She stopped in mid-stride. “I haven’t agreed to help.” Nor did she think she could help, even if she was considering it. Abilities or not, how the heck did they expect an undergrad to create an antidote to a virus? “And Portia didn’t say anything about me being in danger.”
Keen shrugged. “Whoever created the virus targeted our people. If you try to help us, they’ll want you dead.”
That was the craziest thing she’d heard so far. In the span of two days, she’d transformed from a bookworm to a magic wielder in mortal danger?
“This is madness, you know,” she said, and continued walking.
“For you, perhaps.” Keen’s long stride equaled two of hers. “For us, battle is a part of our existence.”
“Well, I’m not sure I want to know my ‘other culture’ if that’s the case.”
“We do not choose our family, Elena.”
His face remained expressionless. She suspected there was a story there, but since she had bigger issues to worry about, she left it alone.
Keen insisted on driving her home, though she lived only a short distance from campus. Elena probably should have refused, but her abductor had lost his dangerous edge once he’d started talking about not being able to choose family and how he was ordered to protect her.
She idly ran a finger along the leather seat of his sleek black sedan. It somehow appeared sporty, but she supposed real sports cars didn’t come in jumbo size for seven-foot Fae. Between their turn-of-the-century classroom and modern cars, these people were old-school thrown into modern times. “You and Portia said a person created the virus. What did you mean by that? People don’t create viruses, unless they’re of the computer variety.”
Keen looked for oncoming traffic and turned a corner. “Human viruses do not affect us. This is no ordinary affliction. Someone created a disease designed to destroy our healing capability.”
“Right. Your healing capability.” Whatever that meant.
He glanced over, taking in the skeptical expression she didn’t bother to hide. “You are fresh into your abilities. You may not have experienced it yet.” A small knife flashed in his hand.
“What the hell?” Elena pressed her shoulder to the door. Why had she thought for one second that she was safe with this guy?
He ran the blade over his steering arm where the sleeve of his shirt didn’t cover his wrist. Blood dripped onto his black pants. He continued driving with the bloodied wrist and flicked on the blinker to turn another corner.
Okay, so he wasn’t going to kill her, but…“What are you doing?” Elena glanced out the window. They were only a couple of blocks from her apartment, nowhere near the urgent care. “We have to go to the hospital. You need stitches for that.”
“Not necessary.” Keen reached across her and popped the glove compartment. Pens and a tire gauge clattered around as he unearthed a stack of napkins. He used them to wipe the blood off his arm. “We heal.”
His flesh was smooth and unblemished where the blade had slashed.
Oh hell. What had she gotten herself into?
They were immortal, Portia had said. With the exception of this virus that was killing them, they were immune to disease. And apparently that meant they healed from injuries in seconds.
Elena sank in her seat. “Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that what you’re telling me is true,” she said shakily. “And I’m in danger from—from certain people. How do I protect myself?”
“What I say is always true, as you will find of all Fae. As to the other, I will protect you.” A languid smile spread across his face, one hand splaying down his body, as if to show off the package that was Keen.
The gesture was so arrogant and male she snorted—before she realized what she was doing. Keen wasn’t a man. Not in the sense she knew.
“Do not worry,” he said. “If all goes as planned, a cure will soon be devised and no one will know of your involvement.”
His words didn’t reassure.
Keen pulled to a stop in front of Elena’s complex, and she yanked the car door open, desperate to get away from the madness. “Thanks for the ride.”
She hurried up the cement path, but before she could reach the door, Keen came out of nowhere. He swept past, lightly bumping into her, but his body was massive and his little nudge sent her stumbling off the path and onto the lawn between her building and her neighbor’s house.
She straightened and caught a blur across the yard in front of Derek’s door. Or was that her vision doing weird things again? Keen grabbed the keys dangling from her fingers while she was distracted.
“Hey.” Elena scrambled onto the pavement. “What are you doing?”
