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His brows rose. “Like what?”
I came back to the table and sat down. “They went hiking one weekend, and Dawson returned all jacked up—his clothes torn and bloody. He said nothing happened, but I knew he was lying. I think…I think Beth got hurt somehow, and…”
Understanding flared in his gaze. “You think he healed her?” When I nodded, he blinked.
“Shit. We’re not supposed to—”
“I know we’re not supposed to do it, but it doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.” Hello. For example: me. “I think that’s what Dawson did, and I think…I think he changed her somehow.” I had absolutely no proof supporting that statement other than the fact that I had changed Kat.
“Changed her how?” he asked.
I shook my head. Here’s where it got tricky, because they…they’d died not too long after that trip, and I hadn’t been around her. “I don’t know, but Lydia stopped by on Thursday, you know, checking in, and we were talking about shit in general, and she said something that got me thinking.” I was so good at lying I was kind of amazed with myself. “She said that putting humans in danger wasn’t the only reason why we weren’t allowed to heal them.”
His eyes widened. “And you’re thinking it’s because we change them somehow? And that the Elders know this?”
I nodded.
“Well, hell.” He paused. “But even if that’s the case, what does it have to do with Dawson? I mean, he and Bethany were killed by Arum.”
That’s what we were told.
Another set of potentially disastrous words I didn’t speak out loud, but the moment I thought them, they rang true. We were told that Arum killed them. That the DOD found their bodies and…and disposed of them. What if that was a lie? My hand curled into a fist. What if the DOD got hold of them, because Dawson had done…had done the forbidden? And where was our friendly government watch group?
“The DOD hasn’t checked in with you guys recently, right?” I asked.
“No.”
I folded my arms, my gaze returning to the window. “And that’s damn strange, isn’t it?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, it is.” There was a pause. “Where are you going with this, Daemon?”
I met his searching gaze. “We never saw their bodies, Adam.”
“No…no, we didn’t.” Adam paled under the golden tone of his skin. “What are you saying?”
What I was saying was something that could get us all in a world of trouble. “I don’t know what I’m saying,” I said. “Don’t talk to Dee about any of this, okay? It’s just me thinking out loud, and I don’t want her to worry. You feel me?”
Adam nodded slowly, his gaze suddenly fixed and distant. “Yeah, I feel you.”
Showered and freshly shaved, I headed outside. Stars twinkled in the dark sky. Stepping off the porch, I looked next door. As expected, only Kat’s car sat in the driveway. Her birthday, and she was spending the evening alone.
That sucked.
I knew what I needed to do. I didn’t like how things ended between us last night, and I needed to apologize.
Within a heartbeat, I was in front of her door. Loud music thumped from inside. I knocked, but it became apparent that unless I knocked the door down, there was no way Kat was hearing me. Wrapping my hand around the knob, I discovered the door was unlocked. I hesitated, wondering if I should let myself in, but then I heard her—her singing.
I opened the door and stepped inside. The music was loud and became much clearer. It was an old song—“Hungry Like the Wolf.” Closing the door behind me, I slowly gri
“A scent and a sound, I’m lost and I’m found. And I’m hungry like the wolf. Something on a line, it’s discord and rhyme.” Kat appeared in the hallway, just outside the laundry room, her back to me as she swung her arms around and above her head, but I was fascinated by the knee-high socks she was wearing. And the little shorts, but mostly the socks. They had…reindeer all over them. “—whatever, whatever, la la la— Mouth is alive, all ru
“It’s actually, ‘I howl and I whine. I’m after you,’ and not blah or whatever.”
Kat shrieked and whipped around. Her foot slipped and before I could even say hello, she landed on her butt. Her hand flew to her chest. “Holy crap. I think I’m having a heart attack.”
“And I think you broke your butt.” I could barely stop myself from laughing.
Sprawled across the hallway, she glared up at me. “What the hell? Do you just walk into people’s houses?”
“And listen to girls absolutely destroy a song in a matter of seconds? Well, yes, I make a habit of it. Actually, I knocked several times, but I heard your…singing, and your door was unlocked.” I shrugged. “So I just let myself in.”
“I can see that.” She stood, wincing. “Oh, man, maybe I did break my butt.”
“I hope not. I’m kind of partial to your butt.” I flashed a quick smile. “Your face is pretty red. You sure you didn’t smack that on the way down?”
She groaned. “I hate you.”
“Nah, I don’t think you do.” I glanced down. “Nice socks.”
Rubbing her backside in a way that made me jealous of her hand, she sent me a hateful look. “Do you need something?”
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I leaned against the wall. “No, I don’t need something.”
“Then why did you break into my house?”
“I didn’t break in. The door was unlocked, and I heard the music. I guessed you were the only one here. Why are you doing laundry and singing eighties songs on your birthday?”
Her eyes widened. “How…how do you know it’s my birthday? I don’t even think I told Dee.”
I smiled at her. “The night you were attacked at the library and I went to the hospital with you? When you were giving them your personal information, I overheard you.”
“Really.” She stared at me. “And you remembered?”
“Yep. Anyway, why are you doing chores on your birthday?”
“I’m obviously that lame.”
“That is pretty lame. Oh, listen!” I looked in the direction of the living room, where the music was coming from. “It’s ‘Eye of the Tiger.’ Do you want to sing along to that? Maybe jog up the stairs and pump your fists in the air?”
“Daemon.” She shuffled past me, went into the living room, and picked up the remote, turning the song down. “Seriously, what do you want?”
I followed her. “I came over to apologize.”
“What? You’re going to apologize again? I don’t even know what to say. Wow.”
I frowned. “I know it seems like a huge surprise to you that I do have feelings and therefore do feel bad at times for things that I may have…caused.”
“Hold up. I have to record this. Let me grab my phone.” She turned, sca
“Kat, you’re not helping. I’m being serious. This is…hard for me.”
She rolled my eyes. “Okay. I’m sorry. Want to sit? I have cake. Cake should sweeten your disposition a little.”
“Nothing can soften me. I’m as cold as ice.”
“Hardy-har-har. It’s made of ice cream and has the yummy crunchy middle part.”
“Okay, that may work. The crunchy middle part is my favorite,” I said.
“Okay,” she said softly. “Then come on.”
We went into the kitchen. Kat grabbed a hair tie off the counter and tugged her hair back. “How big of a piece do you want?” She pulled the cake out of the freezer.
“How big of a piece are you willing to part with?”
“As big as you want.” She grabbed a knife out of the drawer and placed it over the cake.
I looked over her shoulder. “Bigger.”
She moved the knife to the side.
“Even bigger.”
She moved it by a couple of inches.
“Perfect,” I said.
Kat tried to cut the cake, but got an inch down. “I hate cutting these freaking things.”
“Let me try.” I reached around, and our hands brushed as I took the knife from her. Electricity shivered over my skin. “You need to run it under hot water. Then it cuts right through it.”