“What if we lose one of the others?” I asked, even as my heart twisted painfully at the mere thought.
Zeke half turned to look down at me. His eyes went straight to my face and stayed there. “Even then.” He reached out and lifted my chin with his knuckles. His face was calm, his eyes certain. “No matter how this ends, how it goes, no matter who we lose …” His thumb brushed my lower lip. “I will never regret knowing you, not for a second.”
A tear slid from the corner of my eye as I sat up and kissed him softly. Just a brush of my lips that settled my heart. He pressed harder, his mouth making it clear he meant his words. My hands moved to his scruffy jaw as his lips took mine. Lights danced behind my eyes. It wasn’t until I shifted closer and water sloshed that I remembered that I was in the tub. I dropped back into the bubbles, smiling as the front of his jeans and pant legs were soaked with soapy bath water.
He shook his head.
“Sorry.” I cringed.
“I needed to change anyway.” He turned back around and put his gaze on the wall. “You want my room or yours tonight?”
“Yours. You sleep better there.” My smile faded as I remembered what other news I had. “I’ve got something to tell you.”
His shoulders grew tense.
“It’s about—”
He shook his head as he got to his feet. “Tell me after your bath.”
“Zeke.”
“Not while you’re in the tub, Baby,” he said in a rough rasp, refusing to look at me.
The tension radiating from him stopped me from telling him about Riley. “Okay.”
He slipped out of the bathroom.
I sunk back into the hot water. How the hell was I going to tell him? Was he going to blame himself? Was he going to blame me? My heart ached at the thought of either of those happening. Zeke wasn’t responsible for Riley being taken. I was. If she hadn’t been with me that day, she’d still be here at home. Still living with her family. She’d still have a future.
My thoughts went to the guys. Ethan had changed. Asher was a werewolf. Isaac was seeing auras. How long would it be before something changed Zeke and Miles too? Was I going to ruin their futures one at a time? I shoved the thought as far away as I could. There was no point in hiding from the truth in the tub. I needed to face Zeke and tell him.
With renewed energy, I finished my bath, got dressed in my pajamas. With a heavy heart, I headed upstairs to Zeke’s room.
Did I really have to tell him? Couldn’t I just forget that I had heard from Samuel? I rejected the idea as soon as it occurred to me. I couldn’t lie to him like that. I wrung my fingers as I climbed the stairs.
I knocked on Zeke’s door, my stomach churning.
“Come in,” Zeke’s muffled voice called.
This was it. I had to tell him about Riley. God help me. I opened the door and found him sitting at the foot of his bed in only his mesh shorts, changing the channels on the TV on the wall across from him. Zeke’s room here was different to his house. Here there were no motor parts sitting around waiting to be put back together. No clothes on the floor in the corner. Simply a bed, nightstands, dresser, and television. It reminded me of a hotel to be honest. Blank and empty of anything personal.
He turned to me, his face serious. “What’s wrong?”
I licked my lips as I edged further into the room. “I have news about Riley.”
His brow furrowed as he tossed the remote on the bed and turned toward me completely. “How bad is it?”
I wrung my fingers as my chest ached. I so didn’t want to tell him. “Bad.”
His gaze ran over me before meeting mine again. “She’s a vampire, isn’t she?”
My eyes stung; my mouth grew dry. I nodded. “I got the news before the demonstration tonight.”
The blood drained from his face as he turned his head away, clenching his jaw.
I stepped closer. “Sam’s staying to get her out, but he doesn’t know when that could be. Something about keeping her free will.”
His fists clenched and unclenched.
I tried and failed to blink my tears away as the news really hit. Riley was a vampire. Her life with her family was over. Her life here, over. Any plans she had for herself were now dust. Tears trailed down my face as I stepped closer to Zeke. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.”
His head snapped back around, his own face harsh. “No, it’s not. It’s whoever took her. It’s their fault. It’s Jadis’ fault.” He reached up and held my face in his big hand, his thumb wiping a tear away. “It was never yours, Baby.”
