For a moment, I thought he’d protest, but he turned to me. “It’s okay. I can take her home and meet up with you guys.”
“That won’t be necessary,” the woman cut in. “We can take her back, and you guys can catch up.”
My pulse was all over the place, and I glanced at Daemon for help. A muscle popped in his jaw as he stood by, silent and helpless. I knew then there was nothing he could do. Forcing a smile, I nodded. “That’s cool with me. I just hope it’s not going out of your way.”
Daemon’s right hand clenched.
“It’s not out of the way,” she replied. “We love the roads back here. Fall colors and all. Ready?”
I looked at Daemon as I headed toward the SUV. His hawklike gaze followed my steps. I murmured my thanks as she opened the back door. Getting in, I seriously hoped I didn’t end up on a missing person’s flyer.
Daemon was getting into his own car, but he stopped and glanced back at me. I’d swear I heard his voice in my head. It’ll be okay. But it couldn’t have been him. Maybe it was wishful thinking, because for a moment, fear trickled like ice water through my veins. What if this was the last time I saw him—saw anyone? What if they’d discovered I knew the truth?
What if they knew what I could do?
Now I wished I’d let Daemon kiss me back there. Because if I was going to disappear, then at least my last memory would’ve given me some sort of completion.
I forced myself to breathe slowly as I raised my hand, wiggling my fingers at him before the woman shut the door.
She climbed into the passenger seat and twisted around. “Seat belt?”
Hands shaking and sweaty, I fastened myself in. The man behind the wheel said nothing, but the hairs on his mustache kept blowing as if he were breathing heavily. “Um, thanks for the ride.”
“It’s no problem. My name is Nancy Husher,” she said, and then nodded at the driver. “This is Brian Vaughn. He’s known Daemon’s family for several years. I’m just along for the ride.”
I’m sure you are. “Oh…that’s really nice.”
Nancy nodded. “Daemon is like one of Brian’s own, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” agreed Brian. “It’s not often that we see him with a girl. He must think a lot of you to help look for your cell phone.”
My eyes darted between the two. “I guess so. He and his sister are really nice.”
“Dee is a doll. How close are you with them?” Brian asked.
I was being interrogated. Great. “Well, since we’re the only ones who live on the same street, we’re kind of close.”
Nancy glanced out the front window. Luckily, I recognized that we were heading back toward Ketterman. “And Daemon? How close are you with him?”
My mouth dried. “I’m not sure I’m following the question.”
“I thought you said he was dating someone, Brian?”
“Ash Thompson,” he answered.
Like they didn’t know her name, but hey, I could play along. “Yeah, I think they broke up during the summer, but that doesn’t have anything to do with us.”
“It doesn’t?” Nancy asked.
I shook my head, deciding a little bit of the truth couldn’t hurt. “We’re just friends. Most of the time we don’t really even get along.”
“But you just said he was nice.”
Shit. Face blank, I shrugged. “He can be nice when he wants.”
A single pale eyebrow arched. “And what about Dee?”
“She’s awesome.” I glanced out the window. This was the longest trip ever. I was going to have a heart attack before it was over. There was something about Nancy, more than just the obvious, that made me squirm.
“And what do you think of their parents?”
I frowned. These were really weird questions to be asking, given the fact they didn’t know I knew anything. “I don’t know. They’re parents.”
Brian laughed. Was this dude real? It sounded a bit mechanical.
“What I meant is, do you like them?” she asked.
“I don’t see them often. Just coming and going. I really haven’t talked to them.” I met her eyes, willing her to believe me. “I don’t hang out at their house often, so I don’t run into them.”
She held my stare a few more moments and then turned around in her seat. No one spoke after that. Sweat gathered along my brow. When Brian turned onto my road, I almost cried in relief. The car coasted to a stop, and I was already unbuckling my seat belt.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said hastily.
“No problem,” Nancy said. “Take care, Miss Swartz.”
The tiny hairs on my body rose. I opened the door and climbed out.
And just then, with the worst case of bad timing in the world, my cell phone went off in my pocket, blaring like an alarm. Holy crap… My eyes flicked up to Nancy’s.
She smiled.
“I’m sure he’s okay,” Dee said again. “Katy, they do this all the time. They stop by, track us down, and act all kinds of weird.”
I stopped in front of her TV, wringing my hands. Fear had rooted deep inside my gut from the moment they’d deposited me in front of my house. “You don’t understand. He told them we were out there looking for my cell phone and that I’d lost it. And then it rang in front of them.”
“I know, but what’s the big deal?” Adam sat on the couch, kicking his legs up. “There’s no way they’d suspect you know anything.”
