Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (16 page)

  
“Like crazy.
Maybe we won’t have school tomorrow,” Dani said brightly.

   “Hmm,” Chris agreed absently.

   Cassie barely heard their conversation over the excitement pounding through her. She wanted nothing more than to lean into
Devon
and
los
e
herself to his touch. Something inside of her was shifting, changing, growing. She was beginning to realize that it was only a matter of time before she lost complete control and allowed free rein to everything she was thinking and feeling.

 
Though she had thought she would be frightened by that realization, she was not. In fact
,
she was thrilled and awed by it. Things were going to change drastically between them, an
d she was eager to embrace
every
one of those changes.
They would be wonderful, she was certain of it.
 

   Cassie jumped in surprise when Devon’s phone went off. Her eyes narrowed as he pulled it swiftly out.
W
orry flashed through his eyes as he
read the message,
hit a few buttons and flipped it closed. His eyes came slowly back to hers,
they were
cold and
distant. “Who… who was that?” she asked, trying to keep the nervousness from her voice.
Whoever it was had caused hi
s
mood
to cha
nge in the space of a heartbeat.

   He shook his head
as he slipped
his phone
into his pocket. “I need to go out for a bit.”

  
“Out?
Where?”
Unreasonable panic fill
ed
her;
she couldn’t understand the abrupt change that had come over him. Moments ago he was warm and caring, now he was distant, withdrawn, a stranger.
And she didn’t know who he could possibly be talking to that would cause such a
change. She was fairly certain that almost everyone he talked to was in this room
, unless it was a girl
.
Cassie quickly shut the thought down; she had experienced his feelings last night. She knew that he only thought of her, that he only loved her. But who could he possibly have been talking to?

   “I just need to pick up a few things from my place.”

   “Can you grab me some things too?”
Chris asked absently.

   Cassie
felt her mouth drop as she
turned
toward
Chris.
Chris
froze fo
r a moment, his hands tightened
around the cards he held. His
head c
a
m
e
slowly up
, his eyes wide with horror
as he realized exactly what it was he had let slip out
. “Too?” she inquired softly.

   Chris’s
eyes
darted nervously to Devon. “Chris has been staying at my place once in awhile,” Devon said softly, resting his hands on Cassie’s shoulders.

  
Her eyes widened
,
betrayal jolt
ed
through her. For a momen
t anger flared
inside her,
but she
somehow managed to
push it
back
down
before it consumed her
again
. She knew how awful Chris’s home life was, knew how miserable it was for him to be at home.
Her grandmother had taken care of him more than his own mother
had
.
Chris
had spent most of his nights sleeping on
Cassie’s
floor, but he wouldn
’
t have wanted to be here after her grandmother had died. It would have been hard on him, and Cassie understood that
,
but she could not shake the shock that kept her gaping at them.
S
he
had never even been to Devon’s apartment, and Chris was apparently staying there.

 
Just how close had they gotten over the past two weeks?

   “I see,” she said softly.

   “Cassie…”
   “No, it’s fine
.
I’m fine
,
really.” She cut Chris off, forcing a reassuring smile.
“Really.”

   Devon massaged her shoulders gently. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Chris said, his gaze momentarily darting to
the window. “I just
…
I just needed a break.”

  
“A break?”

   His smile was wan as he ducked his head. “Your emotions, and Devon’s, weren’t exactly easy to deal with, and I couldn’t keep them shut out.”

   “Oh,” Cassie said dully.
And if Devon was here watching over her, then Chris would be bombarded with both of their emotions, even when
Chris
was at his own house. She glanced back at Devon,
noting
the stiff set of his jaw, and the arms now folded firmly over his chest.
He didn
’
t look comfortable with the issue of his emotions being spoken about
so
freely.
“Sorry.”

   Chris grinned at her. “It’s quite alright, the
giant plasma TV
more than made up for
not being able to stay at my own crappy house.
”
   Cassie
blinked in surprise then glanced questioningly at Devon. “Not mine,” he said with a casual shrug.
She quirked an eyebrow but refrained from saying anymore. “I have to go, but I’ll be back in a little bit.”

   He bent to drop a quick, soft kiss on her cheek. Cassie’s hand lingered on his face, gently stroking over its much loved contours.
She had a bad feeling about him leaving, her worr
y
still lingered, but she did not want to seem like a needy
, clingy
girlfriend.
Even if she desperately
did
need him.
“Be safe.”

   A soft grin teased the corners of his mouth. “Stay inside.”