My lower lip trembled as I continued to stand there silently weeping. “It feels like it. She wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for me.”
“I know,” he said. “But she wouldn’t have been there if I never dated her. Doesn’t that really make it my fault?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t stop them. I didn’t even get a chance.”
“They were vampires, Lexie,” he said in that soft voice. “You wouldn’t have had a chance.” His gaze ran over me. “Come here.”
I stepped into him and slipped my arms around his neck. His thick arm wrapped around me completely, enfolding me in his warmth. I buried my face in his neck and took a deep breath of engine grease. “I’m sorry, Zeke.”
“Me too.”
Chapter 4
Asher
The shattering of glass had my heart pounding as I rolled out of bed and to my feet before I even fully opened my eyes. What the hell was that? The slight scent of smoke and chemicals reached my senses the same time the faint hiss of fire did. What the hell was Jess burning this time? I grabbed my shirt from my laundry pile and pulled it on as I went out the door and down the stairs. The stench of smoke grew stronger. The sound louder. The fire alarm went off.
Cursing, I stepped off the stairs and found smoke billowing from the kitchen. A bright yellow and orange flame drew my eye. My stomach dropped. Fire.
Lexie
The hallway grew longer and longer no matter how fast I pumped my legs. It just kept growing. The girl with blonde hair and big, sad eyes was reaching out to me again. My heart pounded, my legs growing heavier as I pushed myself harder. Closer! I had to reach her! Tears fell down her face as the floor fell out from under me—
I woke up with a jerk. Out of breath, I looked up at the ceiling and tried to shake off the dream. Hopelessness clung to me like a film. I tried to grab the fleeting images, but they slipped through my fingers. Again.
Zeke half sat up, suddenly wide awake. “Huh? What’s wrong?”
I shook my head and wiped the sweat off my face. “Nightmare.”
“Come here.” He pulled me closer to his warmth. I buried myself against his hard chest and took a deep breath of leather and engine grease. His big hand ran up and down my back in a soothing motion. My pulse began to slow, my breathing evened out.
His arms tightened around me. I shifted my leg over his hip, his thigh moved flush against the apex of my thighs. It was our usual cuddling position and I relished it this morning.
“I had that dream again, with the blonde girl.” I shoved some hair out of my face.
His thumb traced my lower lip. “What do you think it’s about?”
“I don’t know.” I ran my fingers over the scruff on his jaw. “What do you have to do today?”
“School work, fighting practice. And …”
“Hanging posters for Riley,” I finished for him.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “Tomorrow too.”
It wasn’t like we could tell Riley’s parents where she was or that she was never coming back. Sam had warned us to let Riley handle telling her parents about what had happened to her, but that didn’t stop Zeke from hanging up missing posters. He once said it helped with the guilt. He did seem to be handling Riley’s disappearance better than I was. “How’s Ryan doing?”
His eyes narrowed on mine. “The girl he loves went missing. It’s rough.”
I ran my fingers o
ver the hair on his arm. “I wish we could tell him.”
“That would just make it worse. If he even believed us. Knowing she’s been changed, knowing she was in trouble? It’d drive him crazy.” His eyes filled with shadows. “I know it would drive me crazy.”
I reached up and brushed my fingers against his jaw. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“And you’re going to stay safe?”
I nodded. “I need to get up,” I muttered, sinking further against his hard, warm body.
“No, we don’t.” He brushed his nose against my hair.
I thought about it. If I spent the afternoon working on schoolwork, I’d probably be able to get caught up and still cuddle with Zeke. Cuddles won, hands down. I traced my fingers up his chest, through the light smattering of chest hair to rest on his muscled pec.
He shifted his hips a little further away from mine as we lay there in peaceful silence. That was until my stomach growled. He pulled back and looked down at me through slitted eyes. “Breakfast.”