But they knew we were lying, and they all seemed way too smart to miss that. And it wasn’t like I could tell Dee what we’d really been doing out there. Not that she hadn’t asked. I’d made up some lame excuse about wanting to see the spot where he’d killed Baruck.
Dee didn’t look entirely convinced.
I started pacing again. “But that was hours ago, guys. It’s almost ten.”
“Honey, he’s fine.” She got up, clasping my hands. “They were here first and then went looking for him. All they are doing is being annoying and asking questions.”
“But why would it take so long with him?”
“Because they like to give him crap and he likes to give it back,” Adam said, floating the remote control over to his hand. “It’s like a parasitic relationship between the two.”
I laughed weakly. “But what if they find out I know? What will they do to him?”
Dee’s brows knitted. “They aren’t going to find out, Katy. And if they did, you should be more worried about yourself than him.”
Nodding, I pulled my hands free and started wearing a path in the carpet again. They didn’t understand. I’d seen it in Nancy’s eyes. She knew we were lying, but she’d let me go. Why?
“Katy,” Dee began slowly. “I’m surprised that you’re so concerned about Daemon’s welfare.”
A flush swept over my cheeks. I didn’t want to look too closely at why I was so concerned. “Just because he’s…he’s Daemon…doesn’t mean I want anything bad to happen to him.”
Watching me closely, she arched one brow. “Are you sure it’s not more than that?”
I halted. “Of course.”
“He’s been bringing you stuff to school.” Adam leaned his head back, eyes narrowed. “I’ve never seen him act like that with anyone. Not even my sister.”
“And you guys have been spending a lot of time together,” Dee added.
“So? You’ve been spending a lot of time with Adam.” As soon as it left my mouth, I realized how stupid that was.
Dee smiled, eyes glittering. “Yeah, and we’ve been having sex. Lots of it.”
Adam’s eyes went wide. “Wow, Dee, put it all out there like that.”
She shrugged. “It’s true.”
“Oh, geez, that’s not what’s happening here.”
Moving to the couch, she sat beside a red-faced Adam. “Then what is happening?”
Crap. I hated lying to her. “He’s been helping me study.”
“For what?”
“Trig,” I said quickly. “I suck at math.”
Dee laughed. “Okay. If you say so, but I hope you know that if you and my brother have something going on, I’m not going to be mad.”
I stared at her.
“And part of me understands why you two would keep it hidden. You guys are known for your word war and everything else.” She frowned. “But I just want you to know that I’m okay with it. It’s crazy and I hope Daemon is prepared for what’s going to happen, but I want him happy. And if you make him happy—”
“Okay. I got you.” So not a conversation I wanted to have with Dee in front of Adam.
She smiled. “I wish you’d reconsider doing Thanksgiving dinner with us. You know you’re welcome.”
“I seriously doubt Ash and Andrew would be happy with me at the table.”
“Who cares what they think?” Adam rolled his eyes. “I don’t. Neither does Daemon. And you shouldn’t either.”
“You guys are like a family. I’m not—”
Tingles spread over my neck. Without thinking, I spun around and raced across the room. Throwing open the door, I rushed out into the cold night air.
I didn’t even think.
Daemon had reached the top step when I rushed him, wrapping my arms around his neck, squeezing him tight.
He seemed stunned for a second, and then his arms swept around my waist. For several moments, neither of us spoke. We didn’t need to. I just wanted to hold him—for him to hold me. Maybe it was the connection wrapping us together. Maybe it was something infinitely deeper. At that moment, I didn’t care.
“Whoa there, Kitten, what’s going on?”
Burrowing closer, I drawled in a deep breath. “I thought the DOD carted you off to some lab to keep you in a cage.”
“Cage?” He laughed a bit unsteadily. “No. No cages. They just wanted to talk. It took longer than I thought. Everything’s okay.”
Dee cleared her throat. “Ahem.”
Stiffening, I realized what I was doing. Oh, so not cool. Disentangling my arms and wiggling out from his, I backed up and blushed. “I…I was just excited.”
“Yeah, I’d say you were,” Dee said, grinning like an idiot.
Daemon was staring at me like he’d just won the lottery. “I kind of like this level of excitement. Makes me think of—”
“Daemon!” both of us shouted.
“What?” He grinned, tousling Dee’s hair. “I was only suggesting—”
“We know what you were suggesting.” Dee darted out from underneath his hand. “And I really want to keep my food down tonight.” She smiled at me. “See. I told you. Daemon is fine.”
I could see that. He was also smokin’ hot, but back to the whole point. “They didn’t suspect anything?”
Daemon shook his head. “Nothing out of the norm, but they’re always paranoid.” He paused, his eyes searching mine in the dim light of the porch. “Really, you don’t need to worry. You’re safe.”