I thought it was a bit ridiculous that she had just dressed me up in these fancy clothes only for us to head to bed. Especially considering it was probably only 8 P.M.
“Absolutely not.” Lexen’s voice was low and calm; the undercurrent of authority was very clear. “I have a spare room on my level. It’s my responsibility to keep an eye on her.”
When Star’s face fell, his expression softened somewhat, giving a very fallen angel edge to his unnatural good looks. “You can’t trust her, S. She’s not one of us.”
Star swallowed hard, her arms crossing over her chest in a protective mannerism. “Emma is my friend. I refuse to give that up.”
I continued standing there, glaring at them all while they talked about me like I wasn’t in the room.
Marsil’s gentle voice was deep and rich: “How about Lexen watches Emma tonight…” He threw me an apologetic look. Nice of someone to acknowledge my presence. “And then when he sees that Emma is just an innocent victim in all of this, he will be more relaxed with you two breaking some of the rules.”
I could already tell the odds of that happening were slim to never. Lexen was not going to bend rules for me, even if they would make his sister happy.
“I have to go out tonight.” Lexen’s rapid subject change didn’t seem to surprise anyone but me. He pointed a finger in my direction. “Which means you’re coming with me.”
I clicked my heels together and gave him an exaggerated salute. “Yes, sir. Whatever you say, sir.”
Clearly I had a death wish. Maybe I’d had one since my parents burned alive, but right in this moment I didn’t give a shit that these four could probably disintegrate me with a mere thought. I was done with the elites’ superior bullshit.
Lexen blinked a few times at me. I swear there was a flicker of confusion on his face. Then it disappeared and he just looked pissed. “Follow me,” he ordered. He strode away and I hurried after him. I felt someone at my back and swiveled my head to find Jero there.
“Are you coming too?” I asked, surprised.
He nodded. “Yes, I watch Lexen’s back.” He winked at me. “And yours too of course, honey.”
“I’m on to you, buddy. You’re the suave one. Marsil is the nice one. Lexen is the—”
“Asshole,” the man in question interrupted me. I hadn’t even realized he had stopped and was waiting for us by the front door. “I’m the asshole.”
He held the door open. I watched him with suspicion before I stepped out. We crossed to the front of the house, where his car must have been left by Jero. No doubt there was a garage around somewhere. I knew they had a bunch of cars. Which meant this had been left out deliberately.
“Do you four have parents here? Do you live in this house alone?”
Star had mentioned a father, but it sounded like he was far away. Felt weird thinking of them all alone in this huge house. Even though I was often on my own, I still always knew there were adults around somewhere to do most of the adulting. I might be turning eighteen soon, but I wasn’t ready to hand in my irresponsible kid card yet.
“Stop asking questions,” was Lexen’s hugely helpful reply.
He had definitely been correct before. He was the asshole.
The powerful, low-slung sports car was even more impressive up close. The purple paint shimmered in the dull lights from the house. It had suicide doors, which opened silently.
Lexen stepped aside, gesturing me forward. “Get in the back.”
I resisted the urge to salute him again. I tried to crawl my way into the low car without scraping my heels across the leather, or flashing my goods to the world in this short dress.
“You can have the front,” Jero finally said, a smirk tilting up his lips. “For all of our sanities.”
He reached down and plucked me out of the car – I’d only managed to get half in anyway, my skirt almost over my head. He then sprawled himself out across the narrow backseat, having to angle his long legs to the side. I sort of fell, somewhat gracefully, into the wide wraparound bucket seat in the passenger side. I waited for Lexen to complain, or order me to the back again, but he just slid into the seat beside me and started the car.
The powerful engine thrummed to life. I felt the vibrations go right through my butt and up into my chest. Somehow it was smooth and also rugged at the same time.
“Seatbelt,” Lexen said gruffly, and I had only seconds to click it into place before he changed gears and took off down the driveway.
No one stopped us at the front gate. In fact the gate was already open by the time we sped through. “No abuse of power there,” I muttered to myself. I could feel dark eyes on me, but I didn’t turn to look at him. I would not give that sanctimonious dick the satisfaction of knowing he was getting under my skin.
It was very dark. No doubt another storm was brewing just off the coast to come inland and smash this little town. Still, I couldn’t help but strain to see where we were going. The only thing I knew for sure was that we weren’t heading into the main town of Astoria. Lexen seemed to take a bunch of back roads, curving and winding into a thick forested area.
Jero, who had been surprisingly quiet in the back, leaned forward between the seats and asked me: “Are you warm enough? You have to remind us of things like that. We forget.”