   “Oh you can count on that,” Melissa said softly
, shivering slightly
. “Damn weather.”

   Devon kissed her again, squeezing her hand gently before
leaving the room. Cassie turned back to the window, watching as he hurried to his car. He was huddled deep into his jacket, his hands shoved into his pockets
against the
cold. She instantly missed him;
an ache bloom
ed
in her chest.
Shaking her head, she turned away from the w
indow. She was being ridiculous;
he would only be gone for a little while
.

   But they had spent too much time apart, and she had only recently gotten him back in her life. She wasn’t ready to be separated from him now, even if it was for a short period of time.
Cassie rubbed the bridge of her nose as she stepped away from the counter, trying to ease the ten
s
ion
inside her.
Chris tapped the stool beside him, gesturing for her to sit down.

   “I’ll deal you in.”

   “Sounds good,” she mumbled.

***

   Devon pulled his car into Luther’s driveway
and
turn
ed
off the headlights. He sat for a
moment, not ready to know what Luther had learned, if anything.
Luther’s
text had simply said that
he
needed to speak with
him
as soon as possible. That didn
’
t mean that
Luther
had
learned something
,
he may simply want
to
speak with Devon when no one else was around. Luther didn
’
t know that
Cassie was with him again.
That she was doing better
now
.

  
And all of that might be about to change.

   Sighing heavily, Devon shoved his car door open. It couldn’t be avoided; he had to know what had happened while Luther
was
gone. Trudging through the snow, he huddled into his coat, dreading every step he took.
He was almost to the door when Luther opened it.

   Luther’s normally neat hair was in disarray. The
fine
lines around his mouth and eyes were drawn tight and pinched. His glasses were already in hand. One look at him told Devon that he was not going to like
what
the man had to say.

   It was not the cold of the night that
was causing the
chill
in him
now
. “You learned something,” he said flatly.

   Luther slid his glasses back on, nodding briskly. “I did. You had better come in.”

  
Devon braced himself, fighting back the dread that rolled through him. Stepping inside, he waited as Luther closed the door behind him, shutting out the storm beyond.
Devon followed as Luther moved into the living room
.
N
either of them sat as Luther began to pace. “Is it what I feared?” Devon asked quietly.

   Luther pulled his glasses off
again, squeezing his nose with his fingers. “I think it may be worse,” he replied tightly.

   Devon felt as if someone had socked him in the stomach
.
Terror filled him as his jaw clenched tight and his hands fisted at his sides
.
He was prepared to fight for Cassie, prepared to die for her, but he could not defend her from herself. And that was who he feared she would need the most protection from.

***

   “What was that?”

   Cassie lowered her cards, frowning as she strained to
see or
hear whatever it was that had caught Dani’s attention. The small girl was standing by the backdoor, the light on as she watched the swirling snow
. “What was what?” Chris asked around his mouthful of chips.

   “I thought I saw something.”

   A shiver raced down Cassie’s back, foreboding crept into her stomach, knotting firmly. She glanced at Chris and Melissa, who were as frozen as she was. Dani took a small step back from the door, glancing fearfully at them. “I
know
I saw something,” she whispered.

   The lights flickered
out
. Cassie jumped, nearly knocking her water over as she bumped the table. She righted it quickly
as the lights
flared
back on and then flickered
out
again. Cassie rose swiftly
, striding purposely to the back door. “Cassie,” Chris said warningly.

   “I’m not going out there,” she replied sharply.

   Dani stepped beside her,
she
point
ed
toward the thick copse of oak trees at the edge of the backyard, just beyond her old tire swing.
Narrowing her eyes,
Cassie
focused all of her attention on that area. Then she saw it, a flash of moment to the right that snapped her head in that direction.
Dani
jumped in surprise, bumping into Cassie as she took a frightened step back
. Chris and Mel
issa were already on their feet;
their eyes
were
wide with worry
and fear
as they edged closer
.

   “Go,”
Cassie
urged Dani
, pushing her away from the threshold
, nudging her back toward the house
.

  
She had a very bad feeling she already knew who was out there, and she didn
’
t want Dani anywhere near them.
Glancing back, she froze, horror curdl
ed
through her stomach
as
ice crep
t
through her veins. Her hand tightened on Dani’s shoulder, unintentionally holding her in place
as her legs became blocks of cement
. Isla
had appeared
in
t
he backyard, her auburn hair
was
coated with flakes of falling snow. The
low cut
black dress she wor
e floated about her in the wind;
the wet material cl
u
ng to her
curvaceous figure
.