“Godfather,” I said, and then I flushed, because that was the stupidest thing I could say.
But Ethan’s expression said he liked the sound of it. “Yes, like a godfather.” Those odd eyes settled on me, and I forced my chin up a notch. “You’re not from around here, are you, Kat?”
“No, sir, I’m from Florida.”
“Oh.” Dark brows rose. “Is West Virginia to your agreement?”
I glanced at Daemon. “Yeah, it’s nice.”
“That’s lovely.” Ethan came down a step. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He extended a hand.
Out of habit, I reached for it, but Daemon interceded, wrapping his fingers around mine. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my palm. Ethan noted the action with a flicker of curiosity and something I couldn’t place.
“Kat, I’ll come over in a little while.” He let go of my hand, placing his body in between us. “I have some catching up to do, okay?”
I nodded and forced a smile for Ethan. “It was nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” the man said. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
For some reason, the words settled over me with a frost-like bite. I gave Daemon a little wave and then hurried back to my car and grabbed my bag. They’d already headed inside, and I’d give my left thumb to know what they were talking about. As long as I’d known Daemon and Dee, I’d never seen another Luxen from the colony come to their home.
Kind of wigged out by Ethan’s appearance, I dropped my backpack inside the hall and grabbed a glass of orange juice. Mom was asleep, so I tiptoed down the hall and shut my bedroom door. I sat on the bed, placed the glass on the table. Concentrating on my laptop, I raised my hand.
It came off the desk and moved straight to my hand. I tried not to use the alien abilities too often—maybe once or twice a day to keep the…uh, whatever well oiled. There was always this weird rush when I used it, like being on a roller coaster as it crests a hill, ready to fly down at eighty miles an hour—the moment when the stomach jumps and the skin tingles with awareness. It was a different feeling—not bad, kind of fun, and maybe even a little addictive.
And when I’d tapped into whatever it was the night Adam died, I’d never felt more powerful in my life. So, yeah, I could see how that power would go straight to the head. If the mutation had stuck with Will, God knew what crazy things he was doing.
I couldn’t afford to think about him now, so I powered up my laptop and trolled the Internet for a half an hour, reading reviews until I shut off my computer and sent it back to my desk. Grabbing a book, I curled up, hoping to get some chapters in before Daemon swung over, but I ended up drifting off to sleep three pages in.
When I woke up, it was dark in my bedroom and upon further investigation, I discovered it was already past nine and Mom had left for work. Surprised that Daemon hadn’t stopped over, I slipped on my boots and headed next door.
Dawson answered, a can of soda in one hand and a Pop-Tart in the other. “Nice sugar rush you got going on there,” I said, grinning.
He glanced down. “Yeah, I guess I’m not sleeping anytime soon.”
I remembered what he’d said about not sleeping at all, and I hoped that had changed. Before I could ask, though, he said, “Daemon’s not here.”
“Oh.” I tried to hide my disappointment. “Is he still with the Elder guy?”
“God, no, Ethan was only here for about an hour. He wasn’t happy. But Daemon went out with Andrew.”
“Andrew?” Unexpected.
He nodded. “Yeah, Andrew and Dee and Ash wanted to grab something to eat. I didn’t want to go.”
“Ash?” I whispered. Okay, really unexpected. And what was totally expected was the wave of irrational jealousy that swept through me, determined to carry me into crazy-girl land.
“Yeah,” he said, and then he winced. “You want to come in?”
I didn’t realize I’d followed him inside until I was sitting on the couch, my knees pressed together. Daemon really went out to dinner with Ash and the others? “When did they leave?”
Dawson took a bite of his Pop-Tart. “Uh, not that long ago.”
“It’s almost ten at night.” The Luxen had huge appetites, but come on; they didn’t do dinner at night. I knew better than that.
He sat in the armchair and glanced down at his pastry. “Ethan left around five. And then Andrew, he came over around…” Dawson glanced at the wall clock, expression pinched. “He and Ash came over around six.”
My stomach tumbled over itself. “And the four of them left after that to go get something to eat?”
Dawson nodded, as if speaking was too painfully awkward.
Four hours for dinner. I suddenly couldn’t sit any longer. I wanted to know what restaurant they went to. I wanted to find him. I started to stand, but I tried to swallow down that god-awful burning lump in the back of my throat.
“It’s not what you think,” Dawson said quietly.
My head jerked toward him, and I was horrified to find tears in my eyes. The irony of it all bitch-slapped me in the face. Was this how Daemon had felt when he knew I went to dinner and then lunch with Blake? But we weren’t together then. Wasn’t like I’d owed him a ton of obligations at that moment.
“It isn’t?” I croaked.
Dawson finished off his Pop-Tart. “No. I think he just needed to get out for a little while.”
“Without me?”
He brushed a few sugary crumbs off his jeans “Maybe without you or maybe not. He’s not the same brother I knew. I would’ve never thought he’d be with a human. No offense.”