At that moment, almost as if the universe was giving me a great big “fuck you,” Evie’s F150 turned onto the street. Bile rose in my throat so quickly that I was certain I was going to vomit at the sight. Following the direction of my stare, Lou’s gaze spun toward the road.
“I don’t know where she is!” I shouted to draw Lou’s attention back to me.
“Bullshit!” Mercifully Lou was distracted enough by my cry to allow Evie to drive past unnoticed. It took everything I had to not follow her truck with my gaze.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ll admit it, I followed a lead down here, but only because I wanted to make sure she hadn’t hurt anyone,” I lied, making up the story as I went and hoping that Lou would buy it. “But she was already gone by the time I arrived. I honestly don’t know where she is now.”
“Sure, twitchy, whatever you say.”
I rolled my eyes at her use of my old nickname. She’d always told me that one of my eyes twitched whenever I lied. I forced a shrug. “Don’t believe me then.”
“I’m worried about you, Clay. You rushed down here almost immediately, on your own I might add, after just seeing one little picture. That’s not healthy. It’s almost . . . spell-like.” Her voice was quiet and full of traces of emotions I couldn’t read when she said the word. “I really don’t want to be the one who has to explain to Dad that I have a barbequed brother because he fell for something he shouldn’t. Again.”
I could see that we weren’t getting anywhere and that was unlikely to change. She wasn’t going to leave until I relented, and I wasn’t going to do that. She was even willing to bring up the ancient past to try to win. I didn’t know what to do. My fingers twitched at my sides and my legs ached with a desperate desire to run to see Evie, partly to apologize and partly to warn her of the danger she was in. Either way, I had to convince her to leave town immediately. But I needed to get rid of Lou first.
“You’re right.” I decided to change tack and see if I could buy Evie a little extra time. “I fucked up with the harpy, and I’m doing it again now.” I hung my head in mock-shame. “I really need to get my head back in the game, but I need time to sort through the mess in here first.” I tapped my head. “I can’t do that with Dad breathing down my neck. You of all people should be able to appreciate that.”
She frowned, no doubt as her memories of Dad’s drill-sergeant ways filtered through her mind. Some of my earliest recollections were of him making us both cry because we weren’t training hard enough or our shooting wasn’t accurate enough.
“You’re going to get yourselves killed if you go into battle like that. Do it again!”
We’d been a little under seven at the time—Lou hadn’t even been home for two full years—and we hadn’t realized we’d be forced into the war a little over a year later.
She narrowed her eyes at me as she assessed what I’d said. “I get needing time away, but you have to be careful, Clay. These creatures are dangerous. Even if you think you feel something for it, you have to remember that these things aren’t capable of the same emotions. This phoenix will be the death of you.”
Not wanting to drag the argument out any longer, I simply nodded in agreement. It was easy to feign enough belief in Lou’s words to appear sincere—they weren’t really a lie after all. Evie could easily be the death of me; I knew it better than Lou ever could. And yet, Evie was worth the risk.
“I know that. I—I think I fooled myself into believing that she was something more than what she really is,” I said. “Something worthy of love, but I know I was wrong. She was gone by the time I got here, and you should have seen the state of the house she’d been in. I—I stayed because I needed time to work out how to tell you. I still need time.”
The lies tasted vile on my tongue; the thought of releasing them was enough to slay me where I stood.
“How come you never told me you knew or tried to find her yourself?” I asked, hoping I could use the information to my own advantage.
Her expression softened. “Because I didn’t want you to hate me. You needed to see the truth for yourself.”
I nodded. “And now I have.”
She smiled. “And now you have.”
A beat of silence passed between us, and she spent it assessing me carefully. Her ice-blue gaze penetrated into me, no doubt weighing every word to determine which ones were lies.
“Okay, look, I’ll give you some time to get yourself sorted,” Lou conceded after a moment. “But only two days, and that’s including travel. If you’re not here,” she held out a piece of paper to me, “by then, you’d better believe I’m coming back down here to drag your ass home with extreme prejudice.”
I reached out and took her offering from her. “Thanks, Lou. I really do appreciate it. I’ll be there. I swear.” I resisted crossing my fingers behind my back, although in my mind I was. I had no intention of leaving Evie’s side to return to hunting other beings who could be just like her. How could I be certain that they weren’t all as compassionate and loving as Evie had proven to be? Lou nodded before crossing to me and giving me an awkward one-armed hug. “Take care of yourself.”
“You know me.” I tried to give her a winning smile.
“You’re right. I do know you,” she confirmed. “And that’s exactly why I’m telling you to take care. Remember, two days.”
After the car had disappeared from the street, I waited for her to return. I hoped she was telling the truth and that she’d give me some space, but I couldn’t risk making a break for Evie’s place until I knew for certain that she would keep her word. We’d never lied to each other before, at least not about the serious things, and I felt a little queasy at the thought that I’d started now—over someone I should’ve wanted dead.
I leaned against the side of the warehouse, watching for any odd movement and waiting for Lou’s return despite her words.
