“You could come back inside,” he says, moving to lean forward against the white-painted wooden rail surrounding the porch. “Rest, eat something. They have plenty of pizza.”
I shake my head. “I’m not going to sit here and wait for someone else to die.”
“All right. Where to, then?” he asks easily. “I have access to a vehicle.”
I blink. “You’re going to come with me?”
“That is, after all, the purpose of an alliance.” Devon raises his eyebrows at me pointedly.
One I haven’t agreed to.
“Let me help you,” he says.
“I don’t know if I trust you,” I say finally. I’m not scared of him, but that doesn’t mean I can let my guard down. “And I really don’t love that you have my friends crawling all over you without their consent.” Speaking of “no control.”
Devon straightens up and stretches, arms up over his head, revealing an expanse of taut skin through the open side of his shirt. “I can’t do much about you trusting me. You’ll have to come to that on your own.” He seems unconcerned and completely confident of the eventual outcome. “As for the other… I’ve fed enough for now. I’ve loosened my hold.”
“Couldn’t you just make friends the regular way?” I mutter.
His attention snaps back to me and he smiles, but pain flickers in his eyes. “Sometimes it is difficult for me to imagine your life, so far removed from the Old Ones and their games.”
I stiffen. Is that an insult? Itfeelslike an insult.You poor ignorant peasanty girl who knows nothing of my world.Maybe, but I’m the one you’re asking for help.
“I’m envious,” Devon says softly, startling me. I can feel theacheof longing in his voice. “Wait here. I’ll grab the keys.” Then he vanishes into the darkened interior of the fraternity house, leaving me frowning after him.
Well, I’m definitely going to need more information now.
While I wait for Devon to return, I pace the front porch to stay warm, tugging Carter’s coat tighter around me.
Shit. Carter.He’s probably going to be looking for me at his place. Soon, if not already.
The door opens, and I turn, expecting Devon. But it’s Aadesh, and he’s looking around the porch with a puzzled expression. “Have you seen Jack?” he asks me.
“Who?”
“Tall kid, dark curly hair. He was supposed to take out the recycling and the trash, but…” He gestures out to the curb where an empty trash can waits and a few neatly stacked pizza boxes are collecting a light coating of ice.
“No,” I say, remembering the tidy towers of recycling just inside the door. “Haven’t seen him.”
“Huh.” He frowns. “Okay.”
Aadesh doesn’t seem alarmed, more confused than anything. But my stomach contracts with a twinge of worry. A missing student? I don’t like the sound of that.
“You think he headed to the library or something?” Despite the campus-wide warning, there are probably some who did venture out.
Aadesh shakes his head, expression clearing. “No, I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.” He grins. “A couple of weekends ago, we found him passed out in the basement closet. He set up his rig down there because he’s so convinced the wifi is that much faster.” He shakes his head. “As if we don’t have repeaters set up all over the house.”
The tension in my stomach eases. “Ah, okay.” That’s good, far more rational than what I was thinking. I don’t even know Jack. So it seems unlikely that the spawn who killed Lennie would randomly target him.
Get a grip, Jo.
Aadesh starts to head back inside, and I remember what I was thinking before I was distracted by all the “Jack is possibly missing but probably not” talk.Carter. Looking for me.
“Hey, Desh, can I borrow your phone for a second?” I ask.
“Uh, yeah, sure.” He pulls his phone from his back jeans pocket, unlocks it, and hands it over.
I type in Carter’s number, biting my lower lip, trying to think how to phrase this so he won’t freak out.
