“It…” She trailed off, and I focused on the road.
I had to focus, because I really wanted to lose my shit. I remembered how painful it looked for those it was used on during assimilation. Onyx was said to be one of the most painful things we could be exposed to, worse than even an Arum feeding. Those Luxen had screamed like their skin was being hacked away from their muscle and bone with a butter knife.
Knowing that Kat had suffered that for hours filled me with helpless rage. My ass had been sitting in class while she was being tortured. Freaking tortured.
“Kat?”
She sat up in the seat. “Blake and I aren’t very different.”
“What?” I looked at her sharply. “You’re nothing like that son—”
“No. I am.” She twisted toward me. “He did everything to protect Chris. He betrayed people. He lied. He killed. And I get that now. Doesn’t make anything he did okay, but I get that now. I…I would do anything to protect you.”
I stared at her for long as I could without driving off the road, and then I looked back at the road. I knew what she was saying. She would kill to protect me. She would do anything to keep me safe. The same as Blake, but no…it wasn’t the same.
Reaching over, I threaded my fingers through hers and brought our joined hands to my thigh.
“You’re still nothing like him, because in the end, you wouldn’t hurt someone who was innocent. You’d make the right call.”
She didn’t respond to that. Several moments passed. “About Will? What…what do you think will happen with him?”
I growled. “God, I do want to hunt him down, but here’s the deal. Worst-case scenario, he’s pissed when the mutation fades, and he comes back after us. If so, I’ll take care of him.”
Her brows arched. “And you think there was no way the mutation stuck?”
“Not if Matthew is right. I mean, I wanted to do it to get you out of there, but it wasn’t this true and deep want. He nicked an artery, but he wasn’t dying.” I sent her a look. “I know what you’re thinking. That if it did, we’re connected to him.”
“Yeah,” she replied.
“There’s nothing we can do about that now but wait and see.”
“Thank you.” She cleared her throat, but it did nothing to make her voice sound stronger. “Thank you for getting me out of there.”
I squeezed her hand. We were near Street of Hopes, the address provided. “Are you okay?”
She smiled weakly. “Yeah, I’m okay. Don’t worry about me right now. Everything…”
“Everything is about to change.” Shit. I couldn’t even wrap my head around what was about to happen. My brother. God, he was alive and we were about to be reunited. I pulled along the back of the plaza, hitting the brakes. Pulling my hand free, I killed the engine and took a deep breath as I glanced at the clock in the dashboard. We had five minutes.
Kat unclicked the seat belt. “Let’s do this.”
I blinked. “You don’t have to come in with me. I know…you’re tired.”
A steely look of determination filled her heather-gray eyes as she opened the door and stepped out of the SUV, standing in the damn cold parking lot with her bare feet. I was beside her in a second, taking her hand. She didn’t need to do this. She could stay in the SUV where it was warm and she could rest, but she was doing this for me.
“Thank you,” I said.
Kat smiled, and then we started into the building, and I couldn’t help but notice the onyx embedded in the bricks. The door was unlocked, and once inside, the alarm system shone green.
Hell, how many people did Will Michaels have to pay off to make this happen? How did he get that kind of money?
The lobby looked like any office building lobby. Half-circle desk, fake plants, and cheap tile floors. There was a door leading to a stairwell that had been conveniently left open. Kat squeezed my hand, and I felt sort of nauseous as I stared at the door.
Squaring my shoulders, we went for it, climbing the steps as fast as we could. At the top landing, there was a closed door. Above it, there was more onyx. I let go of her hand and wrapped my fingers around the handle, a slight tremor running up my arm.
I pushed open the door.
The room was dark, lit only by the moonlight streaming in through one window. There were a couple of folding chairs propped against the wall, a TV in the corner, and a large kennel-like cage in the middle of the room, outfitted with the same kind of manacles that had hung from Kat’s.
I stepped into the room slowly, my hands falling to my sides. Heat rolled off my body as I stared at the cage.
The empty cage.
Opening my mouth, I shook my head wordlessly as all the hope and excitement swan-dived out of an airplane.
“Daemon,” Kat croaked.
I stalked toward the cage, stood there a moment, and then knelt, pressing my forehead against my hand. A shudder racked my body. Had Dawson ever been here? Was it all a fucking lie? I didn’t know. All that mattered was my brother was still…missing.
Kat’s hand landed on my back, and my muscles tensed. “He…he lied to me,” I said, voice ragged. “He lied to us.”
Pain ripped into me, tearing up old wounds that had never healed. This was never going to be over. That’s how it felt. I was going to go on for the rest of my life chasing a ghost.
Kneeling beside me, Kat pressed against my back. Her arms wrapped around my waist. I placed my hands on her arms and closed my eyes, letting her presence warm me. If she hadn’t been here…
I rose swiftly, catching Kat off guard. She started to fall backward, but I spun around, catching her before she hit the floor. My name was a rough rasp when she spoke. “Sorry,” I said. “We…we need to get out of here.”
She nodded, stepping back. “I…I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. You had nothing to do with this. He tricked us. He lied.”
Taking her hand, I led her back to the car. On the way back to the house, I could feel Kat staring at me. I wanted to say something to reassure her. God knows she could use it, too, at this moment, but my jaw was locked shut. All I could focus on was getting us both back to the houses.
Then Kat reached between us, placing her hand on my arm. I glanced at her briefly but said nothing. I don’t think she would ever know how much that meant to me. Her hand stayed there even though she was close to dozing off.
I pulled into my driveway, letting the SUV idle for a moment as I saw Matthew’s car behind Dee’s. Kat blinked several times. “Did you call them, tell them what happened to…me?”
“They wanted to help find you, but I had them stay here in case…” No point in finishing that part of the sentence, but the next needed to be said as I turned off the engine. “If the mutation doesn’t hold, I will find Will and I’m going to kill him.”
Kat didn’t look all that surprised by the statement as I leaned over the center console and kissed her. Her heart immediately sped up, and I smiled against her mouth, loving how she responded to the softest of touches.
Pulling away, I glanced over at my house. Seeing Dee right now was going to be hard. A part of me had hoped bringing Dawson home would elevate some of her pain. I shuddered. “I can’t…I can’t face Dee right now.”
“But won’t she worry?”
“I’ll text her as soon as you’re settled.”
“Okay. You can stay with me.”
A wry grin tugged at my lips. “I’ll get out before your mom comes home. Swear.”
Kat smiled at that. I got out of the SUV and jogged around to her side. Opening her door, I reached in for her. “What are you doing?” she asked.
I arched a brow. “You haven’t had shoes on this entire time, so no more walking.”
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to argue, but snapped it closed. I grinned as she scooted to the edge of the seat.
The front door to my house swung open, slamming against the clapboard like a gunshot. I spun around, my hands forming into fists as I expected the DOD to come rushing out.