He unlocked the front door of the building, then the door to her apartment on the first floor. He stepped inside.
How had Keen known which apartment was hers?
Because they’d been following her; how else would they know the things they did? Awesome.
Elena skittered after him as he opened bedrooms and peered inside closets. “Stop!”
At least Reese wasn’t home. Explaining why there was a seven-foot Fae barging into her room would have been a challenge.
“Get out of my apartment, Keen. I agreed to you taking me home, not making yourself at home.”
Ignoring her, he walked down the hall and into her bedroom.
She rushed after him and peered around the doorjamb. He stood in the center of her room and regarded it for a moment before fluidly ducking his head beneath her bed. Seemingly satisfied with what he saw—or didn’t see—he rose and strode to the closet.
She’d met Portia and the others less than an hour ago. There shouldn’t be danger lurking around. Should there? “Is this really necessary?”
Keen reached inside the closet, and his arm reappeared with a lacy blue bra dangling from his cigar-sized finger. He grinned.
“What the—let go of that!” She stalked across the room and tore the unmentionable from him. “You’re taking this too far. This wasn’t a part of the bargain.”
Keen’s eyes lost their glint. “You don’t know what you bargained for.”
“Bargain?” The question came from behind them.
Elena swiveled to find Derek standing in the doorway, his gaze piercing Keen.
She threw the bra behind her. What was he doing here?
Keen’s chest rose and fell on a sigh. “I’ll be outside when you wish to leave. For all our sakes, make your decision quickly. Things will go better that way.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
But of course Keen didn’t answer. He moved toward the door, only Derek was blocking the exit. A second passed as the two stared each other down.
For the love of God… “Let him pass, Derek.” Just what she needed, a pissing war.
Derek didn’t take his eyes off Keen, but he stepped aside and Keen walked out.
“He’ll be here when you wish to leave?” Derek’s tone was casual, but his jaw clenched as he glared at the doorway. “Charming guy. Sounds like a jail warden.”
Elena sank onto her bed and flopped back. She closed her eyes. “Why are you here?”
“Uh-uh, tell me what’s going on.” His footsteps grew closer, and the heat of his large body brushed her side. “First, you almost blow up my lab, and now this…person is in your house talking about bargains? I have a right to know what’s happening.”
She blinked her eyes open. “Why? What does Keen have to do with you?”
“Maybe nothing. But if he’s why you needed the lab last night, I want to know. Some of your compound got on my hands, and now I’m seeing things.”
Okay, so he lied.
Derek wasn’t seeing things. He was worried about her, that was all. Last night in the lab, Elena had been unsteady on her feet after the explosion. He’d followed her home to make sure she returned safely, but he couldn’t shake the feeling she was keeping something from him. And considering what he’d hidden the last couple of years, he knew a littl
e about secrets.
Elena sat up. “This is so not what I need right now.” She wagged her head, then her eyes narrowed. “How did you get in, anyway? The front door to the building is always locked, and I never told you which apartment I live in.”
“I walked in as someone was leaving. And the front door to your apartment was cracked open. I heard voices and recognized yours.” Derek omitted that he’d already known which apartment was hers. Had known for months. He kept track of all his neighbors.
The blond girl Elena lived with burst into the bedroom, holding up two cards. “Check out our kick-ass fake…” Her voice trailed off, and she eyed Derek. “Hey.” She smiled and turned to Elena. “Did another guy just leave?”
Elena waved toward him absently. “Reese, this is Derek, one of our druggie neighbors. Derek, this is my roommate.”
Druggie neighbor? Good. Let her think he was like his roommates. He’d chosen them because they were too busy getting high to notice anything odd.
Elena glanced at the cards in her roommate’s hand. “What’s up, Reese?”
Reese smiled and rushed over to sit beside Elena on the bed. She handed her one of the cards. “It only took three weeks of heavy flirting with the computer nerd in advanced calculus, but I got them.” She bounced up and down.
