Dawson had trouble keeping his expression straight. For real. The truth was that living in the colony was no better than living in one of the DOD’s facilities they used to “prepare” the Luxen for assimilation. If not worse, even.
Vaughn looked doubtful, but Officer Lane managed to get him up and toward the door. Before they left, though, they reminded the three of them they needed to check in by the end of April for mandatory registration. The DOD kept count religiously of how many lived inside and out of the colony.
Dee slumped in her chair as Dawson closed the door. “I hate when they come by,” she said, scrunching up her face. “They act as if we’ve done something wrong.”
“That new one really is a fan favorite, isn’t he?” Dawson sat on the arm of his sister’s chair. “God, what a dick.”
“He hasn’t been the worst,” Daemon said. And God, wasn’t that the truth. At least Vaughn tried to hide his animosity. “Good save, Dee. Football?” He laughed. “Almost makes me want to try that out.”
Dawson winced. “Yeah, you talk Andrew into doing that with you. I pass.”
“Do you think they’ll ever find out about the Arum?” Dee sat up, dropping her elbows on her knees. “Realize that we aren’t the same?” Fear roughened her voice.
Dawson leaned down, wrapping his arm around his sister’s slender shoulders, and winked. “Nah, they’re not as bright as we are.”
“It’s not ignorance,” Daemon said, eyes trained on the window. “They’re too prideful to consider they don’t know everything there is to know about us. As long as humans believe they’re the most intelligent and strongest life-form on this planet, the better it is for us.”
…
Bethany wanted to kick herself for agreeing to do the groceries as a part of her chores. Washing dishes by hand would’ve been better than searching down every last item on Mom’s list, especially the ones she couldn’t even pronounce from the organic section.
Pushing the overloaded cart to the mile-long checkout lanes, she wondered how Dawson’s meeting went. A trickle of unease slithered through her veins. She hated the idea of the DOD checking in on them like that, the intrusive questions they had to be answering and the unfairness of how they were monitored.
To her, the Luxen weren’t any different. And she seriously doubted most humans would be afraid of them. The Luxen were just like them.
Once done with checking out and buggingout at how much the food cost, she wheeled her load to the parking lot.
When she’d first arrived, the lot had been crowded, so she’d gotten stuck in the nosebleed section at the back. Heavy, thick trees crowded over the parking lot, and she kept waiting for a deer to dart out and tackle her as she loaded the groceries.
“Bethany.”
She whipped around, and her heart tumbled unsteadily. One of the Thompson twins stood behind her, so close she caught the scent of his citrus aftershave.
Taking a step back, she knocked into the bumper. “I…I didn’t know you were there.”
The twin’s expression was blank as he cocked his head. “We can be very quiet when we want.”
No shit. Reaching behind her, she pulled the trunk down, still unsure which one stood before her. Usually, she knew by the way they acted. But now…she had no idea.
“Are you shopping?” she asked, clenching her car keys. The sky was already darkening and so close to the woods, very little light got through. She felt cut off.
“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 anonymouscall 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.