Oblivion

So had I.

“How did it happen?” he asked.

Leaning back against the cushion, I eyed Matthew. “Halloween night. She was hurt, and so was Dee. I’d been knocked down and I…I tried to heal her so she could get away from Baruck, but something happened. She pulled the Source from both Dee and me, and she killed Baruck.”

His eyes widened slightly. “That wasn’t the first time you healed her.”

I shook my head. “After the attack at the library, I did and…and once more, a minor injury. I wasn’t thinking when I did it. But after she killed Baruck, she was hurt. She was…” My voice trailed off, and I cleared my throat. “She was dying, Matt. I couldn’t let that happen.”

He stared at me. “You love her.”

My mouth opened, and for a moment I couldn’t speak. Then I did in a voice I barely recognized. “I do. I love her.”

“Of course.” His smile was sort of sad. “You wouldn’t have been able to change her if you didn’t.”

Some of the pressure squeezing the hell out of my chest lessened. I loved Kat. I was in love with her, and I was damn lucky she was alive. Despite all the craziness, the arguing and fighting, the lies and the miscommunication, I was in love with her. Was that such a shock? Not really. Truth be told, I fell for her the first time she mouthed off at me. I just hadn’t fully admitted it to myself.

“I know you’re upset with her right now, but it’s obvious that what you feel for her isn’t some fleeting emotion. You love her,” Matthew said quietly as he rose. “You need to talk to her, because right now, you both…you both need each other. More than ever.”

I didn’t say anything as he walked toward the front door. “I’m going to go check on Andrew and Ash.” He reached for the handle and stopped. “Happy New Year, Daemon.”

I’d slept what felt like an eternity before waking Sunday evening. After I took a shower where it felt like I scrubbed off years of emotional crap, I headed downstairs. I didn’t stop. I walked outside and went next door. I didn’t feel her in the house, but I had a feeling I knew where she’d gone.

Snow continued to fall as I walked down the road. The fluffy white stuff covered the scorched marks from where I burned the two vehicles. It was almost like I could pretend none of that happened yesterday.

A warm tingle spread across my neck. I stepped out of the woods and into the snow-covered clearing. She was standing at the edge of the frozen lake. Jesus, she was barely dressed to be out here. Granted, she was definitely something more than human, but would wearing a jacket every once in a while kill her? The moon reflected off the ice, casting silvery light across the still surface. I stopped directly behind her and for a moment just…just reveled in the fact that she was still standing, that the one person outside of my family who meant the world to me was still here. Matthew had been right. We needed each other, especially in this moment, more than ever before.

Kat turned around. Red-rimmed eyes met mine.

“I knew you’d be here.” I cast my gaze to the frozen lake, my jaw working. “It’s where I come when I need to think.”

She drew in a shallow breath. “How’s Dee?”

“She’ll survive,” I said, even though I wished she wouldn’t have to survive this. “We need to talk. Are you busy right now? Not sure if I’m interrupting. Staring at the lake can take a lot of concentration.”

Her brows knit. “I’m not busy.”

I met her stare. “Then come back with me?”

Anxious energy rolled off her, but she nodded. We walked back to my house in silence. I led her into the kitchen. “Hungry? I haven’t eaten all day.”

She watched me cautiously. “Yeah, a little.”

I went to the fridge and grabbed some lunch meat while Kat sat at the table. I made two ham and cheese sandwiches, doubling up on the mayonaise for hers. We ate and cleaned up in silence.

Kat stood. “Daemon, I—”

“Not yet.” I dried my hands and then walked out of the kitchen, knowing Kat was behind me. I started up the steps.

“Why are we going upstairs?”

I glanced over my shoulder, my hand on the mahogany-colored rail. “Why not?”

“I don’t know. It’s just seems…”

It might be weird, but I didn’t know if Dee was going to return tonight, and I didn’t want her walking in on what Kat and I needed to talk about. We could’ve gone to her house, but that was the last place I wanted to be right now.

“Where’s Dee?” she asked as we walked past her bedroom.

“She’s with Ash and Andrew. I think being with them is helping her…” I opened the door and stepped aside, letting her walk in.

Her nervous energy increased, along with her heart rate. “Your room?”

I closed the door. “Yep. The best spot in the whole house.”

Kat folded her hands together as she checked out my room. She’d never been in here before, so she was taking everything in—the posters, the TV and desk. The bed. I waved my hand, turning the bedside lamp on.

She turned to the desk, staring at my Mac. “Nice computer.”

“It is.” I kicked off my boots.

“Daemon—” She stopped when I sat on the bed. Her fingers drifted over the lid of the Mac. “I am so sorry about everything. I shouldn’t have trusted him—I should’ve listened to you. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Adam didn’t get hurt. He died, Kat.”

She faced me, her voice thick. “I… If I could go back, I’d change everything.”

I shook my head as my gaze dropped to my open hands. I curled them into fists. “I know we don’t always get along, and I know the whole co

“I do trust you. With my life,” she said, inching closer. “But once I thought he could possibly be involved with them, I didn’t want you involved. Blake knew and suspected too much already.”

“I should’ve done more. When he threw that damn knife at you, I should’ve stepped in then and not backed down, but I was just so damn angry.”

Her chest rose sharply, and papers on my desk stirred. “I was trying to protect you.”

I lifted my gaze. I knew she wanted that, but could that have been the sole reason behind her not coming to me about Blake? She was trying to protect me. “You wanted to keep me safe?”

“Yes.” She swallowed. “Not that it turned out that way in the end, but when I found out Blake and Vaughn were related, all I could think was that he played me—I let myself be played. And he knew how close we were. They’d do to you what they did to Dawson. There is no way I could have lived with that.”

Closing my eyes, I turned my head. “When did you know definitely that Blake was working with the DOD?”

“On New Year’s Eve. Blake showed up while I was sleeping, and I saw Simon’s watch in his car. He says Simon’s still alive, that the DOD took him, but there…there was blood on his watch.”

I cursed. “While you were sleeping? Did he do this often?”

She shook her head. “Not that I know of.”

Not that she knew of. Shit. I should’ve killed him…for a multitude of reasons.

“You should’ve never been worried about me getting hurt.” I stood, ru

“I know, but I wasn’t going to knowingly put you at risk. You mean too much to me.”

My head swung toward her. That was probably the first time I’d ever heard her actually say that. “And what does that mean, exactly?”

“I…” Her lower lip trembled. “It doesn’t matter now.”

“The hell it doesn’t!” I yelled. “You nearly destroyed my family, Kat. You almost got both of us killed, and none of this is over. Who knows how much time any of us have before the DOD comes? I let that dickhead go. He’s still out there, and as terrible as this sounds, I hope he gets what’s coming to him before he can report back to anyone. Fuck! You lied to me! Are you telling me all of this is because I mean something to you?”