Lyla patted Dawson on the back. “She’s okay. Just needs to rest a little bit. It was a lot of traveling.”
He nodded but didn’t look relieved as he turned to Daemon. “I’ll be right back. I just want to check on her.”
“Go,” Daemon said as he sat on the other side of me. Leaning against the cushion, he draped his arm along the back of the couch. “So…how is all of this possible? How did you guys know to come here?”
“Your lovely sister and brother showed up at my club and threatened to burn it down if I didn’t tell them where you were,” Luc said, glancing up from his phone. “True story.”
Dee wiggled under Daemon’s glare. “What? We knew you’d go there and that he’d probably know where you were.”
“Wait,” Daemon said, leaning around me to look at Dee. “Did you graduate? You better have graduated, Dee. I’m freaking serious.”
“Hey! Look who’s talking, Mr. I Have No High School Degree. Yes. I did graduate. Dawson did, too. Bethany…didn’t go back.”
That made sense. No way could they explain Bethany’s presence.
“We graduated, too, you know.” Ash paused, picking at her purple fingernail polish. “Just want to throw that out there.”
Running a hand through his blond hair, Andrew made a face at his sister but said nothing. Archer looked like he was fighting a grin—either that or he was grimacing at the crystal dolphin beside him.
“And what about this?” Daemon asked, gesturing at the house.
Lyla leaned against the arm of the couch. “Well, I’ve known Matthew since we were teenagers. We’ve kept in touch over the years, so when he called and asked if I knew of any places to stay, I extended him an invite.”
Daemon dropped his arms between his knees as his gaze met Matthew’s. “You never mentioned anything like this.”
There wasn’t any accusation in Daemon’s tone, mostly confusion. Matthew sighed. “It’s not something I felt comfortable telling anyone, nor did I think I’d ever have to. It just never came up.”
Daemon didn’t say anything for a moment; he seemed to ingest that and then rubbed both hands down his face. “You guys really shouldn’t be here.”
Beside me, Dee groaned. “I so knew you were going to start in with this. Yes. Being here is dangerous, we get that. But we weren’t going to let this happen to you and Katy. What the hell would that have said about us?”
“You don’t think before you act?” Daemon suggested gamely.
I smacked his knee. “I think what he’s trying to say is that he doesn’t want you guys to be in danger.”
Andrew huffed. “We can handle anything they throw at us.”
“Actually, no you can’t.” Luc swung his feet onto the floor and sat up, slipping his phone into his pocket. “But here’s the thing. They were already in danger, Daemon. Deep down, you acknowledge that. Daedalus would’ve gone right after them. Make no mistake about that. Nancy would’ve shown up at their door.”
Daemon’s muscles locked up in his arm. “I get that, but this is like going from the frying pan into the damn volcano.”
“Not really,” Dawson said from the doorway. He carried two black billfolds in his hand as he walked them over to Daemon and me. He handed one to each of us. “We stay here for a day or so. Figure out our next move and where everyone is going to go, and then we all disappear. That’s what’s in your hands. Say hello to your new identities.”
Chapter 23
Reading my new name for a third time, I still couldn’t believe it. Something about this name was familiar. “Anna Whitt?”
Dee bounced a little. “I picked the names.”
Things started to click into place. “What’s yours, Daemon?”
He flipped his billfold open and snickered. “Kaidan Rowe. Hmm. That has a nice ring to it.”
My mouth dropped open as I twisted toward Dee. “You picked names from a book!”
She giggled. “I thought you’d like that. Besides,
I couldn’t help it. I laughed as I stared down at my picture ID. It was an identical copy of my real driver’s license, except it was a different state and address. Underneath it was my actual ID—Katy Swartz—and a few other sheets of folded paper.
Gosh, I missed my books. I wanted to hug them, love them, squeeze them.
“I found that in your bedroom,” Dee explained, tapping a finger off it. “I snuck in and got you some clothes and this before we left.”
“Thank you,” I said, sliding my new ID over my old one. Staring at both was going to give me an identity crisis.
“So, wait, my new name is from one of those books?” Daemon frowned. He also had his real ID, but there was a bank card underneath, set to Kaidan’s name. “I’m afraid to even ask what it’s about. I better not be named after any kind of magician or something lame like that.”
“No. It’s about angels, demons, and nephilim, and…” I stalled, acutely aware that everyone was staring at me like I’d grown a third eye. “Kaidan’s like the embodiment of lust.”
His eyes sparkled in interest. “Well, now that couldn’t be any more fitting.” He elbowed me, and I rolled my eyes. “Huh? Perfect, right?”
“Ew,” Dee said.
“Anyway,” Dawson said, sitting down on the arm of the couch, “I had your accounts switched over to the new names. You’ll also find high school transcripts, so even though both of you are dropouts”—he flashed a grin —“no one will be the wiser. We’re all rocking new identities.”
“How did you guys take care of all this?” I asked, completely out of the loop when it came to making IDs and faking records.
Luc smirked. “Among my various and extensive talents, making fake IDs and forging documents is one of them.”
I stared at the kid, wondering if there was anything he couldn’t do.
“Nope.” Luc winked at me.
My eyes narrowed.
Daemon thumbed through his papers. “Guys, really, thank you. This is a start.” He looked up, his jade eyes bright. “This is something.”
I nodded, trying not to focus on everything that I was losing by starting over. Like my mom. Somehow, I’d have to find a way to see her. “Yes.”
We stayed in the room for a little while, mainly catching up. No one talked about plans, because I really didn’t think anyone knew exactly where to go from there. Lyla gave me a tour of her beautiful home when I asked to use the restroom, which, by the way, was the size of a bedroom and had interior, glass walls.
The house had more rooms downstairs than any living person could find use for. And it seemed like Lyla didn’t have a significant other, so it was just her in this sprawling home. Dee tagged along, wrapping an arm around mine as Lyla led me through an open kitchen and sunroom.
“You’re going to love this,” Dee said. “Just wait.”
Lyla tossed a smile over her tan shoulder. “I think Dee’s spent the last week out here, trying to come up with a way to free you guys, but…we really didn’t have a plan that Matthew and I could allow them to carry out that didn’t end with them being captured.”
Filled with curiosity, I let them lead me outside, back into what I expected to be breath-stealing temperatures, but I ended up stepping into an oasis.
