I shifted in my seat, wanting nothing more than to combat roll out of this car so I could look
for Connor.
Liam placed his hand on mine. “I’ve already instructed the enforcers to keep an eye out for him. They’ll tell him to come home if they see him.”
That was the crux.Ifthey see him.
Connor could be a ghost when he wanted to be. That was if Ahrun hadn’t already gotten hold of him.
“I hope it’s enough,” I said, turning to gaze out the window.
I might not have asked for this vampire brother of mine, but I was as loath to lose him as I was Jenna.
I made three more calls to Connor’s phone in the time it took us to drive the twenty minutes to the side of town where Easton was located. It wasn’t until we pulled onto the street leading to the mall that I finally put away my phone and started to pay attention.
Easton was built to evoke the charm of a town square with a design that was meant to replicate a self-contained town. As a result, fountains and outdoor seating areas were arranged throughout. High-scale stores and a diverse number of restaurants made it a popular place to congregate.
It was so popular that they’d had to build an entirely new section a few years ago, making the place a sprawling maze that was difficult to navigate by car.
“We can start our search in the Station building. There’s a good chance they’ll roost there,” I said.
At this time of night when most shops were closed, the indoor area where the movie theater, bars, and comedy club were located would be the only place in Easton to see a lot of foot traffic.
The multi-story building located in the center of Easton looked like a glass cage on top. The rafters offered a perfect perch to sit and watch the humans below. It would also give the harpies a bird’s eye view of any hostiles approaching.
With their camouflage abilities, it was unlikely anyone would ever notice them.
Not wanting to spook the harpies, Liam found a parking spot a few intersections away from the Station requiring us to walk a fair distance.
Alches let out a small woof, bounding over the console into the front seat and body checking me as I opened my door.
“What are you doing?” I snarled as he knocked me back into the car. “Are you kidding me, Alches?”
The shadow hound didn’t look back as he sprinted down the street. The night swallowed him within seconds.
I swiped at the mud and twigs he’d left on my clothes. “How did he even get this dirty?”
We hadn’t exactly been traipsing through a forest.
Liam’s soft chuckle made me lift my head to glare at him.
“Laugh all you want, but this is your car,” I said, feeling a sense of victory as his smile dropped.
Nice job, Alches, I thought silently.
Liam hid it well, but I’d noticed he was particular about his belongings. Nathan had ended up covered in mud on one of our training exercises. Liam refused to let him in the car and made him walk home. All thirty miles.
It had been hilarious. Particularly the part where Nathan cursed up a storm as he trudged away.
Daniel, another enforcer, had taken pity on him and retrieved him before he made it five miles, but it had allowed me to learn something interesting about my lover.
The dirt and other things in his back seat were bound to drive him crazy. To me, that was fitting payback. No matter how petty that made me seem.
The shops we passed were dark, their lights off but the mannequins still on display. Creepy dolls whose eyeless faces followed my progress down the street.
I was used to the quiet that existed in the deepest part of night. The times when the world was mostly silent.
This felt different, though. Eerie and a little scary.