I cursed under my breath, then climbed out of bed and started looking for my pajama bottoms on the floor. I usually only slept in panties and my cami with Zeke. We both seemed to sleep better when we were skin to skin. Speaking of. “How’d you sleep?”
“Good. Did you?” He watched me search with a wry grin on his face. I found my PJ bottoms under the bed.
“Yeah.” I slipped them on with him watching me. My cheeks warmed at the look in his eyes. “What?”
“Thanks, Baby,” he said in that soft voice that melted my insides.
It took everything I had not to crawl back in bed and snuggle up to him. “Anytime.”
He examined my face. “You still didn’t sleep much, did you?”
I ducked my head slightly, not wanting to meet his gaze.
He reached out, his big hand engulfing mine, giving me a slight tug till I sat down on the bed facing him. “What happened?”
I sighed as the feeling of unease washed over me. “I laid awake most of the night, thinking of the idea of you guys in a fight with witches and shifters. A real drag out, nasty fight.”
His fingers squeezed mine. “Is there anything you can do about that?”
“Make you leave?” I raised my eyebrows hopefully.
He scoffed. “Not likely.”
I deflated.
“You can only control your own actions and reactions, no one else’s,” he reminded me. “Everything else will only give you sleepless nights and shitty dreams.”
I smiled a little. “You’re starting to sound like a therapist.”
He gave a half shrug. “I would hope so given the number of hours I’ve logged.”
I smiled. “I’ll try to remember.”
He lifted my hand and kissed the back of my fingers. “That’s all anyone can ask.”
I squeezed his fingers and left his room with a smile.
“Ally! Zeke! Miles!” Asher’s shout echoed throughout the house.
Zeke and I bolted from the bedroom and ran down the hall. Miles emerged from his room and hurried ahead of us. Everyone racing for the stairs. Standing in the foyer in their pajamas were Asher, Isaac, Ethan and Jessica. The scent of smoke filled the foyer.
“What happened?” Miles demanded as he reached the foyer.
“Our house caught fire, that's what happened,” Asher barked as he moved past Miles and dropped his bag by the stairs.
"It was probably Jason." Jessica grimaced. "I really pissed him off yesterday."
"Whoa, whoa. Hold on." Zeke turned back to Asher. "Start at the beginning."
I stepped off the last step and stood beside Zeke. "Start with the fire."
Asher turned back to us, the muscles in his neck rigid. "About three hours ago, I was dead asleep when glass shattered. The smell of smoke got me out of bed. The kitchen was on fire, so I grabbed Jess and got us out of the house."
"What started the fire?" Miles ran his hand through his messy hair.
"Fire department says it looks like someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the kitchen window." Asher turned to Miles. "Can we stay with you for a while? The investigators and insurance people will only talk to Dad about repairs to the kitchen."
"Of course." Miles didn't hesitate. "Though, I don't know which room to give Jessica."
"She can take my room," I offered. "I'm rarely in it anymore."
Jessica's eyes snapped to me.
"Ally, can you help get her settled?" Asher asked.
"Sure." I gestured for Jessica to follow me and turned to go into the long hallway.
"Wait a minute," Jessica snapped. "I didn't agree to sharing a room with her."
"It's that or the couch, Jess," Asher said in a tone that I rarely ever heard from him.
Jessica debated it for a heartbeat before she let out a breath and followed.
I led her to the bedroom on the first floor and opened the door for her.
"Isn't this Miles' mom's room?" Jessica asked as she walked in and set her bag on the bed.
"It was, but since she's not coming back, Miles gave it to me," I explained as I went into the bathroom and pulled out several towels. "Here's some towels, and feel free to use any of the soap or conditioner you need."
I was on my way out the door when she asked, "Why don't you sleep in this room?"
I came to a complete stop and turned back to her. "What?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You said you rarely use this room anymore. Where do you sleep if not in here?"
