“Ah, I’m not really shopping.”
Her eyes darted around the parking lot. “I really—”
One second he was there, and then he was right in her face, towering over her. In an instant, she knew which one stood before her.
Andrew smiled coldly. “But I do have a list. And you’re on it.”
No joke, her heart was pounding. Fear coated her mouth, forming a knot in her throat, making it hard for her to breathe. But she refused to shrink away, to run or scream. Inherently, she knew that’s what he wanted. To scare her.
His smile tipped higher. “You know, my sister and I can’t understand what Dawson sees in you. You’re just a silly little human.” His arm shot out so fast it was a blur, picked up a strand of her hair. “And you’re really not even that pretty.”
Oh…oh, that stung more than it should have. Tears burned her eyes as she fought to keep her voice level. “I guess it’s a good thing, then. A relationship between us would never work.”
His eyes narrowed. “And why is that?”
“Because I’m allergic to assholes.”
Andrew did a cough/laugh as he looked to the side. “You think you’re funny. Want to know what’s funny?”
“No. Not really.” She started to turn, but his hands slammed into the trunk. Metal crunched and gave. She was trapped.
“It’s funny that you think anything is going to work or last with you and Dawson.” He laughed again, the sound cold and grating. “So what? You know our secret. Congrats. Here’s a cookie. But you know what? All it takes is one anonymous call into the DOD and then bye-bye Beth.”
She gasped. “You wouldn’t…?”
He pushed off the car and stepped back. “Yeah, even I’m not that much of an ass. Dawson pisses me off, but I’d never do that to him. But if we know, then the rest will know eventually, Bethany. And they barely have any bonds with us.” He rocked back on his heels. “You guys keep this up, one or both of you is going to end up hurt.”
In a blink of an eye, he was gone. Bethany slowly turned around, seeing the empty parking lot. In a daze, she climbed into the car. Her cell phone went off, the screen flashing Dawson’s name.
“Hey,” she croaked.
“You okay?”
Her immediate instinct was to tell him what had happened, but God knew he’d flip out. So she forced herself to pretend she was calm. “How was the meeting?”
As Dawson gave her a brief rundown, she drove home, her hands shaking the entire way.
…
It was close to eight when Dawson got off the phone with Bethany. He roamed his bedroom, restless. Something had been off about her. He’d asked to the point of annoyance if she was okay. Each time she said yes, but he sensed something.
Half an hour later, his phone rang. Hoping it was Bethany, he snatched it off his bed, but frowned when he looked at the caller ID. “Adam?”
“Hey, got a sec?”
He sat. “Sure.”
There was a pause. “Man, I hate to tell you this, but Andrew came home earlier, and I heard him talking to Ash.”
Unease built inside Dawson. “About what?”
“Apparently, he ran into your girl. I think he may have said some crap to her,” Adam said, sighing. “I just thought I’d let you know.”
Dawson was on his feet without realizing, struggling not to slip into his true form and fry his phone. Again. So angry he could barely speak, he thanked Adam for the heads up and dialed Beth. It took a few tries to get her to ’fess up, and when he did, he saw red.
Andrew had basically threatened her.
Dawson reassured Bethany everything was cool, but when he hung up the phone, he didn’t even bother grabbing his car keys.
He was about to go apeshit.
Flipping into his true form, he went out the front door and to the woods, taking the back way to the Thompsons’ house. They lived on the other side of Petersburg, which was a whopping dozen or so miles that took him about thirty seconds to cross. He stopped at the paved driveway, an unheard-of luxury for homes this far off the beaten track.
Dawson had always hated the Thompson house. It was out in the middle of nowhere, as big as a goddamned mansion, and had the warmth of a mausoleum.
Adam answered the door, cringing when he saw Dawson’s harsh expression. “Uh, this isn’t going to be a happy visit, is it?”
“Are your nosy, pain-in-my-ass siblings still home?”
Adam nodded and stepped aside. “They’re in the movie room.”
Knowing the way, he slid past Adam and stalked through the massive foyer, the dining room no one in his or her right mind used, and into a den. Adam was right behind him, not saying a word.
Dawson waved his hand, opening the door to the theater. Light spilled into the dark room, casting yellowish light between the recliners. They were watching an old episode of 90210. Lame didn’t even do that justice.
Andrew turned around, scowling when he saw Dawson. “Unless you’ve come to apologize for being such an ass to me, I don’t want any of what you’re selling.”
His sister held a nail file over her fingers. “Somehow I doubt that’s why he’s here, Andy.”
“Yeah, you’d be correct on that.” Dawson’s hands formed fists at his sides. “I want you two to listen, because I swear this will be the last time I say this. I want both of you to leave Bethany alone. Don’t talk to her. Don’t approach her. Hell, don’t even consider thinking about her.”
Andrew raised himself fluidly, his blue eyes starting to glow like diamonds. “Or what?”
The back of Dawson’s neck started to burn. Screw the whole telling him part. He shed his human form in an instant and shot down the narrow aisle, slamming into a still-human Andrew. Over the roar in his ears, he heard Ash’s surprised shriek. The force of his impact took them both all the way to the screen and when they hit, it ripped right over the dickhead’s face.
Wrapping his hand around Andrew’s throat, he rose off the ground, dragging the struggling boy with him. Andrew had switched forms, but he couldn’t break Dawson’s hold. Dawson took him all the way to the vaulted ceiling, pinning him there.
Or what? Dawson spoke directly into Andrew’s thoughts, driving the point home. You threaten Bethany again, in any way, and I’ll make sure you can’t talk again. To anyone. Ever. Do you understand me?
“Dawson!” Ash yelled from below. “What are you doing? Stop! Do something, Adam!”
Adam’s laugh followed. “Someone needed to put Andrew in his place. I always figured it would be Daemon. Who knew.”
Energy crackled up Dawson’s arm. He was this close to letting it go and knocking Andrew into next week. The flare of his light caused Andrew to shrink away from him. Do you understand me?
Andrew hesitated, but then he nodded.
Good, because this isn’t happening again. Then he dropped Andrew.
Andrew hit the floor of the theater, flipping into his human form. He lifted his head, shooting Dawson a murderous look, but amazingly, he kept his mouth shut.
Coming back down to the floor, he turned on Ash. And that includes you. Stay away from her. Better yet, I’d love it if you stayed away from my brother.
Her mouth dropped open. “Why?”
You wanna know why? He can do so much better than you. Still furious, he struggled to bring back his human form, and when he did, his voice was frigid. “If any of you want to treat humans like they’re not good enough for us to be near, then go back to the damn colony. You’ll fit in perfectly there.”
Turning from a stunned Ash to Adam, he took a deep breath. “Sorry, man. You’re cool.”