Oblivion

“No. I don’t mean that. I mean…” He cleared his throat as he looked up at me. His face had finally filled out a little, but there was still a sharpness to his cheekbones. “I mean I might need your help with…with Beth. I don’t think she’s in a good place, you know?”

Remembering how Kat had described how Beth had acted, I nodded.

“And I don’t know if she’ll…if she’ll recognize me.”

My hand tightened on the spatula. “She’ll recognize you, Dawson.”

“I don’t know,” he replied quietly, casting his gaze to the floor again. “There were times when she didn’t. There were times when I didn’t recognize her.”

I forgot to force myself to breathe.

“I just want to get her out of there without her or…or anyone getting hurt.” Dawson slowly lifted his gaze to mine. “And I don’t know if…if when I see her and she doesn’t recognize me, that I’m going to be…much help.”

“I get it.” Shaken, I twisted back to the stove and flipped the sandwiches. “I got you, Dawson.”

There was a pause. “Thank you.”

Throat closed, I nodded and hoped it didn’t come down to any of that. I wanted his reunion with Bethany to be happy, but I knew better than to blindly hope for anything. That was just asking the universe to take a piss on your leg and tell you it was raining.

Sandwiches finished, I scraped them off the skillet and placed them on plates. I handed one over to Dawson when I felt my heart jump erratically in my chest, the feeling catching me off guard.

Kat.

It was different than her practicing. Tossing the spatula into the sink, I moved wicked fast, reaching the front door in under a second. I stepped outside, immediately seeing the black Expedition parked down the road. I saw Officer Lane, but I didn’t see Kat.

I moved form the porch to Kat’s driveway in a blink of an eye, surprising Lane.

“Is there something I can help you with, Lane?”

He took a step back and pressed his hand to his chest. “Daemon, God, I hate when you do that.” When I didn’t respond, the older man gave a little shake of his head. “I’m doing an investigation.”

“Okay.”

I tensed as Lane reached into the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out a small notebook, flipping it open. “Officer Brian Vaughn has been missing since before New Year’s. I’m checking all possible leads.”

What entirely messed-up timing for him to show up today, of all days, to question us about Vaughn. I kept my voice level and face blank as I folded my arms across my chest. “Why would I know what happened to him or care?”

Lane raised a brow. “When was the last time you saw him?”

“I haven’t seen him since the day you guys showed up to do your check-in and you all wanted to eat at the disgusting Chinese buffet,” I responded. “I still haven’t recovered from that.”

He gave a reluctant grin. “Yes, the food was terrible.” He scribbled something down and then slid his notebook back into his pocket. “So you haven’t seen Vaughn at all?”

“Nope.” I glanced over his shoulder, spotting movement.

The other man nodded. “I know you two weren’t big fans of each other. I didn’t figure he’d make any unauthorized visits, but we have to check every avenue at this point.”

“Understandable.” I glanced over to where I’d seen something between the trees, but I couldn’t be sure. “Why were you checking out the neighbor’s house?”

“I was checking out all the houses,” he replied. “You still friends with the girl we saw you with?”

My eyes narrowed.

Lane laughed as he walked past me, clapping me on the shoulder. “Daemon, when are you ever going to loosen up? I don’t care who you…spend your time with. I’m just doing my job.”

Like I truly believed that. Lane wasn’t as much of a dick as Vaughn had been, but that wasn’t saying much. “So, if I decided to exclusively date humans and settle down with one, you wouldn’t report me?”

“As long as I don’t see undeniable evidence, I don’t care. This is just a job with a good retirement, and I hope to make it to that point.” He started for his vehicle but stopped, facing me. “There’s a difference between evidence and my gut. For example, my gut told me that your brother was in a serious relationship with the human he disappeared with, but there wasn’t any evidence.”

I leaned against his SUV. Now the conversation was leading into tricky territory. Either Lane was going to lie and pretend that he didn’t know Dawson was sitting inside, most likely not eating his grilled cheese sandwich, or he was going to speak the truth. “Did you see my brother’s body when they found him?”

A tense moment followed, and Lane lowered his chin. “I wasn’t there when they said they found his body along with the girl’s. I was only told what happened. I’m just an officer.” He raised his head. “And I haven’t been told any different. I’m nothing in the big scheme of things, but I’m not blind.”

“What are you saying?” I asked.

Lane smiled tightly. “I know what’s in your house, Daemon. I know that I was lied to—a lot of us have been lied to and have no idea what’s really going on. We just have jobs. We do them, and we keep our heads down.”

I nodded as my respect for the man increased. “And you’re keeping your head down now?”

“I was told to check on Vaughn’s possible whereabouts and that was about it.” He motioned at his car door, and I stepped away from it. “I know not to address anything unless told so. I really want that retirement plan.” He climbed in, closing the car door. “You take care.”

I moved back. “See you around, Lane.”

Tires spun and kicked up gravel as the Expedition pulled back onto the road, puffing out exhaust. That was an…interesting conversation. While I wanted to believe what Lane had said, I knew better than to view him as a non-threat.

Sighing, I wheeled around, sca

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

I nodded. “Did you hear any of that?”

“Yeah, I was heading back when I saw him.” She paused, nose scrunching. “Do you believe him?”

“I don’t know.” I dropped my arm over her shoulders, steering her toward my house. “Lane has always been a decent guy, but this doesn’t sit well with me.”

She folded an arm around my waist and leaned in. “Which part?”

“All of it—this whole scenario.” I sat on the step down from the top of the porch and tugged her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her. “The fact that the DOD—even Lane—knows damn well that Dawson’s back and that they have to realize we know they lied. And they’re doing nothing.” I closed my eyes as she pressed her cheek to mine. “And what we’re doing tonight—it can work, but it’s so insane. Part of me wonders if they already know we’re coming.”

Kat smoothed her thumb along my jaw as she kissed my cheek. “Do you think we’re walking into a trap?”

“I think we’ve been inside the trap the entire time and we’re just waiting for it to spring closed.” I picked up her dirty hand.

She shuddered. “And we’re going to still do this?” I met her gaze. “You don’t have to.”

“Neither do you,” she replied softly. “But we both are.”

“That we are.”

Neither of us spoke for several moments, and then she kissed me. “I think…I’m going to spend some time with my mom before we leave. She should be awake soon.”

I kissed her back, pouring into it everything I felt—the yearning for more time, the desperation that there wasn’t enough, and everything I felt for her. When I spoke, my voice sounded raw to my ears. “That’s a good idea, Kitten.”

Hours later, everyone was tense on the way to Mount Weather. There were laughs and curses, but it was forced. We all knew that some or all might not make the drive back. That was a sobering realization that haunted every single one of us.