mine as Lyla led me through an open kitchen and sunroom.
“You’re going to love this,” Dee said. “Just wait.”
Lyla tossed a smile over her tan shoulder. “I think Dee’s spent the last week out here, trying to come up with a way to free you guys, but…we really didn’t have a plan that Matthew and I could allow them to carry out that didn’t end with them being captured.”
Filled with curiosity, I let them lead me outside, back into what I expected to be breath-stealing temperatures, but I ended up stepping into an oasis.
“Oh my God…” I breathed.
Dee rocked back on her heels. “Told you that you were going to love this. Beautiful, isn’t it?”
All I could do was nod. Numerous medium-size palms lined a quartz-embedded privacy wall, creating the perfect shaded area. The space was rectangular, with a large patio with a grill, fire pit, and various lounge chairs. Brightly colored flowers lined the paver walkway, as did bushes I’d seen in the desert but couldn’t name. The scent of jasmine and sage was strong in the air. Toward the end of the property was a pool with a natural stone deck.
It was the kind of garden you saw on TV.
“When Dee told me that you loved to garden, I knew we’d have something in common.” Lyla ran her fingers along a red and yellow croton. “I think your love of gardening has rubbed off on Dee. She’s been helping me.”
“It helped.” Dee shrugged. “You know, not to think about so many things.”
That’s what I’d loved about gardening. It was the great mind-emptier. After investigating everything from the mulch to the neutral-colored pebbles, I followed Dee upstairs to the second floor. Daemon was with Dawson, Matthew, and the Thompson siblings. He needed to spend time with them. Besides, hanging out with Dee was bringing me a world of warm fuzzies.
One of the bedroom doors was closed, and I figured that was where Beth was. “How is Beth doing?” I asked.
Dee slowed down, falling in step with me. Her voice was low. “She’s okay, I guess. She doesn’t talk much.”
“Is she…?” Wow. How did I ask this question without sounding insensitive?
“Sane?” suggested Dee, but she did so without scorn. “Some days are better than others, but she’s been really tired lately, sleeping a lot.”
I stepped around a giant urn packed with snake plants. “Well, she can’t be coming down with something. We don’t get sick.”
“I know.” Dee stopped at a bedroom at the end of the hall. “I just think the traveling has her stressed out. She wanted to help, don’t get me wrong, but she’s scared.”
“She has a right to be.” I brushed a few strands of hair out of my face and focused on the room. The bed was big enough for five people and had a mountain of pillows stacked against the headboard. “So this is our bedroom?”
“Huh?” Dee was staring at me, and then she shook her head. “Sorry. Yes. For you and my brother.” A giggle escaped. “Wow. A year ago, Katy…”
A smile tugged at my lips. “I would’ve rather stabbed myself repeatedly in the eye with a spork than sleep in the same house as Daemon.”
“A spork?” Dee laughed as she went over to the closet. “That’s serious.”
“It is.” I sat on the bed and immediately fell in love with the firmness. “Sporks are only used in the most dire situations.”
Tugging her hair up into a ponytail, she stepped inside. I could see a few of my outfits in there. “I grabbed a couple of everything—jeans, shirts, dresses, underoos.”
“Thank you. I mean it. This,” I said, gesturing at myself, “is all I have. It will be nice to change into something that’s mine after…” I trailed off, not seeing the point in going there. Scanning the room for a distraction, I spotted another door. “Do we have our own bathroom?”
“Yep. Every room does. This house is sick.” She blinked out in front of the closet and reappeared on the bed beside me. “It makes it kind of hard to leave this place.”