“I kind of like being your body pillow.” My hand trembled slightly as I placed it on her hip. “Even if you drool on me.”
“I do not drool.” Her hand came to rest above my heart. “What about tailing Vaughn?”
“That can wait until tomorrow.” I tilted my chin to the side, brushing my lips against her forehead. My arm around her tightened as I held her close. “Get some rest, Kitten. I’ll be gone before morning.”
That was the plan. I would hold her until she fell asleep, and then I would leave. After all, it wasn’t even eight o’clock, and I could still scope out Vaughn without Kat. I just wanted a few…quiet moments with her, but Kat drifted off fast, and the seconds in between opening and closing my eyes rapidly increased. Being with her like this had a lulling, comforting effect, and before I knew it, I fell into the deepest sleep.
I was having the most wonderful dream. Ever. Kat was in bed with me, her body warm and soft. My mind was full of vague, almost distant images and sounds. I felt her hand slip free from mine, and she shifted beside me. I rolled into her, my arm around her waist keeping her close as I buried my face in the side of her neck. Inhaling deeply, I caught the scent of peaches. I was half awake, present enough to know this wasn’t a dream. She was lying in bed next to me. Perfect. I pressed my lips to her neck.
Kat pushed me. Hard.
I blinked my eyes open. “Mmm, what’s your problem?”
She looked at me, and then her gaze moved to the doorway. I followed and immediately woke right up. Her mom stood in the opening, a robe cinched tight at her narrow waist. Beside her was Dr. Michaels.
Oh shit.
I removed my arm from Kat’s waist. “Oh, wow, awkward.” Clearing my throat, I spoke louder.
“Good morning, Ms. Swartz.”
Kat’s mom smiled tightly while her look screamed are you serious, but I was really at a loss for what else to say. “Good morning, Daemon. I think it’s time for you to go home.”
Yep. I was going to have to agree with that.
Glancing down at a red-faced Kat, I was relieved to see that only a faint shadow lingered under her eyes. I grinned apologetically at her, and then I left the bed as fast as humanly possibly, which was really slow for me.
I grabbed my shoes off the floor and turned sideways as I walked out the door. Her mom didn’t even spare one glance in my direction. Dr. Michaels stepped aside, and as I made my way past him, he clapped his hand on my shoulder in an age-old attaboy way.
Weird.
But when I stepped out in the frigid morning temperatures, all I could think about was the look on Kat’s face. I tipped my chin back and I laughed loudly, laughed harder than I had since…since Dawson.
Chapter 23
Over the next couple of days, I laid off dragging Kat into the whole stalking-Vaughn business. With Christmas, it didn’t seem right. Plus, I’d learned from Dee that Blake was spending all of Christmas break with his family. That meant that Kat should be able to actually get some rest, and that also meant that I needed to crawl out of her ass for a few days.
Dee had managed to coax Kat out of her house over break and take her to the movies. Adam and surprisingly, Ash, had gone with them. That concerned me a little, considering that Ash and Kat usually escalated to DEFCON one whenever they were around each other, and I wanted to go with them. I’d even stood out on the porch and watched Adam, Dee, and Kat leave, but I remained behind. Kat needed the time with Dee. Needed the normalcy she’d been lacking…well, since she moved here.
So I checked out Vaughn’s house, leaving the car behind even though my skin felt frozen by the night’s end. Nancy showed up soon after Vaughn arrived, and did so every night, but it wasn’t until Sunday night that my stalking finally proved fruitful. I’d followed him from his house to an industrial park just outside of Petersburg. He’d disappeared in there for several hours, and the place was well guarded from the outside by two officers.
I knew they were hiding something or someone in there.
When Vaughn finally left, the officers remained outside. It took everything in me not to bust right up in there now, but I was smart about it. I checked out the place over the next couple of days and by Christmas night I was confident that the guards were on a schedule. There was a gap in time, no more than thirty minutes, when they were gone from the outside premises, usually around twelve thirty in the morning, and the guards appeared active only once Vaughn arrived.
Inside was a different story, one I didn’t know and wouldn’t know until I got in there.
Deciding to make my move to get into the building the day after Christmas, I waited until it was close to eleven before I slipped out of the house. Dee was over at Adam’s, so I didn’t have to worry about her wondering what I was doing. I checked out Vaughn’s house first and saw that he was home. Another Expedition was in the driveway, most likely belonging to Nancy. Perfect. I was halfway to the industrial park before I stopped.
I thought of Kat.
Dammit.
Turning back, I raced through the woods in the opposite direction, slowing only when I returned to my house. I stopped by my SUV and stared at Kat’s house. Taking her with me was risky, freaking dangerous as hell.
But finding this warehouse wouldn’t have been possible without Kat telling me about seeing Bethany. Cutting her out of this seemed wrong. Involving her didn’t feel any better.
I pulled the baseball cap off my head and thrust my fingers through my hair as I stared at her house. She wanted to be involved—wanted to stand side by side with me, facing whatever came our way. Truth was, I hadn’t really let her.
And Blake had.
Wasn’t that why he was training her instead of me? He had enough…faith in her. Didn’t I?
I slammed the cap back down on my head. It didn’t have anything to do with faith. I didn’t want Kat to be in danger, and because of that, there was a wedge between us. One that had evaporated the night I fell asleep in her bed, but it was there. I needed to trust that Kat could…handle herself. If I didn’t, there would be no chance for us.
And there had to be a chance.
“Shit,” I muttered, casting a dark look at the night sky.
Mind made up, I stalked over to her house and up onto the porch. I knocked on the door and then stepped back, shoving my hands in my pockets so I didn’t punch myself in my face. If anything happened to Kat because of me—well, anything more—I wouldn’t be able to live with it.
The door opened, and Kat poked her head out. Expectation filled her gray eyes as she looked me over. Not annoyance or anger. She was happy to see me. My lips tipped up in a crooked grin. “You busy?”
She shook her head.
“Wanna go for a ride?”
There wasn’t even a pause. “Sure. Let me grab something warmer to put on.” Kat disappeared, returning wearing boots and a hoodie. She joined me outside, closing the door behind her. “Are we going to check on Vaughn?”
“Not really. There’s something I’ve discovered.” I led her to my car and waited until we both were in. “But first, did you have a good Christmas? I was going to stop over, but I saw your mom was home.”
“It was good. Will spent the day with us. That was weird.” Her nose wrinkled. “What about you?”
“It was okay. Dee nearly burned the house down trying to make a turkey. Other than that, not very entertaining.” I pulled out of the driveway. “So, how much trouble were you in after Saturday?”
“I got a lecture about not making my mom a grandmother.”
I laughed.
She sighed. “Now I have rules to follow, but nothing serious.”