“What?” Daemon demanded.
I ignored him. “You know rushing the DOD isn’t going to work. We need to find out where Beth is, if they are even keeping her here, and we need a plan to get to her. A really well-thought-out plan with low failure potential.”
Both brothers stared at me. I held my breath. This was it. There was no way Daemon could keep watch over his brother forever. And it wasn’t fair to assume that he could.
Dawson turned away, back straight. Several seconds passed as the wind whipped through the trees, spinning snow. “I can’t stand the idea of them having her. It hurts to breathe just thinking about it.”
“I know,” I whispered.
Moonlight sliced through the branches, carving Daemon’s face in a harsh light. He had gone quiet, but anger rolled off him. Did he really think he could keep going after Dawson? If so, then he was insane.
Finally Dawson nodded. “Okay.”
Sweet relief flooded me, making my legs feel weak. “But you have to promise to give us time.” Everything came down to time we had no ownership of. “You can’t get impatient and run off. You have to swear.”
He faced me and a shudder rolled through him, taking the fight out of him. As he stood there, tension uncoiled, and his arms fell to his sides limply. “I swear. Help me and I swear.”
“It’s a deal.”
There was a moment of silence, like the wilderness was soaking up his promise and my deal, committing it to memory. And then the three of us headed back to the SUV, the atmosphere silent and strained. My fingers were like Popsicles as I handed the keys over to Daemon.
Dawson climbed into the back, resting his head against the seat, eyes closed. I kept glancing at Daemon, expecting him to say something, anything, but he was focused on the road, his silence a ticking time bomb.
I peeked over the back of the seat. Behind thin slits, he was watching Daemon. “Hey. Dawson…?”
His gaze slid to mine. “Yeah?”
“Do you want to go back to school?” School would keep him busy while we figured out how in the hell to get to Beth. And it matched Daemon’s plan of pretending like we’d pulled one on the DOD while enabling us to keep an eye on Dawson just in case he reneged on his promise. “I mean, I’m sure you can. You could tell everyone you ran away. It happens.”
“People think he’s dead,” Daemon said.
“I’m sure some runaways all across the nation are believed to be dead and aren’t,” I reasoned.
Dawson appeared to consider that. “What do I tell them about Beth?”
“That’s a good question.” Challenge dripped from Daemon’s voice.
I stopped chewing on my finger. “That you both ran away, and you decided to come home. She didn’t.”
Leaning forward, Dawson rested his chin in the palms of his hands. “Better than sitting around thinking about everything.”
Damn straight. He’d go crazy if he did.
“He’d have to get registered for classes,” Daemon said, fingers tapping off the steering wheel. “I’ll talk to Matthew. See what we can do to get it taken care of.”
Thrilled Daemon was finally getting behind this, I settled back and smiled. Crisis averted. Now only if I could fix everything else so easily.
Dee was waiting on the front porch when we pulled into the driveway, Andrew standing sentry beside her. Dawson slid out of the backseat and approached his sister. Words were exchanged, too low for me to hear, and then they embraced each other.
That was an amazing kind of love. Different from what my parents had shared but still strong and unbreakable. No matter what crazy hell they put each other through.
“I thought I told you to go home.”
I hadn’t realized I was smiling until it faded at the sound of Daemon’s voice. I looked at him and felt my heart drop. Yeah, here was the trouble promised earlier. “I had to help.”
He looked out the windshield. “What would you have done if it wasn’t Dawson you came upon, but me fighting the DOD or whatever the hell the other group is?”
“Daedalus,” I said. “And if it were them, I would’ve still helped.”
“Yeah, and that’s what I have a problem with.” He got out of the SUV, leaving me staring at him.
Drawing in a frustrated breath, I climbed out. He was leaning against the bumper, arms folded over his chest. He didn’t look at me when I stopped beside him. “I know you’re upset because you worry about me, but I’m not going to be the girl who sits at home and waits for the hero to wipe out the villains.”
“This isn’t a book,” he snapped.
“Well, duh—”
“No. You don’t get it.” He turned to me, furious. “This isn’t a paranormal fantasy or whatever the hell it is you read. There is no set plot or clear idea of where any of this is going. The enemies aren’t obvious. There are no guaranteed happy endings and you—” He lowered his head so we were eye level. “You are not a superhero, no matter what the hell you can do.”
Wow. He’d really been stalking my blog. But not the point. “I know this isn’t a book, Daemon. I’m not stupid.”
“You’re not?” He laughed without humor. “Because being smart isn’t rushing off after me.”
“The same could be said about you!” My anger now matched his. “You ran off after Dawson without knowing what you were getting into.”
“No shit. But I can control the Source without trying. I know what I’m capable of. You don’t.”
“I know what I’m capable of.”
“Really?” he questioned. The tips of his cheeks flushed with fury. “If I’d been surrounded by human officers, would you have been able to take them down? And live with yourself after that?”
Anxiety blossomed in my stomach, its smoky tendrils wrapping themselves around me. When I was alone and it was quiet, the fact I’d been so willing to take a human life was all I thought about. “I’m prepared to do that.” My voice came out a whisper.
He took a step back, shaking his head. “Dammit, Kat, I don’t want you to experience that.” Raw emotion filled his expression. “Killing isn’t hard. It’s what comes afterward—the guilt. I don’t want you to deal with that. Don’t you understand? I don’t want you to have this kind of life.”
“But I already have this kind of life. All the hoping, wishing, and good intentions in the world aren’t going to change that.”
The truth appeared to infuriate him more. “That issue aside, what you promised Dawson was freaking unbelievable.”
“What?” My arms dropped to my sides.
“Help him find Beth? How in the hell are we supposed to do that?”
I shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t know, but we’ll figure something out.”
“Oh, that’s good, Kat. We don’t know how to find her but we’ll help. Awesome plan.”
Heat rushed up my spine. Oh, this was grand. “You’re such a hypocrite! You told me yesterday we’d find out what Will was up to, but you have no idea how. The same thing with Daedalus!” He opened his mouth, but I knew I had him. “And you couldn’t lie to Dawson when he asked what you’d do if they had me. You’re not the only one who gets to make brash and stupid decisions.”
His mouth snapped shut. “That’s not the point.”
I cocked a brow. “Lame argument.”
Daemon shot forward, his voice harsh. “You had no right to make those kinds of promises to
I flinched, taking a step back. Being smacked would’ve felt better. The way I saw it, at least I talked Dawson off the cliff. Sure, promising to help find Beth wasn’t ideal, but it was better than him running off like a crackhead.
I tried to rein in my anger and disappointment, because I understood where a lot of his fury was coming from. Daemon didn’t want me to get hurt, and he was worried about his brother, but his inherent, near-obsessive need to be protective didn’t excuse his douchebaggery.
“Dawson is my problem, because he’s your problem,” I said. “We’re in this together.”