After an hour, nothing unusual had happened, so I began to hope that there was some truth in her words. During that time, the tug on my emotions had lessened and then disappeared completely. That sensation, and the knowledge that despite an awareness of Evie Lou hadn’t acted on her suspicions, was enough to give me some faith in Lou’s promise of a few days grace.
A small doubt started to creep through me, but then experience reminded me of all the times Lou, Eth, and even Dad, had my back. I took a deep breath. If I couldn’t trust my family, who could I trust?
Two days.
With a sigh, I grew resigned to the fact that the time where I could live a fantasy world with Evie—to pretend we were just two normal teenagers falling for each other—was coming to a premature end. Within two days, we would have to leave Charlotte, and there was no telling where we’d end up after that.
There was no telling whether she’d even grant me another chance after I’d stood her up like an ass—even if I did have a good reason for it.
CHAPTER NINE
AFTER DARKNESS HAD fallen around the warehouse, and I was positive Lou was long-gone and not returning, I began the trek to Evie’s. Guilt twisted in my stomach. Evie had likely spent the day wondering what was happening.
During the time it took to walk to her house, my mind spun with a whirl of questions and worries. Evie had seen me talking with Lou—I had no doubt about that. I also didn’t doubt that Evie would have recognized my sister, but what would she think of Lou’s arrival?
Would Evie think I invited Lou?
Would Evie even be at her house still?
Had she told her Dad about me already?
I could easily recall Evie’s stories of how overprotective he had been before, but would he still be that bad now that she knew her own secrets and had a way to protect herself from attacks? Would he force her to leave Charlotte, and me, behind? Had they already left?
For the second time in a week, my feet struck against the pavement in a rapid beat as I rushed toward Evie’s house. I could’ve stolen a car and arrived faster, but under the circumstances it was b
etter to be a little more discreet. If I hid in shadows and made my way to Evie under the cover of darkness, there was less chance of being followed.
When I finally arrived at the end of Evie’s street, my heart took over and my questions and thoughts fell away completely. I raced straight to the window where I’d seen her face through the curtain, hoping I’d been right in my assessment that it was her bedroom.
I rapped on the glass, trying to ensure it was just loud enough that she’d be able to hear it without it waking anyone else—like her father. After a couple of light taps, I stilled my fingers and waited for her to come to me.
A minute passed with no response.
Then two.
I paced repeatedly around the small grass strip before a tiny flutter in the darkness drew my attention as I spun back toward the house.
“Evie!” I whisper-shouted as I tapped again.
She drew back the curtain, revealing her smiling face. A second later, she pushed open the window and asked me all of the questions I’d been expecting. Looking at her worried face as she asked about Lou and why she’d come, I did the only thing I could think of . . . I lied.
I told Evie everything she needed to hear in order to stop her from panicking about my family, to stop her heart racing and the fire in her blood from igniting the room around us. It wasn’t complete bullshit after all.
Certain elements were the truth; my sister had given me some time, and by the time my family returned, Evie and I would be long gone. Evie never needed to know that not only was Lou aware of Evie’s true nature, she’d seemed somewhat aware of my desire for Evie as well.
Instead of anger over my hours of delay, Evie asked me to spend the night so that I could meet her father in the morning. There was no way I was even going to consider refusing that invitation.
AFTER A perfect night of sleeping beside Evie in her bed—I’d almost forgotten the comforts of an actual mattress and had never fully contemplated the bliss of having a warm, beautiful girl tucked up to my side—I was awoken by the sound of a rapidly drawn curtain and a wash of warm, morning sun.
Ripped from my blissful dreams, I opened my eyes and wanted to close them again immediately. My heart pounded in my chest and my mouth went dry at the sight of the barrel of a Remington 700 in my face. Holding the stock of the rifle was an extremely angry looking man with his amber eyes plastered on the chain around my neck and a look of recognition clear on his face.
Oh shit. It was the only thought I was capable of in that moment. It ran through my head on an ever-faster loop, repeating through my brain. I quaked at the certainty that the next few minutes could be my last.
I couldn’t believe my own stupidity. I’d considered the fact that my family would be a threat to Evie—it played on my mind a thousand times a day. I’d been careful to assess the risk of finding and approaching Evie; she could’ve been the big bad other I was raised to believe that they all were.
There was one factor that had never been a source of worry for me—her father.
Of course, since she’d invited me over a couple of days earlier, I’d stressed about meeting him for all the usual, stupid, boyfriend reasons, but I’d never considered whether he would be a threat to me. It had never even occurred to me that he might know.
In that moment, as I was being bid a good morning by the barrel of a gun, I saw how dangerous it had been for me to underestimate him. Of course he’d recognize the symbol on my chain; he’d probably been watching for it all of Evie’s life.
Did he also understand the truth behind the specific symbol I wore? Would he understand how ingrained hunting others was in my DNA, with so many generations of knowledge and prejudice running through my veins?
“Get out of my room, Dad!” Evie screamed from beside me.
I wanted to let her know that it was okay, that I could handle myself, but I didn’t dare speak—wasn’t sure I could even if I had something to say that could calm the situation.