Elena held the card up to the light. “This ID looks real.”
“Of course it does. The guy has connections.” She nudged Elena in the shoulder. “What d’ya say, Phyllis Downs?”
Derek coughed into his palm, stifling a laugh, and Elena glared.
She pressed her fingers to her temple and sighed. “That’s the worst name ever, Reese. It sounds like a porn star.” Her shoulders were slumped, her body filled with tension.
Her reaction to the fake IDs was heavier than he thought the situation warranted.
Reese’s mouth parted. “Whatever. My name’s Mona Pratt. They were the computer nerd’s suggestion. He was doing me a favor. I didn’t complain.” She nudged Elena again. “Come on, Phyllis, let’s get our drink on. Big Billy’s has twenty-five-cent beers until five. If we leave now, we can make it in time.” She stood and looked at Derek. “You should join us.”
Elena hadn’t smiled once during the exchange with Reese. Something was up, and Derek suspected it had to do with the giant blond ninja who’d left. What had the guy done to her?
“I’m changing,” Reese chirped, and whirled from the room. “Be ready in a few minutes, Elena. This will make up for last night’s lame birthday celebration.”
Derek’s brow quirked. “Birthday?”
“Yesterday. I turned eighteen,” Elena said absently.
A prickle of unease jogged down Derek’s spine. His eighteenth birthday had been memorable, and not for good reasons.
But that couldn’t be what was wrong with Elena. As far as Derek knew, no one experienced the kind of birthday surprise he had.
Elena stared emotionlessly at the license in her hand as though she wasn’t even seeing it. A grayish tinge replaced the tan and rose in her cheeks.
“You okay?” he asked.
Her gaze drifted to him, filled with an emotion that looked an awful lot like panic.
Shit. He walked over and crouched, his shoulders level with hers. Her body shook, her breath coming out in spits and spurts. She wasn’t crying, was she? “What’s wrong?”
Her throat bobbed in a swallow, but she didn’t respond.
Derek sat on the bed beside her. “Was it the ninja? He didn’t do anything before I got here, did he?” Anger filled him. He knew he didn’t like that guy. If he’d hurt her…
“The ninja…? You mean Keen. No, he didn’t do anything. Not the way you’re thinking.” She buried her face in her hands.
What was that supposed to mean? The guy had either hurt her or he hadn’t, and it sounded like he had.
Derek stood, unsure whether to hunt the guy down, remain with Elena, or stay out of it entirely. He didn’t need this shit.
Elena fisted a handful of his T-shirt in her small palm. “Don’t go.”
Her stormy hazel eyes were his undoing.
Elena came across as independent and strong, though some of that armor had cracked last night. To see her this upset meant whatever was bothering her was big.
Derek could be a cold SOB, but he couldn’t turn his back on a weeping woman. He was from the Midwest, his mother a born-and-bred Southerner.
That was the only reason he sat back down and pulled her into his arms. It had nothing to do with the spasm in his chest at the sight of her crying.
After a moment, Elena reached for a tissue on the side table, one arm still clamped around his waist. A strand of dark, wavy hair brushed his chin, leaving a wake of fruity, Elena-scented air behind.
His head automatically dipped closer.
She dabbed her eyes, then pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. “All this—this trying to fit in and have fun—it’s impossible. My world will never be the same after today.”
6
Elena breathed in, registering for the first time the body lock she had on her neighbor.
What was wrong with her? Now she was clinging to people she barely knew?
She peeked at Derek from beneath her hand, and dropped her arm from his waist. She held her middle and scooted to the edge of the bed.
Derek’s mouth twisted in a frown. “What did you learn today that has you upset?”
How could she tell her brilliant neighbor the truth? Who would believe her? She barely believed it, and Derek already thought her a nuisance after the explosion in his lab. Now he blamed her for his health problems—which she might very well be responsible for. Wonderful.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I—it’s nothing.”
