I was really hoping that if I was honest he would be honest, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
“That’s impossible,” Jero said. I turned to find him shaking his head.
“Which part?”
“The supernatural signs part. We don’t have signs. There are no signs. You won’t find a damn sign for a mile…”
“I think she gets the point,” Lexen drawled.
I looked between the two of them. “Well, they did tell me that the signs appeared all of a sudden, despite them having run the same checks multiple times in this area over the years.”
Lexen’s jaw was rigid. “Someone lured your family to Astoria.”
That was the theory I was starting to run with. “Why do you have rentals for humans on your street anyway? Especially if you’re trying to stay under the radar. And why would anyone lure us here?”
A secret fear I was hiding inside was that we’d been lured here because someone didn’t want my guardians poking around in their business any longer, that they brought them here to get rid of them. I was hoping Lexen would have a different theory, one which resulted in them both still being alive.
“We rent to humans because there’s a treaty between our kind and yours. It requires a certain level of mingling between us. We chose those who won’t cause us much trouble.”
In other words, poor people who were just happy to have somewhere to stay.
“And in regards to your guardians,” Lexen continued, “they either stuck their noses into the wrong house’s business and were lured here to be disposed of … or there is something more going on, which is what the council is looking into.”
Yep, that didn’t make me feel better at all.
The car ate up the miles home with ease, and before I knew we were through the huge front gates and pulling into the driveway.
As Lexen opened the door, I reached out and grabbed his arm. I felt a spark under my palm and immediately removed my hand. His eyes met mine, and I realized he was waiting for me to fill him in on why I’d grabbed him. “Oh, I just wanted to say, again, that I can stay at my own house tonight. I won’t run or tell anyone. I want answers too. I think sticking with you four is the best way for me to get them.”
His gaze felt heavy, his focus completely on me, which was more than a little unnerving. I was barely breathing at this point as I waited for his reply. I wasn’t sure if I would be disappointed or not if he agreed to let me leave.
“The council will not be happy if you disappear. It’s … safer for you here.”
Then he was gone.
I sucked in a ragged breath, pleased to find my equilibrium returning. His presence was more than a little unnerving.
“Come on, sweets. Time to call it a night. We have school in the morning.”
Jero sounded amused, and I was guessing a bedtime because of school was not something he was used to.
I angled my face close to his. “You can’t remember my name, right? That’s why you call mehoneyandsweetheart.” I was already getting used to his pet names, but I still had a suspicion about why he used them.
Jero laughed again. “I knew you had a viper tongue after you schooled me in history class, but I didn’t expect you to be funny.”
I shrugged. “Not my fault you spend no time learning about humans except how to subjugate and exploit us.”
His smile didn’t fade. If anything it grew wider. We were both out of the car now. He led me through the garage and into a small alcove near the kitchen. Star was sitting at the wide island bench, eating from a small tub of yogurt. Lexen was propped against a wall nearby, keeping an eye on the scene.
“You’re back!” Star exclaimed. A genuine smile crossed her face. “I’ve been waiting up to make sure you were okay.” She turned to her brother. “I really think Emma should stay in my room. She would be more comfortable.”
Lexen shook his head. “You all need to stop acting like she’s part of the family. We don’t know a thing about her. We only found her tonight.”
I glared. “I’m not a stray friggin’ dog. You didn’t find me. You kidnapped me and are now holding me against my will.”
A ghost of a smile crossed his face. Shock almost knocked me over. He … he should never … no smiling. He should never smile because it was way too attractive, and I needed his outside to get less gorgeous. I needed them to match his inner shithead.
Lifting himself off the wall, he closed in on me. For some stupid reason my heart rate picked up as he said, “Weren’t you just telling me that you’re sticking with us? Doesn’t sound like kidnapping to me.”