It was impossible to look away from the gun. Maybe I had no hope in hell of being able to dodge a shot, but at least I’d know it was coming.
Ignoring Evie’s request, her father—David, I remembered from my intense study of her limited history in the school’s computer after she’d disappeared—kept the gun leveled with my mouth and stared at me with a cold, hard gaze. “I said get away from her!”
“Dad, stop it!”
“Evie, come over here.” David inclined his head, indicating that he wanted her to move behind him.
The way he acted, it was clear he thought she needed protection from me. Despite what I was, the idea was almost laughable. She was a bigger threat to me than I could ever be to her.
My mind began to run through every possible scenario from this point onward, trying to find the right words to say that wouldn’t involve me irritating the man with his finger on the trigger.
“He has three seconds to get out before I pull the trigger.”
“Don’t do this,” Evie said in a no-nonsense voice. “You’re making a fool of yourself.”
“He’s Rain,” David replied.
I wondered whether he’d cause any problems for her once he discovered she’d known what I was. At the thought, the need to protect Evie hit me in the gut, a sensation stronger than I ever would have expected, and I couldn’t stay still any longer. Regardless of the gun, I wouldn’t let him hurt her. In a bid to not allow any harm to come to her, and hopefully avoid getting shot myself in the process, I held my hands up in surrender and pulled myself up to a seated position before tucking the source of David’s stress—the pendant around my neck—away into my shirt.
Once I was certain that I wasn’t at risk of an addition of metal to my diet, I shifted away from Evie. Moving as slow as I could, so that he’d know I wasn’t posing any threat, I climbed from the bed.
For a second, I debated whether it was better to stay and talk or try to make a break for the window and hope I made it out before he had the sense to fire. If not for Evie, I probably would have gone for the latter option. I didn’t want her to suffer for bringing home a member of the Rain.
As if Evie had read my mind, she began to issue orders. “No, Clay. You’re not going anywhere.” She put her body between the rifle and me. I stood still even though I wanted nothing more than to yank her out of harm’s way. I’d seen firsthand the damage those things could do, and how easy they were to set off by accident.
“Dad, put the gun down before you hurt somebody.”
“I’ll hurt someone all right,” David growled with his stare still leveled on me.
“Dad, this is the boy. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t think you’d understand that he’s different until you actually met him. That’s why I wanted you to meet him yesterday.”
“You mean to tell me that you know he’s Rain?”
“He’s the boy,” Evie clarified, and I wondered how much David knew about what happened in that park two years ago. Worried that he might soon have a new reason to fire the gun, I started to back away. “The one from Ohio. And I love him.”
My gaze left the gun and went straight to the back of Evie’s head. Fear for my life flew from me as a new, odd sensation rushed in.
Love.
She’d said love.
Love? I felt things for Evie for sure, but . . . love?
She loves me? My heart leaped into my throat at the thought—but in a not altogether unpleasant way.
Do I love her too?
Despite everything, I almost thought the answer could be yes. I was certainly willing to give up everything I’d ever had and known in order to spend some more time getting to know her better. I wanted her. All of her. The promise of how perfect we’d be in bed together was a part of it of course, but it wasn’t everything. I wanted to be with her for her smile, for her sense of humor, and for the way she made me feel good about myself when I was with her . . . as well as for her boobs.
Despite the fact my head felt as though it had been on three laps a
round the room, only a brief second had passed since Evie’s confession. From where I stood, I could see pink creeping down the side of her cheek and her hand covering her mouth. Her tiny show of embarrassment over what must have been an inadvertent slip gave me courage. She was just as uncertain about it all as I was, and must have felt the same strange queasy, but in a good way, feelings about me that I felt for her.
I stepped closer to her and risked her father’s ire—and potential bullet holes—by wrapping my arm around her shoulders. “Sir, I care for Evie very deeply as well. I couldn’t imagine ever hurting her. The reason I was waylaid yesterday was because my family learned that I was in Charlotte, and I didn’t want to tip them off. I couldn’t bear it if they found out that Evie is here.” I told him the same lies I’d told Evie, hoping there was enough truth in the statement for it to be believable.
He paused long enough to listen to my story. I wasn’t sure whether he believed the truth in my words, but I hoped he would see that I was just as invested in keeping Evie alive as he was. The fact that she was alive should have been testament to that. If I’d wanted her dead, I’d had the opportunity to do it countless times. Even the thought of any harm coming to her was enough to make my stomach churn.
“Where are they now?” he asked.
“It was only my sister who came, and she left in a mood last night after I refused to go with her.”
“Why are you still wearing the pendant then?”
His statement confirmed my fear that he’d recognized the symbol of my position.
“Pendant?” Evie asked, her confusion evident in her tone.
“That thing around his neck.”
“It’s a symbol of the oath I made to the Rain,” I explained to her. I hoped she would understand why I was still wearing it. Partly it was habit, I’d had it since I was eight and felt oddly naked whenever I had to take it off, but it was also the only thing I had left of my Dad’s mother. “But it’s also a family heirloom. It originally belonged to my great-grandfather. Nana Jacobs had my name engraved on the back when she gave it to me for my sanctification.”
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