“Do you want me to ask your roommate to come back? Would you rather she comfort you?”
God, she couldn’t tell Reese something like this. “No. I should go.”
Elena rose and crossed the room. She pulled her phone and wallet from her backpack and jammed them in a small purse.
“Wait.” Derek stood. “You’re upset. You shouldn’t drive.”
“I’m not driving. I’m walking.”
“I’ll walk you wherever you need to go.”
Why? Was he trying to keep tabs on her? Still worried about the solution and what it had done to him? Well, he could get in line, because she had bigger issues to deal with.
“Thanks, but I need to be by myself. Tell Reese I”—she stared at the license that had slipped off the bed to the ground—“I’ll talk to her later. I can’t do this right now.” She darted out the door.
Being different wasn’t new. Elena’s physical appearance deviated enough that the Mexicans in her community thought her white, while everyone else in the world considered her Latina. But now she couldn’t claim either, if what Keen and his people said was true. She was part “other species” and part Mexican, a messed-up mix if ever there was one.
Until today, she thought she’d finally found a place where she belonged in Dawson University. A place where cultural ambiguity didn’t matter and an obsession with science was encouraged.
She was wrong. She didn’t belong here either, but maybe if she helped the Fae she’d regain something she’d lost. Her mother. Because if her mom was still alive, she had questions. Like why her mother had abandoned Elena seventeen years ago.
Oblivious to students and everything else, Elena made it halfway across campus before registering the vibration of her cell phone in her purse. She reached for it and peered at the picture of her cousin on the screen.
“Mateo, I can’t talk right now.”
“Too bad. I’m checking in to make sure you’re not out partying. Or maybe you’re too hungover after your birthday? Are you hungover? You better not be hungover. Don’t make me come down there and shove your nose in a book. Never had to at home, but I will if you’re getting into trouble.” His voice grew deeper with each sentence.
Really? This? Now? Could his
timing be any worse? “I’m not out partying.” Mateo didn’t need to know she’d gone to one last week after Reese managed to drag her to a fraternity house.
“Good, ’cause you need the grades if you’re getting into medical school.”
“No shit, Mateo. Back off, will you?” Her family was obsessed with her becoming a doctor, and sometimes the pressure got to her.
A dark figure brushed against Elena’s arm, and her heart lurched. She swiveled her head to the side and realized it was only Keen. “Craaap. You’re supposed to keep me safe, not give me a heart attack. Were you behind me the entire time?”
Keen nodded and stared straight ahead. “They’re waiting for you.”
“Who is that?” Mateo nearly shouted into the phone. “It sounded like a guy. And why do you need someone to keep you safe?”
“I misspoke. I’m fine, Mateo. Someone just took me by surprise. Look, I have to go. I’ll call you later, okay?” She hung up before he could say any more.
Elena raised her head to the darkening sky, blinking back tears. She didn’t know what she was doing—not really. But she couldn’t return to her apartment and pretend that everything was okay. She’d been vulnerable back there with Derek, but she hadn’t lied when she said nothing would ever be the same after today. How could it be?
“I want to find my mom… and do what I can to help the Fae.”
Keen glanced at her with a mixture of concern and weariness. He nodded. “This way.” He veered toward the buildings at the heart of campus. “We’ll reach them through the classroom. You’ll always be able to enter, as long you are with me.”
They made it to the darkened physics building and Keen pulled out a set of keys.
Who gave the Fae keys to the buildings? Exactly how much influence did they have at this school?
He unlocked the outer door and waved her inside. They stepped through two more doors before entering the hidden Fae room through the stage of the physics auditorium.
Just as Keen had said, the Fae were waiting. But this time Elena was greeted by elevated voices. Portia’s to be exact. She seemed to be in some kind of argument with the redheaded Fae, Deirdre. Elena didn’t catch the whole of it, but enough to know it had been about her.
Fates Divided Page 4