Oh shit. Me and my big mouth. "Feel free to take the empty drawers in the dresser, I'll see you later." I shut the door behind me and mentally cursed myself. With Jessica around I was going to have to be much more careful about what I said. And I'd probably have to crash with Jessica from now on. Fuck that.
I walked into the living room where the others were sitting spread out over the couches.
"So, what does Jason have to do with the fire?" Miles asked Asher.
Asher clenched his fists as I sat beside him. "Apparently that shit came over to the house and threatened Jess yesterday."
My eyebrows shot up. "He threatened her?"
Isaac nodded. "He was trying to get her back and thought that using their sex tape would be the best way to do it."
Asher burst to his feet then began pacing in front of the fireplace.
"That piece of shit." I spat the words out.
"You'd have been proud of her. She stood right up to him and blackmailed him into handing over his memory card so he couldn't post it anywhere." Isaac smirked.
"What did she blackmail him with?" Zeke leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his thighs.
"Apparently Jason's been using steroids and she threatened to tell his football coach." Isaac wore a wide, unapologetic grin now.
"Good," I muttered.
"I gotta go for a run." Asher turned and left the room in long strides. The back door slammed shut hard enough that it was a miracle the glass hadn’t shattered on impact.
Ethan cringed. "Probably shouldn't have mentioned his sister's sex tape."
Isaac shrugged. "Hindsight."
"So, you guys think Jason did this?" I asked the group.
"He's got motive," Miles said. "And it doesn't take a genius to put gas in a bottle and light it on fire."
"Well, it's the cops’ problem now." Ethan leaned back on the couch. "They know about the argument with Jason and they'll question him about it. All we need to do is lay low until he's in jail."
“Does anyone else think it’s strange that Asher’s house caught fire after Ethan was attacked?” Zeke asked the group.
The twins exchanged looks while Miles cleaned his glasses.
My phone rang. Groaning, I checked my phone. It was the funeral home. Great. “Hello?”
“Hello, may I speak with Miss Alexis Delaney?”
“Speaking.”
“Hi Miss Delaney, I’m so sorry to be calling this early however there has been a slight problem with the flowers. I’ve tried c
ontacting Mr. Huntington but have been unable to do so,” the woman’s voice said.
My shoulders dropped as I let out a sigh. “We’ll head over right away.” I hung up the phone and looked over to Miles. "There's a problem at the funeral home."
I watched all the color drain from Miles’ face as he got to his feet. "I'll get dressed," he croaked out before quickly leaving the room. The others and I all shared a look.
After getting dressed and driving across town, we were sitting in what looked like a conference room. The funeral home I’d chosen was simple yet classic, but it was still a funeral home. A blanket of sorrow and strain seemed to fill the air here to an almost palpable degree. It was clear; you came here to mourn and bury the dead. Why didn’t cemeteries have that? I pushed my thoughts out of my mind and focused on what the director was telling us.
“Unfortunately, the lilies you had chosen are on back order. We do have some other lovely selections here for you,” she said as she slipped the catalog across the table to me.
Miles was silent beside me, his fingers tapping on his thigh feverishly.
Focusing on the now, I turned to him. “What was your father’s favorite color?”
Miles met my gaze, waving his hand dismissively. His face was paler, the bags under his eyes standing out against his skin.
“Right.” I turned back to the portfolio. There was a lovely casket spread of red and white roses. It was a classic. “What do you think of this?”
“Lexie …” He sighed.
The director’s plastered smile cracked a little before turning to me. “Red roses typically mean that person was well loved.”
“I don’t know.” Miles began to bounce his knee beside me. His hands moved into fists on his thighs, his knuckles turning white.
I turned to the director. “Can you give us a moment please?”
She gave me a practiced smile. “Of course.”
Once the door closed softly, I turned to an almost ragged Miles. “I need your help.”
He shook his head. “It’s a fake funeral, Lexie. He’s not dead.”
I sighed and prayed for patience. “Miles, he’s gone. And I can’t keep making these decisions for you.”
When the Grave Calls Page 5